107th CONGRESS

Below is a list of immigration-related bills introduced during the 107th Congress. (The list will be updated regularly. It is organized by topic, with Senate bills listed first.)

Adjustment of Status/Family Unification

 

S. 2493
Support 		Uniting Families Act of 2002: Introduced by Senator Tom Daschle (D-SD), S. 2493 would extend the filing deadline for the special adjustment of status provisions of INA § 245(i) to April 30, 2003, and would restrict the benefit of the extended deadline to those applicants “who are beneficiaries of petitions for classification or applications for labor certifications filed before, on, or after the date of enactment of this Act.” 

S. 778
Support

245(i) Extension: Introduced by Senator Chuck Hagel (R-NE), S.778 would expand the class of beneficiaries who may apply for adjustment of status under Section 245(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act by extending the deadline for classification petition and labor certification filings to April 30, 2002.
H.R. 1885
No position 		Section 245(i) Extension Act of 2001: Introduced by Representative George Gekas (R-PA), H.R. 1885 would expand the class of beneficiaries who may apply for adjustment of status under Section 245(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act by extending the deadline for classification petition and labor certification filings.

Asylum/Special Immigrants

S. 1311
Support		 Refugee Protection Act: Introduced by Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Sam Brownback (R-KS), Edward Kennedy (D-MA), Susan Collins (R-ME), Richard Durbin (D-IL), James Jeffords (I-VT), and Bob Graham (D-FL), S. 1311 would, among other things, limit the use of expedited removal procedures to immigration emergencies and provide safeguards to assure due process rights. H.R. 4074 is the companion bill in the House.

S. 1291
Support

DREAM Act: Introduced by Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) in August 2001, the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act would allow states to determine who is eligible for in-state tuition rates. The bill would also grant conditional residency through cancellation of removal and adjustment of status to undocumented students who are seeking college education and meet certain qualifications. Applicants would only become permanent residents after they have obtained a college degree.
S. 121
Support 		Unaccompanied Alien Child Protection Act of 2001: Introduced by Senator Dianne Feinstein (D- CA), S.121 would establish an Office of Children’s Services within the Department of Justice to coordinate and implement government actions involving unaccompanied alien children. The bill would provide for the appointment of a guardian ad litem and counsel. This bill has been incorporated into S. 2444, the Kennedy/Brownback INS reorganization bill.

H.R. 4074
Support

Refugee Protection Act of 2002: Introduced by Representative Chris Smith (R-NJ). H.R. 4074 is an identical version of S.1311. The bill would, among other provisions, limit the use of expedited removal procedures to immigration emergencies and provide safeguards to assure due process rights.

H.R. 1918
Support

 Student Adjustment Act of 2001: Introduced by Representatives Chris Cannon (R-UT) and Howard Berman (D-CA), H.R. 1918 would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to cancel the removal and adjust the status of certain alien college-bound students who are long-term U.S. residents, and would amend the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 to permit states to determine state residency for higher education tuition.

H.R. 1904
Support 

Unaccompanied Alien Child Protection Act of 2001: Introduced by Representatives Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) and Chris Cannon (R-UT), H.R. 1904 would establish an Office of Children’s Services within the Department of Justice to coordinate and implement government actions involving unaccompanied alien children among other things. The bill would provide for the appointment of a guardian ad litem and counsel.
   
H.R. 1582
Support  		Immigrant Children’s Educational Advancement and Dropout Prevention Act of 2001: Introduced by Representative Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), H.R.1582 would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to adjust the status of certain long-staying alien children, and would restore the right of State and local governments to decide whom they will admit to their state and local colleges and universities.
     

