[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 12]
[Senate]
[Pages 16603-16605]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS

      By Mr. DURBIN (for himself, Mr. Sununu, Mr. Feingold, and Ms. 
        Stabenow):
  S. 3765. A bill to designate Lebanon under section 244(b) of the 
Immigration and Naturalization Act to permit nationals of Lebanon to be 
granted temporary protected status in the United States; to the 
Committee on the Judiciary.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Lebanese 
Temporary Protected Status Act of 2006.
  I thank Senator John Sununu, a Republican from New Hampshire, and 
Senator Russ Feingold, a Democrat from Wisconsin, for joining me as 
original cosponsors of this bipartisan legislation.
  I come to the floor today with a heavy heart. The attacks by the 
terrorist organization Hezbollah against the State of Israel have led 
to ongoing hostilities in the Middle East. The hostilities have already 
cost many innocent Israeli and Lebanese lives, but yesterday was a 
particularly tragic day. This morning, as I woke up in Springfield, IL, 
and pulled up the local newspapers. There on the front page of the 
Chicago Tribune was a heartbreaking photograph of a Lebanese aid worker 
carrying the lifeless body of a child out of the rubble from the events 
of yesterday. Over 50 innocent Lebanese civilians, including dozens of 
children, perished in the southern Lebanese town of Qana.
  I join my colleagues and all Americans in offering my heartfelt 
condolences to Prime Minister Siniora and to the people of Lebanon on 
the loss of these innocent lives. The victims and

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their families are in our thoughts and prayers.
  Lives have been lost on both sides of the border, but we know it is 
particularly dangerous at this moment in Lebanon.
  In reflecting on the deaths of hundreds of innocent civilians in 
recent weeks, Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora asked:

       Is the value of human life less in Lebanon than that of 
     citizens elsewhere? Are we children of a lesser God?

  The Lebanese people are not children of a lesser God. We are all 
children of the same God and we are all equal in God's eyes. 
Christians, Jews, and Muslims--we are all children of Abraham. We mourn 
the loss of every innocent life lost in the Israeli-Arab conflict, 
whether Israeli, Palestinian, or Lebanese.
  Enacting the Lebanese Temporary Protected Status Act of 2006 is a 
modest, but important, step that will help alleviate the suffering of 
innocent Lebanese people. This legislation would make Lebanese 
nationals who are currently residing in the United States eligible for 
temporary protected status for an initial 12-month period.
  Temporary protected status allows nationals of another country who 
are visiting the United States to remain here temporarily if returning 
to their country would pose a serious threat to their personal safety. 
Tragically, Lebanon faces just such a situation today.
  There is an ongoing urgent humanitarian crisis in Lebanon. The United 
Nations estimates that 700,000 people have been displaced from their 
homes, almost 20 percent of the population of that nation. According to 
Catholic Relief Services:

       Many of those who have been displaced have taken refuge in 
     mosques, churches and schools. The stocks of basic food and 
     relief items, including much needed medicines, are dwindling.

  The U.N. said:

       There has been widespread damage to infrastructure with 
     hospitals, schools, roads, bridges, fuel storage depots, 
     airports and seaports sustaining damage. This, of course, has 
     severe implications on the ability to deliver humanitarian 
     assistance to those most in need. In addition, prices of even 
     basic necessities have skyrocketed.

