Speech #1020031556

Mr. President. I am introducing legislation today to extend the registration period for the Salvadoran Temporary Protected Status [TPS] Program. Congressman MOAKLEY has introduced an identical bill in the House to extend for 4 months. from June 30. 1991. until October 31. 1991. the application deadline for special TPS for Salvadorans. Last year. Congressman MOAKLEY and I worked very hard to include a provision in the Immigration Act of 1990 (Public Law 10149) that provides temporary legal status and work authorization to Salvadoran nationals who have been the innocent victims of war. random violence. and civil strife in their homeland for over a decade. By enacting TPS legislation. the United States has made a humanitarian commitment to protect Salvadoran nationals who have sought refuge in this country. Unfortunately. however. less than 15 percent of the estimated 500.000 eligible Salvadorans have registered for TPS benefits and there are only 6 weeks remaining in the registration period. When the INS published their interim regulations for TPS in the Federal Register on January 7. 1991. they included an exorbitant fee structure of $330 for an individual and $1.435 for a family of five. Since Congress intended the cost of registration and obtaining work permission to be reasonable. Congressman MOAKLEY and I met with INS Commissioner Gene McNary. on February 5. to discuss our concerns about the extremely high fees for TPS applicants. We were informed at that time that the fees would be lowered substantially in the final regulations. To date. however. the final regulations have not been issued. This bureaucratic delay causes confusion and uncertainty for Salvadorans who must register for TPS by June 30. 1991. or lose their rights to temporary safe haven. To compensate for the delay in issuing final regulations. I am introducing this 4month registration extension bill to ensure that all Salvadorans who are eligible and wish to apply for TPS benefits are able to do so. This extension is certainly justified. particularly since the regulation change of lowered fees is crucial to the decision of whether or not Salvadorans would apply for their right to TPS benefits. Mr. President. I respectfully request that the text of two letters to INS Commissioner McNary. which further describe my views about the implementation of TPS benefits. and the text of my bill. be printed in the record at this point.