Case Document 96-8 Filed 08/23/18 Page 1 of 7 EXHIBIT 8 Case Document 96-8 Filed 08/23/18 Page 2 of 7 From: prelogar, Brandon Sent: Friday, September 22, 2017 5:37 PM To: Nuebel Kovarik, Kathy Anderson, Subject: RE: State requested changes to Sudan TPS -- bottom line -- RE: Questions on Sudan RN Notice - State Has Corrections That's certainly how we read it. From: Nuebel Kovarik, Kathy Sent: Friday, September 22, 2017 5:01:31 PM To: Anderson, Prelogar, Brandon Subject: FW: State requested changes to Sudan TPS -- bottom line - RE: Questions on Sudan FRN Notice - State Has Corrections So, this is okay with State? Kathy Nuebel Kovarik Chief, Of?ce of Policy and Strategy US. Citizenship and Immigration Services Direct: Cell=? This email, along with any attachments, is intended solely for the use of the addressee(s) and may contain information that is sensitive or protected by applicable law. Unauthorized use or dissemination ofthis email and any attachments is strictly prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please notify the sender and delete or destroy all copies. From: Zimmer, Mark Sent: Friday, September 22, 2017 4:21 PM To: Nuebel Kovarik, Kathy; Sutphin, Paul Ashe, Christopher McCament, James Cc: Shukan, Brian Sullivan, Chance; Hefright, Brook Pollack, Margaret Frideres, Taryn Burnett, Andrew Trimiew, Rubani Prelogar, Brandon Anderson, Crampton, Stuart Subject: RE: State requested changes to Sudan TPS - bottom line - RE: Questions on Sudan FRN Notice - State Has Corrections Kathy- Paul is offline, but please see his reply below. Thanks, Mark Dear Kathy: Thanks for working with us to make these important changes to ensure that thejustification and messaging behind the TPS change are more consistent with conditions on the ground, and to minimize any impact on our broader policy goals toward Sudan. As we saw even today, and recalling our original recommendation, the potential for deadly conflict in Darfur continues regarding IDPs. Regards, Paul Case Document 96-8 Filed 08/23/18 Page 3 of 7 Mark V. Zimmer Senior Sudan Desk Of?cer Office of the US. Special Envoy for Sudan 8: South Sudan US. Department of State Tel: Official UNCLASSIFIED From: Nuebel Kovarik, Kathy Sent: Friday, September 22, 2017 12:56 PM To: Sutphin, Paul Ashe, Christopher McCament, James Cc: Hefright, Brook Pollack, Margaret Fridenes, Taryn Burnett, Andrew Trimiew, Rubani Zimmer, Mark Prelogar, Brandon Anderson, Subject: RE: State requested changes to Sudan TPS - bottom line - RE: Questions on Sudan FRN Notice - State Has Corrections Paul, USCIS has revised the FRN for Sudan to accommodate State?s suggested edits. I?m pasting below but also attaching the redlined version of the FRN. We have internally cleared with DHS and are ready to resubmit this. Please let us know by COB if you have any questions. - Kathy REVISED SECTION: Why is the Secretary terminating the TPS designation for Sudan as of November 2, 2018? DHS and the Department of State (DOS) have reviewed the conditions in Sudan. Based on this review and consultation, the Secretary has determined that conditions in Sudan have sufficiently improved for TPS purposes. Termination of the TPS designation of Sudan is required because it no longer meets the statutory conditions for designation. Thereisno?fongeran ongoing armed con?ict no longer that prevents the return of nationals of Sudan to all regions of Sudan without posing a serious threat to their personal safety. Further, extraordinary and temporary conditions within Sudan no longer prevent nationals from returning in safety to all regions of Sudan. To provide for an orderly transition, this termination is effective November 2, 2018, twelve months following the end of the current designation. Con?ict in Sudan is limited to Darfur and the Two Areas (South Kordofan and Blue Nile states). As a result of the continuing armed con?ict in these regions, hundreds of thousands of Sudanese have ?ed to neighboring countries. However, in Darfur, toward the end of 2016 and through the first half of 2017, parties to the conflict renewed a series of time-limited unilateral cessation of hostilities declarations, resulting in a reduction in violence and violent rhetoric from the parties to the conflict. AnyThe remaining conflict is limited and does not prevent the return of nationals of Sudan to all regions of Sudan without posing a serious threat to their personal safety. Case Document 96-8 Filed 08/23/18 Page 4 of 7 Above-average harvests have moderately improved food security across much of Sudan. While populations in conflict-affected