1.This Act may be cited as the
Pakistani Temporary Protected Status
Act of 2011
.
2.The Congress finds the following:
(1)The summer of 2010
produced Pakistan’s worst flooding in 80 years.
(2)The 2010 Pakistani
floods began in July 2010 following heavy monsoon rains in the Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, Punjab, and Balochistan regions of Pakistan and affected
the Indus River basin. Flooding began on July 22, 2010, in the province of
Baluchistan.
(3)According to the
United Nations, 20,000,000 people, one-eighth of the population, and nearly
62,000 square miles, one-fifth of the country, have been significantly affected
by destruction of property, livelihood, and infrastructure.
(4)The Pakistani
Government reports that the floods have affected 82 of Pakistan’s 122
districts. As a result, more than 12 million people require humanitarian
assistance, with nearly 6 million victims lacking access to food, shelter, and
water.
(5)The Pakistani
Government estimates that approximately 1.9 million houses were either damaged
or destroyed and nearly 2,000 people have lost their lives.
(6)Over 60,000 troops
are involved in Pakistan’s flood relief operations.
(7)The floods
severely devastated Pakistan’s infrastructure including roads, bridges,
schools, health clinics, electricity, and communications. More than 5,000 miles
of roads and railways were washed away, along with some 7,000 schools and more
than 400 health facilities.
(8)In addition, about
17 million acres of Pakistan’s most fertile croplands have been submerged by
the floods, in a nation where farming is an economic mainstay. The waters have
also killed more than 200,000 head of livestock, and washed away large
quantities of stored commodities that feed millions throughout the year.
(9)On August 14,
2010, the first documented case of cholera emerged in the town of
Mingora.
(10)On September 7,
2010, the International Labour Organization reported that more than 5.3 million
jobs have been lost due to the floods.
(11)Concerns are
growing about the enduring toll of the disaster on Pakistan’s overall economy,
food supply, and political stability.
(12)Temporary
protected status allows aliens who do not legally qualify as refugees but are
nonetheless fleeing or reluctant to return to potentially dangerous situations
to temporarily remain in the United States.
(13)Granting
temporary protected status to nationals of Pakistan is consistent with the
interests of the United States and promotes the values and morals that have
made the United States strong.
3.It is the sense of
the Congress that the extraordinary and temporary conditions caused by flooding
in Pakistan qualifies Pakistan for designation under subparagraph (B) or (C) of
section 244(b)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.
1254a(b)(1)), pursuant to which nationals of Pakistan would be eligible for
temporary protected status in the United States.
4.Designation for
purposes of granting temporary protected status
(a)
(1)For purposes of section 244 of the Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1254a), Pakistan shall be treated as if it had been
designated under subsection (b) of such section, subject to the provisions of
this section.
(2)The initial period of such designation shall begin on
the date of the enactment of this Act and shall remain in effect for 12
months.
(b)In applying section 244 of such Act pursuant to the
designation made under this section, subject to section 244(c)(3) of such Act,
an alien who is a national of Pakistan is deemed to satisfy the requirements of
section 244(c)(1) of such Act only if the alien—
(1)has been
continuously physically present in the United States since July 22,
2010;
(2)is admissible as
an immigrant, except as otherwise provided under section 244(c)(2)(A) of such
Act, and is not ineligible for temporary protected status under section
244(c)(2)(B) of such Act; and
(3)registers for
temporary protected status in a manner that the Secretary of Homeland Security
shall establish.
(c)The Secretary of Homeland Security shall give the
prior consent to travel abroad described in section 244(f)(3) of such Act 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 such Act.