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Status of Key Immigration Legislation
(Updated 11/2002) Status of Key Legislation Previous (106th) Congress
Amnesty Bills that reward lawbreakers and encourage even more immigration. Agricultural Guestworkers Bills to expand the agricultural guestworker program. Roll-backs of the 1996 immigration law Bills that rollback many of the important immigration reforms we helped secure in 1996. Temporary Protected Status Bills that deal with TPS, which allows illegal aliens to stay and work in the U.S. temporarily due to a disaster or other factor preventing their return home Terrorism Bills that deal with anti-terrorism and immigration reform
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| Pro-Reform |
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H.R. 190 -- Rep. Bob Stump (R-AZ) Declares that Congress has determined that a person born in the U.S. to a mother who is not a U.S. citizen, national or immigrant, and is eligible to become or is a citizen or national of a country of which either of his or her natural parents is a citizen, shall not be a U.S. citizen solely because they were born in the U.S. Status: 01/03/01 Referred to House Judiciary Committee FAIR comment: H.R. 190 would remove one of the major incentives for illegal immigration by ending the practice of granting automatic U.S. citizenship to the children of illegal aliens. |
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H.R. 957 -- Representative Ric Keller (R-FL) H.R.957 improves both prevention and punishment of criminal alien smuggling, transporting, and harboring of aliens. The measure would increase the INS anti-smuggling efforts by increasing the number of agents by 50 percent per year for 5 years. The bill would also raise the sentencing guidelines to increase the minimum sentencing for engaging in alien smuggling. Status: 03/08/01 Referred to House Judiciary Committee FAIR comment: SUPPORT: This bill is a step in the right direction to address alien smuggling into the U.S. Those who smuggle aliens across the border for profits deserve to face the full force of legal accountability. |
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H.R. 2712 -- Representative Tom Tancredo (R-CO) H.R. 2712 would return the nation to traditional levels of immigration of about 300,000 annually, rather than the record levels of more than one million a year of the 1990s. It would also make future legal immigration to the United States contingent on the government's willingness and ability to restore control over illegal immigration. Status: Referred to the House Judiciary Committee. FAIR comment:The Mass Immigration Reduction Act of 2001 would reassert the idea that the primary objective of U.S. immigration policy is to serve the interests of the nation and of the American people. H.R. 2712 would give the nation time to recover from the immigration binge of the past two decades and reestablish the principle that this policy, like every other public policy, must serve the interests of the people of the United States. |
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H.J.Res. 59 -- Representative Mark Foley (R-FL) H.J. Resolution 59 amends the Constitution so that the automatic birthright citizenship privilege in the U.S. applies for children of U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents. Status: Referred to the House Judiciary Committee. FAIR comment:This resolution would remove one of the major incentives for illegal immigration by ending the practice of granting automatic U.S. citizenship to the children of illegal aliens. |
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H.R. 3231 -- Representative James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) H.R. 3231 creates within the Justice Department an "Agency for Immigration Affairs" headed by the Associate Attorney General for Immigration Affairs. Within the new agency, there will be two bureaus: the Bureau of Immigration Services and Adjudications, and the Bureau of Immigration Enforcement. Each bureau would be overseen by a director who would report to the associate attorney general for immigration affairs. The bill also would require the attorney general to establish an Internet-based system so that relevant parties could check the status of immigration applications. Status: 04/10/02 Full Committee Mark-up FAIR comment:SUPPORT: The INS is hampered by conflicting missions, bureaucratic infighting and antiquated technology. H.R. 3231 will streamline the INS to make it more efficient so that those people such as terrorists who come into the country can be stopped at the border. It will also be more efficient in providing services to citizens and applications for citizenship. |
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H.R. 5013 -- Representative George Gekas (R-PA) H.R. 5013 would make a series of security upgrades along the nation's borders, tighten requirements for visiting foreigners and make it easier for law enforcement agencies to eject undesirable visitors. The legislation would temporarily reduce the 1 million-plus annual legal immigration level by about 20 percent. H.R. 5013 authorizes the hiring of more border guards and thousands of Immigration and Naturalization Service inspectors to go after illegal immigrants. The measure requires schools that admit foreign students to participate in the INS' student-tracking system. H.R. 5013 would cut down on fraud by requiring specific standards for documents like Social Security cards. Status: 7/18/2002 Referred to House Immigration, Border Security, and Claims Subcommittee. FAIR comment:SUPPORT: H.R. 5013 would establish clearly defined national interest objectives for U.S. immigration policy, and provide a desperately needed reduction in the workload of the Immigration and Naturalization Service while that mismanaged agency is reorganized. |
