[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2413 Introduced in House (IH)]

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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 protected 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 Immigration and 
  Nationality Act to permit nationals of Nicaragua to be eligible for 
 temporary protected status under such section, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Nicaragua TPS Act of 2019''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Since April 18, 2018, protesters in Nicaragua have 
        demanded transparent government without corruption, access to 
        necessities such as food and medicines, and free, fair, 
        multiparty elections.
            (2) The World Bank reported that Nicaragua's economy 
        contracted by 3.8 percent in 2018, and expects the economic 
        downturn to continue to an estimated decrease in growth of 5 
        percent in 2019.
            (3) The United States Department of State's Country Reports 
        on Human Rights Practices for 2018 stated that between the 
        protests of April 18, 2018, and late November 2018, at least 
        325 persons died, more than 2,000 were injured, and hundreds 
        more were illegally detained and tortured, while more than 
        52,000 fled to neighboring countries.
            (4) The United States Department of State's Country Reports 
        on Human Rights for 2018 stated that ``[h]uman rights 
        deteriorated markedly during the year. Issues included reports 
        of unlawful or arbitrary killings committed by the government 
        or its agents; forced disappearance by parapolice forces; 
        torture; physical abuse, including rape, by government 
        officials; and arbitrary arrest and detention. There were harsh 
        and life-threatening prison conditions; political prisoners; 
        arbitrary and unlawful interference with privacy; arrests of 
        journalists, censorship, site blocking, and criminal libel; and 
        substantial interference with the rights of peaceful assembly 
        and freedom of association, including attacks on the Roman 
        Catholic Church and Church officials. The government stripped 
        the legal status of several nongovernmental organizations 
        (NGOs) and civil society organizations, seizing their assets 
        and preventing them from operating. There was widespread 
        corruption; trafficking in persons; attacks against lesbian, 
        gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) persons; 
        discrimination against ethnic minorities and indigenous 
        communities; and child labor.''.
            (5) On February 22, 2019, Michelle Bachelet, the U.N. High 
        Commissioner for Human Rights, said, ``I am deeply concerned 
        about the apparent lack of due process and increasing 
        criminalization of dissent in Nicaragua. The arrest and jailing 
        of opposition leaders, possibly in some cases as a reprisal for 
        cooperating with the UN, clearly hinders the creation of an 
        environment conducive to holding a genuine and inclusive 
        dialogue--which the Government says it wants. . . . I also call 
        on the authorities to release all those deprived of their 
        liberty in connection with their intrinsic right to peaceful 
        protest and dissent, and to ensure people who cooperate with 
        the UN and other human rights organizations do not face 
        reprisals. It is a fundamental tenet of democracy that people 
        from all parts of society should be able to engage freely in 
        debate about the future of their country, without fear of 
        arrest or intimidation.''.
            (6) On April 4, 2019, the Inter-American Commission on 
        Human Rights of the Organization of American States condemned 
        the human rights abuses perpetrated by the Ortega regime, 
        stating that, ``[t]he acts of repression in question include 
        illegal arbitrary arrests, the prohibition of all forms of 
        social demonstration of protest, the refusal to re-establish 
        the legal status of civil society organizations, and the 
        increasing repression of people who are being deprived of their 
        liberty. The IACHR once more calls for repression in the 
        country to cease and for public liberties to be restored.''.
            (7) International human rights groups such as Human Rights 
        Watch, the Committee to Protect Journalists, and Reporters 
        Without Borders have highlighted the Ortega regime's efforts to 
        silence independent media. For example, offices of Radio Dario 
        were burned down after the protests began in April 2018, 
        Nicaragua's most widely read newspaper La Prensa's printing 
        materials were confiscated in January 2019, and numerous 
        journalists were arrested and imprisoned since the protests 
        began, while death threats and other intimidation tactics have 
        forced dozens of journalists to flee the country.
            (8) In response to corruption and human rights abuses, the 
        United States Department of Treasury has sanctioned six 
        Nicaraguans for corruption and gross violations of human 
        rights. Those sanctioned include the Vice President, who is the 
        wife of corrupt President Daniel Ortega, as well as the former 
        President of the Supreme Electoral Council, the Director of the 
        Nicaraguan National Police, a National Security Advisor to the 
        President, the Political Secretary for the municipality of 
        Managua, and the Treasurer of the Sandinista Party.

SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of the Congress that--
            (1) Nicaragua's economic, humanitarian, and human rights 
        crisis has resulted in extraordinary and temporary conditions 
        that currently prevent Nicaraguan nationals from safely 
        returning to Nicaragua; and
            (2) Nicaragua should be designated under subsection 
        (b)(1)(C) of section 244 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 
        (8 U.S.C. 1254a) for a period of 18 months to permit nationals 
        of Nicaragua to be eligible for temporary protected status in 
        accordance with such section.

SEC. 4. DESIGNATION FOR PURPOSES OF GRANTING TEMPORARY PROTECTED 
              STATUS.

    (a) Designation.--
            (1) In general.--For purposes of section 244 of the 
        Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1254a), Nicaragua 
        shall be treated as if it had been designated under subsection 
        (b)(1)(C) of that section, subject to the provisions of this 
        section.
            (2) Period of designation.--The initial period of the 
        designation referred to in paragraph (1) shall be for the 18-
        month period beginning on the date of the enactment of this 
        Act.
    (b) Aliens Eligible.--As a result of the designation made under 
subsection (a), an alien who is a national of Nicaragua is deemed to 
satisfy the requirements under paragraph (1) of section 244(c) of the 
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1254a(c)), subject to 
paragraph (3) of such section, if the alien--
            (1) has been continuously physically present in the United 
        States since the date of the enactment of this Act;
            (2) is admissible as an immigrant, except as otherwise 
        provided in paragraph (2)(A) of such section, and is not 
        ineligible for temporary protected status under paragraph 
        (2)(B) of such section; and
            (3) registers for temporary protected status in a manner 
        established by the Secretary of Homeland Security.
    (c) Consent To Travel Abroad.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary of Homeland Security shall 
        give prior consent to travel abroad, in accordance with 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 subsection (a) 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.
            (2) Treatment upon return.--An alien returning to the 
        United States in accordance with an authorization described in 
        paragraph (1) shall be treated as any other returning alien 
        provided temporary protected status under section 244 of the 
        Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1254a).
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