Chinese Student Protection Act of 1992

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Chinese Student Protection Act of 1992

Long title	An Act to provide for the adjustment of status under the Immigration and Nationality Act of certain nationals of the People's Republic of China unless conditions permit their return in safety to that foreign state.
Acronyms (colloquial)	CSPA
Nicknames	Chinese Student Protection Act of 1991
Enacted by	the 102nd United States Congress
Effective	October 9, 1992
Citations
Public law	102-404
Statutes at Large	106 Stat. 1969
Codification
Titles amended	8 U.S.C.: Aliens and Nationality
U.S.C. sections amended	8 U.S.C. ch. 12, subch. II § 1255
Legislative history
Introduced in the Senate as S. 1216 by Slade Gorton (R–WA) on June 4, 1991 Committee consideration by Senate Judiciary, House Judiciary Passed the Senate on May 21, 1992 (passed voice vote) Passed the House on August 10, 1992 (agreed voice vote) with amendment Senate agreed to House amendment on September 23, 1992 (agreed voice vote) Signed into law by President George H. W. Bush on October 9, 1992

Prior to the Chinese Student Protection Act of 1992 (CSPA), President George H.W Bush issued Executive Order 12711 in 1990. This policy implementation was solidified by the actual Act in 1992. The Act's main sponsors were Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) for the House of Representatives and Senator Slade Gorton (R-WA) for the Senate. The Chinese Student Protection Act of 1992 was passed on May 21, 1992, by the Senate, and passed by the House of Representatives on August 10, 1992. President George H. W. Bush signed it into law on October 9, 1992. The Chinese Student Protection Act became Public Law 102-404, 106 Stat. 1969.

The Chinese Student Protection Act established permanent residence for Chinese nationals that came to the United States from June 5, 1989, to April 11, 1990. The Act was targeted towards students. The CSPA was prompted by the political repression the Chinese faced after the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre. Chinese students who were in the United States during the time of the protests participated in TV interviews, demonstration rallies, and were featured in newspaper articles. Chinese nationals were eligible to apply for permanent residency, even with expired passports. Over the years, the Act granted green cards to an estimated number of 54,000 Chinese nationals.^[1]

The green cards were called "blood cards" by the Chinese, as a “pejorative term for the green cards awarded to their countrymen who, by virtue of their presence in the U.S. at the time, were eligible for the Chinese Student Protection Act.”^[2]