[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 35, Number 32 (Monday, August 16, 1999)]
[Page 1577]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Message to the Congress Transmitting the Proposed ``Central American and 
Haitian Parity Act of 1999''

August 5, 1999

To the Congress of the United States:

    I am pleased to transmit for your immediate consideration and 
enactment the ``Central American and Haitian Parity Act of 1999.'' Also 
transmitted is a section-by-section analysis. This legislative proposal, 
which would amend the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief 
Act of 1997 (NACARA), is part of my Administration's comprehensive 
effort to support the process of democratization and stabilization now 
underway in Central America and Haiti and to ensure equitable treatment 
for migrants from these countries. The proposed bill would allow 
qualified nationals of El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Haiti an 
opportunity to become lawful permanent residents of the United States. 
Consequently, under this bill, eligible nationals of these countries 
would receive treatment equivalent to that granted to the Nicaraguans 
and Cubans under NACARA.
    Like Nicaraguans and Cubans, many Salvadorans, Guatemalans, 
Hondurans, and Haitians fled human rights abuses or unstable political 
and economic conditions in the 1980s and 1990s. Yet these latter groups 
received lesser treatment than that granted to Nicaraguans and Cubans by 
NACARA. The United States has a strong foreign policy interest in 
providing the same treatment to these similarly situated people. 
Moreover, the countries from which these migrants have come are young 
and fragile democracies in which the United States has played and will 
continue to play a very important role. The return of these migrants to 
these countries would place significant demands on their economic and 
political systems. By offering legal status to a number of nationals of 
these countries with long-standing ties in the United States, we can 
advance our commitment to peace and stability in the region.
    Passage of the ``Central American and Haitian Parity Act of 1999'' 
will evidence our commitment to fair and even-handed treatment of 
nationals from these countries and to the strengthening of democracy and 
economic stability among important neighbors. I urge the prompt and 
favorable consideration of this legislative proposal by the Congress.
                                            William J. Clinton
The White House,
August 5, 1999.

Note: This message was released by the Office of the Press Secretary on 
August 6. This item was not received in time for publication in the 
appropriate issue.