Venezuela Tps Act of 2019

Floor Speech

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Mr. CLINE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, we stand in solidarity with the people of Venezuela, and I share many of the comments of the gentlewoman from Florida, but I must rise in opposition to H.R. 549.

H.R. 549 statutorily designates Venezuela for inclusion in the broken program known as Temporary Protective Status. Pursuant to the Immigration and Nationality Act, the Secretary of DHS can designate a country for TPS if there are circumstances that would prevent the safe return of aliens to that country or if a country is temporarily unable to adequately handle the return of its nationals.

When DHS does so, nationals of the designated country who are inside the United States on the date of the designation, whether legally or illegally, may apply to stay here and receive employment authorization. DHS has estimated there are 270,000 such Venezuelan nationals currently in the United States, over 100,000 of whom are here illegally.

TPS is usually initially designated for a period of 18 months and then redesignated in 18-month increments after the Secretary reviews the conditions in the country to determine whether the conditions for the initial TPS designation continue. If the Secretary determines the country no longer meets the conditions for the TPS designation, the Secretary is required by law to terminate the designation. There are currently over 415,000 TPS recipients from 10 different countries in the United States.

Despite the fact Congress intended TPS to be a temporary protection, over time it has become a permanent, automatically renewed status with some countries being designated for TPS for decades.

For instance, Honduras was initially designated for TPS back in 1999 due to Hurricane Mitch which struck the country in October of 1998. Somalia was initially designated in September of 1991 based on armed conflict.

The current administration applied the law under section 244 of the INA regarding mandatory termination of TPS designation if the conditions no longer exist, and terminated TPS for Sudan, Nicaragua, Haiti, and El Salvador. The DHS Secretary gave those populations at least 12 months to wind down and prepare for departure, but a lawsuit was filed, and activist Federal courts issued an injunction.

I oppose H.R. 549, but do not do so lightly. There is no doubt that the people of Venezuela are suffering. They are in a dire situation as a result of the socialist policies of long-time President Hugo Chavez and his successor Nicolas Maduro.

But I hold out hope for a regime change in Venezuela, and I know the administration is watching this situation closely.

If Congress is, nevertheless, inclined to statutorily designate Venezuela for TPS, we should not do so without reforming the process to ensure renewal is not a rubber stamp; otherwise, we risk being in the same position we are currently in regarding other TPS designations. No other administration will terminate it, and 25 years from now, Members of Congress will call for green cards for Venezuelans here on TPS.

Another concern is two Federal circuits, the sixth and the ninth, have held the mere grant of TPS is an admission for purposes of the Immigration and Nationality Act. The effect of those rulings is that TPS holders who were meant to be here temporarily can now get a green card pursuant to family or employment-based petition even if they entered the country illegally. Also problematic is the fact that the fee for a TPS application is statutorily capped at $50.

Last week, the Immigration and Citizenship Subcommittee held a hearing regarding the long wait times for processing immigration benefits applications. Large volume is the biggest driver of longer processing times, but there is also not enough money to hire additional staff. Since it is a fee-funded agency, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services should be allowed to set the fee commensurate with the cost of application adjudication, which is obviously more than the mere $50.

Lastly, I must point out the glaring hypocrisy of designating a country for temporary protective status after the majority recently passed H.R. 6, which created a green card path for 417,000 aliens in the country on temporary protected status. If the majority had its way, Congress would amend the INA to remove the word ``temporary'' from the TPS statute and just start handing over green cards immediately.

Madam Speaker, I oppose H.R. 549.

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Mr. CLINE. Madam Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Diaz-Balart).

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Mr. CLINE. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Florida for her remarks and for her sharing the concerns of the president for the socialist regime of Maduro.

I would note that there are very few detained noncriminal Venezuelans with removal orders, and there is no mechanism currently in place for directly removing aliens to Venezuela.

Madam Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentlewoman from Puerto Rico (Miss Gonzalez-Colon).

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Mr. CLINE. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for her remarks against the socialist regime of Maduro as well.

Madam Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Brooks).
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Mr. CLINE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

As was said earlier, there are very few detained noncriminal Venezuelans with removal orders, and there is no mechanism currently in place for directly removing aliens to Venezuela.

Madam Speaker, we stand with the people of Venezuela in their fight against the socialist regime of Nicolas Maduro.

We recognize that only through change in leadership and a change in direction will Venezuela change course and begin to rebound, in terms of adopting economic reforms and abandoning the socialist policies of the Maduro regime.

We stand with the people, and we stand ready to embrace the newly elected President, should he take control of the country.

But this bill, H.R. 549, is a bill that is simply not appropriate for the circumstances right now. This broken TPS system that we have would not be sufficient to accommodate the hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans who would seek to use it.

Suffice it to say, it is similar to helping people by throwing them a raft full of holes.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote against H.R. 549, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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