Nicaragua TPS Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2413 To designate Nicaragua under section 244 of the Immigration and Nationality Act to permit nationals of Nicaragua to be eligible for temporary pro- tected status under such section, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 30, 2019 Mr. DIAZ-BALART (for himself and Ms. SHALALA) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To designate Nicaragua under section 244 of the Immigra- tion and Nationality Act to permit nationals of Nica- ragua to be eligible for temporary protected status under such section, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Nicaragua TPS Act 4 of 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress makes the following findings: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:10 May 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2413.IH H2413 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2413 IH (1) Since April 18, 2018, protesters in Nica- 1 ragua have demanded transparent government with- 2 out corruption, access to necessities such as food 3 and medicines, and free, fair, multiparty elections. 4 (2) The World Bank reported that Nicaragua’s 5 economy contracted by 3.8 percent in 2018, and ex- 6 pects the economic downturn to continue to an esti- 7 mated decrease in growth of 5 percent in 2019. 8 (3) The United States Department of State’s 9 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 10 2018 stated that between the protests of April 18, 11 2018, and late November 2018, at least 325 persons 12 died, more than 2,000 were injured, and hundreds 13 more were illegally detained and tortured, while 14 more than 52,000 fled to neighboring countries. 15 (4) The United States Department of State’s 16 Country Reports on Human Rights for 2018 stated 17 that ‘‘[h]uman rights deteriorated markedly during 18 the year. Issues included reports of unlawful or arbi- 19 trary killings committed by the government or its 20 agents; forced disappearance by parapolice forces; 21 torture; physical abuse, including rape, by govern- 22 ment officials; and arbitrary arrest and detention. 23 There were harsh and life-threatening prison condi- 24 tions; political prisoners; arbitrary and unlawful in- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:10 May 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2413.IH H2413 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2413 IH terference with privacy; arrests of journalists, cen- 1 sorship, site blocking, and criminal libel; and sub- 2 stantial interference with the rights of peaceful as- 3 sembly and freedom of association, including attacks 4 on the Roman Catholic Church and Church officials. 5 The government stripped the legal status of several 6 nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and civil so- 7 ciety organizations, seizing their assets and pre- 8 venting them from operating. There was widespread 9 corruption; trafficking in persons; attacks against 10 lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex 11 (LGBTI) persons; discrimination against ethnic mi- 12 norities and indigenous communities; and child 13 labor.’’. 14 (5) On February 22, 2019, Michelle Bachelet, 15 the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, 16 said, ‘‘I am deeply concerned about the apparent 17 lack of due process and increasing criminalization of 18 dissent in Nicaragua. The arrest and jailing of oppo- 19 sition leaders, possibly in some cases as a reprisal 20 for cooperating with the UN, clearly hinders the cre- 21 ation of an environment conducive to holding a gen- 22 uine and inclusive dialogue—which the Government 23 says it wants. . . . I also call on the authorities to 24 release all those deprived of their liberty in connec- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:10 May 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2413.IH H2413 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2413 IH tion with their intrinsic right to peaceful protest and 1 dissent, and to ensure people who cooperate with the 2 UN and other human rights organizations do not 3 face reprisals. It is a fundamental tenet of democ- 4 racy that people from all parts of society should be 5 able to engage freely in debate about the future of 6 their country, without fear of arrest or intimida- 7 tion.’’. 8 (6) On April 4, 2019, the Inter-American Com- 9 mission on Human Rights of the Organization of 10 American States condemned the human rights 11 abuses perpetrated by the Ortega regime, stating 12 that, ‘‘[t]he acts of repression in question include il- 13 legal arbitrary arrests, the prohibition of all forms of 14 social demonstration of protest, the refusal to re-es- 15 tablish the legal status of civil society organizations, 16 and the increasing repression of people who are 17 being deprived of their liberty. The IACHR once 18 more calls for repression in the country to cease and 19 for public liberties to be restored.’’. 