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On May 9, 2002, American Immigration Lawyers' Association
(AILA) released a list of immigration-related bills introduced during the 107th
Congress. AILA also refelcted its legislative positions (Support
or Oppose, or No Position). Adjustment
of Status/Family Unification S. 672 Child
Status Protection Act--Support
Introduced
by Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), S. 672 would amend the Immigration and Nationality
Act to provide for the continued classification of certain aliens as children
in cases where the aliens "age out" while awaiting immigration processing.
H.R. 3984 Waivers for Certain Victims of September 11--Support
Introduced
by Representative Michael Ferguson (R-NJ), H.R. 3984 would amend the USA Patriot
Act to permit an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence whose spouse
died as a result of a terrorist activity on September 11, 2001, to apply for naturalization
under the conditions that would have applied if such death had not occurred.
H.R.
1209 Child Status Protection Act of 2001--Support
Introduced
by Representative George Gekas (R-PA), H.R.1209 would amend the Immigration and
Nationality Act to determine whether an alien is a child, for purposes of classification
as an immediate relative, based on the age of the alien at the time that an immigrant
visa petition is filed on his or her behalf.
Asylum/Special
Immigrants
S. 1291 DREAM Act --No position
Introduced
by Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) on August 2001, the Development, Relief, and Education
for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act would allow states to determine who is eligible for
in-state tuition rates. The bill would grant conditional residency through cancellation
of removal and adjustment of status to undocumented students who are seeking college
education and meet certain qualifications. Applicants would only become permanent
residents after they have obtained a college degree.
S. 1311
Refugee Protection Act--Support
Introduced
by Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Sam Brownback (R-KS), Edward Kennedy (D-MA),
Susan Collins (R-ME), Richard Durbin (D-IL), James Jeffords (I-VT), and Bob Graham
(D-FL), S. 1311 would, among other things, limit the use of expedited removal
procedures to immigration emergencies and provide safeguards to assure due process
rights. H.R. 4074 is the companion bill in the House.
S. 1265
Children's Adjustment, Relief, And Education (CARE) Act of 2001--Support
Introduced
by Senator Richard J. Durbin (D-IL), S.1265 would amend the Immigration and Nationality
Act to require the Attorney General to cancel the removal and adjust the status
of certain aliens who were brought to the United States as children.
S.
121 Unaccompanied Alien Child Protection Act of 2001--Support
Introduced
by Senator Dianne Feinstein (D- CA), S.121 would establish an Office of Children's
Services within the Department of Justice to coordinate and implement government
actions involving unaccompanied alien children.
H.R. 4074 Refugee
Protection Act of 2002--Support
Introduced
by Representative Chris Smith (R-NJ). H.R. 4074 is an identical version of S.1311.
The bill would, among other provisions, limit the use of expedited removal procedures
to immigration emergencies and provide safeguards to assure due process rights.
H.R. 1918 Student Adjustment Act of 2001--Support
Introduced
by Representatives Chris Cannon (R-UT) and Howard Berman (D-CA), H.R. 1918 would
amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to cancel the removal and adjust the
status of certain alien college-bound students who are long-term U.S. residents,
and would amend the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act
of 1996 to permit states to determine state residency for higher education tuition.
H.R. 1904 Unaccompanied Alien Child Protection Act of 2001--Support
Introduced
by Representatives Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) and Chris Cannon (R-UT), H.R. 1904 would
establish an Office of Children's Services within the Department of Justice to
coordinate and implement Government actions involving unaccompanied alien children,
and for other purposes.
H.R. 1582 Immigrant Children's Educational
Advancement and Dropout Prevention Act of 2001--Support
Introduced
by Representative Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), H.R.1582 would amend the Immigration
and Nationality Act to adjust the status of certain long-staying alien children,
to lower high school drop out rates for certain immigrant children, and to restore
the right of State and local governments to decide whom they will admit to their
State and local colleges and universities.