| Amnesty |
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H.R. 5600 -- Representative Richard Gephardt (D-MO) H.R. 5600 amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to allow illegal aliens to apply for permanent resident status at any time within three years of issuance of final regulations. The three classes of aliens eligible for amnesty under H.R. 5600 include continuous residence illegal aliens, spouses and children of illegal aliens, and illegal aliens under age 25. Taken together, a careful estimate of the potential number of eligible aliens would be close to double the eight to eleven million illegal aliens currently estimated to be present in the United States. Those who qualify under H.R. 5600 would immediately be eligible for federal and state welfare benefits, as well as financial assistance, to the extent federal rules make these benefits available to legal immigrants. In addition to amnestying millions of illegal aliens, H.R. 5600 eliminates the annual cap on family-based legal immigration. Under current law, the annual family-based immigration ceiling is reduced by the number of immediate relatives of U.S. citizens during the previous year. Eliminating this cap will unleash a mass chain migration increase of at least 250,000 otherwise ineligible aliens every year. Status: 10/10/2002 Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary. FAIR comment:OPPOSE: H.R. 5600 rewards illegal aliens for violating the law and serves as an open invitation for those waiting in the queue for immigrant visas to jump the line by entering the U.S. illegally and then processing their applications here. Letting illegal aliens benefit from amnesty is not fair to those aliens who do respect the immigration laws of the U.S. and wait patiently in their home countries for visas. In addition, it further promotes a growing culture of disrespect for U.S. immigration laws. Over the course of the three years applications for amnesty may be filed under H.R. 5600, FAIR conservatively estimates the total number amnestied, rewarded and otherwise unjustly benefited to be between 16 and 22 million, over five times the nearly three million granted amnesty in 1986 under the blanket amnesty approved as part of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA). For more information on this bill, please read FAIR's press release and letter to Representative Gephardt |
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S. 1291 -- Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) ) S. 1291 amends the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 to allow illegal aliens to attend state universities at in-state tuition rates. The bill would also cancel deportation orders against illegal aliens and grant amnesty to aliens after the completion of their studies. Status: 08/1/01 Referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee. FAIR comment:OPPOSE: S. 1291 puts illegal aliens before American citizens in that they will receive in-state tuition rates where American citizens will have to pay higher out of state tuition fees if they are not residents of the state they intend on attending. In addition, state universities across the country are increasingly limiting enrolment, and, therefore, increasing the intake of illegal aliens into these schools will necessarily deny opportunities to U.S. citizen and legal resident children. Please read our position paper on college for illegal aliens |
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S. 1265 -- Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) S. 1265 amends 1996 legislation to deter illegal immigration (IRAIRA) to allow illegal aliens to attend state universities at in-state tuition rates. The bill would also cancel deportation orders against and grant “status adjustment” to permanent residency—amnesty—to illegal aliens under the age of 21, who have been enrolled in a secondary school in the United States and who have been in the United States for five consecutive years. Status: 07/27/01 Referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee. FAIR comment:OPPOSE: S. 1265 would place American citizens at a comparative disadvantage by allowing illegal aliens to receive in-state tuition rates, federal education Grants and financial aid while American citizens have to pay higher out of state tuition rates if they are not residents of the state in which they attend a state institution of higher education. Please read our position paper on college for illegal aliens |
