Legislative Update, Volume 4, No. 5, April 27, 2000

The Senate on April 25 reconvened after the Easter/Passover Recess. The House is scheduled to come back from their recess on May 2. There are only about 61 legislative days left in this Congress. With the leadership of the House and Senate at risk, and the White House up for grabs, Congress will be pushing for an even shorter legislative session.

Senate Leadership has indicated that S. 2045, the Hatch/Abraham H-1B bill may shortly come to the Senate floor for a vote, possibly within the next week. All advocates and supports are urged to call their Senators in the next few days and urge them to KEEP AMERICA GROWING AND VOTE FOR S. 2045! The Congressional Switchboard number is 202-224-3121. Please emphasize that:

On the House side, Republican leadership offices recently have signaled their decision to work with Chairman Lamar Smith (R-TX) on crafting a new version of his H-1B bill, H.R. 4227, and not move H.R. 3983, the Dreier/Lofgren bill unanimously supported by the business community and AILA. House leadership appears fearful of the consequences within their party of moving around a subcommittee chairman and have decided to move forward a bill that is not supported by anyone.

Advocates are urged to contact the offices of Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL), Majority Leader Richard Armey (R-TX), Majority Whip Tom DeLay (R-TX), Republican Conference Chair J.C. Watts (R-OK), and Republican National Congressional Committee Chair Tom Davis (R-VA) to urge them to move H.R. 3983, the only bill that will earn the bi-partisan support needed to pass this Congress.

This year’s elections, the growing importance of immigrant voters, and the booming economy have contributed to an increasingly favorable political climate for immigrants and immigration issues. While opponents of immigration still abound and wield very significant power in Congress, the confluence of factors already has resulted in organized labor’s shift in policy toward immigrants and open discussions of such issues as legalization for undocumented workers.

As was evident in the recent House Immigration Subcommittee hearing on H-1Bs (reported in the last issue of Advocacy Update), there is a growing desire (on the part of most Democrats and some Republicans) to broaden the Congressional immigration legislative agenda this year to include a number of important immigration issues. Many in Congress are hoping that there will be room on the H-1B effort to address pressing immigration issues such as: equity of relief for people from Central America and Haiti, restoring Section 245(i), and legalizing some groups of people now here. Family-based, ethnic and religious immigration groups all agree that it is time for Congress to address these issues, thereby correcting past government mistakes, advancing a pro-family agenda, and helping sustain our nation’s economic progress. Under the banner of “Keep America Working”, advocates urge Congress to pass NACARA Equity of Relief, restore Section 245(i), and change the registry date to deal appropriately with late legalization cases.

The business community has responded cautiously to this broadened immigration agenda, not wanting to disrupt the sometimes-fragile bipartisan alliance supporting their H-1B bill, but also acknowledging that addressing these issues could generate additional support for final passage of the H-1B bill. Some business organizations, especially those in the service sector, actively support these measures, arguing that they will both benefit many of their employees and help address the growing problems of shortages and a largely undocumented workforce.

The resolution of these issues, benefit our economy, our families and our businesses. For example: the elimination of Section 245(i) has meant separation of families as well as uncertainty for many employees, on whose behalf well-meaning employers have filed for green cards but will be unable to acquire that status because there is no longer any flexibility in the law. Providing equity of relief to Central Americans and the ability to legalize status for current undocumented workers will mean more stable communities and workforces in those industries increasingly suffering from shortages and fraudulent documents. Furthermore, harsh provisions from the 1996 immigration laws have led to the deportation of many long-term permanent residents, including family members and valuable employees, for minor offenses for which they long ago paid their dues.

Advocates and other immigration and civil rights advocates met on April 25 with Deputy Attorney General Eric Holder and Department of Justice staff. The session was part of an on-going effort to convince the Administration that it must take administrative action to alleviate many of the injustices that have resulted from the 1996 laws. Advocates urged the Administration to end their efforts to further limit judicial review and expand the retroactivity of IIRAIRA, adopt a more humane policy on detention of immigrants, reduce (rather than expand) the use of expedited removal, improve their policies and training on racial profiling, and adopt a moratorium on INS raids during the census. On the specific issue of retroactivity and the Attorney General’s decision in the Soriano case, Mr. Holder noted that they would be issuing “something definitive” by May 15. While declining to make any substantive comments, DOJ staff indicated they would be reviewing recent Circuit Court decisions.

Senators Harry Reid (D-NV) and Edward Kennedy (D-MA) on April 12 introduced S. 2407, a bill that would change the registry date from January 1, 1972, to January 1, 1986. If this measure becomes law, persons who have resided continuously in the United States since January 1, 1986, would be eligible 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 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.

Senator Reid’s bill, as he indicated on the Senate floor, would address the “terrible mistake made by the Congress in 1996” when it “nullified legitimate claims based upon substantiated evidence that the Immigration and Nationalization Service had bypassed Congressional intent in denying benefits to certain undocumented persons who have come to be known as the “late amnesty” class of immigrants. Many of these applicants had successfully sued the INS because the government had improperly refused to consider their applications. When IIRAIRA stripped the courts of jurisdiction, their cases were closed and INS again refused to review their applications. Because eligibility for the amnesty program was tied to residence in the U.S. before 1986, this legislation would give many of those applicants the permanent resident status they have been fighting to acquire for many years.

