[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 12 (Thursday, February 10, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S617-S619]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. GRAHAM (for himself, Mr. Mack, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Durbin, 
        and Mrs. Feinstein):
  S. 2058. A bill to extend filing deadlines for applications for 
adjustment of status of certain Cuban, Nicaraguan, and Haitian 
nationals; to the Committee on the Judiciary.


legislation to extend filing deadlines for applications for adjustment 
     of status of certain Cuban, Nicaraguan, and Haitian nationals

  Mr. GRAHAM. Mr. President, I come to the Senate floor this afternoon 
to introduce legislation which has as its objective to assure a greater 
measure of fairness to a particularly vulnerable group of Central 
American and Caribbean nationals who, in many cases, for many years 
have resided in the United States.
  I appreciate the support of my colleagues: Senators Mack, Kennedy, 
Durbin, and Feinstein, who join in this effort as cosponsors.
  For some background: In 1997, and again in 1998, Congress passed 
legislation to protect, first, a group of Central American and Cuban 
nationals and then a similar group of Haitian nationals who were 
refugees and were threatened with deportation.
  Action was needed in those 2 years because of passage of the 1996 
Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act, which 
changed immigration rules and did so, in many instances, retroactively. 
The history of this group of people started during the Presidency of 
Ronald Reagan. The United States offered protection and legal status to 
many Central American nationals who were fighting for democracy in 
their home country or fleeing the war that had ensued. Similarly, 
during the Presidency of George Bush, Haitian nationals were forced to 
flee after the overthrow of the elected President, Jean-Bertrand 
Aristide, in

[[Page S618]]

1994. They were offered protection and legal status in the United 
States.
  In 1996, these Central American and Haitian nationals had been living 
in our country for years; in the cases of the Central Americans, often 
longer than a decade. They established businesses. They formed and 
raised families. They bought homes. They strengthened the communities 
in which they lived. Then in 1996, with the passage of the Illegal 
Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act, these Central 
American and Haitian individuals and families were made retroactively 
deportable. These deportations would have occurred years and years 
after these nationals had established their lives in the United States.
  Congress moved quickly to protect their legal status here by passing 
the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act in November 
of 1997, and then the Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act in 
October of 1998. These two bills made certain sections of the 1996 
immigration law nonretroactive. We mandated in those two pieces of 
legislation that to apply for relief from deportation under this 
measure, applications had to be made by a date certain: March 31, 2000.

  The sad fact is, in 3 years after one of these pieces of legislation 
was passed and more than 2 years after another, we are still waiting 
for the final regulations to be issued for both of these pieces of 
legislation. The final rules that would help families apply for relief 
have not yet been issued. Interim regulations were issued for both 
bills in 1998 and 1999, but in neither case have the regulations become 
final. There is the very real possibility that the application 
deadline, March 31, 2000, could come and go before the final 
regulations, which establish the rules and procedures by which 
applications will be submitted and evaluated, have even been issued.
  Both for reasons of fairness and to promote good Government, we 
should extend the application deadline for relief. Under this 
legislation, the new deadline for relief will be 1 year after the date 
the regulations become final.
  I point out to my colleagues that this legislation will not cover any 
additional individuals who will have the right to apply for the right 
to live in the United States. No additional persons will be granted 
eligibility as a result of this legislation beyond those who were made 
eligible in 1997 and again in 1998. What this legislation does is 
create a more realistic and fair deadline for individuals Congress has 
already passed legislation to protect.
  This action should be taken because it is fair. First, it is fair to 
the immigrants. We shouldn't expect them to go through the arduous and 
very costly application process without the certainty that the 
regulations which will govern their applications are final.
  It is easy to put a human face on this issue. There are scores, 
hundreds, thousands of examples. Let me just cite one which was brought 
to my attention by a prominent immigration attorney in Florida. I will 
call this young woman, in order to protect her privacy, Frances. She is 
a real human being. Frances is 22 years old. Her parents fled Haiti in 
the 1980s, when she was a child. Her family settled in Florida. She now 
has three U.S. citizen brothers and sisters. Tragedy has struck her 
family on several occasions. Her father died when she was just 7 years 
old. Her mother died when she was still in her early teens. She 
finished high school and is now raising her younger brothers and 
sisters while working. She is an orphan. She would be in the class of 
persons protected by the 1998 legislation. She is trying now to put 
together the documents necessary to apply to stay in the United States 
and not be separated from her U.S. citizen brothers and sisters, the 
only family she has left.
  The 1-year extension and the ability to apply for relief once 
regulations are final will make a huge difference in the life of this 
woman, will make a huge difference in her ability to comply with 
procedures which are probably the most significant in her life.
  Today, I am introducing this in an effort to secure as rapid a 
resolution of these concerns as possible. I am not unmindful of the 
magnitude of the task Congress has asked the Immigration and 
Naturalization Service to perform. I don't want to imply that the INS 
and other Federal agencies should rush through these technical pieces 
of legislation. However, in situations such as this, where a longer 
time than expected was needed to develop the regulations, it is only 
fair to allow a longer time for those who are going to be affected by 
the law.

