Migration The uses of strangers

摘要

The church of the Sacred Heart, in a scruffy corner of Washington, dc, offers services in English, Vietnamese and Haitian, depending on which day you arrive. On a recent spring morning it was thronged with another group: illegal migrants from El Salvador. At a dozen tables, volunteers helped them to complete forms for temporary-protection status in the United States, and for work permits. Since two earthquakes devastated their country earlier this year, Salva-dorans have been given special rights to stay.