House and Senate bills proposing that states offer in-state college tuition to children of undocumented immigrants remain unlikely to pass this term, according to the Orange County Register.  The proposed legislation would apply to students who have attended high school or college in the U.S. and would make them eligible for legal permanent residency.  The Student Adjustment Act has not yet been heard in the House’s immigration subcommittee, and the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act passed out of its committee last fall but has so far been blocked from the Senate floor. 

The Orange County Register asserts that election-year politics and controversy among congressional Republicans have stalled the bills. Opponents of the proposed legislation believe that it would reward and encourage illegal immigration.  In contrast, supporters insist that children should not bear the consequences of their parents’ illegal acts, and that the country would profit from the efforts of hardworking immigrants aided by the legislation.  Angelica Salas, executive director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA), estimates that, if passed, the bills would benefit 65,000 students each year.

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The American Immigration Lawyers Association reported this week that the House of Representatives passed (242-163) the Roybal-Allard amendment to H.R. 4567.  This amendment, the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, would stop the contracting out of IIO and other positions inherently governmental at the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigrations Services of the Department of Homeland Security.

Also reported this that the House defeated (262-145) the Tancredo amendment would have withheld Homeland Security funds from local communities if agencies did not report the immigration status of individuals in their districts.

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The CongressDaily reported last week that the House has voted to extend for one year the deadline requiring that the 27 visa waiver countries provide their citizens with biometric passports before entering the U.S.  The vote responds to complaints by many European nations that the October 26 deadline is unrealistic.  The Bush administration has called for a two-year extension because it claims that U.S. consular offices will be flooded with visas requests in the countries that are unable to meet the deadline.  Congress passed the biometric passport program in 2002 in response to the threat that terrorists could use counterfeited passports from visa waiver countries to enter the U.S.  The biometric passport ensures validity by enabling officials to match each individual’s unique characteristics with a digital image in the passport.

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The Los Angeles Times last week reported that a California Senate panel has approved a bill that would grant drivers’ licenses to undocumented immigrants who were fingerprinted and passed a background check.  Applicants would also have to be photographed and pay $146 for the license.

Opponents to the bill say that it would allow terrorists to create new identities.  Because proof of identity from the applicant’s native country would be necessary, opponents further state that identity documents such as Mexico’s matricula consular are unreliable and therefore would not provide a dependable background check.  Proponents argue that the license requirements would help authorities identify who is in the country illegally and track those who are sought for law enforcement infractions.  Others feel that the bill’s provisions will dissuade individuals from applying for licenses unless there is a guarantee that the required information will not lead to deportation.  The bill must pass both the California senate and the house, both of which are Democratically controlled, before it arrives at Gov. Schwarzenegger’s desk.  Schwarzenegger has previously stated that he is against giving drivers’ licenses to undocumented immigrants.

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H.CON.RES.460 : Regarding the security of Israel and the principles of peace in the Middle East.
Sponsor: Rep DeLay, Tom [TX-22] (introduced 6/22/2004)
Committees: House International Relations; Senate Foreign Relations
Latest Major Action: 6/24/2004 Referred to Senate committee.
Status: Received in the Senate and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.

H.RES.685 : Revising the concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2005 as it applies in the House of Representatives.
Sponsor: Rep Obey, David R. [WI-7] (introduced 6/22/2004)
Committees: House Rules; House Budget
Latest Major Action: 6/24/2004 Failed of passage/not agreed to in House.
Status: On agreeing to the resolution Failed by recorded vote: 184 - 230 (Roll no. 301).

H.R.4613 : Making appropriations for the Department of Defense for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2005, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Lewis, Jerry [CA-41] (introduced 6/18/2004)
Committees: House Appropriations
Latest Major Action: 6/24/2004 Resolving differences / Conference -- Senate actions.
Status: Senate insists on its amendment, asks for a conference, appoints conferees Stevens; Cochran; Specter; Domenici; Bond; McConnell; Shelby; Gregg; Hutchison; Burns; Inouye; Hollings; Byrd; Leahy; Harkin; Dorgan; Durbin; Reid; Feinstein.

H.R.4619 : To authorize the extension of nondiscriminatory treatment (normal trade relations treatment) to the products of Ukraine.
Sponsor: Rep Gerlach, Jim [PA-6] (introduced 6/18/2004)
Committees: House Ways and Means
Latest Major Action: 6/18/2004 Referred to House committee.

Status: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.

S.RES.384 : A resolution expressing the sense of the Senate on the development of self-government in Kosovo.
Sponsor: Sen Lugar, Richard G. [IN] (introduced 6/18/2004)
Committees: Senate Foreign Relations
Latest Major Action: 6/18/2004 Referred to Senate committee.

Status: Referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.

S.2548 : -- Private Bill; A bill for the relief of Shigeru Yamada.
Sponsor: Sen Feinstein, Dianne [CA] (introduced 6/18/2004)      

Committees: Senate Judiciary
Latest Major Action: 6/18/2004 Referred to Senate committee.

Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

S.2549 : -- Private Bill; A bill for the relief of Alfredo Plascencia Lopez and Maria Del Refugio Plascencia.
Sponsor: Sen Feinstein, Dianne [CA] (introduced 6/18/2004)

Committees: Senate Judiciary
Latest Major Action: 6/18/2004 Referred to Senate committee.

Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

For a review of all the immigration bills that have been recently introduced, visit our legislative chart at www.visalaw.com/advocacy.html.