[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 93 (Tuesday, July 14, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8137-S8138]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. DURBIN:
  S. 2305. A bill for the relief of Nizar Sweilem and Hassan Sweilem; 
to the Committee on the Judiciary.


                       private relief legislation

 Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, today I introduce a private relief 
bill, under the Immigration and Nationality Act, that would grant Nizar 
and Hassan Sweilem permanent residence in the United States. Nizar and 
Hassan Sweilem are natives and citizens of Lebanon. They are also 
brothers.
  The Sweilem brothers have lived in Des Plaines, Illinois for fourteen 
years and have made the most of this opportunity to obtain a first-
class education in this country. Nizar recently earned a Ph.D. in 
biochemistry from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Hassan earned 
a B.S. in Political Science and is completing a degree in Computer 
Science also at the University of Illinois.
  Both Nizar and Hassan were born in Beirut, Lebanon. They entered the 
United States as children in August of 1983 to visit relatives. When 
they entered the United States, they were accompanied by their mother, 
and their maternal uncle. Their uncle returned early to Lebanon and was 
killed two weeks later when a rocket destroyed the Sweilem family home.
  In April of 1984, because of her brother's murder and her own fear of 
persecution, Leila Sweilem applied to the INS for asylum in the United 
States without the assistance of counsel. Nizar and Hassan Sweilem were 
included in their mother's application since they were her minor 
children. Since 1984, the Sweilem brothers have been pursuing the right 
to live legally in the United States as permanent residents.
  In 1985, the INS denied the Sweilems' request for asylum and 
initiated deportation proceedings against the family. Leila, Nizar and 
Hassan renewed their application for asylum in their hearing before an 
Immigration Judge, but those requests were denied. The Sweilems 
appealed that decision, but before any decision was issued, the 
Attorney General designated nationals of Lebanon eligible for Temporary 
Protected Status on account of the extreme level of violence created by 
the Lebanese civil war. TPS for citizens of Lebanon continued until 
March of 1993.
  In August of 1993, Hassan and Nizar asked that their asylum appeal be 
reinstated and that their case be remanded to allow them to apply for 
suspension of deportation. In November of 1994, Hassan and Nizar 
applied for suspension of deportation. While their application was 
pending, Congress passed the Illegal Immigration Reform and 
Responsibility Act in September of 1996. This law retroactively made 
Nizar and Hassan ineligible for suspension of deportation and left them 
with no alternate remedy. The 1996 Act eliminated suspension of 
deportation and established a new form of relief entitled cancellation 
of removal that required an applicant to accrue ten years of continuous 
residence as of the date of the initial notice charging the applicant 
with being removable. Despite the fact that at that time the Sweilem 
brothers had twelve years of continuous residence in the U.S., the time 
accrued after the denial of their mother's initial asylum request does 
not count.
  Last year, this Congress recognized that these new provisions could 
result in grave injustices to certain groups of people, so in November 
of 1997, the Nicaraguan and Central American Relief Act granted relief 
to certain citizens of former Soviet block countries and several 
Central American countries.

  That law allowed several hundred thousand Central Americans and 
former Soviet Union or Warsaw Pact countries, who came to the U.S. 
during the civil strife of the 1980's to adjust to permanent resident 
status under more lenient hardship rules that existed prior to the 1996 
change. The U.S. had allowed Central Americans to reside and work here 
for over a decade, during which time many of them established families, 
careers and community ties. If Nizar and Hassan Sweilem were citizens 
of Nicaragua, El Salvador Guatemala or any of the former Communist 
countries of Eastern Europe, they could continue to pursue their 
applications for suspension of deportation. The fact that they are 
citizens of Lebanon makes them ineligible for relief.
  Nizar and Hassan Sweilem have lived in the United States for almost 
15 years, since they were 12 and 14, respectively. They have taken full 
advantage of their educational opportunities and are more than capable 
of caring for themselves. The brothers will face undue hardship by 
returning to Lebanon, as evidenced by their uncle's murder. The Sweilem 
brothers' extended family now resides in the United States, and the 
brothers have strong ties to the local community. My office has 
received numerous letters

[[Page S8138]]

from the community on their behalf, including a letter from the 
Director of Graduate Studies at the University of Illinois. They have 
no family left in Lebanon and have never visited it in the last 15 
years.
  The Sweilem brothers have spent more than half their lives in the 
United States. At every step, the Sweilems took American law at its 
word: they always attempted to follow the law only to have Congress 
suddenly pull the rug out from under them. I think this is an injustice 
and these two brothers from Lebanon deserve the same relief that we 
gave people from Nicaragua, El Salvador and Czechoslovakia. Mr. 
President, I ask you and my fellow colleagues to support these Lebanese 
brothers by giving them permanent residence status and not depriving 
them of the opportunity to become United States citizens.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that a copy of the legislation 
be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 2305

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. PERMANENT RESIDENCE.

       Notwithstanding any other provision of law, for purposes of 
     the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.), 
     Nizar Sweilem and Hassan Sweilem shall be held and considered 
     to have been lawfully admitted to the United States for 
     permanent residence as of the date of enactment of this Act 
     upon payment of the required visa fees.

     SEC. 2. REDUCTION OF NUMBER OF AVAILABLE VISAS.

       Upon the granting of permanent residence to Nizar Sweilem 
     and Hassan Sweilem, as provided in this Act, the Secretary of 
     State shall instruct the proper officer to reduce by the 
     appropriate number during the current fiscal year the total 
     number of immigrant visas available to natives of the country 
     of the aliens' birth under section 203(a) of the Immigration 
     and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(a)).
                                 ______