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LEGISLATIVE UPDATE 
In February, the House of Representatives Immigration Subcommittee held hearings on INS enforcement policy. The tone of the hearings was set by Republican Subcommittee Lamar Smith (R-TX) who charged the INS with being in full retreat in the war against drugs and not being diligent enough in its overall enforcement policies. Representative Sheila Jackson-Lee, the leading Democrat on the committee, countered that Congress has overburdened the INS and that current US immigration laws are often needlessly inflexible and harsh. INS Commissioner Doris Meissner testified that the agency is housing more detainees than it can support and that without significant new funding, it will not be able to meet Congress’ expectations.
A number of immigration related bills have been introduced recently in Congress. The full text of these bills can be seen at the Visalaw Advocacy Center at http://www.visalaw.com/advocacy.html. Here is a roundup:
Senate bills- 
S. 484 – Bring Them Home Alive Act of 1999, introduced by Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-CO), Judd Gregg (R-NH) and Jesse Helms (R-NC), would grant refugee status to certain foreign nationals who deliver into the custody of the U.S. Government America POWs and MIAs from the Korean and Vietnam Wars. Only nationals of Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, China, and the former Soviet Union are eligible for refugee status based on the return of a Vietnam War POW or MIA, and only nationals of North Korea, China, and the former Soviet Union are eligible for refugee status based on the return of a Korean War POW or MIA. 
S 600 – The International Trafficking of Women and Children Victim Protection Act of 1999, introduced by Paul Wellstone (D-MN), would create a special nonimmigrant visa category for women and children who have been the victim of trafficking, allowing them to stay in the U.S. for up to three months, or longer if their applications for asylum have not been adjudicated, or if they have a currently pending civil or criminal action against the trafficker. The normal grounds for admissibility shall not apply to this class of nonimmigrants, except for the exclusion of participants in the Nazi genocide.
House bills
HR 799 – This bill, introduced by Patsy Mink (D-HA), would provide automatic citizenship for certain Amerasians who were granted lawful permanent resident status before they turned nine years old and were adopted by a U.S. citizen. To be eligible the candidate must have been granted lawful permanent resident status under INA section 204(f), which requires birth in Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Kampuchea, or Thailand after 1950 and that the alien was probably fathered by a United States citizen.
HR 801 – This bill, also introduced by Rep. Mink, would modify the residency requirement for transmission of citizenship to children born of one U.S. citizen parent and one alien. Currently, for a child born overseas to only one U.S. citizen parent, to transfer U.S. citizenship the parent must have resided for at least five years after age 16 in the U.S. or one of its possessions. This bill would lower that requirement to three years of residence in the U.S. or a possession for only three years after age 16.
HR 840 – This bill, introduced by Frank Pallone (D-NJ), would prevent the denial of a visa for the spouses and children of lawful permanent residents to enter as visitors or students. The bill also provides that when seeking such a visa, the fact that a petition has been filed to have the nonimmigrant visa seeker classified as a lawful permanent resident shall not be construed to indicate intent to abandon the country of residence (which would otherwise provide a basis for denying the nonimmigrant visa).
HR 849 – The Bangladeshi Adjustment Act – this bill, introduced by Benjamin Gilpin (R-NY), would remove some of the grounds for denying adjustment to lawful permanent resident status for nationals of Bangladesh who have been present in the U.S. since July 1, 1989. Eligible people would not be subject to the provisions providing an alien is inadmissible if they are likely to become a public charge, requiring labor certifications, or illegally entered the U.S. or were found with invalid or no immigration papers. The bill provides for employment authorization during the period in which the application is pending, as well as providing for the adjustment to lawful permanent resident status for spouses and children of those eligible for direct relief. 
HR 945 – This bill, introduced by Robert A. Underwood (D-Guam(delegate)), would make it impossible to apply for asylum in Guam. Rather than go though the asylum process on Guam, the alien would be sent to a place (to be designated by the Attorney General) for further asylum processing, if the alien is determined to satisfy the requirements for an interview with an asylum officer. The bill also provides for the compensation of the government of Guam for its costs in housing and transporting such aliens.
HR 984 – The Caribbean and Central American Relief and Economic Stabilization Act, introduced by Philip Crane (R-IL), Jim Kolbe (R-AZ), Charles Rangel (D-NY), Robert Matsui (D-CA), would provide trade benefits and other assistance to countries devastated by Hurricanes Mitch and Georges. One of the goals of the bill would be to seek the membership of these countries in NAFTA or a similar program, with membership to be achieved by 2005. The bill also attempts to create a better economic system in those countries in an attempt to prevent a mass migration from the region. It also contains one specific provision to appropriate $ 80 million for the INS to be used to increase detention space both for the criminal aliens currently in permanent detention and to prepare for the possible high numbers of illegal immigrants that may flee from Central America.
HR 1007 – The Honduran Refugee Immigration Fairness Act of 1999 – this bill, introduced by Carrie P. Meek (D-FL), would remove certain barriers to lawful permanent residence to certain Honduran nationals. Hondurans who were physically present in the U.S. on December 31, 1995 and have been physically present in the U.S. for at least one year since that date would be eligible for adjustment to lawful permanent resident status without application of the provisions making an alien inadmissible if he is likely to become a public charge, requires a labor certification, or illegally entered the U.S. or was found with invalid or no immigration papers.
HR 441, the Nursing Relief For Disadvantaged Areas Act of 1999, has cleared the House Immigration Subcommittee, and is now pending before the Judiciary Committee for further proceedings.
A bill has been proposed in the Texas State legislature that would allow U.S. Border Patrol agents to enforce Texas State law. A similar proposal was defeated several years ago because of opposition motivated by fear that the Border Patrol will not respect the Fourth Amendment prohibition on unreasonable searches and seizures. There are currently a dozen federal agencies authorized to enforce Texas law. The new bill was motivated by the deaths of two Border Patrol agents last summer during a murder investigation.
The Iowa State Senate has approved a bill that would make English the official language of the state. The law would also provide for the creation of a "Center for New Iowans" which would provide aid to immigrants arriving in the state. The state would provide $ 150,000 in funding for the center each year. If the law passes the state house chamber, Iowa will become the 26th state with such a law.