I 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 60 
To designate Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Somalia, Myanmar, Ma-
laysia, Maldives, Tanzania, Seychelles, Bangladesh, and Kenya under 
section 244 of the Immigration and Nationality Act in order to render 
nationals of such foreign states eligible for temporary protected status 
under such section. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 4, 2005 
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas (for herself, Mr. ROHRABACHER, Mr. TOWNS, Mr. 
PALLONE, 
Mr. 
MCDERMOTT, 
Mr. 
PAYNE, 
Mr. 
WU, 
and 
Mr. 
FALEOMAVAEGA) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To designate Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Somalia, 
Myanmar, Malaysia, Maldives, Tanzania, Seychelles, 
Bangladesh, and Kenya under section 244 of the Immi-
gration and Nationality Act in order to render nationals 
of such foreign states eligible for temporary protected 
status under such section. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Tsunamis Temporary 
Protected Status Act of 2005’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds as follows: 
(1) On December 26, 2004, an undersea earth-
quake with a magnitude of 9.0 on the Richter scale 
and a depth of 10 kilometers occurred off the west 
coast of Northern Sumatra, triggering massive 
tsunamis that affected several countries throughout 
South and Southeast Asia. 
(2) This is the fourth largest magnitude re-
corded since the establishment of accurate global 
seismographic record-keeping in 1900. 
(3) The earthquake, the strongest since 1964, 
was followed by dozens of aftershocks, many with 
magnitudes of 5.0 or greater. 
(4) The earthquake triggered tsunamis that 
produced devastating destruction and environmental 
disaster in the Asian regions of Sri Lanka, India, 
Indonesia, Thailand, Somalia, Myanmar, Malaysia, 
Maldives, Tanzania, Seychelles, Bangladesh, and 
Kenya. 
(5) The tsunamis produced waves of up to 50 
feet in height. 
(6) As a result of the earthquake, and the 
tsunamis it triggered, more than 2.6 million people 
have been displaced and tens of thousands of people 
are still missing.
(7) As a result of the earthquake, and the 
tsunamis it triggered, more than 94,000 deaths have 
been established in Indonesia, and the Indonesian 
ambassador to Malaysia has said that up to 400,000 
may be dead in villages that show no signs of life. 
(8) As a result of the earthquake, and the 
tsunamis it triggered, more than 46,000 deaths have 
been established in Sri Lanka, mostly children and 
the elderly, and more than 1.5 million people are 
displaced from their homes. 
(9) As a result of the earthquake, and the 
tsunamis it triggered, more than 14,800 people are 
dead or feared dead in India, with more than 7,000 
missing. 
(10) As a result of the earthquake, and the 
tsunamis it triggered, more than 4,900 deaths have 
been established in Thailand, with more than 6,400 
people missing. 
(11) As a result of the earthquake, and the 
tsunamis it triggered, more than 80 deaths have 
been established in Maldives, with more than 25 
people missing. 
(12) The United Nations has declared that the 
current relief operation will be the costliest one ever.
(13) United Nations Secretary-General Kofi 
Annan has estimated that reconstruction probably 
will take between 5 and 10 years. 
(14) The total number of deaths exceeds 
154,800 people. 
(15) The earthquake and subsequent after-
shocks and flooding have hampered, and in some 
cases prevented, delivery of food and other supplies. 
SEC. 3. DESIGNATION TO RENDER NATIONALS OF SRI 
LANKA, INDIA, INDONESIA, THAILAND, SOMA-
LIA, MYANMAR, MALAYSIA, MALDIVES, TAN-
ZANIA, 
SEYCHELLES, 
BANGLADESH, 
AND 
KENYA 
ELIGIBLE 
FOR 
TEMPORARY 
PRO-
TECTED STATUS. 
(a) DESIGNATION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of section 244 
of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
1254a), Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia, Thailand, So-
malia, Myanmar, Malaysia, Maldives, Tanzania, 
Seychelles, Bangladesh, and Kenya shall be treated 
as if such foreign states had been designated under 
subsection (b) of that section, subject to the provi-
sions of this section. 
(2) PERIOD OF DESIGNATION.—The initial pe-
riod of such designation shall begin on the date of
enactment of this Act and shall remain in effect for 
1 year. 
(b) ALIENS ELIGIBLE.—In applying section 244 of 
the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1254a) 
pursuant to the designation made under this section, sub-
ject to subsection (c)(3) of such section, an alien who is 
a national of Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia, Thailand, So-
malia, 
Myanmar, 
Malaysia, 
Maldives, 
Tanzania, 
Seychelles, Bangladesh, and Kenya is deemed to satisfy 
the requirements of subsection (c)(1) of such section only 
if— 
(1) the alien has been continuously physically 
present in the United States since the date of the 
enactment of this Act; 
(2) the alien is admissible as an immigrant, ex-
cept as otherwise provided in subsection (c)(2)(A) of 
such section and is not ineligible for temporary pro-
tected status under subsection (c)(2)(B) of such sec-
tion; and 
(3) the alien 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 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 this section, if the alien estab-
lishes to the satisfaction of the Secretary of Homeland Se-
curity that emergency and extenuating circumstances be-
yond 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 authoriza-
tion shall be treated the same as any other returning alien 
provided temporary protected status under section 244 of 
the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1254a). 
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