[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 107 (Tuesday, July 20, 2010)]
[House]
[Pages H5785-H5787]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
HELP HAITIAN ADOPTEES IMMEDIATELY TO INTEGRATE ACT OF 2010
Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of California. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the
rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5283) to provide for adjustment of status
for certain Haitian orphans paroled into the United States after the
earthquake of January 12, 2010, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 5283
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--
(1) the ``Help Haitian Adoptees Immediately to Integrate
Act of 2010''; or
(2) the ``Help HAITI Act of 2010''.
SEC. 2. ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS FOR CERTAIN HAITIAN ORPHANS.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of Homeland Security may
adjust the status of an alien described in subsection (b) to
that of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence if
the alien--
(1) subject to subsection (c), applies for such adjustment;
(2) is physically present in the United States on the date
the application for such adjustment is filed; and
(3) is admissible to the United States as an immigrant,
except as provided in subsection (d).
(b) Aliens Eligible for Adjustment of Status.--An alien is
described in this subsection if the alien was inspected and
granted parole into the United States pursuant to the
humanitarian parole policy for certain Haitian orphans
announced on January 18, 2010, and suspended as to new
applications on April 15, 2010.
(c) Application.--In the case of a minor, an application
under this section may be submitted on behalf of the alien
by--
(1) an adoptive parent; or
(2) a legal guardian.
(d) Grounds of Inadmissibility.--Paragraphs (4) and (7)(A)
of section 212(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8
U.S.C. 1182(a)) shall not apply to adjustment of status under
this section.
(e) Visa Availability.--When an alien is granted the status
of having been lawfully admitted for permanent residence
under this section, the Secretary of State shall not be
required to reduce the number of immigrant visas authorized
to be issued under the Immigration and Nationality Act (8
U.S.C. 1101 et seq.).
(f) Aliens Deemed to Meet Definition of Child.--An
unmarried alien described in subsection (b) who is under the
age of 18 years shall be deemed to satisfy the requirements
applicable to adopted children under section 101(b)(1) of the
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(b)(1)) if--
(1) the alien obtained adjustment of status under this
section; and
(2) a United States citizen adopted the alien before, on,
or after the date of the decision granting adjustment of
status under this section.
(g) No Immigration Benefits for Birth Parents.--No birth
parent of an alien who obtains adjustment of status under
this section shall thereafter, by virtue of such parentage,
be accorded any right, privilege, or status under this
section or the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101
et seq.).
SEC. 3. COMPLIANCE WITH PAYGO.
The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of
complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go-Act of 2010, shall
be determined by reference to the latest statement titled
``Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation'' for this Act,
submitted for printing in the Congressional Record by the
Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the House of
Representatives, provided that such statement has been
submitted prior to the vote on passage.
[[Page H5786]]
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from
California (Ms. Zoe Lofgren) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Smith)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from California.
General Leave
Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of California. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent
that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their
remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under
consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from California?
There was no objection.
Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time
as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 5283, the Help HAITI Act of 2010, was introduced by
Representative Jeff Fortenberry and is an important bill to help us
finish the job we undertook when we rescued just over 1,200 Haitian
orphans immediately after the earthquake that devastated Haiti on
January 12 of this year.
Six months after the earthquake, it is easy to forget how terrible
this tragedy was. More than 220,000 people were killed and over 300,000
were injured. Over 300,000 homes were destroyed or severely damaged,
and more than 1,300 schools and 50 health centers were reduced to
rubble.
At least 1.5 million people were directly affected by the quake. In
terms of human and economic impact, it's the worst natural disaster
ever recorded in the Western Hemisphere.
In response to this disaster, I am proud that our country responded
quickly and in many different ways. Many know about the search and
recovery efforts, the dissemination of food and water, the private
donations totaling more than $1.3 billion, the thousands of military,
civilian, and medical personnel that went to Haiti to provide critical
care and save lives, but there are other ways that our country provided
humanitarian assistance.
Soon after the earthquake hit, the Department of Homeland Security's
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, otherwise known as USCIS,
took several steps to provide critical assistance to vulnerable
populations in Haiti. This included creating a humanitarian parole
policy for the immediate evacuation of Haitian orphans who had been
adopted or were in the process of being adopted by U.S. citizens.
These children had been previously identified as being available for
intercountry adoptions, so they were not at risk of being separated
from their families during the chaos that followed the earthquake. Now
in the United States with their adoptive or prospective adoptive
American parents, these children need one more bit of assistance from
us so they can live lives like Americans.
Had the earthquake not hit and disrupted the adoption processes in
Haiti, each of these children would have entered the country as U.S.
citizens under current immigration law. But because of the current
emergency procedures that were used to evacuate these children, they
must now wait years before they can get permanent residency and years
more before they can qualify for citizenship. Some are even in danger
of aging out before they can get their residency, which would make them
ineligible for legal status in this country.
H.R. 5283 would simply treat these children as if the earthquake had
not happened and they had come to the U.S. under normal procedures.
Specifically, the bill would allow an adoptive parent or legal
guardian in the United States to apply for permanent residency on
behalf of one of the 1,200 Haitian orphans brought to the U.S. under
the USCIS parole policy announced on January 18 and terminated on April
15 of this year. This is the least we can do to help the orphans we
rescued and the U.S. citizen parents who have adopted or are seeking to
adopt them.
I commend Representative Jeff Fortenberry for introducing this bill
and committee Ranking Member Lamar Smith for his support on this
measure.
I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, at the beginning of this year, a devastating earthquake
hit Haiti and claimed 200,000 lives. The Department of Homeland
Security quickly acted in the best American humanitarian tradition.
