ADVOCACY UPDATE
Vol. 5, No. 4, April 2, 2001

The LIFE Act that was passed and signed into law in December 2000 included a provision that extended Section 245(i) from January 14, 1998 until April 30, 2001.  (Advocates unsuccessfully sought a permanent extension.) With the April 30, 2001 deadline looming, many immigrants are seeking to file petitions with the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) and applications with the Department of Labor (DOL);  unfortunately, there are insufficient lawyers and authorized community groups to help them through this process, and unlicensed “notarios” and “immigration consultants” have emerged nationwide to take advantage of the confusion and uncertainties generated by the new LIFE law.  The situation is critical in many states, including in New York, where Governor George Pataki has indicated his strong support for an extension of Section 245(i). 

Two bills have been introduced in Congress to extend the April 30 deadline. Representative Charles Rangel (D-NY) on March 22 introduced H.R. 1195 that would extend the deadline by one year to April 30, 2002.  Representative Peter King (R-NY), along with 20 other Representatives from both parties, introduced on March 27 H.R. 1242 that would extend the deadline for six months to October 31, 2001.   

LEGISLATION TO PROTECT UNACCOMPANIED MINORS

Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) on January 22 introduced S. 121, the Unaccompanied Alien Minor Protection Act of 2001.  This legislation responds to the fact that more than 5,000 foreign-born children annually enter the U.S. from abroad unaccompanied by a parent or guardian.  Many of these children are asylum seekers who have experienced persecution against themselves or their family members and seek protection, while others have been smuggled into the country and are at risk of being forced into sweatshop labor or worse.  Some of these children are victims of neglect, abuse, or abandonment.

Upon apprehension by the INS, these children are placed in detention, often without access to an attorney or opportunities for education, contact with family members, or trips outside the facility.  They also can be subject to punitive measures despite not having committed any crime, such as handcuffing, shackling, or, in some cases, solitary confinement.  Last year alone, nearly 2,000 children were placed in juvenile detention facilities and commingled with youthful offenders who committed violent crimes.  Because they have little access to legal assistance, these children are unable to apply for asylum relief.  Without such assistance, they are returned to their home countries and again subjected to human rights abuses.

S.121 makes important changes in the way our nation addresses the problems affecting unaccompanied children.  First, it creates a separate office devoted to children’s services within the Department of Justice.  It requires the appointment of legal counsel and guardians ad litem ("friend of the child") for each child to ensure that their best interests are served.  It also provides clear guidelines for the standard of care for these children, ensuring that unaccompanied children are housed in appropriate shelters or with foster families if their own families are unable to care for them.

Representative Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) is expected to shortly introduce a companion bill in the House.

LEGISLATION TO CHANGE THE REGISTRY DATE INTRODUCED IN THE SENATE

Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) on March 19 introduced S.562, the Working Families Registry Act (this is similar to the bill he introduced last Congress).  The bill would change the registry date from January 1, 1972, to January 1, 1986.  The registry date has been part of immigration law since 1929, granting people who have resided continuously in the U.S. since the registry date the opportunity to become permanent residents.  The law needs to be updated periodically, as has been done in the past, so it does not become obsolete and would apply only to people who have been in the U.S. since the specific selected date. The registry date has not been changed since the Reagan Administration proposed and passed the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA).  The cut-off date of January 1, 1972 set by that law is too remote to be effective today. 

If S. 562 were to pass, persons who have resided continuously in the U.S. since January 1, 1986, and who are otherwise eligible to immigrate, would be allowed to adjust their status and become permanent residents of the U.S.  This bill also would institute a “rolling registry” date that would automatically move the registry date up one year each year until January 1, 2006.  In other words, on January 2002, the date of registry would automatically change to January 1, 1987, thereby maintaining the fifteen year differential. The date of registry would continue to change on a rolling basis through January 1, 2006, at which point the registry date would be January 1, 1991. 

The registry date has been used to preserve fairness and to recognize the valuable contributions of certain long-term residents of the U.S.  Eligible people must prove that they have continuously resided in the U.S. since the registry date, that they have good moral character, that they are not ineligible for citizenship, and that they are not inadmissible as criminals. 

BIPARTISAN LEGISLATION TO BAN SECRET EVIDENCE INTRODUCED

Introduced by representatives David Bonior (D-MI), Bob Barr (R-GA), and Tom Davis (R-VA), on March 28,  H.R. 1266 would ban the use of secret evidence during INS proceedings.  The legislation would change the provisions of two overly harsh 1996 laws that currently allow the INS to use secret evidence to deport permanent residents, deny asylum to applicants, and deny bond to detained immigrants.  This practice has resulted in immigrants being unable to review the evidence against them in order to defend themselves.  Every Federal Court that has ruled on the use of secret evidence has held that it violates the Constitution.