Due
Process and Civil Liberties S. 955 Immigrant Fairness Restoration
Act of 2001--Support
Introduced by Senators
Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and Bob Graham (D-FL), S. 955 would provide comprehensive
reform of the 1996 immigration laws, including: eliminating mandatory and indefinite
detention; eliminating the bars to admissibility for unlawful presence; restoring
waivers of certain grounds of inadmissibility established by the 1996 laws; and
restoring due process, proportionality, judicial discretion, and judicial review
to immigration law.
H.R. 3894 Restoration of Fairness in
Immigration Act of 2002--Support
Introduced
by Representative John Conyers (R-MI), H.R. 3894 would restore due process by
repealing the retroactivity of IIRAIRA, restore judicial review and discretion,
eliminate mandatory detention, and otherwise restore fairness and proportionality.
H.R. 1452 Cancellation of Removal Reform Bill--Support
Introduced
by Representative Barney Frank (D-MA), H.R. 1452 would amend the Immigration and
Nationality Act to expand the eligibility of certain long-term permanent resident
aliens to seek cancellation of removal, and would reform some of the harsher provisions
of the IIRAIRA.
H.R. 1266 Secret Evidence Repeal Act of 2001--Support
Introduced
by Representative David Bonior (D-MI), H.R. 1266 would ensure that no alien is
removed, denied a benefit under the Immigration and Nationality Act, or otherwise
deprived of liberty, based on evidence that is kept secret from the alien.
H.R.
87 Keeping Families Together Act of 2001--Support
Introduced by Representative Bob Filner (D-CA), H.R. 87 would amend the Immigration
and Nationality Act to restore certain provisions relating to the definition of
aggravated felony and other provisions as they were before the enactment of the
Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996.
Driver's
Licenses/ ID Documents
H.R. 4043 Driver's License Legislation--Oppose
Introduced
by Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) on March 20, 2002, H.R. 4043 would bar federal agencies
from accepting for any identification-related purpose any state-issued driver's
license or other comparable identification document unless the state requires
such licenses or documents issued to nonimmigrant aliens to expire upon the later
of: (1) the expiration of the aliens' nonimmigrant visa; or (2) in an instance
where the visa's validity period has been modified, not more than five years after
license or document issuance.
Essential
Workers
S. 1259 Rural and Urban Health Care Act of
2001--Support
Introduced by Senator Sam Brownback
(R-KS), S. 1259 would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act with respect to
the admission of nonimmigrant nurses.
H.R. 2705 Rural and
Urban Health Care Act of 2001--No position
Introduced by Representative
Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), H.R. 2705 would modify the requirements applicable
to the admission into the United States of H-1C nonimmigrant registered nurses.
The bill limits to two the number of times an alien may take State licensure examination
and requires the alien to depart the U.S. if he or she fails to pass the examination
on the second attempt. The bill also imposes a 195,000 numerical cap on H-1C visas.
INS Reorganization
S. 2444 Immigration Reform, Accountability, and Security
Enhancement Act of 2002--Support
Introduced
by Sens. Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA) and Sam Brownback (R-KS) on May 2, 2002, S.
2444 would dismantle the INS and separate the service and enforcement functions
into two distinct Bureaus. The legislation would provide for coordination between
the two entities, however, by placing at the helm of the new Agency a Director
with the authority to develop and administer immigration policy for the entire
Agency.
H.R. 1562 Immigration Restructuring and Accountability
Act of 2001--Support
Introduced by Representative
Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), H.R. 1562 would, among other things, replace the Immigration
and Naturalization Service with the Office of the Associate Attorney General for
Immigration Affairs, the Bureau of Immigration Services, and the Bureau of Immigration
Enforcement.
H.R.3231 INS Reorganization--Oppose
Introduced
by Representative James Sensenbrenner (R-WI), H.R. 3231 would replace the Immigration
and Naturalization Service with the Agency for Immigration Affairs, and make various
other organizational changes.
