Lebanon TPS Act of 2023

Subjects: Immigration


<html><body><pre>[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2913 Introduced in House (IH)]

&lt;DOC&gt;






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2913

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


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 26, 2023

Ms. Tlaib (for herself and Mrs. Dingell) introduced the following bill; 
 which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition 
    to the Committee on the Budget, for a period to be subsequently 
   determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
 provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


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

    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 ``Lebanon TPS Act of 2023''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) On August 4, 2020, one of the most powerful explosions 
        ever to impact an urban population ripped through the Lebanese 
        capital of Beirut. The blast--linked to 2,750 metric tons of 
        ammonium nitrate stored in a warehouse--killed at least 220 
        people, wounded approximately 7,000, left an estimated 300,000 
        people homeless, and caused approximately $15,000,000,000 in 
        property damage.
            (2) The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a heavy toll on 
        Lebanon, which has recorded over 1,235,000 cases and 10,800 
        deaths since the pandemic began. Lebanon's public health 
        system, already weakened by the Beirut disaster and political 
        upheaval, has struggled to cope in the face of the pandemic.
            (3) Lebanon lacked a fully formed government for much of 
        the COVID-19 pandemic and the political establishment remains 
        highly polarized and divided. The political crisis has become 
        so severe that on April 18, 2023 Lebanon's parliament voted to 
        extend the terms of municipal councils and other local 
        officials to avoid further paralysis. The current government is 
        acting in a caretaker capacity and the presidency has been 
        empty since President Aoun's term expired in October 2022.
            (4) Lebanon has been experiencing one of the worst economic 
        crises in its history at the same time as the COVID-19 
        pandemic, Beirut Port explosion, and political crisis.
            (5) According to the United Nations, over 3,500,000 
        Lebanese people are estimated to live in poverty and around 
        three-quarters are now income vulnerable. Before the value of 
        the Lebanese pound started spiraling in late 2019, the 
        country's monthly minimum wage was 675,000 pounds--about $450--
        but today it is worth less than $7.
            (6) Per the United Nations, 36 percent of the Lebanese 
        population (1,380,000 people) is experiencing extreme poverty.
            (7) Since October 2019, the Lebanese pound has lost more 
        than 95 percent of its value, placing Lebanon amongst the top 5 
        economic crises globally according to the World Bank.
            (8) Food prices have skyrocketed throughout the crisis, 
        increasing 400 percent in 2020 alone.
            (9) In July 2021, the United Nations Children's Fund 
        (UNICEF) warned that Lebanon's water system is on the verge of 
        collapse, with more than 70 percent of the country facing 
        critical water shortages. In January 2019, 1,000 Lebanese 
        pounds bought 4 liters of water. By August 2021, it only bought 
        half a liter.
            (10) In October 2022, Lebanon reported its first cholera 
        cases in 30 years, with 5,819 suspected and confirmed cases and 
        23 deaths reported by December 31, 2022.
            (11) Dire fuel shortages plague Lebanon, leading the 
        American University of Beirut Medical Center, Beirut's top 
        hospital and one of the leading medical centers in the region, 
        to issue a warning in August 2021 that hundreds of patients 
        would die if they failed to secure enough fuel to keep their 
        generators running.
            (12) The United Nations has reported that, as of December 
        2022, the mass exodus of public health workers from Lebanon has 
        continued with devastating effect, with approximately 40 
        percent of doctors, 15 percent of specialized neonatal 
        intensive care unit nurses, and 30 percent of midwives leaving 
        the country over the course of the crisis. This has resulted in 
        critical gaps in the quality, availability, and accessibility 
        of health care for the population.
            (13) The combined crises have strained many of Lebanon's 
        public institutions to the breaking point, including the 
        Lebanese Army, whose budget and soldiers' salaries have been 
        devastated by the devaluation of the Lebanese pound.
            (14) On October 14, 2021, gunmen fired on a crowd of 
        protestors gathered near the Beirut Justice Palace sparking 
        heavy armed clashes in nearby neighborhoods. The ensuing 
        fighting killed at least 7 individuals and wounded more than 30 
        others.
            (15) Numerous residents of Beirut living in the vicinity of 
        the clashes have been quoted by domestic and international 
        media comparing the October 14th clashes and ongoing tensions 
        to the devastating 1975-1990 Lebanese civil war, reflecting 
        well-founded fears of the potential for a return to significant 
        sectarian violence.
            (16) The United States has long stood with the Lebanese 
        people in times of need and standing with them now is both 
        morally right and in line with our national interests.
            (17) In the aftermath of the Beirut Port explosion, 
        President Biden's pledge of an additional $98,000,000 in aid to 
        Lebanon on the first anniversary of the disaster was a good 
        first step in supporting the Lebanese people. Designating 
        Lebanon for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is the logical 
        next step given the circumstances.
            (18) Lebanon needs significant continued international 
        support to prevent the worsening of its economic, social, 
        political, and public health crises and to rebuild from this 
        period of extraordinary difficulty for the Lebanese people.
            (19) A report from FWD.us published in February 2023 
        estimated that 12,000 individuals in the United States would be 
        eligible for TPS if Lebanon was designated, of which 64 percent 
        are members of the workforce with an annual economic 
        contribution of approximately $420,000,000.
            (20) A country is designated for TPS when it is determined 
        by the United States Government that it is unsafe for its 
        citizens to return to due to ``ongoing armed conflict'', 
        ``environmental disaster'', or ``extraordinary and temporary 
        conditions in the foreign state that prevent aliens who are 
        nationals of the state from returning to the state in safety''.
            (21) As of April 2023, the Department of State's Lebanon 
        Travel Advisory specifically directs individuals to 
        ``Reconsider travel to Lebanon due to crime, terrorism, armed 
        conflict, civil unrest, kidnapping'', and goes on to 
        specifically advise that individuals do not travel to ``the 
        border with Syria due to terrorism and armed conflict'', ``the 
        border with Israel due to the potential for armed conflict'', 
        and ``refugee settlements due to the potential for armed 
        clashes''.
            (22) The beginning of April 2023 witnessed the heaviest and 
        most significant cross border confrontation on the Israeli/
        Lebanese border since the 2006 war, raising fears of a broader 
        armed confrontation.
            (23) The combined crises facing Lebanon amount to 
        extraordinary and temporary conditions that prevent Lebanese 
        nationals from safely returning to Lebanon. Any returned 
        individual would have to contend without access to clean water, 
        adequate health care, and affordable basic necessities--all in 
        the face of the very real threat of significant political 
        violence and armed conflict. After years of uncertainty, these 
        individuals deserve stability and temporary relief in the 
        United States.

