BY GLENN GARVIN

 MANAGUA -- Worried about a potential wave of deportations that could wreak
 political and economic havoc here, President Arnoldo Aleman's government is
 calling for undocumented Nicaraguan immigrants in the United States to legalize
 their status before the requirements become tougher at the end of this month.

 An estimated 60,000 undocumented Nicaraguans in the United States are eligible
 to become legal U.S. residents and apply for work permits under a 1997 law that
 gives them an easier path to legal status than immigrants from almost any other
 country.

 But the law -- the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act, or
 NACARA -- expires on March 31. And Nicaraguan authorities fear that when the
 law disappears, deportations from the United States will increase.

 The number of eligible Nicaraguans in the United States is actually closer to
 85,000, according to a Miami attorney who works with Nicaraguan applicants.
 Mario Lovo said that of those, only 45,623 had applied as of early February.

 South Florida has the country's largest concentration of undocumented
 Nicaraguans, at least 65,000, he added.

 ``We're doing everything we can. I'm working pro bono, on Sundays; I'm out
 reaching people,'' said Lovo, who sees from 60 to 80 Nicaraguans each Sunday at
 Divine Providence Church in Sweetwater.

 Nicaragua's ambassador to the United States stressed the urgency of the
 situation.

 ``People need to understand that the train is at the station, and the steam
 engines are heating up,'' said Francisco Aguirre. ``If that train leaves March 31
 and they aren't on board, they may get a very different ticket, for a very different
 ride that they don't want to take.''

 Any substantial increase in deportations from the United States would be
 disastrous, authorities here say. Not only do unemployment and
 underemployment here total nearly 50 percent, but Nicaraguans working in the
 United States make a critical contribution to the economy by sending home about
 $300 million a year. In a country where cash reserves are only about $488 million,
 the loss of that foreign exchange would be a catastrophe, economists say.

 GENEROUS LAW

 It was precisely to avoid that kind of consequence that Congress passed
 NACARA in 1997. The law not only offered an amnesty to any illegal Nicaraguan
 immigrants who entered the United States before Dec. 1, 1995, it greatly eased
 their requirements for obtaining residencies and work permits.

 Instead of going through interviews at the Justice Department, like other
 immigrants, Nicaraguans simply send their applications to an Immigration and
 Naturalization Service office in Mesquite, Texas. As long as they have clean
 police records, approval is almost automatic. Of 43,000 Nicaragua applications for
 residency under the legislation, only 68 have been denied; of 24,000 applications
 for work permits, only 103 have been denied.

 ``The fact is, it's a very generous law,'' Aguirre said. ``Salvadorans, Dominicans,
 Haitians, they'd all love to have this law. It's just an extremely good deal for
 Nicaraguans.''

 FRUSTRATION

 That makes it all the more frustrating to officials here that more Nicaraguans
 haven't taken advantage of the law. Aguirre estimates that 100,000 Nicaraguan
 immigrants are eligible for the program; some Florida congressmen put the
 number even higher, around 150,000.

 ``It's impossible to tell with any certainty how many of these people there are,
 because they're underground,'' Aguirre said. ``By definition, they're scurrying
 around, staying out of sight of the authorities. But any way you look at it, there
 are a lot of people who are eligible who haven't applied.''

 Because the law also allows close family members in Nicaragua to apply for
 residency, the INS assigned 10 staffers to the U.S. Embassy in Managua to help
 screen applications. But the response was surprisingly low; only about 3,600
 applications have come in.

 LIGHT ENFORCEMENT

 Aguirre believes that, ironically, the failure of so many Nicaraguan immigrants to
 apply under NACARA may be due to relatively light enforcement by U.S.
 immigration authorities. Only 143 Nicaraguans were deported from the United
 States last year, the overwhelming majority after they were convicted of crimes.

 ``The Immigration and Naturalization Service is in a good mood right now,'' Aguirre
 said. ``We don't have any of these giant roundups going on. But history tells us
 that's not going to last.''

 INS spokesman Dan King denied that his agency plans to step up efforts to
 deport Nicaraguans when the law expires. ``INS does not and will not have any
 particular program against any particular ethnic group,'' he said. ``It never has.
 Next month it will just be business as usual.''

 Nonetheless, King agreed that eligible Nicaraguan immigrants should submit their
 applications quickly. ``They need to get moving fast, because the clock is
 ticking,'' he said.

 Herald staff writer Elaine de Valle contributed to this report.

                     Copyright 2000 Miami Herald