[House Document 106-114]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



106th Congress, 1st Session - - - - - - - - - - House Document 106-114


 
            CENTRAL AMERICAN AND HAITIAN PARITY ACT OF 1999

                               __________

                                MESSAGE

                                  from

                   THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

                              transmitting

          THE CENTRAL AMERICAN AND HAITIAN PARITY ACT OF 1999




   August 6, 1999.--Message and accompanying papers referred to the 
          Committee on the Judiciary and ordered to be printed
To the Congress of the United States:
    I am pleased to transmit for your immediate consideration 
and enactment the ``Central American and Haitian Parity Act of 
1999.'' Also transmitted is a section-by-section analysis. This 
legislative proposal, which would amend the Nicaraguan 
Adjustment and Central American Relief Act of 1997 (NACARA), is 
part of my Administration's comprehensive effort to support the 
process of democratization and stabilization now underway in 
Central America and Haiti and to ensure equitable treatment for 
migrants from these countries. The proposed bill would allow 
qualified nationals of El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and 
Haiti an opportunity to become lawful permanent residents of 
the United States. Consequently, under this bill, eligible 
nationals of these countries would receive treatment equivalent 
to that granted to the Nicaraguans and Cubans under NACARA.
    Like Nicaraguans and Cubans, many Salvadorans, Guatemalans, 
Hondurans, and Haitians fled human rights abuses or unstable 
political and economic conditions in the 1980s and 1990s. Yet 
these latter groups received lesser treatment than that granted 
to Nicaraguans and Cubans by NACARA. The United States has a 
strong foreign policy interest in providing the same treatment 
to these similarly situated people. Moreover, the countries 
from which these migrants have come are young and fragile 
democracies in which the United States has played and will 
continue to play a very important role. The return of these 
migrants to these countries would place significant demands on 
their economic and political systems. By offering legal status 
to a number of nationals of these countries with long-standing 
ties in the United States, we can advance our commitment to 
peace and stability in the region.
    Passage of the ``Central American and Haitian Parity Act of 
1999'' will evidence our commitment to fair and even-handed 
treatment of nationals from these countries and to the 
strengthening of democracy and economic stability among 
important neighbors. I urge the prompt and favorable 
consideration of this legislative proposal by the Congress.

                                                William J. Clinton.
    The White House, August 5, 1999.
    
    
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