Several weeks earlier, Representative Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX) introduced H.R. 4172, which would amend the registry date to January 1, 1986. This bill, which currently has 24 cosponsors, does not include the rolling registry provision. The Administration and Vice President (and presumptive Democratic Presidential candidate) Al Gore have endorsed these efforts to right the wrongs committed against late amnesty applicants. However, Republican Presidential candidate George Bush has signaled his opposition. AILA strongly supports these bills and is working with the Administration and members of Congress to generate support for the legislation. (See article above.) Advocates are urged to contact their Senators and Representatives, giving them examples of the many hard working residents these bills would benefit.

The Senate Immigration Subcommittee, chaired by Senator Spencer Abraham (R-MI), held a hearing in mid-April on S. 2406, the “Mother Theresa Religious Worker Act of 1999.” S. 2406, introduced by Chairman Abraham with co-sponsors Senators Edward Kennedy (D-MA), Mike DeWine (R-OH) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT), would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide permanent authority for the special immigrant religious worker program. The program was established on a temporary basis in 1990, and has thus required reauthorization several times since, thereby creating uncertainly among religious organizations. Unless Congress acts, the key component of the law will expire on September 30.

The special immigrant religious worker category sets aside permanent resident visas (green cards) each year for workers in bona fide religious organizations (10,000 each year for these and other “special immigrant” categories); up to 5,000 of these visas annually can be used for persons in a religious vocation or occupation other than as an ordained minister of a religious denomination. Under the law, a sponsoring organization must be a bona fide religious organization or an affiliate of one, and must be certified or eligible to be certified under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Religious workers must have two years work experience to qualify for an immigrant visa. These provisions have allowed nuns, brothers, cantors, lay preachers, religious instructors, religious counselors, missionaries, and others to work at their vocations or occupations for religious organizations or their affiliates.

At the April hearing, the Senate subcommittee heard from three witnesses representing different religious groups that use the special immigrant visa program. The most moving statement came from Chairman Abraham himself, when he read a letter he received from Mother Theresa of Calcutta in 1997, shortly before her death, asking that the religious worker program be extended when it was due to expire that year. Thus the current bill is dedicated to her memory.

S. 2406 is identical to H.R. 1871, introduced last May by Representative Zoe Lofgren (D-CA). Representative Lamar Smith, Chair of the Immigration Subcommittee, has yet to take up this measure. However, another member of the subcommittee, Representative Edward Pease (R-IN) recently introduced H.R. 4068, the “Religious Workers Act of 2000”, which would extend the special immigrant religious worker programs for an additional three years. Hopefully, Senate action on S. 2406 will push the House to begin its work. Advocates concerned about this issue should contact their Members of Congress and urge support for these bills.

A measure that would help Laotians who fought with the United States in the Vietnam War gain naturalization passed the House Judiciary Committee and is on its way to a final vote. Sponsored by Representative Bruce Vento (D-MN), H.R. 371 waives the English Language requirement and provides for special consideration for the civics requirement to members of the Hmong tribe who served with special guerilla or irregular army units in support of U.S. forces from February 1961 through September 1978. H.R. 371, the Hmong Veterans’ Naturalization Act, limits to 45,000 the number of people eligible for relief. The Judiciary Committee approved the bill last month by a voice vote late, and it shortly will be voted on by the full House. A companion bill in the Senate (S. 890), sponsored by Senators Paul Wellstone (D-MN), Charles Robb (D-VA) and Russ Feingold (D-WI), currently is before the Judiciary Committee.

Key Senator: Federation for American Immigration Reform Is Exercising Its Right to Be “Stupid and Offensive”

Senator Robert Bennett (R-UT), chairman of the Senate Republican Campaign Committee, recently released a “Dear Colleague” letter blasting the Federation for American Immigration Reform. The letter specifically denounces what Senator Bennett calls “a smear campaign against immigrants in general and one of our colleagues in particular,” referring to the anti-H-1B, anti-Spencer Abraham ad campaign the Federation is running in Michigan. Senator Bennett, in his letter, mentions a 1999 advertisement run by the Federation that shows a photo of Senator Abraham alongside one of terrorist Osim Bin-Laden, anti-Catholic comments made by the Federation’s founder and Executive Director Dan Stein, and Stein’s recent newspaper quote calling Senator Abraham a “scumbag.” As a result of those comments, Senator Bennett concludes: “One of the great privileges of being an American is the right to say things that are stupid and even offensive; FAIR is clearly exercising that right. However, other Americans, even U.S. Senators, have an equal right –indeed responsibility- to speak out in response.”

