There is finally news to report regarding the advancement of the immigration overhaul bill (H.R. 2202) since our July 1996 newsletter. As you may recall, the major immigration reform bill (previously referred to in the House as the Smith Bill and the Senate as the Simpson Bill) has been passed by both houses of Congress and now sits in a conference committee where a compromise version must be hammered out. After that, the bill will go back for a final vote in each house before going on to the President for signature. The bill has been stalled in the committee now for several months and no action will occur until a number of controversial issues are resolved. Furthermore, as of the writing of this article, the House had not even named its members to the conference committee. Timing is critical at this point because Congress is in its August recess and then will have just four weeks to finish up its legislative activities for this session of Congress. After that, the bill would die if no action is taken.
The biggest issue stalling the bill is the Gallegly provision in the House version of the bill, a section of the bill that would let a state prohibit granting an education to the undocumented alien children. President Clinton has vowed to veto the bill if this provision remains. A compromise on this provision that would delay its implementation for a period of time is being considered, but no agreement has been reached. The issue has created a great deal of division among Republicans many of whom state they will make their decision on how to vote on the bill on this single issue. There are also indications that the Senate may begin a filibuster intended to thwart a vote on the bill altogether should the Gallegly provision be included in the compromise package. Just prior to the release of this issue, we learned that Republicans on the conference committee had worked our a compromise that we believe would allow children currently enrolled in school to continue and would allow everyone else to attend until the 6th grade. However, the threat of a filibuster remains real.
Other sticking points in the bill include differences over the deadline people have for applying for asylum, differences over summary exclusion rules, different provisions that would bar people from entering the US who have been out of status for greater than a given length of time and different minimum income requirements for sponsors of immigrants.
According to the American Immigration Lawyers Association, the priority issues for pro-immigration advocates are the following:
- removing the 10-year/3-year permanent bars to admissibility
- preserving suspension relief from deportation
- retaining the Leahy amendment to protect refugees from summary exclusion and eliminating asylum time limits
- preserving judicial review
- removing the 200% income barrier to family immigration
- retaining adjustment of status penalty fee provisions
- eliminating H-1B restrictions.
As we have reminded readers time and again, please contact your Congressional Representatives to urge them to vote the right way on these issues. We especially urge readers to call their Senators and ask them to filibuster if the final bill contains any version of the Gallegly provision denying public education to undocumented children.
Disclaimer: This newsletter is provided as a public service and not intended to establish an attorney client relationship. Any reliance on information contained herein is taken at your own risk. The information provided in this article has not been updated since its original posting and you should not rely on it until you consult counsel to determine if the content is still valid. We keep older articles online because it helps in the understanding of the development of immigration law.