  I understand the INS has been very thorough and understanding. It has 
met with individual groups on all sides of this issue. Many of them 
have been my constituents in Florida. I commend the INS for its 
willingness to hear all points of view and be thorough in their review 
before issuing final regulations. However, having said that, I believe 
nearly 3 years is a reasonable amount of time to have finalized these 
regulations.
  The Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act took only 
nine pages of text in Public Law 105-100 when it was passed. Similarly, 
the Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act took less than two pages 
to print in the Congressional Record. These were concise, targeted 
pieces of legislation. They were not lengthy, complex overhauls of 
major components of the immigration law. It is plain unfair to give 
someone a deadline and charge them a substantial fee to file and then 
to be uncertain as to what the rules will be that will govern those 
applications. With this legislation, I seek the flexibility to allow 
more time to apply for relief in a situation where more time than 
expected was necessary by the agency, the INS, to issue the 
regulations.
  I send to the desk a few of the letters I have received from 
individuals and advocacy groups and religious leaders calling for this 
deadline extension, and I ask unanimous consent that these letters from 
the American Immigration Lawyers Association of South Florida, the 
Haitian American Foundation, the Haiti Advocacy Agency, all be printed 
in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  (See Exhibit 1.)
  Mr. GRAHAM. Mr. President, I send the legislation to the desk, which 
has been cosponsored by Senators Mack, Kennedy, Durbin, and Feinstein. 
I ask my colleagues for their understanding and their support for this 
legislation--legislation that will ensure the most basic elements of 
fairness in our democratic system, which will allow people who have 
fled war and persecution to come to the freedom of the United States 
and to be treated fairly by our laws.

                             Exhibit No. 1

                                              American Immigration


                                          Lawyers Association,

                                        South Florida Chapter,

                                                 January 24, 2000.
     Senator Bob Graham,
     U.S. Senate,
     Re: Letter of support for your effort to extend application 
         period for HRIFA & NACARA.
       Dear Senator Graham: On behalf of the South Florida Chapter 
     of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) I 
     write this letter of support to encourage you in your effort 
     to introduce legislation to extend the application period for 
     HRIFA & NACARA beneficiaries.
       My organization has long-supported both bills and is 
     appreciative of your great efforts in support of these 
     efforts. Please let us know if there is anything we can do to 
     help.
       Thank you, Senator Graham.
           Sincerely,
                                                   Michael D. Ray,
     President, AILA South Florida Chapter.
                                  ____



                            Haitian American Foundation, Inc.,

                                                 January 24, 2000.
     Hon. Bob Graham,
     U.S. Senate, Senate Office Bldg.
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Sir: Thank you for introducing legislation to extend 
     the filing period under which HRIFA and NACARA can be filed.
       Haitians have had an extraordinarily short period of time 
     to apply--a mere nine months. Due to this narrow time period, 
     many eligible poor people have not been able to apply because 
     of the uncapped INS fee structure and the reluctance of the 
     few pro bono attorneys serving them to submit fee waiver 
     requests for fear that INS might deem the application 
     untimely. As you know, as of December 31, 1999 only 18,000 
     individuals had applied (of 50,000 INS estimates are 
     eligible).
       This low number of applicants is due to the high costs 
     involved. Most families must pay between $1,000 to $2,000 in 
     INS fees alone. Supplement fees--such as the requisite 
     medical exams--are additional financial burdens for 
     applicants.
       Extension of the HRIFA and NACARA filing deadline is 
     essential if Congress hopes to help Haitian refugees. Some 
     30,000 Haitians in South Florida are expected to benefit from 
     such extension.

