(1) Since April 18, 2018, protesters in Nica-
ragua have demanded transparent government with-
out 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 ex-
pects the economic downturn to continue to an esti-
mated 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 arbi-
trary killings committed by the government or its 
agents; forced disappearance by parapolice forces; 
torture; physical abuse, including rape, by govern-
ment officials; and arbitrary arrest and detention. 
There were harsh and life-threatening prison condi-
tions; political prisoners; arbitrary and unlawful in-
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terference with privacy; arrests of journalists, cen-
sorship, site blocking, and criminal libel; and sub-
stantial interference with the rights of peaceful as-
sembly 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 so-
ciety organizations, seizing their assets and pre-
venting them from operating. There was widespread 
corruption; trafficking in persons; attacks against 
lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex 
(LGBTI) persons; discrimination against ethnic mi-
norities 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 oppo-
sition leaders, possibly in some cases as a reprisal 
for cooperating with the UN, clearly hinders the cre-
ation of an environment conducive to holding a gen-
uine and inclusive dialogue—which the Government 
says it wants. . . . I also call on the authorities to 
release all those deprived of their liberty in connec-
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tion 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 democ-
racy 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 intimida-
tion.’’. 
(6) On April 4, 2019, the Inter-American Com-
mission 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 il-
legal arbitrary arrests, the prohibition of all forms of 
social demonstration of protest, the refusal to re-es-
tablish 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 
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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 ar-
rested 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 cor-
rupt President Daniel Ortega, as well as the former 
President of the Supreme Electoral Council, the Di-
rector of the Nicaraguan National Police, a National 
Security Advisor to the President, the Political Sec-
retary for the municipality of Managua, and the 
Treasurer of the Sandinista Party. 
SEC. 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 Nica-
ragua; and 
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(2) Nicaragua should be designated under sub-
section (b)(1)(C) of section 244 of the Immigration 
and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1254a) for a period 
of 18 months to permit nationals of Nicaragua to be 
eligible for temporary protected status in accordance 
with such section. 
SEC. 4. DESIGNATION FOR PURPOSES OF GRANTING TEM-
PORARY PROTECTED STATUS. 
(a) DESIGNATION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of section 244 
of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
1254a), Nicaragua shall be treated as if it had been 
designated under subsection (b)(1)(C) of that sec-
tion, subject to the provisions of this section. 
(2) PERIOD OF DESIGNATION.—The initial pe-
riod 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 designa-
tion 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)), subject to paragraph 
(3) of such section, if the alien— 
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(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 sec-
tion, 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 Immigra-
tion 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, tem-
porary trip abroad. 
(2) TREATMENT UPON RETURN.—An alien re-
turning to the United States in accordance with an 
authorization described in paragraph (1) shall be 
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treated as any other returning alien provided tem-
porary protected status under section 244 of the Im-
migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1254a). 
Æ 
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