I 

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. 

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 ‘‘Pakistani Temporary 

5 Protected Status Act of 2011’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) The summer of 2010 produced Pakistan’s 

2 worst flooding in 80 years. 

3 (2) The 2010 Pakistani floods began in July 

4 2010 following heavy monsoon rains in the Khyber 

5 Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, Punjab, and Balochistan re6 gions of Pakistan and affected the Indus River 

7 basin. Flooding began on July 22, 2010, in the prov8 ince of Baluchistan. 

9 (3) According to the United Nations, 

10 20,000,000 people, one-eighth of the population, and 

11 nearly 62,000 square miles, one-fifth of the country, 

12 have been significantly affected by destruction of 

13 property, livelihood, and infrastructure. 

14 (4) The Pakistani Government reports that the 

15 floods have affected 82 of Pakistan’s 122 districts. 

16 As a result, more than 12 million people require hu17 manitarian assistance, with nearly 6 million victims 

18 lacking access to food, shelter, and water. 

19 (5) The Pakistani Government estimates that 

20 approximately 1.9 million houses were either dam21 aged or destroyed and nearly 2,000 people have lost 

22 their lives. 

23 (6) Over 60,000 troops are involved in Paki24 stan’s flood relief operations. 


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1 (7) The floods severely devastated Pakistan’s 

2 infrastructure including roads, bridges, schools, 

3 health clinics, electricity, and communications. More 

4 than 5,000 miles of roads and railways were washed 

5 away, along with some 7,000 schools and more than 

6 400 health facilities. 

7 (8) In addition, about 17 million acres of Paki8 stan’s most fertile croplands have been submerged 

9 by the floods, in a nation where farming is an eco10 nomic mainstay. The waters have also killed more 

11 than 200,000 head of livestock, and washed away 

12 large quantities of stored commodities that feed mil13 lions throughout the year. 

14 (9) On August 14, 2010, the first documented 

15 case of cholera emerged in the town of Mingora. 

16 (10) On September 7, 2010, the International 

17 Labour Organization reported that more than 5.3 

18 million jobs have been lost due to the floods. 

19 (11) Concerns are growing about the enduring 

20 toll of the disaster on Pakistan’s overall economy, 

21 food supply, and political stability. 

22 (12) Temporary protected status allows aliens 

23 who do not legally qualify as refugees but are none24 theless fleeing or reluctant to return to potentially 


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1 dangerous situations to temporarily remain in the 

2 United States. 

3 (13) Granting temporary protected status to 

4 nationals of Pakistan is consistent with the interests 

5 of the United States and promotes the values and 

6 morals that have made the United States strong. 

7 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

8 It is the sense of the Congress that the extraordinary 

9 and temporary conditions caused by flooding in Pakistan 

10 qualifies Pakistan for designation under subparagraph (B) 

11 or (C) of section 244(b)(1) of the Immigration and Na12 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1254a(b)(1)), pursuant to which 

13 nationals of Pakistan would be eligible for temporary pro14 tected status in the United States. 

15 SEC. 4. DESIGNATION FOR PURPOSES OF GRANTING TEM16 PORARY PROTECTED STATUS. 

17 (a) DESIGNATION.— 

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

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

20 1254a), Pakistan shall be treated as if it had been 

21 designated under subsection (b) of such section, sub22 ject to the provisions of this section. 

23 (2) PERIOD OF DESIGNATION.—The initial pe24 riod of such designation shall begin on the date of 


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1 the enactment of this Act and shall remain in effect 

2 for 12 months. 

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

4 such Act pursuant to the designation made under this sec5 tion, subject to section 244(c)(3) of such Act, an alien who 

6 is a national of Pakistan is deemed to satisfy the require7 ments of section 244(c)(1) of such Act only if the alien— 

8 (1) has been continuously physically present in 

9 the United States since July 22, 2010; 

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

11 otherwise provided under section 244(c)(2)(A) of 

12 such Act, and is not ineligible for temporary pro13 tected status under section 244(c)(2)(B) of such 

14 Act; and 

15 (3) registers for temporary protected status in 

16 a manner that the Secretary of Homeland Security 

17 shall establish. 

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

19 of Homeland Security shall give the prior consent to travel 

20 abroad described in section 244(f)(3) of such Act to an 

21 alien who is granted temporary protected status pursuant 

22 to the designation made under this section, if the alien 

23 establishes to the satisfaction of the Secretary of Home24 land Security that emergency and extenuating cir25 cumstances beyond the control of the alien require the 


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1 alien to depart for a brief, temporary trip abroad. An alien 

2 returning to the United States in accordance with such 

3 an authorization shall be treated the same as any other 

4 returning alien provided temporary protected status under 

5 section 244 of such Act. 

Æ 


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