Members & Staff in the News. An April 26 column in The Miami Herald about the Elian Gonzalez case quoted Tammy Fox-Isicoff and Mary Kramer. The Associated Press cited Andrew Bayne in an April 26 dispatch about the INS for the first time granting political asylum to a member of Falun Gong, a spiritual movement banned by the Chinese government. Steve Forester appeared on a Black Entertainment Television program. Jose Pertierra appeared on CNN on April 23, MSNBC on April 26, and was quoted in an April 24 article in The New York Times about Elian Gonzalez. In its April 22 edition, The Economist quoted Ira Kurzban about the same issue. Steve Forester and Michael Ray were interviewed by the Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel in an April 17 article about Haitian immigrants facing deportation. Judy Golub was quoted by The St. Paul Pioneer-Press in an April 17 column about IIRAIRA. Marketa Lindt and Judy Golub were quoted in an April 14 article about IIRAIRA published by The Chicago Tribune. The April 13 issue of The Baton Rouge Advocate quoted Anna Gallagher in an article about a federal court decision releasing an immigrant being held by the INS. The Las Vegas Sun quoted Alberto Benitez in an analysis of the legal issues in the Elian Gonzalez case. Paul Taylor was cited by The Associated Press in an April 11 article about the INS turning back legal business visa holders.

Asylum. The April 11 issue of The New York Post contained an article on asylum applicants being held in detention.

Court Decisions. The Associated Press ran an April 12 dispatch about a Ninth Circuit decision holding that the Border Patrol cannot use racial and ethnic profiling in traffic stops.

Economy. An April 16 article in The Greensboro News & Record reported on the economic effect of immigrants on Siler City (North Carolina). In an April 14 article, Business Week noted that immigrants keep the economy humming and prevent it from overheating. The Wall Street Journal ran an April 11 article about immigrants driving big rig trucks on American roads. Linda Chavez, in an April 9 column published in The Denver Post, suggested that America should thank immigrants for the current economic boom. Another article, published that same day in the same newspaper, highlighted the worker shortage hitting local ski resorts.

Editorials. The Wall Street Journal used the Elian Gonzalez case as a way to point out the need for high tech workers in an April 11 editorial. Both the Tampa Tribune and The San Francisco Chronicle noted the differences between the way the INS treats children from Cuba and Haiti who are seeking asylum. The former editorial ran on April 10; the latter on April 3.

Elian Gonzalez. In an April 13 article, The Washington Post noted that the Congressional Black Caucus is angry over the disparate way the INS treats Cuban and Haitian immigrants.

H-1B Visas. In its April 24 newsletter, the Democratic Leadership Council endorsed H.R. 3983, the bill introduced by Representatives David Dreier (R-CA) and Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) among others.

Immigration. The Washington Post ran a seven-part series the week of April 24 focusing on how immigrants have changed the face of the Capital region. In an article published April 24, The New York Times reported that Vietnamese immigrants are become an increasing part of the Roman Catholic clergy. An Article published in the April 14 issue of The Washington Times noted how immigration is changing the face of American religion. USA Today ran an April 10 article profiling a single street in Chicago, and the immigrants who live and work there.

IIRAIRA. The Desert News published an April 17 article on INS deportations in Utah. An April 14 article in The Miami Herald reported on a Florida Supreme Court ruling that immigrants who pled guilty to aggravated felonies without being told they could be deported under IIRAIRA can withdraw their pleas and seek a new trial. The CBS Evening News, starting April 12, ran a two-part series on people hurt by IIRAIRA. The first segment focused on a Wall Street investment banker and a 76-year-old grandmother being deported for voting. The Seattle Times, in an April 10 article, reported on the case of a Mexican immigrant facing deportation charges after being wrongly convicted of a sex crime. A column in the April issue of The Massachusetts Bar Association Lawyers Journal focused on the indefinite detention of asylum applicants.

INS Enforcement. The New York Times, The Washington Times and The Minneapolis Star-Tribune all ran articles on April 26 reporting on an INS decision to allow undocumented hotel workers to remain in the U.S. The case became a cause celebre when newspapers reported that the employer, in the midst of a union organizing drive, tipped off the INS, which conducted a raid. The Arizona Star reported April 11 on a meeting about INS enforcement between the Border Patrol Chief and the Mayor of Sonora, Mexico. In an April 11 dispatch, The Associated Press focused on deaths along the U.S.-Mexico border some are blaming on INS enforcement actions.

Legislation. As reported in the April 13 Las Vegas Review-Journal, a bill sponsored by Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) would create a rolling immigration registry for the next five years. The Los Angeles Times ran an April 11 article about efforts in Congress to allow more than 500,000 immigrants to adjust their status.

Restrictionists. An April 27 press release from the Michigan Catholic Conference said the Federation’s ads “only purpose is to divide us by ethnic and religious backgrounds.” In an April 24 article, The Detroit News focused on the ad campaign against Senator Spencer Abraham (R-MI) and legislation to increase the cap on H-1B visas that is being conducted by the Federation for American Immigration Reform. Ben Wattenberg, in a column published in the April 20 issue of The Washington Times said the Federation is “a curious organization with a mainstream front but a sometimes seamy history and curious allies on . . . the racist right.” The Detroit Free Press, in its April 11 issue, reported on the Federation air war against Abraham.

Did You Know?

In a possible sign of the changing times for immigrants, The Orange County Register reported April 21 that anti-immigrant activists could not gather enough signatures to place a revamped Proposition 187 on the California ballot.