Nicaragua TPS Act of 2019

To designate Nicaragua under section 244 of the Immigration and Nationality Act to permit nationals of Nicaragua to be eligible for temporary protected status under such section, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Nicaragua TPS Act of 2019 2. Findings Congress makes the following findings: (1) Since April 18, 2018, protesters in Nicaragua have demanded transparent government without corruption, access to necessities such as food and medicines, and free, fair, multiparty elections. (2) The World Bank reported that Nicaragua’s economy contracted by 3.8 percent in 2018, and expects the economic downturn to continue to an estimated decrease in growth of 5 percent in 2019. (3) The United States Department of State’s Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2018 stated that between the protests of April 18, 2018, and late November 2018, at least 325 persons died, more than 2,000 were injured, and hundreds more were illegally detained and tortured, while more than 52,000 fled to neighboring countries. (4) The United States Department of State’s Country Reports on Human Rights for 2018 stated that [h]uman rights deteriorated markedly during the year. Issues included reports of unlawful or arbitrary killings committed by the government or its agents; forced disappearance by parapolice forces; torture; physical abuse, including rape, by government officials; and arbitrary arrest and detention. There were harsh and life-threatening prison conditions; political prisoners; arbitrary and unlawful interference with privacy; arrests of journalists, censorship, site blocking, and criminal libel; and substantial interference with the rights of peaceful assembly and freedom of association, including attacks on the Roman Catholic Church and Church officials. The government stripped the legal status of several nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and civil society organizations, seizing their assets and preventing them from operating. There was widespread corruption; trafficking in persons; attacks against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) persons; discrimination against ethnic minorities and indigenous communities; and child labor. (5) On February 22, 2019, Michelle Bachelet, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, said, I am deeply concerned about the apparent lack of due process and increasing criminalization of dissent in Nicaragua. The arrest and jailing of opposition leaders, possibly in some cases as a reprisal for cooperating with the UN, clearly hinders the creation of an environment conducive to holding a genuine and inclusive dialogue—which the Government says it wants. … I also call on the authorities to release all those deprived of their liberty in connection with their intrinsic right to peaceful protest and dissent, and to ensure people who cooperate with the UN and other human rights organizations do not face reprisals. It is a fundamental tenet of democracy that people from all parts of society should be able to engage freely in debate about the future of their country, without fear of arrest or intimidation. (6) On April 4, 2019, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the Organization of American States condemned the human rights abuses perpetrated by the Ortega regime, stating that, [t]he acts of repression in question include illegal arbitrary arrests, the prohibition of all forms of social demonstration of protest, the refusal to re-establish the legal status of civil society organizations, and the increasing repression of people who are being deprived of their liberty. The IACHR once more calls for repression in the country to cease and for public liberties to be restored. (7) International human rights groups such as Human Rights Watch, the Committee to Protect Journalists, and Reporters Without Borders have highlighted the Ortega regime’s efforts to silence independent media. For example, offices of Radio Dario were burned down after the protests began in April 2018, Nicaragua’s most widely read newspaper La Prensa’s printing materials were confiscated in January 2019, and numerous journalists were arrested and imprisoned since the protests began, while death threats and other intimidation tactics have forced dozens of journalists to flee the country. (8) In response to corruption and human rights abuses, the United States Department of Treasury has sanctioned six Nicaraguans for corruption and gross violations of human rights. Those sanctioned include the Vice President, who is the wife of corrupt President Daniel Ortega, as well as the former President of the Supreme Electoral Council, the Director of the Nicaraguan National Police, a National Security Advisor to the President, the Political Secretary for the municipality of Managua, and the Treasurer of the Sandinista Party. 3. Sense of congress It is the sense of the Congress that— (1) Nicaragua’s economic, humanitarian, and human rights crisis has resulted in extraordinary and temporary conditions that currently prevent Nicaraguan nationals from safely returning to Nicaragua; and (2) Nicaragua should be designated under subsection (b)(1)(C) of section 244 of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1254a 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 (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 Nicaragua 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) (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) (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

Summary: Nicaragua TPS Act of 2019 This bill establishes that Nicaragua shall be treated as a designated temporary protected status (TPS) country for 18 months from the enactment of this bill. (TPS is available to nationals of certain designated countries, and such aliens shall have work authorization and not be removed from the United States while the status is in effect.) A Nicaraguan national shall be eligible for such status under this bill if the individual has been continuously physically present in the United States since the bill's enactment, meets the admissibility standards generally applicable to TPS aliens, and registers for such status with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). DHS shall grant a TPS alien prior consent to temporarily travel abroad for emergency and extenuating consequences beyond the alien's control, and the alien shall retain such status upon return.