ISSUE PAPER

EQUITY OF RELIEF

THE ISSUE:  Recent amendments to U.S. immigration law provide substantial relief from deportation for nationals of certain countries, while leaving nationals of other countries, who have suffered under similar political and economic conditions, without the possibility for comparable relief. 

BACKGROUND:  In 1996, the Congress passed the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRAIRA).  Touted as legislation that would control illegal immigration, IIRAIRA actually includes many provisions that have a significant adverse and often unintended effect on many legal immigrants and others seeking to enter the United States legally. 

Congress recognized the need to revisit and change certain provisions of IIRAIRA and passed the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act of 1997 (NACARA).  NACARA provides various benefits and relief from deportation for certain Central Americans, Cubans and nationals from the former Soviet bloc countries.  NACARA provides Nicaraguans and Cubans with the opportunity to apply for adjustment of status to permanent residence (green-card relief).  Certain Guatemalans, Salvadorans and nationals of the former Soviet bloc countries are eligible to apply for suspension of deportation or cancellation of removal, two traditional forms of relief available to immigrants, under the standards that existed prior to the enactment of the draconian 1996 IIRAIRA law.  Nationals of other countries, including Haiti and Honduras, were left completely out of the ameliorative NACARA provisions.

Noting that NACARA failed to address the plight of Haitians, in 1998 Congress passed the Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act (HRIFA), providing green card relief for nearly 50,000 Haitians.  The substantial relief provided for Haitians in HRIFA is similar to the NACARA relief granted to Cubans and Nicaraguans.  The relief for Haitians, however, stands in stark contrast to the lesser relief granted to Guatemalans and El Salvadorans.  Hondurans and others continue to be left out. 

CURRENT STATUS:  The Haitian Relief Act was a first-step in providing equity of relief, but Guatemalans and El Salvadorans, as well as Honduran nationals, continue to be left out of recent ameliorative legislation.  In this Congress, several efforts have been made to provide equity of relief:

H.R. 2722 - NACARA Equity of Relief:  Introduced by Representative Chris Smith (R-NJ), this bill would amend NACARA to provide to certain nationals of El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Haiti an opportunity to apply for adjustment of status under that act.  Senators Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Edward Kennedy (D-MA) introduced S. 1592, the Senate companion to the Smith bill in the House. 

S. 2912 - Immigrant Fairness:  The Latino and Immigrant Fairness Act (S. 2912), introduced by Senators Edward Kennedy (D-MA), Harry Reid (D-NV), Richard Durbin (D-IL), and Robert Graham (D-FL) would restore Section 245(i), update the registry date to 1986, and create NACARA parity.   

New Proposed Regulations:  INS has published interim regulations that implement Section 203 of NACARA, relating to suspension of deportation and special rule cancellation of removal.  This interim regulation, affecting an estimated 300,000 nationals of El Salvador, Guatemala, and the former Soviet bloc, establishes procedures for the special rules to be applied in processing applications for relief from deportation.  If implemented properly, the regulations will be helpful because they include a presumption of extreme hardship for certain Salvadorans and Guatemalans.  Such a presumption will facilitate the processing of these applications for relief and is consistent with the legislative intent behind the NACARA legislation.  However, despite this regulatory benefit, legislation is still needed to grant the same relief to these individuals as was granted to others.