I
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 531
To designate El Salvador under section 244 of the Immigration and Nation-
ality Act in order to render nationals of such foreign state eligible
for temporary protected status under such section.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 8, 2001
Mr. BERMAN (for himself, Mr. THOMAS M. DAVIS of Virginia, Ms. SOLIS, Mr.
DIAZ-BALART, Mr. FRANK, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of
Texas, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, and Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD) introduced
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
A BILL
To designate El Salvador under section 244 of the Immigra-
tion and Nationality Act in order to render nationals
of such foreign state 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. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) On January 13, 2001, an earthquake with
a magnitude of 7.6 on the Richter scale and a depth
of 60 kilometers occurred in El Salvador. The epi-
center was located 65 miles southwest of San
Miguel.–
(2) The earthquake affected more than 1.1 mil-
lion Salvadorans, causing more than 700 deaths and
4,500 injuries.
(3) As a result of the earthquake, more than
70,000 homes were destroyed and many thousands
of people are homeless and living in temporary shel-
ters.–
(4) The earthquake and subsequent aftershocks
and landslides have blocked many roads, destroyed
numerous hospitals, health clinics, and schools, and
caused more than $1,000,000,000 in damage.
(5) The earthquake occurred at a time when
the Salvadorans were still struggling to recover from
the devastating effects of Hurricane Mitch, which hit
in 1998.
(6) Salvadoran nationals living in the United
States send more than $1,700,000,000 annually in
remittances to the people of El Salvador, helping
them to recover from this and previous natural dis-
asters, civil unrest, and economic disruptions.
(7) These remittances have had a stabilizing ef-
fect on El Salvador’s economic and social well-being.
(8) These remittances have augmented the as-
sistance that the Government of the United States
sends to El Salvador, reducing the need to expend
taxpayers’ dollars to help stabilize an important
neighbor to the south.
SEC. 2. DESIGNATION FOR PURPOSES OF GRANTING TEM-
PORARY 
PROTECTED 
STATUS 
TO 
SALVA-
DORANS.
(a) DESIGNATION.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of section 244
of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.
1254a), El Salvador shall be treated as if it had
been designated under subsection (b) of such sec-
tion, subject to the provisions of this section.
(2) PERIOD OF DESIGNATION.—The initial pe-
riod of such designation shall begin on the date of
the enactment of this Act and shall remain in effect
for 1 year. During such initial period, subparagraph
(A) of section 244(b)(3) of the Immigration and Na-
tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1254a(b)(3)(A)) shall apply
to the Attorney General with respect to such des-
ignation, but subparagraph (B) of such section shall
not. After the termination of such initial period, sub-
paragraphs (A), (B), and (C) of such section shall
govern periodic review, termination, and extensions
of such designation.
(b) ALIENS ELIGIBLE.—In applying section 244 of
the Immigration and Nationality Act pursuant to the des-
ignation under this Act, subject to section 244(c)(3) of
such Act, an alien who is a national of El Salvador meets
the requirement of section 244(c)(1) of such Act only if—
(1) the alien has been continuously physically
present in the United States since January 13,
2001;
(2) the alien is admissible as an immigrant, ex-
cept 
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) the alien registers for temporary protected
status in a manner which the Attorney General shall
establish.
(c) CONSENT TO TRAVEL ABROAD.—The Attorney
General shall give the prior consent to travel abroad de-
scribed in section 244(f)(3) of the Immigration and Na-
tionality Act to an alien who is granted temporary pro-
tected status pursuant to the designation under this Act,
if the alien establishes to the satisfaction of the Attorney
General 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 authoriza-
tion shall be treated the same as any other returning alien
provided temporary protected status under section 244 of
such Act.
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