[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 549 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 549

    To designate Venezuela under section 244 of the Immigration and 
  Nationality Act to permit nationals of Venezuela to be eligible for 
 temporary protected status under such section, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 15, 2019

  Mr. Soto (for himself and Mr. Diaz-Balart) introduced the following 
       bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To designate Venezuela under section 244 of the Immigration and 
  Nationality Act to permit nationals of Venezuela 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 ``Venezuela TPS Act of 2019''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Venezuela is enduring an unprecedented economic, 
        humanitarian, security, and refugee crisis, consisting of 
        extreme food and medicine shortages, severe infant and child 
        malnutrition, rampant crime, and government-sponsored 
        repression.
            (2) Venezuela's economic crisis continues unabated and the 
        International Monetary Fund projects that inflation in 
        Venezuela could reach an annual rate of 10,000,000 percent in 
        2019.
            (3) In 2017, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human 
        Rights reported the deaths of 124 persons that could be 
        attributed to violations of the right to freedom of peaceful 
        assembly.
            (4) From September 2017 through April 2018, a review of 
        pharmacies in five major cities shows a shortage of nearly 85 
        percent of medicine essential to treat four of the most 
        recurrent causes of morbidity in the country, diarrhea, 
        respiratory tract infections, diabetes, and high blood 
        pressure.
            (5) As evidence of the significant effect that Venezuela's 
        economic crisis has on public health, Venezuela's Health 
        Ministry reported that in 2016--
                    (A) there was a 30-percent increase in the infant 
                mortality rate; and
                    (B) there was a 60-percent increase in the maternal 
                mortality rate.
            (6) According to the United Nations Human Rights Office of 
        the High Commissioner, Venezuelan intelligence and security 
        forces have increasingly used arbitrary arrests and detentions 
        to repress and intimidate civil society, political opponents, 
        and any voices of dissent.
            (7) Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, the United Nations High 
        Commissioner for Human Rights, stated, ``The failure to hold 
        security forces accountable for such serious human rights 
        violations suggests that the rule of law is virtually absent in 
        Venezuela.''.
            (8) According to the United Nations High Commissioner for 
        Human Rights, since 2014 more than 1,500,000 Venezuelans have 
        fled the country for reasons including violence, political 
        oppression, and the ongoing humanitarian crisis.

SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of the Congress that--
            (1) Venezuela's economic, humanitarian, security, and 
        refugee crisis has resulted in extraordinary and temporary 
        conditions that currently prevent Venezuelan nationals from 
        safely returning to Venezuela; and
            (2) Venezuela 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 Venezuela 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), Venezuela 
        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 Venezuela 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).
                                 <all>