I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 549 

To designate Venezuela under section 244 of the Immigration and Nationality 

Act to permit nationals of Venezuela to be eligible for temporary protected status under such section, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 15, 2019 

Mr. SOTO (for himself and Mr. DIAZ-BALART) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To designate Venezuela under section 244 of the Immigration and Nationality Act to permit nationals of Venezuela 

to be eligible for temporary protected status under such 

section, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Venezuela TPS Act 

5 of 2019’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 


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1 (1) Venezuela is enduring an unprecedented 

2 economic, humanitarian, security, and refugee crisis, 

3 consisting of extreme food and medicine shortages, 

4 severe infant and child malnutrition, rampant crime, 

5 and government-sponsored repression. 

6 (2) Venezuela’s economic crisis continues 

7 unabated and the International Monetary Fund 

8 projects that inflation in Venezuela could reach an 

9 annual rate of 10,000,000 percent in 2019. 

10 (3) In 2017, the Office of the High Commis11 sioner for Human Rights reported the deaths of 124 

12 persons that could be attributed to violations of the 

13 right to freedom of peaceful assembly. 

14 (4) From September 2017 through April 2018, 

15 a review of pharmacies in five major cities shows a 

16 shortage of nearly 85 percent of medicine essential 

17 to treat four of the most recurrent causes of mor18 bidity in the country, diarrhea, respiratory tract in19 fections, diabetes, and high blood pressure. 

20 (5) As evidence of the significant effect that 

21 Venezuela’s economic crisis has on public health, 

22 Venezuela’s Health Ministry reported that in 

23 2016— 

24 (A) there was a 30-percent increase in the 

25 infant mortality rate; and 


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1 (B) there was a 60-percent increase in the 

2 maternal mortality rate. 

3 (6) According to the United Nations Human 

4 Rights Office of the High Commissioner, Venezuelan 

5 intelligence and security forces have increasingly 

6 used arbitrary arrests and detentions to repress and 

7 intimidate civil society, political opponents, and any 

8 voices of dissent. 

9 (7) Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, the United Nations 

10 High Commissioner for Human Rights, stated, ‘‘The 

11 failure to hold security forces accountable for such 

12 serious human rights violations suggests that the 

13 rule of law is virtually absent in Venezuela.’’. 

14 (8) According to the United Nations High Com15 missioner for Human Rights, since 2014 more than 

16 1,500,000 Venezuelans have fled the country for 

17 reasons including violence, political oppression, and 

18 the ongoing humanitarian crisis. 

19 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

20 It is the sense of the Congress that— 

21 (1) Venezuela’s economic, humanitarian, secu22 rity, and refugee crisis has resulted in extraordinary 

23 and temporary conditions that currently prevent 

24 Venezuelan nationals from safely returning to Ven25 ezuela; and 


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1 (2) Venezuela should be designated under sub2 section (b)(1)(C) of section 244 of the Immigration 

3 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1254a) for a period 

4 of 18 months to permit nationals of Venezuela to be 

5 eligible for temporary protected status in accordance 

6 with such section. 

7 SEC. 4. DESIGNATION FOR PURPOSES OF GRANTING TEM8 PORARY PROTECTED STATUS. 

9 (a) DESIGNATION.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of section 244 

11 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

12 1254a), Venezuela shall be treated as if it had been 

13 designated under subsection (b)(1)(C) of that sec14 tion, subject to the provisions of this section. 

15 (2) PERIOD OF DESIGNATION.—The initial pe16 riod of the designation referred to in paragraph (1) 

17 shall be for the 18-month period beginning on the 

18 date of the enactment of this Act. 

19 (b) ALIENS ELIGIBLE.—As a result of the designa20 tion made under subsection (a), an alien who is a national 

21 of Venezuela is deemed to satisfy the requirements under 

22 paragraph (1) of section 244(c) of the Immigration and 

23 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1254a(c)), subject to paragraph 

24 (3) of such section, if the alien— 


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1 (1) has been continuously physically present in 

2 the United States since the date of the enactment of 

3 this Act; 

4 (2) is admissible as an immigrant, except as 

5 otherwise provided in paragraph (2)(A) of such sec6 tion, and is not ineligible for temporary protected 

7 status under paragraph (2)(B) of such section; and 

8 (3) registers for temporary protected status in 

9 a manner established by the Secretary of Homeland 

10 Security. 

11 (c) CONSENT TO TRAVEL ABROAD.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland 

13 Security shall give prior consent to travel abroad, in 

14 accordance with section 244(f)(3) of the Immigra15 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1254a(f)(3)), to 

16 an alien who is granted temporary protected status 

17 pursuant to the designation made under subsection 

18 (a) if the alien establishes to the satisfaction of the 

19 Secretary of Homeland Security that emergency and 

20 extenuating circumstances beyond the control of the 

21 alien require the alien to depart for a brief, tem22 porary trip abroad. 

23 (2) TREATMENT UPON RETURN.—An alien re24 turning to the United States in accordance with an 

25 authorization described in paragraph (1) shall be 


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1 treated as any other returning alien provided tem2 porary protected status under section 244 of the Im3 migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1254a). 

Æ 


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