SEC. 3. 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), Lebanon shall 
        be treated as if it had been designated under subsection 
        (b)(1)(A) of that section, subject to the provisions of this 
        section.
            (2) Period of designation.--The initial period of the 
        designation referred to in paragraph (1) shall be for the 18-
        month period beginning on the date of the enactment of this 
        Act.
    (b) Aliens Eligible.--As a result of the designation made under 
subsection (a), an alien who is a national of Lebanon is deemed to 
satisfy the requirements under paragraph (1) of section 244(c) of the 
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1254a(c)), subject to 
paragraph (3) of such section, if the alien--
            (1) has been continuously physically present in the United 
        States since the date of the enactment of this Act;
            (2) is admissible as an immigrant, except as otherwise 
        provided in paragraph (2)(A) of such section, and is not 
        ineligible for temporary protected status under paragraph 
        (2)(B) of such section; and
            (3) registers for temporary protected status in a manner 
        established by the Secretary of Homeland Security.
    (c) Consent To Travel Abroad.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary of Homeland Security shall 
        give prior consent to travel abroad, in accordance with section 
        244(f)(3) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
        1254a(f)(3)), to an alien who is granted temporary protected 
        status pursuant to the designation made under subsection (a) 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.
            (2) Treatment upon return.--An alien returning to the 
        United States in accordance with an authorization described in 
        paragraph (1) shall be treated as any other returning alien 
        provided temporary protected status under section 244 of the 
        Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1254a).

SEC. 4. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS.

    The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of complying 
with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, shall be determined by 
reference to the latest statement titled ``Budgetary Effects of PAYGO 
Legislation'' for this Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional 
Record by the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, provided that 
such statement has been submitted prior to the vote on passage.
                                 &lt;all&gt;
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