LEGISLATIVE UPDATE Clearly, the most important legislative developments in the past month were the limited extension of Section 245i of the Immigration and Nationality Act, the passage of the Central American amnesty legislation, the revision of last year's immigration law's provisions on the entry of Canadians and the passage of the new INS fingerprint policy. Each of these topics is dealt with at length in separate articles in this newsletter.
In other legislative news, California Republican Congressman Elton Gallegly was able to secure passage of a bill that will now expand across the country a pilot program in Ventura County California that allows INS agents to put immigration holds on county jail inmates. As soon as inmates serve their time in the country jail, they are transported to INS detention facilities to begin deportation proceedings. The bill will expand the program to 100 jails across the country. The program found that 10% of inmates at Ventura Country Jail are illegal or otherwise deportable and nearly 1000 inmates ended up being placed in INS custody following their stays at the jail.
Bills aimed at keeping criminal immigrants from becoming US citizens were introduced last month in the House and the Senate. The bill, which codifies various INS policies and sets new prohibited practices, is being co-sponsored by Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) and Senator Spencer Abraham (R-MI). The bill, a response to last year's controversy relating to the naturalization of several thousand aliens with criminal backgrounds, provides for the following:
- bar immigrants who have committed crimes for which they can be deported
- require naturalization applicants to submit fingerprints taken by law enforcement agencies
- require the INS to ensure that criminal background investigations are complete before naturalization
- require INS agents to interview each naturalization applicant
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