Presidential Document2021-25418
Suspension of Entry as Immigrants and Nonimmigrants of Persons Responsible for Policies or Actions That Threaten Democracy in Nicaragua
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
November 19, 2021
Signed
November 16, 2021
Issuing agencies
Executive Office of the President
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 221 (Friday, November 19, 2021)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 221 (Friday, November 19, 2021)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 64797-64800]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-25418]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 86 , No. 221 / Friday, November 19, 2021 /
Presidential Documents
[[Page 64797]]
Proclamation 10309 of November 16, 2021
Suspension of Entry as Immigrants and
Nonimmigrants of Persons Responsible for Policies or
Actions That Threaten Democracy in Nicaragua
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
In light of the importance to the United States of
fostering democratic processes and institutions in
Nicaragua to help the Nicaraguan people achieve their
aspirations for democracy, and given the suppression of
human rights and democracy in Nicaragua, I have
determined that it is in the interest of the United
States to restrict and suspend the entry into the
United States, as immigrants and nonimmigrants, of
members of the Government of Nicaragua, led by
President Daniel Ortega, including his spouse and Vice
President Rosario Murillo, and others described in this
proclamation who formulate, implement, or benefit from
policies or actions that undermine or injure democratic
institutions or impede the return to democracy in
Nicaragua.
The repressive and abusive acts of the Ortega
government and those who support it compel the United
States to act. The Ortega government's crackdown on
opposition leaders, civil society leaders, and
journalists in preparation for the November 2021
Nicaraguan presidential and legislative elections harms
the institutions and processes essential to a
functioning democracy. The Ortega government's
undemocratic, authoritarian actions have crippled the
electoral process and stripped away the right of
Nicaraguan citizens to choose their leaders in free and
fair elections.
The Ortega government's detention of and denial of fair
trial guarantees to peaceful protesters, civil society
leaders, private sector leaders, student leaders,
political leaders, journalists, and presidential
candidates in Nicaragua stifles political discourse and
the democratic process. Police and prison authorities
contribute to the repressive climate the Ortega
government promotes by carrying out politically
motivated arrests and detentions of individuals
exercising their human rights and holding political
prisoners incommunicado, without access to lawyers,
family members, and needed medical care. Family members
and the media have reported that some prisoners have
lost significant weight in detention, cannot walk
unassisted, have been held in solitary confinement, and
are subjected to frequent, extensive interrogations.
The physical and psychological abuse of political
prisoners at the hands of police and prison authorities
is intolerable and cannot stand.
The Ortega government controls multiple security
services, including non-uniformed, armed, and masked
parapolice, who abuse persons to further the Ortega
government's authoritarian agenda, including by
harassing, threatening, and committing violence against
those opposed to the government. Members of the
Nicaraguan National Police (NNP), along with violent
mobs of pro-government supporters also controlled by
government actors, have attacked religious institutions
in retaliation for their support for political and
religious leaders.
Municipal officials, acting on direct orders from the
Ortega government, have directed violence against pro-
democracy protesters in their communities and other
local actors opposed to the government. For example,
mayors
[[Page 64798]]
and mayors' offices loyal to the Ortega government have
organized and channeled state funds to parapolice
groups engaged in violent repression. These municipal
officials wield enormous political power and
discretionary budget authority, conferred upon them
from the highest levels of the Ortega government. The
climate of fear established and perpetuated by these
municipal officials has diminished the possibility of
free and fair elections and undermined democracy in
Nicaragua.
The judiciary has failed the Nicaraguan people by
aiding and abetting the Ortega government's use of
politically motivated charges to lock up political
prisoners. By stacking the judiciary with government-
controlled judges and prosecutors, the Ortega
government has abused the justice system to silence
critics. Authorities have held many political prisoners
incommunicado for months, without access to their
lawyers, and with no knowledge of the spurious charges
presented against them.