DHS announced a humanitarian parole policy to allow orphaned Haitian
children who were in the middle of adoption proceedings with American
parents to quickly enter the U.S. DHS paroled about 1,200 Haitian
orphans into the U.S. as a result of this policy.
Adoption proceedings had not yet been completed when these children
were airlifted to the U.S. Under the Immigration and Nationality Act,
the children will have to live with their U.S. adoptive parents for 2
years before their parents can apply for permanent resident status for
the children. During the interim period, the children must have their
temporary parole status renewed each year.
As a result, these children will wait an appreciable amount of time
in parole status.
{time} 1840
Representative Fortenberry was concerned about how this delay could
affect the new lives of these young children in the U.S.; for instance,
what happens if the adoptive parents die during their parole period? In
order to address these concerns and ensure the futures of these Haitian
orphans, Representative Fortenberry introduced the Help HAITI Act of
2010. The bill allows the Haitian orphans brought to the U.S. in the
aftermath of the earthquake to receive permanent residence immediately.
This legislation helps future American citizens who have already
suffered much but who will have bright futures in the United States.
Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman
from Nebraska (Mr. Fortenberry), who is the sponsor of this
legislation.
Mr. FORTENBERRY. I thank the gentleman from Texas for the time.
Mr. Speaker, I would also like to add that, as we heard, more than
1,000 Haitian orphans who were already in the process of being adopted
by American families prior to the earthquake that struck Haiti last
January stand today in legal limbo; and, as mentioned by Chairwoman
Lofgren, in the tragic aftermath, these orphans were evacuated by the
U.S. Department of Homeland Security for humanitarian reasons and with
the Haitian Government's permission to American soil. Catastrophic
circumstances prompted the evacuation of these children to the United
States before their adoptions could be finalized in Haitian courts.
Happily, in my home State of Nebraska and throughout the United
States, many of these Haitian orphans were able to unite with the very
American families who were seeking to adopt them and who are now
working to finalize their adoptions in the courts of the United States.
Due to a technicality in the law, however, these Haitian children, upon
establishing a legal relationship with their adoptive U.S. parents,
will have to wait 2 years before they become legal permanent residents.
As international adoption case workers can attest, much can happen to
these orphans and their families in 2 years. So long as their status in
the United States remains temporary, these vulnerable children will
have few legal protections. They may not be eligible for critical
resources, and they may face the risk of being forced to repatriate to
Haiti if something were to happen to their adoptive families.
To mitigate the risks that these orphaned children from Haiti face, I
introduced the Help Haitian Adoptees Immediately to Integrate Act of
2010, also known as the Help HAITI Act. This legislation is the product
of continual dialogue and outreach both to the United States Department
of Homeland Security's U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service and to
my Republican and Democratic colleagues in the House of Representatives
and the Senate. The Help HAITI Act would provide legal certainty and
protections to these evacuated Haitian orphans by enabling adoptive
American families to obtain permanent residency for these children more
quickly and more efficiently.
Had the earthquake not happened, these orphaned Haitian children
would have gone through the normal process
[[Page H5787]]
for international adoptions. American families would have finalized the
adoption of these orphans in Haitian courts. Then, upon entering the
United States to join their adoptive families, these children would
have automatically received U.S. citizenship. However, the catastrophe
disrupted the normal process for international adoption for these
children.
The Help HAITI Act would help to normalize the immigration procedures
that these adopted orphans now face. It would allow adoptive American
families to apply immediately to obtain legal, permanent residency for
these vulnerable children and enable them eventually to qualify for
U.S. citizenship. This legislation, I would like to point out, would
also help reduce the staff, monetary and other resource demands on the
Department of Homeland Security's U.S. Citizenship and Immigration
Service.
As we all know, Mr. Speaker, these orphaned Haitian children have
endured great hardships, and they have also endured heartbreaking
tragedy to come to this country and unite with their American adoptive
parents. Given the uncertainty and danger that these children have
faced, we now are in a position to provide them with a measure of
comfort and certainty as to their future with their adoptive families
here in America.
So, with that, I would like to thank Chairwoman Lofgren for her
leadership and work on this bill, along with Ranking Member Smith. I
appreciate your input and support.
Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my
support for H.R. 5283, the Help Haitian Adoptees Immediately to
Integrate Act, which provides for adjustment of status for certain
Haitian orphans paroled into the United States after the earthquake of
January 12, 2010. This legislation will give legal resident status to
over 1,000 Haitian orphans whose adoptions by U.S. citizens had already
been processed prior to the earthquake in Haiti on January 12, 2010.
When the earthquake crippled the Haitian governmental infrastructure,
Haiti was no longer able to provide the paperwork necessary to give
these children U.S. citizenship. As a result, their final approval of
citizenship has been held up since the earthquake in January, and could
continue to be delayed indefinitely. In the meantime, the U.S. has
provided them with humanitarian parole visas, but it could take years
for them to achieve legal resident status. The Help HAITI Act will
empower the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security to allow American
parents who adopted Haitian children before the earthquake to apply for
legal permanent-resident status on behalf of their children. This will
finally set these orphans on the path to citizenship.
The devastating earthquake created significant trauma for all
Haitians that will last for generations. While the United States
assists in the rebuilding efforts, with my support and the support of
this Congress, we should also act now to remove the unnecessary
complications the Haitian orphans are experiencing as they try to start
a new life with their American families. Under normal circumstances,
these would have been routine adoptions, and I urge Congress to pass
the Help HAITI Act, which will enable the Department of Homeland
Security to quickly relieve the hardships these orphans and their new
families have encountered since the earthquake.
I encourage my colleagues to support this important resolution.
Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of California. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to ask our
colleagues to support this resolution, and I yield back the balance of
my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Zoe Lofgren) that the House suspend
the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 5283, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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