[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 60 Introduced in House (IH)]






109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 H. R. 60

 To designate Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Somalia, Myanmar, 
 Malaysia, Maldives, Tanzania, Seychelles, Bangladesh, and Kenya under 
 section 244 of the Immigration and Nationality Act in order to render 
   nationals of such foreign states eligible for temporary protected 
                       status under such section.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 4, 2005

Ms. Jackson-Lee of Texas (for herself, Mr. Rohrabacher, Mr. Towns, Mr. 
   Pallone, Mr. McDermott, Mr. Payne, Mr. Wu, and Mr. Faleomavaega) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                             the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To designate Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Somalia, Myanmar, 
 Malaysia, Maldives, Tanzania, Seychelles, Bangladesh, and Kenya under 
 section 244 of the Immigration and Nationality Act in order to render 
   nationals of such foreign states eligible for temporary protected 
                       status under such section.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Tsunamis Temporary Protected Status 
Act of 2005''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds as follows:
            (1) On December 26, 2004, an undersea earthquake with a 
        magnitude of 9.0 on the Richter scale and a depth of 10 
        kilometers occurred off the west coast of Northern Sumatra, 
        triggering massive tsunamis that affected several countries 
        throughout South and Southeast Asia.
            (2) This is the fourth largest magnitude recorded since the 
        establishment of accurate global seismographic record-keeping 
        in 1900.
            (3) The earthquake, the strongest since 1964, was followed 
        by dozens of aftershocks, many with magnitudes of 5.0 or 
        greater.
            (4) The earthquake triggered tsunamis that produced 
        devastating destruction and environmental disaster in the Asian 
        regions of Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Somalia, 
        Myanmar, Malaysia, Maldives, Tanzania, Seychelles, Bangladesh, 
        and Kenya.
            (5) The tsunamis produced waves of up to 50 feet in height.
            (6) As a result of the earthquake, and the tsunamis it 
        triggered, more than 2.6 million people have been displaced and 
        tens of thousands of people are still missing.
            (7) As a result of the earthquake, and the tsunamis it 
        triggered, more than 94,000 deaths have been established in 
        Indonesia, and the Indonesian ambassador to Malaysia has said 
        that up to 400,000 may be dead in villages that show no signs 
        of life.
            (8) As a result of the earthquake, and the tsunamis it 
        triggered, more than 46,000 deaths have been established in Sri 
        Lanka, mostly children and the elderly, and more than 1.5 
        million people are displaced from their homes.
            (9) As a result of the earthquake, and the tsunamis it 
        triggered, more than 14,800 people are dead or feared dead in 
        India, with more than 7,000 missing.
            (10) As a result of the earthquake, and the tsunamis it 
        triggered, more than 4,900 deaths have been established in 
        Thailand, with more than 6,400 people missing.
            (11) As a result of the earthquake, and the tsunamis it 
        triggered, more than 80 deaths have been established in 
        Maldives, with more than 25 people missing.
            (12) The United Nations has declared that the current 
        relief operation will be the costliest one ever.
            (13) United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has 
        estimated that reconstruction probably will take between 5 and 
        10 years.
            (14) The total number of deaths exceeds 154,800 people.
            (15) The earthquake and subsequent aftershocks and flooding 
        have hampered, and in some cases prevented, delivery of food 
        and other supplies.

SEC. 3. DESIGNATION TO RENDER NATIONALS OF SRI LANKA, INDIA, INDONESIA, 
              THAILAND, SOMALIA, MYANMAR, MALAYSIA, MALDIVES, TANZANIA, 
              SEYCHELLES, BANGLADESH, AND KENYA ELIGIBLE FOR TEMPORARY 
              PROTECTED STATUS.

    (a) Designation.--
            (1) In general.--For purposes of section 244 of the 
        Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1254a), Sri Lanka, 
        India, Indonesia, Thailand, Somalia, Myanmar, Malaysia, 
        Maldives, Tanzania, Seychelles, Bangladesh, and Kenya shall be 
        treated as if such foreign states had been designated under 
        subsection (b) of that section, subject to the provisions of 
        this section.
            (2) Period of designation.--The initial period of such 
        designation shall begin on the date of enactment of this Act 
        and shall remain in effect for 1 year.
    (b) Aliens Eligible.--In applying section 244 of the Immigration 
and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1254a) pursuant to the designation made 
under this section, subject to subsection (c)(3) of such section, an 
alien who is a national of Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia, Thailand, 
Somalia, Myanmar, Malaysia, Maldives, Tanzania, Seychelles, Bangladesh, 
and Kenya is deemed to satisfy the requirements of subsection (c)(1) of 
such section only if--
            (1) the alien has been continuously physically present in 
        the United States since the date of the enactment of this Act;
            (2) the alien is admissible as an immigrant, except as 
        otherwise provided in subsection (c)(2)(A) of such section and 
        is not ineligible for temporary protected status under 
        subsection (c)(2)(B) of such section; and
            (3) the alien registers for temporary protected status in a 
        manner that the Secretary of Homeland Security shall establish.
    (c) Consent to Travel Abroad.--The Secretary of Homeland Security 
shall give the prior consent to travel abroad described in section 
244(f)(3) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1254a(f)(3)) 
to an alien who is granted temporary protected status pursuant to the 
designation made under this section, if the alien establishes to the 
satisfaction of the Secretary of Homeland Security that emergency and 
extenuating circumstances beyond the control of the alien require the 
alien to depart for a brief, temporary trip abroad. An alien returning 
to the United States in accordance with such an authorization shall be 
treated the same as any other returning alien provided temporary 
protected status under section 244 of the Immigration and Nationality 
Act (8 U.S.C. 1254a).
                                 <all>