[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 101 (Tuesday, July 20, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1432]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page E1432]]
    THE INTRODUCTION OF A PRIVATE BILL FOR THE RELIEF OF MALIK JARNO

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 20, 2004

  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing a private bill to 
make Malik Jarno a permanent resident of the United States and to end 
the protracted ordeal of immigration removal proceedings that has 
spanned almost one-quarter of this young man's life.
  Malik is a mentally disabled teenage orphan from Guinea whose 
compelling plight has attracted the concern and involvement of more 
than 70 members of Congress, countless citizens, the international 
media and dozens of national, state and local organizations working 
with the mentally disabled, children and immigrants and refugees.
  Deporting Malik to Guinea to face life-threatening circumstances 
would run contrary to the standard of human rights and decency this 
country maintains. Members of Malik's family were killed and his home 
was destroyed in the midst of ethnically and politically motivated 
violence in Guinea. Immigration authorities have received overwhelming 
evidence of Malik's shattered life and the serious risk of harm he 
faces, given his father's status as a prominent political dissident, at 
the hands of Guinean authorities. The heightened threat associated with 
Malik's deportation places a special responsibility on this country to 
consider the well-being and livelihood of this young man.
  In addition, as a mentally disabled, homeless orphan, the potential 
risks of a life in Guinea are aggravated. With no known family or 
friends to care for Malik, he faces the reality of being relegated to 
the fringes of a society that has no infrastructure or services to 
support this young man's special needs. According to information from 
USAID, UNICEF, UNHCR, WHO and other agencies, there are no government 
or non-profit programs or legal protections for mentally disabled 
individuals in Guinea. Given his disability, he will face ostracism and 
severe discrimination and be extremely vulnerable to physical abuse, 
oppressive conditions and hostile treatment.
  In an act of desperation, family friends that were looking after 
Malik put him on a plane bound for the United States. Upon his arrival 
at Dulles International Airport in 2001, Malik was detained by 
immigration officials and held in adult jails, where his special needs 
as a mentally disabled child were neglected in the company of adult 
convicts, for eight months, before he was allowed to appear before a 
judge to apply for asylum. Only after another two years of detention 
was Malik transferred from a maximum security prison to a refugee 
shelter in York, Pennsylvania. His case is now pending before the Board 
of Immigration Appeals.
  This ordeal has dragged on for too many years and the perpetual 
uncertainty has left Malik anxious and unsettled. He continues to 
study, make friends, and go to school in York, Pennsylvania, but with 
the constant threat of being torn away from his life in the United 
States. Malik has a promising future in the United States and this bill 
will provide Malik with a permanent immigration status and the path to 
becoming a productive and contributing citizen.
  In these troubled times, where our reputation as a beacon for human 
rights has been challenged by the situation in Iraq, the United States 
has a heightened responsibility to guarantee justice and humane 
treatment to the most vulnerable in society instead of relegating a 
mentally disabled orphan to such a horrific fate.

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