I 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5316

To designate Haiti, Grenada, and the Cayman Islands under section 244 

of the Immigration and Nationality Act in order to make nationals 

of those countries eligible for temporary protected status under such 

section. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 8, 2004

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida (for himself, Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida, 

Mr. RUSH, Mr. TOWNS, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, and Mr. DEUTSCH) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL

To designate Haiti, Grenada, and the Cayman Islands under 

section 244 of the Immigration and Nationality Act in 

order to make nationals of those countries eligible for 

temporary protected status under such section.

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 ‘‘Emergency Relief for 

5 Caribbean Nationals Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 
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1 (1) Haiti, Grenada, and the Cayman Islands 

2 have been severely devastated by Tropical Storm 

3 Jeanne and Hurricane Ivan. 

4 (2) On September 16, 2004, Tropical Storm 

5 Jeanne struck the Dominican Republic and Haiti. 

6 (3) In Haiti, more than 1,500 people are known 

7 dead while more than 1,000 people are missing as 

8 a result of Tropical Storm Jeanne. 

9 (4) After visiting the stricken northern city of 

10 Gonoies, Haiti, Prime Minister Gerard Latortue 

11 stated ‘‘We have a problem with bodies: there is a 

12 risk of epidemic. If you can picture this: there is no 

13 electricity, the morgues are not working, there is 

14 water everywhere.’’. 

15 (5) A United Nations spokesman stated that 

16 the corpses of victims of Tropical Storm Jeanne in 

17 Haiti had to be buried in mass graves as soon as 

18 possible to stop disease from spreading. 

19 (6) Dieufort Deslorges, spokesman for the civil 

20 protection agency of Haiti, stated that 250,000 peo21 ple were homeless across the country and at least 

22 4,000 homes were destroyed with thousands more 

23 damaged as a result of the storm. 

24 (7) When Tropical Storm Jeanne hit, Haiti was 

25 already struggling to deal with political instability 
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1 and the aftermath of serious floods that occurred in 

2 May 2004. 

3 (8) Hurricane Ivan killed 39 people in Grenada 

4 and left 40,000 of its 90,000 inhabitants living in a 

5 few hundred houses, schools, and churches that have 

6 been converted into shelters. 

7 (9) Prime Minister of Grenada Keith Mitchell, 

8 whose official residence was destroyed by Hurricane 

9 Ivan, declared a national disaster and stated that 

10 the island was ‘‘90 percent devastated’’. 

11 (10) Hurricane Ivan struck St. George, the cap12 ital of Grenada, with 125 mile per hour winds that 

13 flattened homes, disrupted power, damaged the main 

14 hospital, and destroyed the emergency operations 

15 center, the main prison, and many schools. 

16 (11) On September 15, 2004, electrical engi17 neers funded by the Office of United States Foreign 

18 Disaster Assistance of the United States Agency for 

19 International Development assessed damage across 

20 Grenada and estimated that 85 to 90 percent of the 

21 electricity systems on the west and north coasts of 

22 Grenada had been destroyed. 

23 (12) In Grenada, an environmental health haz24 ard has arisen as runoff, which contains pathogens 
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1 from several sources including human waste, is con2 taminating rivers where people wash and bathe. 

3 (13) As of September 10, 2004, there were 

4 widespread reports of looting in Grenada. American 

5 students at St. George’s University in Grenada told 

6 the Associated Press news agency that they felt un7 safe and had armed themselves against looters with 

8 knives, sticks, and pepper spray. 

9 (14) Grenada may need as much as 

10 $2,200,000,000, or four times its annual economic 

11 output, to rebuild after the devastation caused by 

12 Hurricane Ivan. 

13 (15) The assistance needed to rebuild Grenada 

14 must come from abroad as the main industries of 

15 Grenada, nutmeg exports and tourism, have been 

16 devastated by the storm. 