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H.R. 1918 -- Representative Chris Cannon (R-UT) H.R. 1918 amends 1996 legislation to deter illegal immigration, the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IRAIRA) to allow illegal aliens to attend state universities at in-state tuition rates. The bill would also cancel deportation orders against and grant “status adjustment” to permanent residency—amnesty—to illegal aliens under the age of 21, who have been enrolled in a middle or secondary school in the United States and who have been in the United States for five consecutive years. Status: 05/21/01Referred to the House Judiciary Committee. FAIR comment:OPPOSE: H.R. 1918 would place American citizens at a comparative disadvantage by allowing illegal aliens to receive in-state tuition rates, federal education Grants and financial assistance while American citizens have to pay higher out of state tuition rates if they are not residents of the state in which they attend a state institution of higher education. Please read our position paper on college for illegal aliens |
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H.R. 500 -- Representative Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) The bill would grant permanent legal residency to any alien who has been in the country since February 6,1996. In addition, anyone who arrived in the U.S. by February 6, 2001, would be allowed to apply for legal residency after 5 years had passed. This would in effect give every illegal alien currently in the country an amnesty within 5 years. In addition, this bill would block deportation of people who have committed crimes in this country and create new visas for aliens married to permanent residents. H.R. 500 would also create a national taskforce on the exploitation of and trafficking in aliens. Status: 02/07/01 Referred to House Judiciary Committee FAIR comment: OPPOSE: This bill would reward virtually all illegal aliens in the country (6 million) with an amnesty and would grant official forgiveness to everyone who violated the terms of the agreement under which they were admitted to the United States. |
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H.R. 348 -- Representative Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) Expands the 1997 NACARA amnesty to include an additional 600,000 illegal aliens from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Haiti. Status: 1/31/01 Referred to the House Judiciary Committee FAIR comment: OPPOSE: H.R. 348 is another amnesty that will reward lawbreakers and encourage even more illegal immigration. It will also increase legal immigration because the newly legal residents will be eligible to sponsor immediate and extended family members to join them in the United States. Read our position paper about this bill Send a message to Congress about this bill |
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H.R. 707 -- Representative Chris Smith (R-NJ) H.R. 707 Expands the 1997 Nicaraguan and Cuban American Relief Act (NACARA) by granting permanent residency status to an estimated additional 600,000 illegal aliens from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Haiti. Status: 3/2/01 Referred to House Immigration Subcommittee. FAIR comment: OPPOSE: H.R. 707 will encourage illegal immigration by rewarding alien lawbreakers. The bill would also increase legal immigration because the amnesty provision would be outside of annual limits and the newly legalized residents will be eligible to sponsor immediate and extended family members to join them in the United States. Read our position paper about this bill Send a message to Congress about this bill |
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S. 562 -- Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) S. 562 would grant amnesty to all illegal aliens living in the country since 1986. The bill would also institute a rolling amnesty date that would automatically advance one year each year until January 1, 2006. Status: 03/19/01 Referred to Senate Judiciary Committee. FAIR comment: OPPOSE: S. 562 sends the message that if you break the U.S. immigration laws and can avoid being deported for several years then the U.S. will not only forgive, but reward you with permanent resident status. This bill does nothing to stop illegal immigration but rather it encourages further illegal immigration. Read our position paper about this bill Send a message to Congress about this bill |
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H.R. 1885 -- Representative George Gekas (R-PA) H.R. 1885 Section 245(i) permits illegal aliens who were eligible for an immigrant visa, but who were illegally in the U.S., to adjust their status with the INS upon payment of a $1,000 penalty. As part of last year's budget compromise, former President Clinton demanded that 245(i) be reinstated. In a compromise, it was restored for a four-month period ending April 30, 2001. Now that the April 30th deadline has passed once again, the proponents of section 245(i) are clamoring to restore the provision again. This bill would extend section 245(i) for 4 months. Status: 5/21/2001 Passed House by a margin of 336-43. FAIR comment: OPPOSE: H.R. 1885 rewards illegal aliens for violating the law and serves as an open invitation for those waiting in the queue for immigrant visas to jump the line by entering the U.S. illegally and then processing their applications here. Letting illegal aliens benefit from section 245(i) is not fair to those aliens who do respect the immigration laws of the U.S. and wait patiently in their home countries for visas. It also greatly undermines one of the key reforms of the 1996 immigration reform law. Read our position paper about section 245(i) Read our position paper about this bill |
