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LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
H.R. 5062, introduced by Rep. Bill McCollum (R-FL) just before Congress adjourned for its summer recess, would eliminate some of the harsher criminal alien provisions of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRAIRA).  Among the changes it would make are the following:
Under IIRAIRA, a person is not eligible for certain forms of relief from deportation unless they have accrued seven years of continuous residence in the US.  A criminal conviction, whenever it occurred, stops the period of continuous residence.  H.R. 5062 would make convictions entered before September 30, 1996, the effective date of the IIRAIRA, inapplicable in stopping the period of continuous residence. 
IIRAIRA greatly expanded the definition of “aggravated felony” and made all crimes, regardless of when committed, subject to the new definition.  H.R. 5062 would treat crimes as aggravated felonies only if they were so classified at the time of their commission.  
 The bill would also require the INS to develop procedures for those who were deported because of the retroactive application of the IIRAIRA to apply for cancellation of removal.  It would also require the INS to grant parole to people already deported so that they may return to the US and seek cancellation from within the country.

The bill was the product of intense negotiations between Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), who has long been active in efforts to undo some of the harsher provisions of the IIRAIRA, and Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), one of the primary authors of the IIRAIRA.  The bill will not be going to committee, but instead straight to the House floor.  Action is expected soon after Congress returns from recess. 
 
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