17 (16) Hurricane Ivan, the strongest storm to hit 

18 the Caribbean region in a decade, struck the Cay19 man Islands with 150 mile per hour winds that tore 

20 roofs off houses, uprooted trees, and caused flooding 

21 across the British territory. 

22 (17) International media sources reported that 

23 the Cayman Islands sustained extreme damage as a 

24 result of Hurricane Ivan. Local authorities report 

25 that 15 to 20 percent of homes on the eastern part 
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1 of the Cayman Islands were completely destroyed 

2 and another 50 percent suffered significant damage. 

3 (18) The unusual hurricane activity in the Car4 ibbean region during 2004 has created an extraor5 dinary and temporary condition in Haiti, Grenada, 

6 and the Cayman Islands that prevents nationals of 

7 those countries who are in the United States from 

8 returning to their homes. 

9 (19) Temporary protected status allows aliens 

10 who do not legally qualify as refugees but are none11 theless fleeing or reluctant to return to potentially 

12 dangerous situations to temporarily remain in the 

13 United States. 

14 (20) Granting temporary protected status to 

15 nationals of Haiti, Grenada, and the Cayman Is16 lands is consistent with the interest of the United 

17 States and promotes the values and morals that 

18 have made the United States strong. 

19 (21) The extraordinary and temporary condi20 tions caused by nature and resulting in floods, 

21 epidemics, and other environmental disasters in 

22 Haiti, Grenada, and the Cayman Islands should 

23 make the nationals of those countries eligible for 

24 temporary protected status. 
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1 SEC. 3. DESIGNATION FOR PURPOSES OF GRANTING TEM2 PORARY PROTECTED STATUS TO HAITIANS, 

3 GRENADIANS, AND CAYMANIANS. 

4 (a) DESIGNATION.—

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

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

7 1254a), Haiti, Grenada, and the Cayman Islands 

8 shall be treated as if such countries had been des9 ignated under subsection (b) of that section, subject 

10 to the provisions of this section. 

11 (2) PERIOD OF DESIGNATION.—The initial pe12 riod of such designation shall begin on the date of 

13 enactment of this Act and shall remain in effect for 

14 18 months. 

15 (b) ALIENS ELIGIBLE.—In applying section 244 of 

16 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1254a) 

17 pursuant to the designation made under this section, sub18 ject to section 244(c)(3) of the Immigration and Nation19 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1254a(c)(3)), an alien who is a na20 tional of Haiti, Grenada, or the Cayman Islands meets the 

21 requirements of section 244(c)(1) of that Act (8 U.S.C. 

22 1254a(c)(1)) only if—

23 (1) the alien has been continuously physically 

24 present in the United States since September 7, 

25 2004; 
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1 (2) the alien is admissible as an immigrant, ex2 cept as otherwise provided under section 

3 244(c)(2)(A) of the Immigration and Nationality 

4 Act (8 U.S.C. 1254a(c)(2)(A)), and is not ineligible 

5 for temporary protected status under section 

6 244(c)(2)(B) of that Act (8 U.S.C. 1254a(c)(2)(B)); 

7 and 

8 (3) the alien registers for temporary protected 

9 status in a manner that the Secretary of Homeland 

10 Security shall establish. 

11 (c) CONSENT TO TRAVEL ABROAD.—The Secretary 

12 of Homeland Security shall give the prior consent to travel 

13 abroad described in section 244(f)(3) of the Immigration 

14 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1254a(f)(3)) to an alien 

15 who is granted temporary protected status pursuant to the 

16 designation made under this section, if the alien estab17 lishes to the satisfaction of the Secretary of Homeland Se18 curity that emergency and extenuating circumstances be19 yond the control of the alien require the alien to depart 

20 for a brief, temporary trip abroad. An alien returning to 

21 the United States in accordance with such an authoriza22 tion shall be treated the same as any other returning alien 

23 provided temporary protected status under section 244 of 

24 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1254a).

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