The House of Representatives acted with extraordinary speed in passing one of the toughest immigration bills since the National Origin Act of 1924. The bill, H.R. 4337, was introduced by House Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner on December 6^th, passed through the Judiciary Committee on December 13^th and passed the entire House of Representatives just four days later. Many members who voted on the 169 page piece of legislation may not have even had the opportunity to review the bill before casting a vote.

The bill passed by a margin of 239 to 182 largely along party lines. Republicans supported the measure by a margin of 203 to 17. Democrats opposed by a margin of 164 to 36. The bill’s extreme measures and its failure to include guest worker provisions make it highly unlikely that it will pass the Senate. However, pro-immigration advocates worry that many of the bill’s most controversial provisions could make it into a final bill that eventually reaches the President’s desk.

H.R. 4337 is more than 200 pages long and has dozens of sections. Among the more controversial are provisions calling for

-          making it a felony punishable by at least a year in prison to be in the US illegally either by entering illegally or overstaying or violating the terms of a visa

-          expanding the definition of alien smuggling to include offering any kind of support such as the kind of aid offered by church groups and social service agencies

-          elimination of the annual green card lottery

-          a provision giving state and local law enforcement officials inherent authority to enforce immigration law

-          the construction of more than 700 miles of fencing along the Mexican border and a study of whether the US should establish a similar barrier along the Canadian border

-          elimination of judicial review for most types of cases including non-immigrant visas and arbitrary motion to reopen denials

-          makes it an aggravated felony  to use a false passport even if used as a way to get to the US to file for political asylum.

-          Makes a single drunk driving offense a ground for deportation

Despite the swift movement of the bill, numerous groups publicly opposed the measure including most of the major religious faiths in the US, the AFL-CIO (the nation’s largest confederation of labor unions), the US Chamber of Commerce, the American Bar Association, the Society of Human Resource Management and organizations representing many of the nation’s ethnic communities.

The bill may also have a damaging effect on US-Mexico relations. Mexican President Vicente Fox, according to today’s New York Times, is furious about the passage of the bill, calling it a “shameful” setback in bilateral relations and a troubling reflection of America’s willingness to tolerate “xenophobic groups that impose the law at will.”

Fox went further stating “To us, what has been decided in the United States Congress is a terrible sign that does not speak well for a country that calls itself a country of migrants. The entire population of the United States, when we look at its roots, the immense majority of people are migrants who have come from all over the world, and have built that great nation.”

According to the Times, Ruben Aguilar, a spokesman for Fox, said Mexico feels they trusted President Bush to get support form his own party for a more comprehensive immigration bill and they are “deeply disappointed” by the House bill.