[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 8]
[House]
[Page 11789]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          LIBERIAN REFUGEE IMMIGRATION PROTECTION ACT OF 2007

  (Mr. WALBERG asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, several years ago, my wife and I had the 
privilege of having a Liberian refugee stay in our home for almost a 
year.
  This gentleman came from dire circumstances in his homeland, as his 
wife was brutally assaulted, and he was beaten and forced to leave his 
country. He still has scars from being beaten with the blunt end of a 
rifle.
  Like thousands of other Liberians forced to leave their homeland, our 
friend came to the United States under temporary protective status. One 
of the unintended consequences of the temporary protective status is it 
didn't foresee that civil war would continue in Liberia for several 
years, leaving refugees in America stuck in a state of flux.
  Currently all Liberian refugees living in the United States under 
temporary protective status have until October of this year, and then 
they will be forced to return to Liberia.
  The Liberian Refugee Immigration Protection Act of 2007, a bipartisan 
bill introduced by Representatives Kennedy, Ellison and myself, would 
allow Liberians in the United States on temporary protected status the 
opportunity to apply for permanent residency status.
  This bill addresses an urgent situation faced by Liberian refugees 
who have legally come to America.
  I urge co-sponsorship and passage of H.R. 1941, the Liberian Refugee 
Immigration Protection Act of 2007.

                          ____________________