LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

House bills –

H.R. 3650, the Permanent Partners Immigration Act of 2000, introduced by Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and sponsored by 11 other Representatives, all Democrats, would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to allow same-sex partners the same immigration opportunities as spouses.  Given the current political and social attitudes toward homosexuality, this bill faces an uphill battle to say the least.

H.R. 3664, the Illegal Alien Prosecution Act of 2000, introduced by Rep. Matt Salmon (R-AZ), would require the INS to, at the request of state or federal criminal justice officials, defer the deportation of undocumented aliens who are awaiting trial for a serious violent felony under state or federal law.  Serious violent felonies include murder, manslaughter, assault with intent to commit murder or rape, sexual abuse, kidnapping, robbery, carjacking and arson, among other crimes, as well as any other offense that is punishable by up to 10 years in prison and involves the use, threatened use of force, or a substantial risk of force.  If deportation is deferred, the INS must detain the alien until trial.  The same rules would apply to aliens convicted of any other felony, with the only difference being that the INS has discretion to defer deportation.  The law would also require the INS to detain any alien awaiting trial for a serious violent felony who has been released on bail.

H.R. 3667, the Child Citizenship Act of 2000, introduced by William Delahunt (D-MA) and Sam Gejdenson (D-CT), would amend the requirements for automatic citizenship of children born outside the US.  Currently a child born outside the US to one citizen and one alien parent becomes a citizen when the alien parent is naturalized if the child is under 18 at the time and has been admitted to the US as a permanent resident.  The proposed bill would eliminate the requirement that the noncitizen parent be naturalized and replace it with a requirement that the citizen parent have lived in the US or one of its possessions for at least five years, two of which must be after age 14, or that the citizen parent have a citizen parent with five years residence in the US, two after age 14.

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State bills –

A bill has been proposed in the California legislature that would require the California Department of Corrections to report to the INS all noncitizens in its custody, and to transfer their custody to the INS when released from the state.  The Department currently provides names of those it suspects are noncitizens to the INS, but is not required to do so by law.  The sponsor of the bill says it is necessary in light of Gov. Gray Davis’ decision to not enforce Proposition 187, the anti-immigrant measure passed in 1994.