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S. 778 -- Senator Chuck Hagel (R-NE) S. 778 is a bill to extend a section of law permitting illegal aliens who have become eligible for an immigrant visa, to adjust their status with the INS after payment of a $1,000 fee. The provision, Section 245(i), also allows illegal aliens to avoid the State Department background checks for immigrants coming from overseas. The Judiciary Committee accepted an amendment by Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ) that would require aliens to meet the requirements to qualify for the provision by the time the bill is enacted and the aliens must have had their papers in order before December of 2000. Status: 07/26/01 Passed Senate Judiciary Committee; Placed On Senate Legislative Calendar. FAIR comment: OPPOSE: S. 778 allows additional illegal aliens who were not earlier eligible for the provision to benefit. The supporters of this "temporary" extension of Section 245(i) are really after a permanent extension, thereby institutionalizing illegal immigration as an avenue for gaining permanent residence. S.778 will encourage more illegal immigration and is unfair to applicants patiently staying in their home countries awaiting an immigrant visa, as U.S. immigration law requires, because they will be forced to wait even longer for obeying U.S. laws. Read our position paper about this bill |
| Agricultural Guestworkers |
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S. 1313 -- Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) H.R. 2736 -- Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) Senate cosponsors House cosponsors H.R. 2736 and S. 1313 are identical bills respectively introduced in the House and Senate providing eligibility first for “adjustment to legal temporary status” and second for “adjustment to permanent residence”—amnesty—to an estimated 580,000 illegal aliens who work in the agriculture and who can show they have worked in the U.S. for 90 days in an 18-month period for three years of a four year period beginning on January 1, 2001 and ending on January 1, 2007.Spouses and minor children living in the United States with the illegal alien as well as spouses and minor children living outside the United States and apart from the illegal alien would upon application be granted temporary legal and then permanent legal residency along with the illegal alien. Status: 08/2/01 Referred to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees. FAIR comment: OPPOSE: H.R. 2736 and S. 1313 are efforts to enact a new agricultural guest worker program based on the producers' claims of a tight labor market for seasonal workers. This legislative effort flies in the face of about a decade's worth of government and academic research data that has established that there is not only a surplus of agricultural workers in the United States, but that a tight labor market is exactly what is needed to improve wages and working conditions for the rural poor who live in poverty. The current situation, which would be aggravated by a new farmworker system, has not only demographic effects of fueling population growth, but it also contributes to the growing income disparity in the United States between the wealthy and the poor and fuels the growth of the population living in poverty, including sizable numbers of children. Read our position paper about these bills |
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S. 1161 -- Senator Larry Craig (R-ID) S. 1161 would grant amnesty to around 580,000 aliens who worked in the H-2A Agricultural Guestworker Program who could show that they have worked in the U.S. for 150 days in a 12-month period in 4 years of a 6-year period beginning on November 1, 2001. An attestation process similar to the H-1B program would replace the labor certification process, which would make it easier for employers to bring in more aliens. The bill would also allow aliens to work in other industries after they reached the 90-day work requirement. Status: 7/18/2001 Referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee FAIR comment:OPPOSE: S. 1161 is an effort to enact a new agricultural guest worker program based on the producers' claims of a tight labor market for seasonal workers. This bill would increase the reliance of growers, destroying any potential incentives for hiring American workers or take other actions, such as mechanization, to increase agricultural productivity. The current situation, which would be aggravated by a new farmworker system, has not only demographic effects of fueling population growth, but it also contributes to the growing income disparity in the United States between the wealthy and the poor and fuels the growth of the population living in poverty. Read our position paper about this bill |
| Rollbacks of 1996 Immigration Law |
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H.R. 1266 -- Reps. David Bonior (D-MI), Bob Barr (R-GA), and Tom Davis (R-VA) The bill would establish procedures for handling classified information in immigration cases. Under the measure, the Federal Government would provide a federal district court judge with the classified evidence or material relevant to the case. The federal district judge would then provide an unclassified summary of this information to the immigration judge and to the defendant. Status: 03/19/01 Referred to House Judiciary Committee FAIR comment:OPPOSE: H.R. 1266 would needlessly expose our country's populace and our intelligence gathering agencies and networks to irreparable damage. This bill undermines the ability of our intelligence agencies to protect the American public from international terrorist organizations whose representatives are active in the United States. |
