Freedom From Religious Persecution Bill Passes in House

The House of Representatives passed a bill that would require automatic sanctions against any country found to be engaging in religious persecution. The bill also denies visas to known persecutors and makes it easier for victims to claim asylum in the U.S. A similar bill is pending in the Senate. The White House has expressed concern over the automatic sanctions provision stating that sanctions can be counterproductive and could cause foreign policy problems.

House Immigration Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Structure of INS

At the end of May, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and Claims held a hearing to gather information on whether INS should remain one agency, should be split into two agencies or whether its functions should be spread to other agencies within the federal government. Doris Meissner, Commissioner of INS, cautioned that INS' functions are too intertwined to be spread over a number of agencies, but Representative Harold Rogers (R-KY) is sponsoring legislation (HR 3904) that would do just that.

105th Congress Addresses Immigration Issues

More than 150 bills dealing with all aspects of immigration issues have been introduced during the 105th Congress as of May 1, 1998. Naturalization bills included H.R. 371 and S. 719 to expedite the naturalization of Hmong veterans who served with special guerilla units in Laos and S. 1717 and H.R. 3341 to strengthen the naturalization process. Legal immigration bills included S. 1723 and H.R. 3736 to increase the H-1B visa cap for skilled workers and H.R. 890 to grant special immigration status to certain aliens working as journalists in Hong Kong. Bills addressing asylum and refugees included S. 1504 and H.R. 3033 to exempt Haitian refugees from the 1996 immigration bill's bars concerning adjustment of status and H.R. 825 to develop regulations to grant asylum based on gender-related persecution. Rather than report on all of them, we will continue reporting on those bills that pass through committee or appear to have a serious chance of passing.