THE WHITE HOUSE

				

                     Office of the Press Secretary

________________________________________________________________________

For Immediate Release                                     August 6, 1999



TO THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES:





     I am pleased to transmit for your immediate consideration and

enactment the "Central American and Haitian Parity Act of 1999."  Also

transmitted is a section-by-section analysis.  This legislative 

proposal, which would amend the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central 

American Relief Act of 1997 (NACARA), is part of my Administration's 

comprehensive effort to support the process of democratization and 

stabilization now underway in Central America and Haiti and to ensure 

equitable treatment for migrants from these countries.  The proposed 

bill would allow qualified nationals of El Salvador, Guatemala, 

Honduras, and Haiti an opportunity to become lawful permanent residents 

of the United States.  Consequently, under this bill, eligible 

nationals of these countries would receive treatment equivalent to that 

granted to the Nicaraguans and Cubans under NACARA.



     Like Nicaraguans and Cubans, many Salvadorans, Guatemalans, 

Hondurans, and Haitians fled human rights abuses or unstable political 

and economic conditions in the 1980s and 1990s.  Yet these latter 

groups received lesser treatment than that granted to Nicaraguans and 

Cubans by NACARA.  The United States has a strong foreign policy 

interest in providing the same treatment to these similarly situated 

people.  Moreover, the countries from which these migrants have come 

are young and fragile democracies in which the United States has played 

and will continue to play a very important role.  The return of these 

migrants to these countries would place significant demands on their 

economic and political systems.  By offering legal status to a number 

of nationals of these countries with long-standing ties in the United 

States, we can advance our commitment to peace and stability in the 

region.



     Passage of the "Central American and Haitian Party Act of 1999" 

will evidence our commitment to fair and even-handed treatment of 

nationals from these countries and to the strengthening of democracy 

and economic stability among important neighbors.  I urge the prompt 

and favorable consideration of this legislative proposal by the 

Congress.





                              WILLIAM J. CLINTON





                              THE WHITE HOUSE,

                              August 5, 1999.