Due Process and Civil Liberties

S. 955
Support 		Immigrant Fairness Restoration Act of 2001: Introduced by Senators Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and Bob Graham (D-FL), S. 955 would provide comprehensive reform of the 1996 immigration laws, including: eliminating mandatory and indefinite detention; eliminating the bars to admissibility for unlawful presence; restoring waivers of certain grounds of inadmissibility established by the 1996 laws; and restoring due process, proportionality, judicial discretion, and judicial review to immigration law.
H.R. 3894
Support 		Restoration of Fairness in Immigration Act of 2002: Introduced by Representative John Conyers (R-MI), H.R. 3894 would restore due process by repealing the retroactivity of IIRAIRA, restore judicial review and discretion, eliminate mandatory detention, and otherwise restore fairness and proportionality.
H.R. 1452
Support 		Family Reunification Act of 2001: Introduced by Representative Barney Frank (D-MA), H.R. 1452 would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to expand the eligibility of certain long-term permanent resident aliens to seek cancellation of removal, and would reform some of the harsher provisions of the IIRAIRA.
H.R. 1266
Support 		Secret Evidence Repeal Act of 2001: Introduced by Representative David Bonior (D-MI), H.R. 1266 would ensure that no alien is removed, denied a benefit under the Immigration and Nationality Act, or otherwise deprived of liberty, based on evidence that is kept secret from the alien.
H.R. 87
Support 		Keeping Families Together Act of 2001: Introduced by Representative Bob Filner (D-CA), H.R. 87 would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to restore certain provisions relating to the definition of aggravated felony and other provisions as they were before the enactment of the IIRAIRA.

Driver's Licenses/ ID Documents

H.R. 4633
Oppose 		Driver's License Modernization Act of 2002: Introduced by Representative James Moran (D-VA) on May 1, 2002, H.R. 4633 would establish standards for state programs for the issuance of drivers’ licenses and identification cards. Such standards would require the addition of multiple security features such as embedded computer chips and biometric data. In addition, the bill would require states to participate in a program to link all state motor vehicle databases, and would provide for grants to states to implement such a program. Finally, the bill provides penalties for the forgery or false use of drivers’ licenses or identification cards.
H.R. 4043
Oppose 		Driver's License Legislation: Introduced by Representative Jeff Flake (R-AZ) on March 20, 2002, H.R. 4043 would bar federal agencies from accepting for any identification-related purpose any state-issued driver’s license or other comparable identification document unless the state requires such licenses or documents issued to nonimmigrant aliens to expire upon the later of: (1) the expiration of the aliens’ nonimmigrant visa; or (2) in an instance where the visa’s validity period has been modified, not more than five years after license or document issuance.


Essential Workers

S. 1259
Support 		Rural and Urban Health Care Act of 2001: Introduced by Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS), S. 1259 would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act with respect to the admission of nonimmigrant nurses, to eliminate duplicative requirements in the admission process.
H.R. 2705
No position 		Rural and Urban Health Care Act of 2001: Introduced by Representative Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), H.R. 2705 would modify the requirements applicable to the admission into the United States of H–1C nonimmigrant registered nurses. The bill limits to two the number of times an alien may take State licensure examination and requires the alien to depart the U.S. if he or she fails to pass the examination on the second attempt. The bill also imposes a 195,000 numerical cap on H–1C visas.


INS Reorganization

S. 2444
Support

Immigration Reform, Accountability, and Security Enhancement Act of 2002: Introduced by Senators Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA) and Sam Brownback (R-KS) on May 2, 2002, S. 2444 would dismantle the INS and separate the service and enforcement functions into two distinct Bureaus. The legislation would provide for coordination between the two entities, however, by placing at the helm of the new Agency a Director with the authority to develop and administer immigration policy for the entire Agency.

H.R.3231
Oppose

 INS Reorganization: Introduced by Representative James Sensenbrenner (R-WI), H.R. 3231 would replace the Immigration and Naturalization Service with the Agency for Immigration Affairs, and make various other organizational changes.

National Security

S. 2452
Support

National Homeland Security and Combating Terrorism Act of 2002:  Introduced on May 2, 2002, by Senator Joseph I. Lieberman (D-CT), S. 2452 would create a Cabinet-level Department of National Homeland Security and a separate White House Office of Combating Terrorism. The bill, as amended, would maintain immigration functions together in a fifth division and would incorporate S. 2444 (the bipartisan reorganization bill introduced by Senators Kennedy and Brownback which AILA strongly supports) as the way to structure immigration functions. The bill would also create within the DOJ the Agency for Immigration Hearings and Appeals that would include the Board of Immigration Appeals. In addition, visa processing policy would be moved into Homeland Security, with the DOS issuing the visas.
H.R. 5005
Oppose 		Homeland Security Act of 2002: Introduced on June 24, 2002, by House Majority Leader Richard K. Armey (R–TX), H.R. 5005 is the Bush Administration’s homeland security vehicle in the House. The bill, as amended, would split up the INS, with the service function remaining within the DOJ, and enforcement and inspections going into the new Homeland Security Department. The bill would also allow the EOIR to be moved into Homeland Security, along with the DOS’s visa policy functions, with DOS retaining control of actual visa issuance.
H.R. 4660
Oppose 		National Homeland Security and Combating Terrorism Act of 2002: Introduced on May 2, 2002, by Representative William Thornberry (R-TX), H.R. 4660 would create a Cabinet-level Department of National Homeland Security and a separate White House Office of Combating Terrorism. Specifically, the bill would create a new department combining the U.S. Customs Service, Border Patrol, Coast Guard, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Agriculture Department’s quarantine inspectors, and the INS’s enforcement functions.


