110 HR 5690 IH: To exempt the African National Congress from treatment as U.S. House of Representatives 2008-04-03 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

I 110th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 5690 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES April 3, 2008 Mr. Berman (for himself, Mr. Thompson of Mississippi, Mr. Payne, and Ms. Lee) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, 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 exempt the African National Congress from treatment as a terrorist organization for certain acts or events, provide relief for certain members of the African National Congress regarding admissibility, and for other purposes.

1.

Findings

Congress finds the following: (1)Present-day South Africa was colonized by English and Dutch settlers beginning in the 17th century. In 1909, the English and Dutch formed the Union of South Africa, a settler government that marginalized the African population and imposed harsh taxes on every nonwhite person, forcing nonwhites into a cruel wage-labor system that undermined the cohesion of their societies. (2)The African National Congress (ANC) was created in 1912 to advocate for the rights of black South Africans. (3)In 1948, the Afrikaner Nationalist Party took control of the government and imposed the apartheid system, a harsh system of racial segregation, white economic privilege, and total disenfranchisement of non-white African inhabitants. (4)The ANC joined with other groups and engaged in mass civil disobedience against apartheid in the 1940s and 1950s. (5)The ANC was banned in 1960 by the South African Government, and the ANC leadership was forced to go underground or into exile. (6)In 1964, Nelson Mandela, Ahmed Kathrada, Walter Sisulu, Govan Mbeki, Andrew Mlangeni, Raymond Mhlaba, Elias Motsoaledi, and Denis Goldberg were convicted and imprisoned for life for their leadership in opposing apartheid. (7)Although it was outlawed, the ANC led the resistance effort against apartheid in the late 1970s and 1980s. During this time, the ANC was classified as a terrorist organization by the apartheid South African Government and many western countries. (8)The South African ban on the ANC was lifted in 1990, and Nelson Mandela was released from prison on February 11, 1990. (9)Between 1990 and 1994, the ANC negotiated with the South African Government for black enfranchisement and an end to apartheid, the results of which were the birth of a multiracial, multiparty democracy in South Africa. (10)The ANC became a registered political party in 1994. Winning more than 60 percent of the presidential vote, Nelson Mandela was inaugurated as president on May 10, 1994. (11)In 2002, Tokyo Sexwale, former premier of Gauteng Province and chairman of the ANC, was refused a visa to enter the United States on the basis that he, along with other prominent South African anti-apartheid figures such as Nelson Mandela and Sidney Mufamadi, were still considered to be inadmissible to the United States based on section 212 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182). (12)In 2007, Barbara Masekela, former South African Ambassador to the United States from 2003 to 2006, was denied a visa to enter the United States to visit her ill cousin due to her membership in the African National Congress, and she was unable to obtain a waiver before her cousin’s death. (13)The ANC-led Government of South Africa is a strategic partner with the United States in the fight against terrorism and has adopted concrete counterterrorism policies and measures, including information exchange, law enforcement cooperation, and anti-money laundering to deny terrorists a haven in South Africa. (14)In the past, the Department of State provided waivers to ANC leaders to enter the United States, but this remedy is not appropriate for ANC leaders such as Mr. Mandela.

2.

Removal of certain affected individuals from certain United States Government databases

The Secretary of State, in coordination with the Attorney General, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Director of National Intelligence, shall take all necessary steps to ensure that databases used to determine admissibility to the United States are updated so that they are consistent with the exemptions required under section 4.

3.

Exemption of African National Congress from treatment as terrorist organization for certain acts or events

(a)

In general

For purposes of section 212(a)(3)(B)(vi) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(3)(B)(vi)), the African National Congress shall not be treated as a terrorist organization on the basis of any act or event occurring on or before the date of the enactment of this Act. (b)

Rule of construction

Nothing in this section may be construed to alter or limit the authority of the Secretary of State or Secretary of Homeland Security to exercise discretionary authority pursuant to section 212(d)(3)(B)(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(d)(3)(B)(i)).

4.

Relief for certain members of the African National Congress regarding admissibility

(a)

In general

For purposes of paragraphs (2)(A), (2)(B), and (3)(B) of section 212(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)), present and former members of the African National Congress shall not be determined to be inadmissible on the basis of— (1)their membership in or affiliation with such organization; or (2)anti-apartheid activities undertaken during the period of apartheid rule in South Africa during the period from 1948 to 1990. (b)

Rule of construction

Nothing in this subsection may be construed to alter or limit the authority of the Secretary of State or Secretary of Homeland Security to exercise discretionary authority pursuant to section 212(d)(3)(B)(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(d)(3)(B)(i)).