  U.N. emergency relief coordinator Jan Egeland has called the crisis, 
``The hour of greatest need for the Lebanese people.''
  Think of the images of thousands of frightened Americans trying 
desperately to escape the violence in Lebanon. Thankfully, many who 
have sought to escape have managed to do so. Unfortunately, unknown 
numbers of Americans still remain trapped.
  Many Americans traveled to Lebanon this summer to spend time with 
relatives. This bipartisan bill would assist Lebanese who have traveled 
to the United States for similar reasons. They might have come here to 
visit family, to study, or to work. Now they face the prospect of being 
told they must return to this war zone. If conditions in Lebanon are so 
unsafe that we were forced to evacuate American citizens, innocent 
Lebanese who are visiting in the United States should be permitted to 
remain here until conditions in Lebanon improve.
  Granting temporary protected status to Lebanese nationals who are 
currently in the United States is consistent with America's national 
interest.
  At this delicate moment in relations between the United States and 
the Middle East, giving temporary protected status to Lebanon will send 
a positive signal about United States concern for the suffering of 
innocent Lebanese civilians.
  Granting temporary protected status would also assist the fragile 
Lebanese Government by delaying the return of thousands of people who 
might be unable to return to their homes and would find themselves 
arriving back in their country only to become refugees.
  The efforts of Prime Minister Siniora and millions of other Lebanese 
to build a sovereign and democratic Lebanon deserve the respect and 
continued support of the United States. Granting temporary protected 
status to Lebanese citizens now in the United States would take the 
pressure off their Government as it struggles to meet its many new 
challenges.
  This would not be the first time we have done this. The United States 
extended temporary protected status to the people of Lebanon from March 
1991 to March 1993. Before Congress created temporary protected status 
in 1990, we granted something called extended voluntary departure to 
provide blanket relief from deportation to Lebanese nationals during 
the height of the Lebanese civil war.
  Granting this type of relief will not endanger our security. The 
Government can deny or withdraw temporary protected status from any 
individual who might do harm to our Nation. Individuals convicted of 
serious crimes who are a threat to national security, such as suspected 
members of Hezbollah, are automatically ineligible for this status. The 
Department of Homeland Security may withdraw temporary protected status 
any time it finds an individual poses any threat to our country. So it 
isn't a blank check.
  Nor is temporary protected status a backdoor to U.S. citizenship. 
Aliens who are granted this status are not eligible to become legal 
permanent residents in this country.
  Granting this temporary protected status to Lebanon is consistent 
with American values. The people of Lebanon face a grave humanitarian 
crisis and we have a tradition in this country of providing safe haven 
to people in such circumstances.
  We must all work to a resolution to the current hostilities that 
creates lasting peace and security for both Israel and for Lebanon. In 
the meantime, let us provide a safe haven to Lebanese who are already 
within the United States while we strive for these larger goals.
  I urge my colleagues to support the Lebanese Temporary Protected 
Status Act of 2006.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                S. 3765

       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 the ``Lebanese Temporary Protected 
     Status Act of 2006''.

     SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

       It is the sense of Congress that, due to the hostilities in 
     Lebanon, Lebanon qualifies for designation under 
     subparagraphs (A) and (C) of section 244(b)(1) of the 
     Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1254a(b)(1)), 
     pursuant to which Lebanese nationals would be eligible for 
     temporary protected status in the United States.

     SEC. 3. DESIGNATION FOR PURPOSES OF GRANTING TEMPORARY 
                   PROTECTED STATUS.

       (a) Designation.--
       (1) In general.--For purposes of section 244 of the 
     Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1254a), Lebanon 
     shall be treated as if it had been designated under 
     subsection (b) of that section, subject to the provisions of 
     this section.
       (2) Period of designation.--The initial period of the 
     designation under paragraph (1) shall begin on the date of 
     the enactment of this Act and shall remain in effect for 1 
     year.
       (b) Aliens Eligible.--An alien who is a national of Lebanon 
     shall be deemed to satisfy the requirements of section 
     244(c)(1) of such Act only if the alien--
       (1) has been continuously physically present in the United 
     States since the date of the enactment of this Act;
       (2) is admissible to the United States as an immigrant, 
     except as otherwise provided under section 244(c)(2)(A) of 
     such Act;
       (3) is not ineligible for temporary protected status under 
     section 244(c)(2)(B) of such Act; and
       (4) registers for temporary protected status in a manner 
     established by the Secretary of Homeland Security.
       (c) Consent to Travel Abroad.--The Secretary of Homeland 
     Security shall give an alien granted temporary protected 
     status pursuant to the designation made under subsection (a) 
     prior consent to travel abroad under section 244(f)(3) of 
     such Act if the alien establishes to the satisfaction of the 
     Secretary that emergency and extenuating circumstances beyond 
     the control of the alien require the alien to depart for a 
     brief, temporary trip abroad. An alien returning to the 
     United States in accordance with such an authorization shall 
     be given the same treatment as any other returning alien 
     provided temporary protected status under section 244 of such 
     Act.

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