Florida Senate - 2018 SM 888 By Senator Campbell 38-01009-18 2018888__ 1 Senate Memorial 2 A memorial to the Congress of the United States, 3 urging the Congress to pass H.R. 4184, the ESPERER Act 4 of 2017. 5 6 WHEREAS, H.R. 4184, the “ESPERER Act of 2017,” was 7 introduced on October 31, 2017, and is pending before the 115th 8 United States Congress, and 9 WHEREAS, H.R. 4184, the “Extending Status Protection for 10 Eligible Refugees with Established Residency Act of 2017,” seeks 11 to allow more than 300,000 migrants from Nicaragua, Honduras, El 12 Salvador, and Haiti who arrived in the United States and 13 received Temporary Protected Status before January 13, 2011, to 14 adjust their status to legal permanent residency, and 15 WHEREAS, migrants who have not been able to return to their 16 native countries due to such countries continuously experiencing 17 substantial disruptions of living conditions would be granted 18 legal permanent resident status under H.R. 4184, and 19 WHEREAS, many of the migrants from these countries have 20 established new lives in the United States, have started 21 families, and have become integral parts of the local 22 communities in which they reside by starting businesses that 23 contribute to the local economies, and 24 WHEREAS, the continued short-term extensions of these 25 migrants’ Temporary Protected Status have created anxiety and 26 uncertainty for these individuals and their families, employers, 27 and neighbors, NOW, THEREFORE, 28 29 Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 30 31 That the Congress of the United States is urged to pass 32 H.R. 4184, the “ESPERER Act of 2017,” in recognition that the 33 passage of the act would benefit the communities and economies 34 where the migrants reside while giving the migrants peace of 35 mind and allowing them to continue to support their families. 36 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of State dispatch 37 copies of this memorial to the President of the United States, 38 the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the 39 House of Representatives, and to each member of the Florida 40 delegation to the United States Congress.