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LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
S. 2742, the Border Commuter Student Act of 2002, introduced by Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson (R-TX) would create a nonimmigrant visa especially for part-time commuter students from Mexico and Canada. Until recently, such students were allowed to attend classes without a visa, but an INS rule change stopped that practice.
S. 2769, introduced by Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA), would amend the US tax code to prohibit the practice of renouncing US citizenship as a means of avoiding taxation. Currently, the names of people who renounce their citizenship to avoid taxes are published in the Federal Register, but they are able to successfully avoid taxes. Under this bill, the property of a person who renounces their citizenship will be treated as sold on the day before the renunciation, making the gains and losses from the “sale” subject to US taxes.
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This week the House of Representatives approved The Child Status Protection Act, a bill that would eliminate many of the problems children of immigrants experience when they “age-out,” that is, become to old to benefit from their parents’ immigration. For most benefits, the child must be under 21. Problems arise when the application is filed before the 21st birthday, but, because of INS processing delays, the child turns 21 before processing is completed. The bill would peg the child’s age, for immigration purposes, at the age when the application was filed. The bill, H.R. 1209, has also been approved by the Senate and will become law if the President signs it.
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Last weekend, a special House committee approved legislation that would create a Department of Homeland Security. As expected, the only part of the INS to be located within the new department is enforcement, and services will remain within the Justice Department. Some members of the Senate have indicated that they will not incorporate the flexibility regarding spending and employees that President Bush has said he wants, leading the White House to say it might have to veto the bill.
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This week the House Judiciary Committee approved H.R. 1452, the Family Reunification Act of 2002 that would restore some fairness to immigration law that was lost in 1996 with the passage of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act. We discussed the visa when it was introduced more than one year ago (http://www.visalaw.com/01apr1/17apr101.html). For the most part, the bill remains in tact, but with one important amendment. Under this amendment, in cases involving grounds for cancellation of removal created by the bill, the decision to issue cancellation is non-delegable, and only the Attorney General or Deputy Attorney General make approve cancellation.
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This week Rep. Richard Gephardt (D-MO), the House Minority Leader, in a speech at the annual meeting of the National Council of La Raza, a Hispanic advocacy organization, said he would introduce legislation that would legalize the immigration status of possibly millions of undocumented immigrants in the US. According to Gephardt, his bill would allow immigrant who have lived in the US for at least five years, and worked here for at least two, to apply for permanent residency. He touted the bill as an anti-terrorism measure, saying that decreasing the undocumented population and the various black markets that accompany it will make the US safer. Advocates estimate that about three to four million people will benefit, about 75 percent of them from Mexico. Gephardt says he will introduce the bill after Congress returns from its summer recess.
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