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[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 285 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 285

    To designate Pakistan under section 244 of the Immigration and 
  Nationality Act to permit nationals of Pakistan to be eligible for 
             temporary protected status under such section.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 12, 2011

Mr. Al Green of Texas introduced the following bill; which was referred 
                   to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
    To designate Pakistan under section 244 of the Immigration and 
  Nationality Act to permit nationals of Pakistan to be eligible for 
             temporary protected status under such section.

    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 ``Pakistani Temporary Protected Status 
Act of 2011''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) The summer of 2010 produced Pakistan's worst flooding 
        in 80 years.
            (2) The 2010 Pakistani floods began in July 2010 following 
        heavy monsoon rains in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, Punjab, 
        and Balochistan regions of Pakistan and affected the Indus 
        River basin. Flooding began on July 22, 2010, in the province 
        of Baluchistan.
            (3) According to the United Nations, 20,000,000 people, 
        one-eighth of the population, and nearly 62,000 square miles, 
        one-fifth of the country, have been significantly affected by 
        destruction of property, livelihood, and infrastructure.
            (4) The Pakistani Government reports that the floods have 
        affected 82 of Pakistan's 122 districts. As a result, more than 
        12 million people require humanitarian assistance, with nearly 
        6 million victims lacking access to food, shelter, and water.
            (5) The Pakistani Government estimates that approximately 
        1.9 million houses were either damaged or destroyed and nearly 
        2,000 people have lost their lives.
            (6) Over 60,000 troops are involved in Pakistan's flood 
        relief operations.
            (7) The floods severely devastated Pakistan's 
        infrastructure including roads, bridges, schools, health 
        clinics, electricity, and communications. More than 5,000 miles 
        of roads and railways were washed away, along with some 7,000 
        schools and more than 400 health facilities.
            (8) In addition, about 17 million acres of Pakistan's most 
        fertile croplands have been submerged by the floods, in a 
        nation where farming is an economic mainstay. The waters have 
        also killed more than 200,000 head of livestock, and washed 
        away large quantities of stored commodities that feed millions 
        throughout the year.
            (9) On August 14, 2010, the first documented case of 
        cholera emerged in the town of Mingora.
            (10) On September 7, 2010, the International Labour 
        Organization reported that more than 5.3 million jobs have been 
        lost due to the floods.
            (11) Concerns are growing about the enduring toll of the 
        disaster on Pakistan's overall economy, food supply, and 
        political stability.
            (12) Temporary protected status allows aliens who do not 
        legally qualify as refugees but are nonetheless fleeing or 
        reluctant to return to potentially dangerous situations to 
        temporarily remain in the United States.
            (13) Granting temporary protected status to nationals of 
        Pakistan is consistent with the interests of the United States 
        and promotes the values and morals that have made the United 
        States strong.

SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of the Congress that the extraordinary and 
temporary conditions caused by flooding in Pakistan qualifies Pakistan 
for designation under subparagraph (B) or (C) of section 244(b)(1) of 
the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1254a(b)(1)), pursuant to 
which nationals of Pakistan would be eligible for temporary protected 
status in the United States.

SEC. 4. 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), Pakistan 
        shall be treated as if it had been designated under subsection 
        (b) of such section, subject to the provisions of this section.
            (2) Period of designation.--The initial period of such 
        designation shall begin on the date of the enactment of this 
        Act and shall remain in effect for 12 months.
    (b) Aliens Eligible.--In applying section 244 of such Act pursuant 
to the designation made under this section, subject to section 
244(c)(3) of such Act, an alien who is a national of Pakistan is 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 July 22, 2010;
            (2) is admissible as an immigrant, except as otherwise 
        provided under section 244(c)(2)(A) of such Act, and is not 
        ineligible for temporary protected status under section 
        244(c)(2)(B) of such Act; and
            (3) registers for temporary protected status in a manner 
        that the Secretary of Homeland Security shall establish.
    (c) Consent To Travel Abroad.--The Secretary of Homeland Security 
shall give the prior consent to travel abroad described in section 
244(f)(3) of such Act to an alien who is granted temporary protected 
status pursuant to the designation made under this section, if the 
alien establishes to the satisfaction of the Secretary of Homeland 
Security 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 treated the same as any other returning 
alien provided temporary protected status under section 244 of such 
Act.
                                 <all>
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