The widespread impunity for crimes committed against
opposition actors; the persistent corruption practiced
by Nicaraguan government officials in the performance
of public functions that has eroded democratic
institutions; and the continued failure of President
Daniel Ortega, Vice President Rosario Murillo,
Nicaraguan government officials, and others to support
the rule of law, human rights, and other principles of
high priority to the United States demand a forceful
response.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of
the United States of America, by the authority vested
in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United
States, including sections 212(f) and 215(a) of the
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(f) and
1185(a)) and section 301 of title 3, United States
Code, hereby find that the unrestricted immigrant and
nonimmigrant entry into the United States of persons
described in section 1 of this proclamation would,
except as provided for in section 4 of this
proclamation, be detrimental to the interests of the
United States, and that their entry should be subject
to certain restrictions, limitations, and exceptions. I
therefore hereby proclaim the following:
Section 1. Suspension and Limitation on Entry. The
entry into the United States, as immigrants or
nonimmigrants, of the following persons is hereby
suspended:
(a) Members of the Government of Nicaragua,
including elected officials and their staff members;
(b) Mayors, vice mayors, or political secretaries
who planned, ordered, assisted, aided and abetted,
committed, or otherwise participated in, including
through command responsibility, serious abuses or
violations of human rights to punish peaceful
protestors or deny Nicaraguans fundamental freedoms, or
who attempted or conspired to do so;
(c) Officials of Nicaragua's security services,
including the Nicaraguan Military, NNP, Directorate of
Special Police Operations, parapolice groups, and
paramilitary groups;
(d) Officials of the Nicaraguan penitentiary
administration;
(e) Senior members of the Nicaraguan judiciary,
Public Prosecutors Office, and Ministry of the
Interior;
(f) Members of Nicaraguan government ministries,
regulatory agencies, parastatal companies, higher
education administrators and faculty, and elected
officials who undertake actions, including human rights
abuses, to deny services to those who make peaceful
efforts to demand the return to democracy in Nicaragua;
(g) Non-government persons who serve as agents of
or act at the behest of those described in subsections
(a)-(f) of this section to facilitate or derive
financial benefit from policies or actions, including
electoral fraud, human rights abuses, or corruption,
that undermine or injure democratic institutions or
impede the return to democracy in Nicaragua; and
[[Page 64799]]
(h) The spouses, sons, and daughters of persons
described in subsections (a)-(g) of this section.
Sec. 2. Authority of the Secretary of State to Identify
Covered Individuals. Persons covered by section 1 of
this proclamation shall be identified by the Secretary
of State, or the Secretary of State's designee, in the
Secretary of State's sole discretion, pursuant to such
procedures as the Secretary of State may establish.
Sec. 3. Implementation of Suspension and Limitation on
Entry. The Secretary of State shall implement this
proclamation as it applies to visas pursuant to such
procedures as the Secretary of State, in consultation
with the Secretary of Homeland Security, may establish.
The Secretary of Homeland Security shall implement this
proclamation as it applies to the entry of noncitizens
pursuant to such procedures as the Secretary of
Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary
of State, may establish.
Sec. 4. Scope of Suspension and Limitation on Entry.
Section 1 of this proclamation shall not apply to:
(a) Any lawful permanent resident of the United
States;
(b) Any individual who has been granted asylum by
the United States, any refugee who has already been
admitted to the United States, or any individual
granted withholding of removal or protection under the
Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or
Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and nothing in this
proclamation shall be construed to affect any
individual's eligibility for asylum, refugee status,
withholding of removal, or protection under the
Convention Against Torture, consistent with the laws
and regulations of the United States;
(c) Any person otherwise covered by section 1 of
this proclamation, upon determination by the Secretary
of State that the person has ceased actions that
undermine democratic institutions and taken concrete
steps to help restore democracy in Nicaragua; or
(d) Any person otherwise covered by section 1 of
this proclamation, upon determination by the Secretary
of State that the person's entry would not be contrary
to the interests of the United States, including when
the Secretary of State so determines, based on a
recommendation of the Attorney General, that the
person's entry would further important United States
law enforcement objectives. In exercising this
responsibility, the Secretary of State shall consult
the Secretary of Homeland Security on matters related
to admissibility or inadmissibility within the
authority of the Secretary of Homeland Security.
Sec. 5. Termination. This proclamation shall remain in
effect until terminated by the President. The Secretary
of State shall, as circumstances warrant, recommend
whether the President should continue, modify, or
terminate this proclamation.
Sec. 6. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this
proclamation shall be construed to impair or otherwise
affect:
(i) United States Government obligations under applicable international
agreements;
(ii) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or
the head thereof; or
(iii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) This proclamation shall be implemented
consistent with applicable law and subject to the
availability of appropriations.
(c) This proclamation is not intended to, and does
not, create any right or benefit, substantive or
procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any
party against the United States, its departments,
agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or
agents, or any other person.
[[Page 64800]]
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
sixteenth day of November, in the year of our Lord two
thousand twenty-one, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the two hundred and forty-
sixth.
<GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT>
(Presidential Sig.)
[FR Doc. 2021-25418
Filed 11-18-21; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F2-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on November 19, 2021.
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