Cameroon TPS Act of 2021
Bill: H.R.5564 | Sponsor: Rep. Lofgren, Zoe (D-CA)
Policy area: Immigration

Summary:
Cameroon TPS Act of 2021
This bill permits nationals of Cameroon to qualify for temporary protected status, which prevents their removal from the United States and allows them to obtain employment and travel authorization. Such status shall be available to qualifying nationals of Cameroon for 18 months starting from this bill's enactment.

To designate Cameroon under section 244 of the Immigration and 
  Nationality Act to permit nationals of Cameroon 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 ``Cameroon TPS Act of 2021''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Cameroon is in the midst of four ongoing armed 
        conflicts generally characterized by state-sponsored violence, 
        nonstate transnational terrorism, and widespread human rights 
        violations, making safe return to Cameroon impossible.
            (2) Since late 2016, the conflict between the government 
        and armed separatists has displaced over 700,000 people in the 
        Anglophone regions of Cameroon and resulted in thousands of 
        civilian casualties.
            (3) This conflict has also exacerbated longstanding 
        tensions between farmers and nomadic herders over natural 
        resources, resulting in violence and increased civilian 
        casualties in the Northwest region of Cameroon.
            (4) Cameroon's presidential election in 2018 and local 
        elections in 2020 exacerbated long-simmering political and 
        ethnic tensions, and each resulted in uprisings and violence.
            (5) In the Far North region, Boko Haram and the Islamic 
        State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) continue to terrorize 
        communities, including by using kidnapping and child soldiers 
        in suicide bombings of schools, mosques, and refugee camps.
            (6) The civil war in the Central African Republic has also 
        spilled over to Cameroon, with cross-border militias initiating 
        conflicts in the East region.
            (7) These conflicts have led to critical shortages of 
        essentials such as water, food, housing, and health care, 
        leaving an estimated 4.4 million people in need of urgent 
        humanitarian assistance and roughly 1 million people displaced 
        internally.
            (8) In 2020, the Department of State reported that 
        Cameroonian authorities used these conflicts as a pretext to 
        engage in extrajudicial killings, arbitrary detentions, 
        torture, and targeted violence against marginalized 
        populations.
            (9) Cameroonian authorities have also targeted Cameroonians 
        who have fled to the United States. Prior to scheduled removal 
        flights leaving the United States, government-led protests in 
        front of the United States Embassy in Yaounde called on the 
        United States Government to either criminally charge or deport 
        asylum seekers who they alleged were backers of Anglophone 
        separatists.
            (10) The United States nevertheless deported a significant 
        number of Cameroonians, reportedly under duress, to face 
        politically motivated detention and torture at the hands of 
        their government.
            (11) Reports also indicate that upon arrival, Cameroonian 
        authorities confiscated identity documents and monitored 
        activities of all deported individuals. Family members of such 
        individuals report that their loved ones are unaccounted for 
        and fear that they may have been redetained by security forces.
            (12) Cameroonians in the United States cannot return safely 
        to Cameroon without risking detention, torture, or 
        displacement. 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), Cameroon 
        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 Cameroon 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.
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