LEGISLATIVE UPDATE – ADVOCACY UPDATE CENTER

As Congress is winding down the legislative session for 1999, many new bills relating to immigration are being introduced. Also, action is being taken on many bills that have been pending before Congress for many months. First we will review proposed bills from the House and Senate, then bills on which votes have been taken. 

House bills

H.R. 3061, introduced by Rep. Smith (R-TX), head of the House Immigration Subcommittee, would extend the period of authorized stay from five to seven years under an S nonimmigrant visa. The S visa is granted to those foreign nationals who are entering the US to assist with law enforcement efforts, particularly those who can provide information to help assist with investigations and convictions. The bill also provides funding for refugee assistance. A similar bill was introduced in the Senate, S. 1713. 

H.R. 3083, the Battered Immigrant Women Protection Act of 1999, introduced by Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) and supported by 38 other representatives including 35 Democrats, 2 Republicans and one Independent, would provide increased protections and immigration opportunities for battered immigrant women. The primary purpose of the bill is to correct erosions in the protections provided by the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 that were created by the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996.  Among the changes the bill would make to current immigration law are the exemption of battered women and children from the annual limits on cancellation of removal and the elimination of the rule that the accrual of continuous physical presence terminates when the INS issues a Notice to Appear. The bill would also allow abused spouse and children to continue the immigration process even when the abuser’s citizenship status has changed, and would allow the Attorney General to waive most grounds of inadmissibility for battered immigrants.

H.R. 3076, the Illegal Alien Forfeiture Act of 1999, introduced by Rep. Deal (R-GA) and supported by eight other Representatives, including two Democrats and six Republicans, would create increased civil penalties for all people who are engaged in immigrant smuggling, both the immigrants and the smugglers.  The bill would allow for the seizure of assets, increase the fines and penalties for smuggling, and make failure to pay the fine for immigrant smuggling a ground for inadmissibility.

H.R. 3149, the Legal Amnesty Restoration Act of 1999, introduced by Rep. Jackson-Lee (D-TX) and supported by 33 other Representatives including 31 Democrats and two Republicans, would repeal one of the many provisions of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 that eliminated judicial review. Specifically, this law would remove the prohibition on litigation of denials to legalize a person’s status under the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986.

Senate Bills

S. 1084, the 21^st Century Technology Resources and Commercial Leadership Act, introduced by Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), would eliminate the annual cap on H-1B visas from year 2000 to 2006. Preference in processing applications would be given to those who graduated from US schools with advanced degrees in mathematics, science, engineering and technology.

S. 1805, the Hunger Relief Act of 1999, introduced by Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and cosponsored by Sens. Arlen Specter (R-PA), Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and James Jeffords (R-VT), would restore food stamp benefits for legal immigrants, which were eliminated in 1996. Under the proposal immigrants would have to meet the same income and related standards that apply to citizens.  A companion bill has been introduced in the House of Representatives, H.R. 3192.

S. 1815, the Farmworker Adjustment Act of 1999, introduced by Sens. Bob Graham (D-FL) and Gordon Smith (R-OR) would provide amnesty and legalization for people who have worked in US agriculture. To be eligible, applicants must have worked 150 days or 880 hours in agriculture during the 12 months before the introduction of this bill.  Applicants will have their status adjusted to nonimmigrant workers, valid for seven years. Applicants would be authorized to work only in agriculture, and work authorization would be terminated if the person fails to work 180 days in agriculture.

After five years of working at least 180 days in agriculture, a person’s status will be adjusted to that of permanent resident.

There would be no annual numerical limitation on adjustment petitions, and being illegally present in the US would not be a ground to deny adjustment.  Also, the Attorney General would be able to waive most grounds of inadmissibility. 

New Laws

The following bills have been signed into law by the President:

After many months of debate, the Congress and the President finally agreed to a budget for 2000. H.R. 3421, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, incorporates funding for most federal agencies, including what was the Commerce, State and Justice appropriations bill.  This bill provides funding for the INS.

H.R. 3061. This new law provides an additional two years of validity for S visas is granted to those foreign nationals who are entering the US to assist with law enforcement efforts, particularly those who can provide information to help assist with investigations and convictions.  The bill also provides funding for refugee assistance. 

H.R. 1555, the Intelligence Authorization Act, allows people who were members of a Communist party to be given US citizenship if they made a contribution of US national security or intelligence. The Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, the Secretary of Defense, and the Attorney General must agree for the person to be eligible for citizenship.

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