areas continue to experience acute levels of food insecurity, there has also been some improvement in access for humanitarian actors to provide much-needed humanitarian aid. Although Sudan?s human rights record remains extremely poor in general, conditions on the ground no longer prevent all Sudanese nationalsfrom returning in safety. Taking into account the geographically limited scope of the conflict, the renewed series of unilateral cessation of hostilities declarations and concomitant reduction in violence and violent rhetoric from the parties to the conflict, and improvements in access for humanitarian actors to provide aid, the Secretary has determined that the ongoing armed conflict and extraordinary and temporary conditions that served as the basis for Sudan?s most recent designation have suf?ciently improved such that they no longer prevent nationals of Sudan from returning in safety to all regions of Sudan. Based on this determination, the Secretary has concluded that termination of the TPS designation of Sudan is required because Sudan no longer meets the statutory conditions for designation. To provide for an orderly transition, this termination is effective November 2, 2018, twelve months following the end of the current designation. DHS estimates that there are approximately 1,040 nationals of Sudan (and aliens having no nationality who last habitually resided in Sudan) who currently receive TPS benefits. Kathy Nuebel Kovarik Chief, Of?ce of Policy and Strategy US. Citizenship and Immigration Services Direct? Cen:? This email, along with any attachments, is intended solely for the use of the addressee(s) and may contain information that is sensitive or protected by applicable law. Unauthorized use or dissemination ofthis email and any attachments is strictly prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please notify the sender and delete or destroy all copies. From: Sutphin, Paul Sent: Wednesday, September 20, 2017 11:40 AM To: Ashe, Christopher McCament, James Cc: Hefright, Brook Pollack, Margaret Frideres, Taryn Nuebel Kovarik, Kathy; Burnett, Andrew Trimiew, Rubani Zimmr, Mark Subject: State requested changes to Sudan TPS - bottom line - RE: Questions on Sudan FRN Notice - State Has Corrections Importance: High Director/Kathy/USCIS Colleagues: Below, per discussion between Taryn from our shop and Kathy, are our bottom line requested changes. 0 We are concerned that the FRN that DHS published on its website on 9/19 is not consistent with the draft that was agreed between State and DHS on 9/8. 0 More importantly, as a result of the discrepancies between those two versions (and the omission of some of State's edits that we had understood HS had accepted), the few -- but signi?cant -- inaccuracies in the FRN on website risk sending an incorrect signal to Sudan about USG views on Sudan?s internal conflicts, or possibly encouraging the Sudanese Government to take actions that could exacerbate the ongoing armed Case Document 96-8 Filed 08/23/18 Page 5 of 7 conficts in Sudan. 0 In particular, we believe it is likely that the Sudanese Government could view the current language and inaccuracies in the FRN as a green light from the U56 to force the return of internally displaced persons (persons who fled ?ghting but are in camps within Sudan, princ'pally Darfur) to deadly conflict-affected areas. 0 If we publish the FRN as it currently stands, the Sudanese Government is more likely to try to use the justification for the termination of TPS as a an excuse to push shutting down IDP camps and humanitarian operations bene?tting internally displaced persons, and increase interference with humanitarian actors. The proposed changes in the language give us the ability to make a clear case to Sudan that our concerns about its unresolved internal conflict remain, and the continuing need to expand humanitarian access and protect of IDPs remain clear. Recommended changes 1. We recommend the deletion of the phrase (on page 7, para 2, 3rd sentence) ?There is no longer an ongoing armed con?ict that prevents the return of nationals to And instead we ask that it be replaced with ?The ongoing con?ict no longer prevents the return of nationals of Sudan to all regions ofSudan.? Note: The addition of the phrase ?to all regions? is important for consistency and accuracy. That quali?cation is needed to carve out an exception regarding those who still cannot return in safety to the conflict-affected areas (Darfur and the Two Areas). Otherwise the statement is not accurate and it risks harm to our foreign policy goals as noted above. In Sudan internally displaced persons and refugees can return in safety to certain regions, such as Kassala in the NE, but not to areas of Darfur in the SW where killings have spiked 300% since 2012. 