Bahamas TPS Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 4303 To designate the Commonwealth of The Bahamas under section 244 of the Immigration and Nationality Act to permit nationals of the Common- wealth of The Bahamas to be eligible for temporary protected status under such section, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES SEPTEMBER 12, 2019 Ms. WILSON of Florida (for herself, Ms. DELAURO, Ms. BONAMICI, Ms. JACK- SON LEE, Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER, Mrs. DAVIS of California, Mr. SABLAN, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. TONKO, Ms. DEGETTE, Mr. COX of Cali- fornia, Ms. SPEIER, Mr. LAWSON of Florida, Mr. THOMPSON of Cali- fornia, Ms. MATSUI, Mr. DESAULNIER, Mr. SARBANES, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Mr. PAYNE, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Mr. RUSH, Mr. RICHMOND, Mrs. DEMINGS, Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois, Mrs. HAYES, Mr. CLAY, Mr. LEVIN of Michigan, Mr. CICILLINE, Ms. MOORE, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. COURTNEY, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. DAVID SCOTT of Georgia, Mrs. DIN- GELL, Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. SOTO, Mr. CRIST, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, Ms. FRANKEL, Ms. FUDGE, Mrs. BEATTY, Mr. BROWN of Maryland, Ms. BASS, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. EVANS, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Ms. ADAMS, Mr. JEFFRIES, Mr. SCOTT of Vir- ginia, Mr. MORELLE, Mr. BUTTERFIELD, Mr. LEWIS, Mr. CUMMINGS, Ms. LOFGREN, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. GARAMENDI, and Mr. SUOZZI) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on the Budget, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To designate the Commonwealth of The Bahamas under section 244 of the Immigration and Nationality Act to VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:13 Sep 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H4303.IH H4303 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 4303 IH permit nationals of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas 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 ‘‘Bahamas TPS Act 4 of 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. DESIGNATION FOR PURPOSES OF GRANTING TEM- 6 PORARY PROTECTED STATUS. 7 (a) DESIGNATION.— 8 (1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of section 244 9 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 10 1254a), the Commonwealth of The Bahamas shall 11 be treated as if it had been designated under sub- 12 section (b) of that section, subject to the provisions 13 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 the Commonwealth of The Bahamas is deemed to sat- 21 isfy the requirements under paragraph (1) of section 22 244(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:13 Sep 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4303.IH H4303 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 4303 IH 1254a(c)), subject to paragraph (3) of such section, if the 1 alien— 2 (1) has been continuously physically present in 3 the United States since the date of the enactment of 4 this Act; 5 (2) is admissible as an immigrant, except as 6 otherwise provided in paragraph (2)(A) of such sec- 7 tion, and is not ineligible for temporary protected 8 status under paragraph (2)(B) of such section; and 9 (3) registers for temporary protected status in 10 a manner established by the Secretary of Homeland 11 Security. 12 (c) CONSENT TO TRAVEL ABROAD.— 13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland 14 Security shall give prior consent to travel abroad, in 15 accordance with section 244(f)(3) of the Immigra- 16 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1254a(f)(3)), to 17 an alien who is granted temporary protected status 18 pursuant to the designation made under subsection 19 (a) if the alien establishes to the satisfaction of the 20 Secretary of Homeland Security that emergency and 21 extenuating circumstances beyond the control of the 22 alien require the alien to depart for a brief, tem- 23 porary trip abroad. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:13 Sep 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4303.IH H4303 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 4303 IH (2) TREATMENT UPON RETURN.—An alien re- 1 turning to the United States in accordance with an 2 authorization described in paragraph (1) shall be 3 treated as any other returning alien provided tem- 4 porary protected status under section 244 of the Im- 5 migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1254a). 6 SEC. 3. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS. 7 The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of 8 complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, 9 shall be determined by reference to the latest statement 10 titled ‘‘Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation’’ for this 11 Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional Record 12 by the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, pro- 13 vided that such statement has been submitted prior to the 14 vote on passage. 15 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:13 Sep 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H4303.IH H4303 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS