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< Back to current issue of Immigration Daily < Back to current issue of Immigrant's Weekly [Congressional Record: December 15, 2000 (Senate)] [Page S11902] From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:cr15de00pt2-162] [[Page S11902]] PERMANENT RESIDENCY FOR LIBERIANS Mr. REED. Mr. President, I rise tonight to express my deep disappointment that this final package does not include a provision that allows Liberian nationals living in this country to adjust to permanent residency. As I have told this body many times, approximately 10,000 Liberians fled to the United States beginning in 1989 when their country became engulfed in a civil war. In 1991, Attorney General Barr granted Liberians Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and renewed it in 1992. Under the Clinton administration, Attorney General Reno continued to renew TPS for Liberians on an annual basis until last year when she granted Deferred Enforced Departure. DED was renewed again this year. While Liberians can now legally live in the United States for another year, it does not change the fact that they have lived in limbo for almost a decade. The Liberians have lived in a ``protected status'' longer than any other group in the history of this country. These individuals have played by the rules. From the beginning, they have always lived in this country legally. They have established careers, opened businesses, bought homes, had American-born children, and contributed to our communities. Yet, they are unable to enjoy the basic rights and privileges of U.S. citizenship. These people deserve better. For several years I have been working to see that the Liberians receive the justice they deserve. In March 1999, I introduced S. 656, the Liberian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act which would allow Liberian nationals who had received TPS to adjust to permanent residency. For almost two years I have been unable to convince my colleagues to hold a hearing, debate this issue on the floor, or pass the bill. I did everything I believed was necessary to garner support for this legislation. I spoke on the floor, I wrote ``Dear Colleagues'', I gathered cosponsors on both sides of the aisle, I spoke personally with the leadership of both parties and the White House. Despite these efforts, the plight of the Liberians has not been recognized and their status has not been resolved. The situation facing the Liberians is not a novel issue for Congress. In the time that the Liberians have lived in this country, several other immigrant groups, including 52,000 Chinese, 4,996 Poles, 200,000 El Salvadorans, 50,000 Guatemalans and 150,000 Nicaraguans, who lived in the U.S. under temporary protective status for far less time have been allowed to adjust to permanent status. Just last month we passed a bill adjusting the status of 4,000 Syrian Jews. There are those who have argued that it is time to stop passing ``nation specific'' immigration fixes and to implement a system that is comprehensive and fair. I fully agree. But until we reach that point and are ready to pass such legislation, I do not believe that we can, in good conscious, arbitrarily deny certain groups a remedy for the unintended and unjust consequences of our immigration law. I would also like to state that I believe that we have a special obligation to the Liberians because of the special ties the U.S. has with that country. Congress should honor the special relationship that has always existed between the United States and Liberia. In 1822, groups of freed slaves from the U.S. began to settle on the coast of Western Africa with the assistance of private American philanthropic organizations at the behest of the U.S. government. In 1847, these settlers established the republic of Liberia, the first independent country in Africa. Liberians modeled their constitution after the U.S. and named their capital Monrovia after President James Monroe. Mr. President, many of the Liberian nationals in this country can trace their ancestry to American slaves. We owe them more than we are giving them tonight. When Liberians arrived in this country, they expected to stay only a short time and to return home once it was safe. But one year turned into many and they moved on with their lives. They are now part of our community. They deserve the same benefits that we have given so many others--the rights of citizenship. It is my hope that we can address this grievous situation early in the 107th Congress. We need to right a wrong. ____________________ Share this page | Bookmark this page The leading immigration law publisher - over 50000 pages of free information!
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