20 (7) International human rights groups such as 21 Human Rights Watch, the Committee to Protect 22 Journalists, and Reporters Without Borders have 23 highlighted the Ortega regime’s efforts to silence 24 independent media. For example, offices of Radio 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:10 May 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2413.IH H2413 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2413 IH Dario were burned down after the protests began in 1 April 2018, Nicaragua’s most widely read newspaper 2 La Prensa’s printing materials were confiscated in 3 January 2019, and numerous journalists were ar- 4 rested and imprisoned since the protests began, 5 while death threats and other intimidation tactics 6 have forced dozens of journalists to flee the country. 7 (8) In response to corruption and human rights 8 abuses, the United States Department of Treasury 9 has sanctioned six Nicaraguans for corruption and 10 gross violations of human rights. Those sanctioned 11 include the Vice President, who is the wife of cor- 12 rupt President Daniel Ortega, as well as the former 13 President of the Supreme Electoral Council, the Di- 14 rector of the Nicaraguan National Police, a National 15 Security Advisor to the President, the Political Sec- 16 retary for the municipality of Managua, and the 17 Treasurer of the Sandinista Party. 18 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 19 It is the sense of the Congress that— 20 (1) Nicaragua’s economic, humanitarian, and 21 human rights crisis has resulted in extraordinary 22 and temporary conditions that currently prevent 23 Nicaraguan nationals from safely returning to Nica- 24 ragua; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:10 May 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2413.IH H2413 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2413 IH (2) Nicaragua should be designated under sub- 1 section (b)(1)(C) of section 244 of the Immigration 2 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1254a) for a period 3 of 18 months to permit nationals of Nicaragua to be 4 eligible for temporary protected status in accordance 5 with such section. 6 SEC. 4. DESIGNATION FOR PURPOSES OF GRANTING TEM- 7 PORARY PROTECTED STATUS. 8 (a) DESIGNATION.— 9 (1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of section 244 10 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 11 1254a), Nicaragua shall be treated as if it had been 12 designated under subsection (b)(1)(C) of that sec- 13 tion, subject to the provisions of this section. 14 (2) PERIOD OF DESIGNATION.—The initial pe- 15 riod of the designation referred to in paragraph (1) 16 shall be for the 18-month period beginning on the 17 date of the enactment of this Act. 18 (b) ALIENS ELIGIBLE.—As a result of the designa- 19 tion made under subsection (a), an alien who is a national 20 of Nicaragua is deemed to satisfy the requirements under 21 paragraph (1) of section 244(c) of the Immigration and 22 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1254a(c)), subject to paragraph 23 (3) of such section, if the alien— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:10 May 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2413.IH H2413 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2413 IH (1) has been continuously physically present in 1 the United States since the date of the enactment of 2 this Act; 3 (2) is admissible as an immigrant, except as 4 otherwise provided in paragraph (2)(A) of such sec- 5 tion, and is not ineligible for temporary protected 6 status under paragraph (2)(B) of such section; and 7 (3) registers for temporary protected status in 8 a manner established by the Secretary of Homeland 9 Security. 10 (c) CONSENT TO TRAVEL ABROAD.— 11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland 12 Security shall give prior consent to travel abroad, in 13 accordance with section 244(f)(3) of the Immigra- 14 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1254a(f)(3)), to 15 an alien who is granted temporary protected status 16 pursuant to the designation made under subsection 17 (a) if the alien establishes to the satisfaction of the 18 Secretary of Homeland Security that emergency and 19 extenuating circumstances beyond the control of the 20 alien require the alien to depart for a brief, tem- 21 porary trip abroad. 22 (2) TREATMENT UPON RETURN.—An alien re- 23 turning to the United States in accordance with an 24 authorization described in paragraph (1) shall be 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:10 May 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2413.IH H2413 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 2413 IH treated as any other returning alien provided tem- 1 porary protected status under section 244 of the Im- 2 migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1254a). 3 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:10 May 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2413.IH H2413 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS