139.1—Purpose.
(a)
The regulations set forth in this part implement, in part, the “Irish Peace Process Cultural and Training Program Act of 1998 (the “IPPCTPA”), Public Law 105-319, 112 Stat. 3013. The purpose of the IPPCTPA is to establish a program to “allow young people from disadvantaged areas of designated counties suffering from sectarian violence and high structural unemployment to enter the United States for the purpose of developing job skills and conflict resolution abilities in a diverse, cooperative, peaceful, and prosperous environment, so that those young people can return to their homes better able to contribute toward economic regeneration and the Irish peace process.” This part describes the Irish Peace Process Cultural and Training Program (the “IPPCTP”) hereby established by the Department, the procedures for its operation and the requirements for participation.
(b)
The Department, in consultation with the Immigration and Naturalization Service (“INS”), will implement the program specified in the IPPCTPA by working with the relevant governmental authorities in the Republic of Ireland and in Northern Ireland to further the goals of the IPPCTPA, by selecting a Program Administrator to carry out the day-to-day operation of the IPPCTP, by approving, upon the recommendation of the Program Administrator, employers in the United States to carry out the training and employment elements of the IPPTCP and by providing general oversight of the IPPCTP.