[[Page S619]]

       Your legislation is indispensable and crucial. I applaud 
     your leadership in introducing the legislation and thereby 
     serving as a champion to your constituents.
           Sincerely,
                                              Leonie M. Hermantin,
     Executive Director.
                                  ____

                                             Haiti Advocacy, Inc.,


                                   1309 Independence Avenue SE

                                 Washington, DC, January 31, 2000.
     Office of the Hon. Bob Graham,
     524 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, DC.
     Re: Extension of HRIFA/NACARA Filing Deadlines.
       Dear Senator Graham: We are greatly encouraged that you are 
     introducing legislation to extend the deadlines for 
     applications under the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central 
     American Relief Act (NACARA) and the Haitian Refugee 
     Immigration Fairness Act (HRIFA).
       As you know, more than 2 years has passed since the passage 
     of NACARA and more than one since the passage of HRIFA and 
     the INS has yet to issue final regulations implementing these 
     laws. The statutory deadline for applications under both 
     laws, April 1, 2000, is fast approaching.
       Interim regulations contained unreasonably burdensome 
     documentary requirements, excessive fees and lack of 
     appropriate consideration for special groups such as 
     abandoned children and refugees who were compelled to use 
     false documents in order to flee. These and other 
     deficiencies have, to date, prevented all but a minority of 
     those eligible from filing applications.
       Hundreds of comments were filed critiquing these and other 
     restrictions as inconsistent with the remedial intent of 
     Congress. We certainly hope that the INS will give full and 
     fair consideration to these comments and ameliorate the 
     shortcomings in the final version. Nevertheless, it is now 
     apparent that any such improvements will be largely, if not 
     completely, negated by the short time remaining before the 
     deadline.
       Accordingly, it is fitting and proper to extend the 
     deadlines to one year following the promulgation of such 
     final regulations so that the intended beneficiaries of this 
     important legislation receive the full measure of justice 
     provided under law.
       Thank you for your support and kind consideration of our 
     views.
           Respectfully,
         Merrill Smith, Director; And: Linda Wood Ballard; Maurice 
           Belanger, Senior Policy Associate; National Immigration 
           Forum; 220 I Street NE, Suite 220; Washington DC 20002; 
           Phillip J. Brutus, Esq.; 645 NE 127 Street; North Miami 
           FL 33161; Alison Laird Craig, Member Haitian Studies 
           Association; Ralston H. Deffenbaugh, Jr., President; 
           Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service; Geary 
           Farrell; 0-261 Luce SW; Grand Rapids, MI 49544; Michael 
           A. Foulkes, Attorney At-Law; 4770 Biscayne Boulevard, 
           Suite 570; Miami FL 33137; Muriel Heiberger, Executive 
           Director Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy; 
           Trevor Jackson, Senior Programmer Analyst; Connecticut 
           Community Colleges--Board of Trustees; Maureen T. 
           Kelleher, Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center; Guy H. 
           Larreur, President, Konbit, L.L.C.; Haitian Immigration 
           Support & Advocate Center; P.O. Box 6736; St. Thomas, 
           VI 00804; John B. Percy; 35 Parsons Road; Enfield CT 
           06082; Edwige Romulus, Chair; Haitian-American Support 
           Group of Central Florida; William Sage, Interim 
           Director; Church World Service Immigration and Refugee 
           Program; Daniel M. Schweissing; The Center for Haitian 
           Ministries; William Shagan, Supervising Attorney; 
           Lutheran Family and Community Services, Inc.; Althea 
           Stahl, Assistant Professor; Earlham College, Languages 
           and Literatures; Rick Swartz, President, Swartz & 
           Associates; Michele Wucker, Author. Why the Cocks 
           Fight: Dominicans, Haitians, and the Struggle for 
           Hispaniola; 245 West 107th Street, Apt. 9D; New York 
           NYC 10025

                                 ______