Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act
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The Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act, or NACARA, is a U.S. law passed in 1997 that provides various forms of immigration benefits and relief from deportation to certain Nicaraguans, Cubans, Salvadorans, Guatemalans, nationals of former Soviet bloc countries and their dependents who had arrived as asylees. As these Central Americans overwhelmed the U.S. asylum program in the mid-1990s, their cases were left for NACARA to address.
Section 202 deals with Nicaraguans (~95% of Section 202 beneficiaries) and Cubans (~5%), whereas Section 203 deals with Salvadorans (~65% of Sec. 203 beneficiaries), Guatemalans (~30%), and former Soviet Union nationals (~5%). Persons granted NACARA benefits are counted as legal permanent resident immigrants.
| Year | NACARA 202 | NACARA 203 |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 1 | 0 |
| 1999 | 11,267 | 573 |
| 2000 | 23,641 | 8,015 |
| 2001 | 18,926 | 19,349 |
| 2002 | 9,496 | 21,603 |
| 2003 | 2,577 | 27,100 |
| 2004 | 2,292 | 30,136 |
| 2005 | 1,155 | 15,597 |
| Total | 69,354 | 122,373 |
