< back
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
This week the House approved H.R. 371, the Hmong Veterans Naturalization Act.  The bill waives the English language requirement for naturalization for those Hmong who can document service on behalf of the US during the Vietnam War.  Supporters of the bill say that the lack of a written Hmong language has made it difficult for them to learn English, and that their service during the war is more than sufficient evidence of their attachment to the US.  Now that both the House and Senate have passed the bill, it will be sent to President Clinton.  He is expected to sign the legislation into law. 
********* 
The House wasted no time in passing H.R. 4489, the bill that would eliminate Section 110 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996.  The Immigration and Naturalization Service Data Management Improvement Act of 2000 was introduced last week after House and Senate leaders reached a compromise on Section 110, one of the most contentious provision of the 1996 law.  The bill would create a program in which the INS would not collect any additional information from those admitted to the US, but would be required to create a computer database of the information that would be available to law enforcement across the country.  The same bill was approved by the Senate and now only requires the President’s signature to become law. 
********* 
The Senate has passed S. 484, the Bring Them Home Alive Act.  This bill would provide refugee status to nationals of countries where US soldiers who were taken prisoners of war or were reported missing in action during the Korean and Vietnam Wars in exchange for their assistance in helping return the missing soldiers to the US alive.