Nonimmigrants

S. 2742
Support 		Border Commuter Student Act of 2002: Introduced by Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R–TX) on July 17, 2002, S. 2742 would amend INA § 101(a)(15)(F) to establish a new nonimmigrant category for border commuter students. The legislation was spurred by a 5/22/02 INS memo prohibiting INS inspectors from admitting commuter students into the U.S. on tourist visas/border crossing cards to enroll in part-time courses of study.
S. 2674
Support 		Make Permanent the Conrad State 20 Program: Introduced by Senator Sam Brownback (R–KS), S. 2674 would make permanent the “Conrad State 20” program, which allows states to request waivers of the two-year home residence requirement of INA § 212(e) for certain J–1 physicians who agree to work in medically underserved areas for a period of at least three years. The bill would also increase the number of physicians that a state may sponsor annually from 20 to 30.
H.R. 4967
Support 		Border Commuter Student Act of 2002: Introduced by Representative Jim Kolbe(R–AZ) on June 19, 2002, H.R. 4967 (like S. 2742 above) would amend INA § 101(a)(15)(F) to establish a new nonimmigrant category for border commuter students. The legislation was spurred by a 5/22/02 INS memo prohibiting INS inspectors from admitting commuter students into the U.S. on tourist visas/border crossing cards to enroll in part-time courses of study.
H.R. 4858
Support 		Extension of Conrad State 20 Program: Introduced by Representative Jerry Moran (R–KS), H.R. 4858 would renew and extend for another two years the “Conrad State 20” program, which allows states to request waivers of the two-year home residence requirement of INA § 212(e) for certain J–1 physicians who agree to work in medically underserved areas for a period of at least three years. The bill would also increase the number of physicians that a state may sponsor annually from 20 to 30.


Restrictionist Bills

H.R. 5013
Oppose 		Securing America’s Future through Enforcement Reform (SAFER) Act: Introduced by Representative George Gekas (R–PA), H.R. 5013 would make a number of negative changes to our immigration laws, including: reducing severely the worldwide level of family-sponsored immigration; gutting the current family-based preference system; eliminating completely judicial review of asylum decisions; and making restrictive changes to the grounds of inadmissibility of INA § 212.

H.R. 4010 
Oppose

Terrorist Admission Prevention Act of 2002:  Introduced by Representative Dave Weldon (R-FL), H.R. 4010 would establish a moratorium on nonimmigrant visas to people born in, or who hold citizenship from, a specified list of countries and any other country designated as a sponsor of terrorism. The bill would also amend the INA to expand and make retroactive the definition of terrorist activities for purposes of deportation.
H.R. 3286
Oppose		 Moratorium: Introduced by Representative Dave Weldon (R-FL), H.R. 3286 would, among other things, provide for a temporary moratorium on visas for certain aliens.
H.R. 3222
Oppose		 High-Tech Work Fairness and Economic Stimulus Act of 2001: Introduced by Representative Tom Tancredo (R-CO), H.R. 3222 would limit the number of H–1B nonimmigrant visas issued in any fiscal year.
H.R. 3221
Oppose		 Moratorium on Student Visas:  Introduced by Representative Marge Roukema (R-NJ), H.R. 3221 would establish a temporary moratorium on the issuance of visas for nonimmigrant foreign students and other exchange program participants and would change reporting requirements for universities under the foreign student monitoring program.

H.R. 3181
Oppose

 Moratorium on Student Visas:  Introduced by Representative Michael Bilirakis (R-FL), H.R. 3181 would establish a temporary moratorium on the issuance of visas for nonimmigrant foreign students and other exchange program participants, and would change procedures for issuance of nonimmigrant student visas and procedures for admission at U.S. ports of entry.

H.R. 190
Oppose 

Clarifies the Effect on the Citizenship of an Individual Born in the United States: Introduced by Representative Bob Stump (R-AZ), H.R. 190 would change the definition of citizenship to prevent children born in the United States from being citizens if their parents were not in a legal status at the time of their birth.