VERMONT, USA — Law enforcement officials say the court system in the northern United States is being swamped by Haitians trying to enter the country illegally from Canada.

They say the Haitians are seeking to take advantage of the Temporary Protected States (TPS) for undocumented Haitians living illegally in the US announced by President Barack Obama in January.

“This activity is definitely one of the larger groups, if not the largest of any focused nature, that we’ve had on our border,” said Tristram J Coffin, the United States attorney in Vermont.

He said the sudden influx of immigration cases has swamped the federal courthouse, where clerks are learning how to pronounce Creole names, and filings are being waived to expedite proceedings.

“I remember jokingly saying I’ll never be called because there’s no one who speaks Creole here,” said translator Chrissy Etienne, 24, a native of Haiti, who was hired by the United States District Court.

Coffin said his office has charged 40 Haitians with the federal crime of re-entry after prior removal. He said others were released on orders of supervision or under their own recognizance.

Coffin said most of the Haitians caught crossing the border from Canada were ordered deported from the United States years ago.

Marjorie Villefranche, programme director at Maison d’Haiti, a community centre that serves the nearly 200,000 Haitians living in Montreal, said most knew that crossing into the United States was illegal but were still willing to take the chance.

She said many Haitians were finding it difficult to obtain work and adjust to life in Montreal.

Meanwhile, Haitian community activists in the United States have called for an extension of the July 20 deadline for undocumented Haitians to file for TPS.

The Obama administration had granted TPS to an estimated 200,000 Haitians living illegally in the US in the wake of the January 12 devastating earthquake in the impoverished, French-speaking Caribbean country.

“There will be a need for an extension,” said Steven Forester, Miami-based representative of the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti. He is proposing a six-month extension because of the number of problems, including high fees, that lawyers have encountered while helping Haitians file TPS applications.