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S. 955 -- Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) S. 955 repeals most of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA). This bill effectively repeals all of the much-needed reforms Congress made in 1996, which were designed to penalize and expedite the removal of illegal aliens and legal residents who have committed serious crimes. Status: 04/24/01 Referred to the Judiciary Committee. FAIR comment:OPPOSE: S.955 would roll-back the important reforms we fought to secure in 1996-reforms that were designed to expedite the deportation of illegal aliens and those aliens who committed serious crimes. |
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H.R. 4037 -- Representative Tom Davis (R-VA) and Chris Cannon (R-UT) H.R.4037 amends the Nicaraguan and Central American Relief Act (NACARA) amnesty to include additional illegal aliens from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. Status: 03/20/02 Referred to House Judiciary Committee FAIR comment:OPPOSE: H.R. 4037 is an official pardon and reward to illegal aliens who knowingly break United States immigration laws by granting adjustment of status to permanent residency. |
| Temporary Protected Status |
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H.R. 531 -- Representative Howard Berman (D-CA) H.R.531 would grant temporary protected status (TPS) to all Salvadorans residing in the U.S. illegally or legally who were present on January 13, 2001. The bill, because of a January 13th earthquake, would designate El Salvador under section 244 of the Immigration and Nationality Act in order to suspend any deportation proceedings for the 400,000 to 500,000 illegal Salvadorans and provide them with work permits. Status: 02/08/01 Referred to House Judiciary Committee FAIR comment:OPPOSE: TPS was created to provide temporary protection in cases were there is major political instability or a major natural disaster in the home country that makes it dangerous to return. The Berman proposal does not meet this test because the recent earthquakes did not affect a large area of the country and the safety of those returning is not an issue. Rather, the bill is intended to keep foreign remittances from illegal aliens flowing to the country by sheltering them from deportation. In the long term, the proposal would create additional pressure for an amnesty for the Salvadorans. Read our position paper about TPS |
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S. 2444 -- Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) Unfortunately this legislation, cloaked in disguise as an INS reorganization bill, has been added to the bill creating a Department of Homeland Security (DHS), S. 2452. The legislation creates a new taxpayer-funded welfare system to provide custody and legal representation for illegal aliens claiming to be minors. It allows United Nations protocols, international agreements, and bureaucratic directives to supercede U.S. immigration laws. The measure makes it nearly impossible to prove a fraudulent claim of nonage by illegal aliens, creating a loophole for terrorists claiming to be unaccompanied "children." S.2444 bars repatriation of illegal aliens claiming to be minors unless there is a finding that "a child welfare system capable of insuring the child's well being" exists. The legislation relaxes U.S. asylum and deportation law and weakens the authority to detain illegal aliens claiming asylum. Status: 06/24/02 Passed Senate Government Reform Committee and placed on Senate legislative calendar FAIR comment:OPPOSE: S. 2444 is not truly an INS reorganization bill, but would be better described as an immigration enforcement rollback bill. S.2444 moves far beyond any consensus favoring a reorganization of the INS to leap into wholesale changes in immigration law and policy extending well beyond the limited matter of what shape a reorganized INS should take. This is a mistake and must be prevented, especially in the context of plans now underway to create a new Department of Homeland Security. |
| Anti-Terrorism legislation |
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S. 1627 -- Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Jon Kyl (R-AZ) NOTE: THIS BILL SUPERSEDED BY S. 1749 S. 1627 creates a new centralized database that would better share information between border control and other federal enforcement agencies, such as the FBI. The measure creates a new fraud-proof "SmartVisa" card for foreign nationals, using new technology that would include a person's fingerprints or other form of "biometric" identification. These cards would be used by visitors upon entry and exit into the U.S. and would immediately raise a red flag if the permitted entry is overstayed. The bill would strengthen all federal identification documents such as pilots' licenses, visas, and immigration work authorization cards by requiring that they be fraud- and tamper-resistant, and, if applicable, include the visa's expiration date. S 1627 would require the 29 nations that participate in the government's visa waiver program would also be required to develop tamper-resistant, machine-readable passports with a biometric identifier that conform to new U.S. standards. It would create new screening procedures for foreign nationals entering the U.S. Status: 11/1/01 Referred to the Judiciary Committee. FAIR comment:SUPPORT: S.1627 will strengthen counter-terrorism efforts by connecting law enforcement together with a centralized database, upgrade technologies to prevent fraud and illegal entry, and impose new restrictions on student visas to prevent misuse. Read our handbook of anti-terrorism reccomendations |