H.R. 1266 would require the INS to follow the same rules for using classified information in immigration proceedings that are used in the prosecution of criminals under Federal law.  Under the new legislation, the due process protections provided by the Classified Information Procedures Act (CIPA) would be applied in deportation cases, bond hearings, and other immigration proceedings.  These rules require an independent judge to create an unclassified summary of the classified information and provide the summary to the immigration judge and the accused immigrant. There would be no "secret evidence" because the immigration judge would base his or her decision on the same information that is shared with the immigrant. The government could still prosecute and punish terrorists, as it did in the bombings of the World Trade Center and the Federal Building in Oklahoma City. 

HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE APPROVES RULES OF PROCEDURE FOR PRIVATE IMMIGRATION BILLS

The House Judiciary Committee on March 28 approved the Subcommittee on Immigration and Claims’ rules of procedure for private immigration bills in the 107^th Congress.  The rules are identical to those adopted for the 106^th Congress. 

Since the passage of the harsh 1996 laws, the number and importance of private immigration bills have increased.  The rules of procedure adopted by the Subcommittee on Immigration and Claims describe the procedures that members of Congress must follow in introducing a bill and provide a statement of policy on what types of facts warrant legislative action in an individual claim.  As in the previous Congress, the current subcommittee has established strict rules on the types of cases that will be considered and the supporting documentation that is necessary.  Examples of some of the limitations imposed are as follows:

• No private bill shall be scheduled for Subcommittee action until all administrative and judicial remedies have been exhausted.
  
  
• As a general rule, the Subcommittee will not intervene in deportation proceedings and will not request stays of deportation on behalf of beneficiaries.  However, the Subcommittee may, at a formal meeting, entertain a motion to request that the INS provide the Subcommittee with a departmental report on a beneficiary.  In the past, the INS has honored requests for departmental reports by staying deportation until final action is taken on the private bill.  Only those cases designed to prevent extreme hardship to the beneficiary or a U.S. citizen spouse, parent, or child will merit a request for a report.
  
  
• The Subcommittee will take no further action on a private bill that has been tabled by the full Judiciary Committee.  The rules also indicate that the Subcommittee will be reluctant to consider bills introduced in a previous Congress.
  
  
• Bills that are not in compliance with the rules, that waive the two-year foreign residence requirement for doctors, or that waive any law regarding naturalization will be subject to procedural objections that may only be overcome by a two-thirds vote of the Subcommittee.

In the past, Representative Lamar Smith (R-TX), the former chairman of the Subcommittee, took a very strict view of the types of cases that complied with the formal rules and statement of policy.  Because bills that are found not to be in compliance require a two-thirds vote to proceed, very few bills had any chance of consideration or passage.  It is unclear how Representative George Gekas (R-PA), the current chair of the Subcommittee, will rule on these issues.

LEGISLATION RECENTLY INTRODUCED IN THE 107th CONGRESS

S. 562  Working Families Registry Act. Introduced by Senator Reid (D-NV), S.562 would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to update the registry date from 1972 to 1986 thereby extending the admission date for permanent residence for certain aliens. This bill also includes additional one-year extensions starting in January 2002 through January 2006 eventually bringing the registry date to 1991 in the year 2006.

S. 121  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.

H.R. 1266 Secret Evidence. 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. 1242 Extension of 245(i) Deadline. Introduced by Representative King (R-NY), H.R. 1242 would expand the class of beneficiaries who may apply for adjustment of status under Section 245(i) by extending the deadline for classification petition and labor certification filings until October 31, 2001.

H.R. 1195 Extension of 245(i) Deadline.  Introduced by Representative Charles Rangel (D-NY), this measure would expand the class of beneficiaries who may apply for adjustment of status under Section 245(i) by extending the deadline until April 30, 2002.

H.R. 707 Central American and Haitian Adjustment Act of 1999. Introduced by Representative Christopher Smith (R-NJ), H.R. 707 would amend the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act to provide to certain nationals of El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Haiti an opportunity to apply for adjustment of status under that act.

H.R. 500  U.S. Employee, Family Unity, and Legalization Act. Introduced by Representative Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), H.R. 500 calls for changes in the INA including a change of entry date into the United States for purposes of a record of admission for permanent residence for certain aliens; the elimination of retroactive application; restoration of proportionality to grounds of removal; elimination of prohibition on admission for aliens who have been unlawfully present in the United States; visas for certain spouses and children of citizens and permanent residents temporarily waiting for visa numbers; and the establishment of a national task force on the exploitation of and trafficking of immigrants.

H.R. 357  Liberian Refugee Immigration Protection Act of 2001. Introduced by Representative Patrick Kennedy (D-RI), H.R. 357 would adjust the immigration status of certain Liberian nationals who were provided refuge in the United States.

H.R. 348 Central American and Haitian Adjustment Act of 1999.  Introduced by Representative Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), H.R.348 would amend the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act to provide to certain nationals of El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Haiti an opportunity to apply for adjustment of status under that act.

H.R. 87 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 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996.