[House Report 106-580]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
106th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session 106-580
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FOR THE RELIEF OF CERTAIN PERSIAN GULF EVACUEES
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April 13, 2000.--Referred to the Private Calendar and ordered to be
printed
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Mr. Hyde, from the Committee on the Judiciary, submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 3646]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on the Judiciary, to whom was referred the
bill (H.R. 3646) for the relief of certain Persian Gulf
evacuees, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon
without amendment and recommends that the bill do pass.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Purpose and Summary........................................ 1
Background and Need for the Legislation.................... 2
Committee Consideration.................................... 3
Committee Oversight Findings............................... 3
Committee on Government Reform Findings.................... 3
New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures.................. 3
Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate.................. 3
Constitutional Authority Statement......................... 4
Agency Views............................................... 4
Purpose and Summary
H.R. 3646, for the relief of certain Persian Gulf evacuees
would allow certain individuals who were evacuated from Kuwait
during the Persian Gulf War to file for permanent resident
status.
Background and Need for the Legislation
As Interpreter Releases reports:\1\
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\1\ November 18, 1991.
[F]rom September 2, 1990, to December 14, 1990, the
U.S. airlifted from Kuwait thousands of persons who
either had U.S. citizen children or who secretly
protected U.S. citizens during the Iraqi invasion and
occupation of Kuwait. A total of 2,227 persons were
evacuated . . . the majority were Palestinian. . . .
The evacuees were initially paroled into the U.S. and
given temporary work authorization. Parole was
eventually extended until December 31, 1991. . . . [A]n
INS official informed the evacuees that the INS would
not renew their parole beyond December 31. Their
situation was worsened by the Kuwaiti government's
refusal to allow many of the evacuees, especially
Palestinians, to return to Kuwait, arguing that they
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had been disloyal during the Iraqi occupation.
On November 1, 1991, several members, including the
Subcommittee on International Law, Immigration and Refugees
chairman and ranking member, sent a letter to Attorney General
Barr urging him to:
grant [temporary protected status] to the approximately
1,500 persons of Palestinian background airlifted into
the United States from Kuwait during the fall of 1990.
We strongly believe that extraordinary conditions exist
for these 1,500 persons. . . . Our government evacuated
these families because of their close ties to the
United States and because of the fear that they would
be endangered by the Iraqi Army. Many of the children
are American citizens. The Government of Kuwait refuses
to let these families return and their permission to
stay and work in the United States expires on December
31, 1991. Based on the foregoing, we urge you to grant
TPS to these Palestinian families for an initial period
of one year while we await developments in Kuwait.
On November 14, 1991, President Bush directed the Attorney
General to grant the Persian Gulf Evacuees (``PGEs'') a
deferral of enforced departure until January 1, 1996, and
employment authorization for that period. President Clinton
later extended the deadline until January 1 of 1997. The INS
decided that no further extensions would be granted.\2\
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\2\ Senators Kennedy and Abraham wrote Janet Reno on April 3, 1997,
urging that the deferred enforced departure be further extended.
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The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (``AAADC'')
informed the subcommittee that the majority of the 2,000+
original PGEs have already been able to become permanent
residents through employer-sponsored visas and other means.
Remaining are 54 families containing a few hundred individuals
who probably do not have any means to adjust their status.
Representative Rahall's bill would grant the PGEs permanent
resident status. It was originally written as a public bill,
not a private bill. Pursuant to an agreement between the
Judiciary Commit-
tee and the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), upon
a
vote of the subcommittee to request a report from I.N.S. any
depor-
tation of the individual or individuals named in the bill will
be stayed until the Congress has made a decision on action. The
chairman of the subcommittee requested that the bill be
introduced as a private bill so that the subcommittee could
vote to request INS comment and stay the deportation of these
individuals while proceeding with caution and investigating the
merits of each PGE's case. Also, because of the documentary
requirements of a private bill, the subcommittee was provided
with detailed information on each of the beneficiaries, and
confirmed that all administrative and judicial remedies had
been pursued.
The remaining PGEs are primarily Palestinian. They have
Jordanian passports and can be deported to Jordan. However,
this does not necessarily mean they have ever resided in Jordan
(which gives passports to all Palestinians). Based on
information given to the committee by the AAADC, most were
either born in Kuwait or have spent the last few decades of
their lives there. The few non-Palestinians are Indian,
Filipino, Pakistani and Egyptian. They also are reported to
have been born in Kuwait or have been there for at least a
decade. Many of the PGEs have American-born children.
Committee Consideration
On March 1, 2000, the Subcommittee on Immigration and
Claims met in open session and ordered favorably reported the
bill H.R. 3646, without amendment by voice vote, a quorum being
present.
On March 30, 2000, the Committee on the Judiciary met in
open session and ordered reported favorably the bill H.R. 3646
without amendment by voice vote, a quorum being present.
Committee Oversight Findings
In compliance with clause 2(l)(3)(A) of rule XI of the
Rules of the House of Representatives, the committee reports
that the findings and recommendations of the committee, based
on oversight activities under clause 2(b)(1) of rule X of the
Rules of the House of Representatives, are incorporated in the
descriptive portions of this report.
Committee on Government Reform Findings
No findings or recommendations of the Committee on
Government Reform and Oversight were received as referred to in
clause 2(l)(3)(D) of rule XI of the Rules of the House of
Representatives.
New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures
Clause 2(l)(3)(B) of House Rule XI is inapplicable because
this legislation does not provide new budgetary authority or
increased tax expenditures.
Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate
In compliance with clause 3(d)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules
of the House of Representatives, the committee believes that
the bill would have no significant impact on the Federal
budget. This is based on the Congressional Budget Office cost
estimate on H.R. 3646. That Congressional Budget Office cost
estimate follows:
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, April 12, 2000.
Hon. Henry J. Hyde, Chairman,
Committee on the Judiciary,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 3646, a bill for
the relief of certain Persian Gulf evacuees.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Mark
Grabowicz, who can be reached at 226-2860.
Sincerely,
Dan L. Crippen, Director.
Enclosure
cc:
Honorable John Conyers Jr.
Ranking Democratic Member
H.R. 3646--A bill for the relief of certain Persian Gulf evacuees.
H.R. 3646 would grant permanent United States residence to
150 individuals who were evacuated from Kuwait during the
Persian Gulf war; these people have resided in the United
States since 1990. CBO estimates that enacting this legislation
would have no significant impact on the federal budget. H.R.
3646 could have a small effect on fees collected by the
Immigration and Naturalization Service, which are classified as
direct spending, so pay-as-you-go procedures would apply.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Mark Grabowicz,
who can be reached at 226-2860. This estimate was approved by
Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget
Analysis.
Constitutional Authority Statement
Pursuant to rule XI, clause 2(1)(4) of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, the committee finds the authority for
this legislation in Article 1, Section 8, Clause 4 of the
Constitution.
Agency Views
The Immigration and Naturalization Service provided reports
to the committee on each of the 150 individuals listed in H.R.
3646. The reports have been placed in the legislative file on
the bill.