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S. 1518 -- Senator Kit Bond (R-MO) H.R. 3077 -- Representative Michael Castle (R-DE) S. 1518 and H.R. 3077 would strengthen the following areas of U.S. immigration law:
Status: 10/10/01 Referred to the Senate and House Judiciary Committees FAIR comment:SUPPORT: S. 1518 and H.R. 3077 will help close the loopholes that terrorists have used to gain access to the U.S. and improve the enforcement of our current immigration laws. In addition, the measures will strengthen our border security in order to stop known terrorists before they enter the country and to prevent foreigners from overstaying their visas. Read our handbook of anti-terrorism reccomendations |
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H.R. 2975 -- Representative James Sensenbrenner, Jr (R-WI) H.R. 2975 will authorize the attorney general to indefinitely detain suspected terrorists who cannot be deported because other countries will not accept them. It will impose a seven-day limit on the amount of time the attorney general could detain non-citizens before beginning deportation proceedings or charging them. The measure will allow information obtained during criminal investigations to be shared with the CIA, National Security Agency, Immigration and Naturalization Service, Secret Service and military, without judicial review. It will authorize federal district courts to hear appeals of deportation rulings. In addition, H.R. 2975 will authorize disclosure of student records to some law enforcement agencies. Status: 10/12/2001 Passed House by a margin of 337-79 FAIR comment:SUPPORT: H.R. 2975 takes important steps to help identify and detain terrorists, but falls far short of addressing the need to fortify the three key immigration defenses against terrorist access to the United States. These include strengthening our consulate office screening processes overseas, our border patrol, and our capacity to enforce the terms of visas issued to individuals once they have been admitted to the United States. Read our Action Alert about this legislation Read our handbook of anti-terrorism reccomendations |
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H.R. 2965 -- Representative Christopher Shays (R-CT) H.R. 2965 would ensure that the State Department and the INS have access to U.S. criminal databases before allowing aliens to enter the country. Currently the INS and State Department lack the ability to enter the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database. This means an alien may enter our country, commit a crime and depart the U.S. and get a reentry visa from the State Department or cross the border without being stopped. Status: 09/25/01 Referred to the House Judiciary Committee FAIR comment:SUPPORT: H.R. 2965 would allow the INS and State Department access to the criminal computerized database system. Currently, the INS and the State Department are unable to check information on any criminal or subversive activity that a visa applicant may have committed during an earlier stay in the United States. Read our handbook of anti-terrorism reccomendations |
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H.R. 2928 -- Representative Robert Andrews (D-NJ) H.R. 2928 would bar entry to the U.S. of any alien who aids a terrorist organization or aids an individual who has conducted, is conducting or is planning to conduct a terrorist activity. The bill also makes the alien deportable for terrorist activity upon the same grounds as excludability for such activity. Status: 09/28/2001 Referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration FAIR comment:SUPPORT: H.R. 2928 is common sense legislation that will make it more difficult for terrorists to operate unlawfully within our borders. Read our handbook of anti-terrorism reccomendations |
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S. 1749 -- Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) -- NOTE: THIS BILL SUPERSEDES S. 1657 S. 1749 would require the Administration to develop and implement an interoperable law enforcement and intelligence data system by October 26, 2003 to provide the INS and State Department immediate access to relevant law enforcement and intelligence information. The database would be accessible to foreign service officers issuing visas, federal agents determining the admissibility of aliens to the U.S. and law enforcement officers investigating and identifying aliens. The bill would require that each country participating in the visa waiver program issue tamper-resistant, machine-readable biometric passports to its nationals by 2003. S. 1749 will also reform the student visa process. Status: 11/30/01 Referred to the Judiciary Committee. FAIR comment:SUPPORT: S.1749 will strengthen counter-terrorism efforts by connecting law enforcement together with a centralized database, upgrade technologies to prevent fraud and illegal entry, and impose new restrictions on student visas to prevent misuse. Read our handbook of anti-terrorism reccomendations |