National
Security
S. 2452 National Homeland Security and Combating
Terrorism Act of 2002--Oppose
Introduced on
May 2, 2002, by Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (D-CT) and several cosponsors, S. 2452
would create a Cabinet-level Department of National Homeland Security and a separate
White House Office of Combating Terrorism. Specifically, the bill would create
a new department combining the U.S. Customs Service, Border Patrol, Coast Guard,
the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Agriculture Department's quarantine
inspectors, and the INS's enforcement functions.
H.R. 4660 National
Homeland Security and Combating Terrorism Act of 2002--Oppose
Introduced
on May 2, 2002, by Rep. William Thornberry (R-TX), H.R. 4660 would create a Cabinet-level
Department of National Homeland Security and a separate White House Office of
Combating Terrorism. Specifically, the bill would create a new department combining
the U.S. Customs Service, Border Patrol, Coast Guard, the Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA), the Agriculture Department's quarantine inspectors, and the INS's
enforcement functions.
Section
245(i)
S.778 245(i) Extension--Support
Introduced by Senator Chuck Hagel (R-NE), S.778 would expand the class of
beneficiaries who may apply for adjustment of status under Section 245(i) of the
Immigration and Nationality Act by extending the deadline for classification petition
and labor certification filings to April 30, 2002.
H.R. 1885
Section 245(i) Extension Act of 2001--No position
Introduced by Representative
George Gekas (R-PA), H.R. 1885 would expand the class of beneficiaries who may
apply for adjustment of status under Section 245(i) of the Immigration and Nationality
Act by extending the deadline for classification petition and labor certification
filings.
Restrictionist Bills
H.R. 190 Clarifies the Effect on the Citizenship of an Individual
Born in the United States--Oppose
Introduced
by Representative Bob Stump (R-AZ), H.R. 190 would declare that a person born
in the U.S. to a mother who is neither a U.S. citizen or national, nor a lawful
permanent resident, and who is eligible to become, or is a citizen or national,
of a country which either of his or her natural parents is a citizen or national,
is not a U.S. citizen solely by virtue of being born in the U.S.
H.R.
4010 Terrorist Admission Prevention Act of 2002--Oppose
Introduced
by Representative Dave Weldon (R-FL), H.R. 4010 would establish a moratorium on
nonimmigrant visas to people born in, or who hold citizenship from, a specified
list of countries and any other country designated as a sponsor of terrorism.
The bill would also amend hte INA to expand and make retroactive the definition
of terrorist activities for purposes of deportation.
H.R. 3286
Moratorium--Oppose
Introduced by Representative
Weldon (R-FL), H.R. 3286 would, among other things, provide for a temporary moratorium
on visas for certain aliens.
H.R. 3222 High-Tech Work Fairness
and Economic Stimulus Act of 2001--Oppose
Introduced by Representative Tancredo (R-CO), H.R. 3222 would limit the number
of H-1B nonimmigrant visas issued in any fiscal year.
H.R. 3221
Moratorium on Student Visas--Oppose
Introduced
by Representative Roukema (R-NJ), H.R. 3221 would establish a temporary moratorium
on the issuance of visas for nonimmigrant foreign students and other exchange
program participants and would change reporting requirements for universities
under the foreign student monitoring program.
H.R. 3181 Moratorium
on Student Visas--Oppose
Introduced by Representative
Bilirakis (R-FL), H.R. 3181 would establish a temporary moratorium on the issuance
of visas for nonimmigrant foreign students and other exchange program participants,
and would change procedures for issuance of nonimmigrant student visas and procedures
for admission at U.S. ports of entry.
H.R. 2113 Secret Evidence
Rule--Oppose
Introduced by Representative
Rohrabacher (R-CA), H.R. 2113 would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act
to ensure that no permanent resident alien or alien in the United States with
an unexpired visa is removed or otherwise deprived of liberty, based on evidence
that is kept secret from the alien. If you wish to know more information
about these bills, please contact us. (05/10/2002)
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