Expressing support for temporary protected status for Haitian nationals currently residing in the United States, and for other purposes.

IV 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. CON. RES. 5 Expressing support for temporary protected status for Haitian nationals currently residing in the United States, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 17, 2019 Mr. HASTINGS (for himself, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. MOORE, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, and Ms. SHALALA) submitted the following concurrent resolu- tion; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addi- tion to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provi- sions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned CONCURRENT RESOLUTION Expressing support for temporary protected status for Hai- tian nationals currently residing in the United States, and for other purposes. Whereas in October of 2016, Hurricane Matthew devastated Haiti killing over 1,000 people, directly affected 2.1 mil- lion people including the internal displacement of 175,000 and 1.4 million people in need of urgent human- itarian aid; Whereas the storm damage has been estimated to be $1,000,000,000, or about 11.4 percent of the gross do- mestic product of Haiti; VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:44 Jan 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HC5.IH HC5 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HCON 5 IH Whereas Hurricane Matthew was the worst hurricane to hit Haiti in over 50 years; Whereas the Department of State warns United States citi- zens that current conditions make it unsafe to travel to southern Haiti due to the devastation wrought by Hurri- cane Matthew including roads made impassable by land- slides, damaged roads, bridge failures and widespread damage to buildings and critical infrastructure; Whereas the total value of crop losses is estimated to be $360 million; Whereas approximately 45 percent of Haiti’s southwest piped water supply was damaged by Hurricane Matthew; Whereas Haiti continues to struggle to address the dev- astating 2010 Cholera outbreak that has killed over 9,000 Haitians and infected almost 800,000 Haitians; Whereas these conditions make it dangerous and inappro- priate to forcibly repatriate Haitians at this time; Whereas the Secretary of Homeland Security may grant tem- porary protective status (TPS) in accordance with section 244 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1254a) to nationals of a country in which environmental or political events have occurred that make it temporarily unsafe to deport them; Whereas the Secretary of Homeland Security has granted TPS to nationals of other countries under similar condi- tions, including Nicaragua and Honduras in 1999 fol- lowing Hurricane Mitch, and El Salvador in 2001 fol- lowing severe earthquakes; and Whereas granting Haitian nationals TPS would preserve the estimated $1,000,000,000 in remittances sent each year to Haiti from Haitians in the United States, which cur- VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:44 Jan 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HC5.IH HC5 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HCON 5 IH rently outweigh the amount of foreign assistance given by the United States to Haiti and are crucial to the recovery of Haiti: Now, therefore, be it Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 1 concurring), That the Congress— 2 (1) supports the granting of temporary pro- 3 tected status to Haitian nationals currently residing 4 in the United States; 5 (2) supports the Haitian people and the Gov- 6 ernment of Haiti as they work to rebuild from years 7 of natural disasters, economic hardship, and political 8 turmoil; and 9 (3) acknowledges that it is in the best economic 10 and security interests of the United States for Haiti 11 to be a safe, stable, and productive country. 12 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:44 Jan 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HC5.IH HC5 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS