[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.

                          ____________________