2. We recommend that the phrase ?to all regions of Sudan" be inserted into three other parts of the document to ensure accuracy and prevent harm to our foreign poicy goals. That includes page 7, para 2, 4th sentence so that it reads ?..conditions within Sudan no longer prevent nationals from returning in safety to all rggions of Sudan? and into page 7 para 3, the last sentence, so that it reads ?The remaining con?ict is imited and does not prevent the return of nationals of Sudan to all regions of Sudan Also, we recommend that the phrase be inserted into page 8, paraB, sentence 1, so that it reads no longer prevent nationals of Sudan from returning in safety to all regions of Sudan.? While the rest of the FRN does touch on the fact that there are limited conflicts in certain regions of Sudan, the document should be consistent throughout to ensure there is no room for Sudanese Government misinterpretation, intentional or unintentional, with possible negative impact on broader efforts/policy goals. Paul Sutphin Senior Adviser Office of the Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan Bureau of African Affairs U. S. Department of State Of?cial - SBU UNCLASSIFIED From: Sutphin, Paul Sent: Tuesday, September 19, 2017 5:18 PM To: Ashe, Christopher c; Cc: Hefright, Brook Pollack, Margaret Frideres, Taryn Nuebel Kovarik, Kathy Burnett, Andrew Trimiew, Rubani Zimmer, Mark Subject: RE: Questions on Sudan FRN Notice - State Has Corrections Kathy Nuebel Kovarik, others on team Director/Col leagues: Case Document 96-8 Filed 08/23/18 Page 6 of 7 Weighing in from the sidelines of UNGA, where we?ll meet the Sudanese Foreign Minister on Thursday. Chris is very correct in that the proposed language we just saw from DHS mischaracterizes the ongoing conflicts in Sudan and has effect of downplaying the actual situation, which would definitely not be helpful (or in line with our policy) as we work through the decision going to the President in early October on sanctions lift and our follow up engagement with Sudan. The language we had worked out with the USCIS public affairs team worked, but understand that changes may have comefrom elsewhere in DHS. We should if at all possible go back to the language that our teams worked out. Thank you for your assistance, Paul Sutphin Director Of?ce of the Special Envw For Sudan and South Sudan US. Department of State Tel: From: Ashe, Christopher Sent: Tuesday, September 19, 2017 5:00 PM To: Cc: Sutphin, Paul Hefn'ght, Brook Pollack, Margaret Frideres, Taryn Subject: Questions on Sudan FRN Notice - State Has Corrections Good Afternoon Director McCament, PRM was informed by your public affairs team that the final version of the Sudan TPS Federal Register Notice (FRN) will be published on Thursday. The Department has identified some significant mischaracterizations that are at odds with the Department?s understanding of circumstances on the ground. We believe that lacking correction, the FRN could be out of step with the Ad ministration's broader engagement on Sudan much of which DHS is not engaged on and is likely unaware of the nuances that changes in the language could have. We would appreciate it if you could let us know who in USCIS or DHS we can work with to advocate for the Department?s desired corrections. Also, by way oftrying to collectively fix a problem and not the blame - just wanted to inform you that the Department was caught offgua rd yesterday by the sudden decision to make the TPS announcement. We literally were forced to dispatch our Foreign Affairs Officers by taxi to the Embassies with virtually no notice to inform the host governments of the imminent announcements. We had thought that we had obtained a commitment for sufficient notice to make such notifications - and we look forward to working with you and your team to develop a written, agreed upon process for State Department host-nation notifications prior to any future TPS announcements. That will allow us to work the diplomatic angle, and manage the diplomatic impact, of these announcements moving forward. Thank you very much, and we appreciate your help, Chris Case Document 96-8 Filed 08/23/18 Page 7 of 7 Christopher C. Ashe Director (Acting) Office of International Migration Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration United States Department of State Tek? Official UNCLASSIFIED