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H.R. 3525 -- Representative James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) H.R. 3525 requires that by October 26, 2003, the State Department will be required to only issue to aliens visas and other travel documents that are tamper-resistant and machine-readable using standardized biometric identifiers. By the same date, the INS must install scanners to read the biometric documents at all ports of entry. The INS must implement an integrated entry and exit data system (for nationals of countries other than Canada) containing arrival and departure data from these documents. This system will both combat counterfeiting and identity fraud and provide a reliable measure of aliens who overstay their visas. The measure also provides that:
Status: 12/20/01 Passed the House by voice vote, moved to Senate. FAIR comment:SUPPORT: H.R. 3525 will strengthen counter-terrorism efforts by connecting law enforcement together with a centralized database, upgrade technologies to prevent fraud and illegal entry, and impose new restrictions on student visas to prevent misuse. Read our handbook of anti-terrorism reccomendations |
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H.R. 4010 -- Representative Dave Weldon (R-FL) H.R. 4010 establishes a temporary moratorium on issuance of visas (excluding diplomatic visas) to aliens who are citizens of any state designated as a state sponsor of terrorism or any other state harboring terrorist organizations/operations. The moratorium will last until the border securing tools provided by the PATRIOT Act are fully implemented. The fifteen countries identified by the legislation are: Afghanistan, Algeria, Cuba, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Somalia, Syria, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Status: 03/20/02Referred to the House Judiciary Committee. FAIR comment:SUPPORT: H.R. 4010 will help secure our country from terrorism until our border security systems are fully in place. The legislation will give the INS useful tools to apprehend terrorists and to keep track of aliens. With over 114,000 Middle Easterners living in the country illegal, this immigration timeout will allow the INS to be better prepared in routing out terrorist trying to slip into the country. Read our handbook of anti-terrorism reccomendations |
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S. 3107 -- Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL) S. 3107 is a bill to provide federal assistance to the states to improve the security of state-issued driver's licenses (DLs), enhance highway safety, and verify personal identity. The bill grants the Secretary of Transportation authority under an expanded National Driver Register system to develop standards for increased voluntary information-sharing between state motor vehicle agencies in order to: prevent issuance of multiple state DLs to individuals; prevent counterfeiting, and illegal distribution of DLs, establish minimum security features, and; prevent DL and ID issuance or procurement through fraud. The bill provides federal funding to states to assist their continued participation in this new integrated system. Under S. 3107, the Secretary of Transportation is required to engage in rulemaking with the states and with experts to collectively develop required standards for all states to adopt. For states that are already above the standards set forth in this bill, federal grants will be provided to highlight innovative pilot programs designed to verify driver's identity, prevent fraud, or demonstrate the use of technology to create tamper resistant licenses. To crack down on internal fraud and bribery, the bill imposes tough penalties for unauthorized access to or use of DMV equipment used to manufacture licenses, and also creates penalties for persons who fraudulently issue, obtain, renew, or transfer a driver's license. The bill requires states to conduct internal audits of license issuance processes to identify and address these fraudulent activities. Additionally, S. 3107 expands privacy protections for license holders and prohibits state motor vehicle agencies from disclosing or displaying social security numbers on any driver's license, motor vehicle registration, or any other document issued for the purpose of identification. Status: 10/10/2002 - Read twice and referred to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.FAIR comment:Oppose: Regrettably, S. 3107 in its current form will not accomplish its proposed goals because it makes state participation entirely voluntary, and expressly limits any federal authority to determine DL eligibility or enforcement of eligibility standards. This appears to effectively delegate formal authority to the states to determine alien eligibility for licenses, as well as enforcement of their use or non-use. With numerous states considering offering driver's licenses to illegal aliens, there is a clear need for a federal law barring such eligibility. Read our handbook of anti-terrorism reccomendations |