Speech #1050082974

First of all. many of these people were. in one form or another. either asylees or invitees. Indeed. the actions with regard to the Nicaraguans in particular suggests that the American Government was actively promoting the notion that those Nicaraguans. fearful of the outcome of these uprisings. come to America. The extended voluntary departure program. which was granted by our Attorney General. was a form of temporary protection from deportation granted under the discretionary authority of the Attorney General. When that program. which began in 1979. expired. it was extended further through a variety of other congressional actions and administrative actions. In 1987. the Reagan administration established the Nicaraguan Review Program. The NRP provided an extra level of review to Nicaraguans denied asylum. The Attorney General. taking into account a new Supreme Court decision bearing on standard of proof for an asylum applicant to show fear of persecution. encouraged Nicaraguans to reapply for asylum under the new standard and instructed the INS to conduct outreach in Nicaraguan communities and to issue work permits to Nicaraguan applicants as soon as they applied for asylum under the new standard. When that program ended in 1995. the INS published a notice announcing the termination of the program. Instead of facing deportation. however. under a phaseout program. Nicaraguans were encouraged to reopen their deportation cases and apply for suspension of deportation. for which they were told they may be eligible if they had been in the United States continuously for 7 or more years. The point of my statement with respect to Nicaraguans. and a similar set of circumstances as pertains to the Salvadorans and Guatemalans. is that during this period. Mr.