We do not yet know how many will qualify for legalization or how many Salvadorans and Nicaraguans will choose to return home if they do not qualify. However. according to a recent State Department report. we do know that very few Salvadorans and Nicaraguans are now returning. Therefore. to grant a stay of deportation to foreign nationals of two countries at this time undermines the purpose of the new law and will. without a doubt. encourage other countries which also face hardship as a result of its passage to seek relief. Second. this legislation circumvents the Refugee Act of 1980 by creating a special system to handle Salvadorans and Nicaraguans while waiting for GAO reports. The reason Congress passed the Refugee Act of 1980 was to supplant piecemeal and nationspecific legislation and parole for refugees. The Refugee Act set a system under which any personregardless of origincan apply based on a "wellfounded fear of persecution" without the need for special legislation. Only once since enactment of the Refugee Act has a new nationality been granted EVDPolandand never has the Congress mandated this status. Third. time has simply overtaken the need for this legislation. When first introduced three Congresses ago. its rationale was based on the danger to returnees due to the high incidence of indiscriminate violence.
Keywords matched
Refugee deportation refugees