1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Ecuador Act of 2024 . 2. Findings Congress finds the following: (1) In recent years, the nation of Ecuador, which was once viewed as one of South America’s model nations for security and political stability, has been gripped by an unprecedented wave of violence due to the country’s infiltration by organized crime and drug-trafficking gangs. (2) Between 2017 and 2023, the homicide rate in Ecuador increased by 800%, rising from five homicides per 100,000 inhabitants in 2017 to 45 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants in 2023, depicting Ecuador’s recent and rapid descent into a full-blown humanitarian crisis and spurring mass migration from the once-peaceful nation. (3) Since 2021, the Government of Ecuador has declared multiple states of emergency due to wave upon wave of gang-initiated violence that has resulted in brutal homicides, routine extortion, regular prison riots, and multiple attacks on civil society. (4) In August 2023, Ecuador’s anti-gang presidential candidate, Fernando Villavicencio, was assassinated, allegedly by gang members. (5) Emboldened in the months that followed Villavicencio’s assassination, Ecuador’s criminal gangs were responsible for a new wave of violent deaths in late 2023 that caused Ecuador’s violent death rate in 2023 to nearly double over 2022’s already-elevated levels. (6) The month of January 2024 oversaw the worst spate of gang-instigated violence in Ecuador in recent memory, highlighted by additional gang-led prison riots and bombs exploding in several cities. (7) On January 8, 2024, following the reported escape from prison of gang leader José Adolfo Fito Macías, Ecuadorian President Daniel Noba declared a 60-day national state of emergency which declared the country of Ecuador to be engaged in an internal armed conflict, imposed a nationwide curfew for citizens, and authorized members of the Ecuadorian military to patrol the streets and arrest suspected gang members. (8) On January 9, 2024, gang