American Bar Association 2001 Legislative and Governmental Priorities Immigration Return to Immigration Priority Page Detailed 106th Congress Background Information The 106th Congress concluded without passing important immigration measures that were the subject of negotiations until the very end of the legislative session. They included bills to amend the sweeping 1996 immigration reform laws, to resolve the status of people who failed to legalize in 1986, to provide a legalization program for agricultural workers, and to restore public benefits. In the House, several bills to restore discretionary relief and improve due process were introduced. On April 20, 1999, Reps. Barney Frank (D-MA), Martin Frost (D-TX), Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-FL), and others introduced H.R. 1485, a measure that would have restored some discretionary authority to immigration judges to halt the deportation of deserving long-term permanent residents on a case-by-case basis and provided judicial review of such decisions. H.R. 2999, introduced on October 1, 1999, by Rep. Bill McCollum (R-FL), also would have restored some relief from deportation. On July 25, 2000, Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) introduced H.R. 4966, a comprehensive bill to correct many of the problems caused by the 1996 laws. On July 27, 2000, Reps. McCollum, Frank, and others introduced H.R. 5062 to address the retroactivity of some of the 1996 deportation provisions. H.R. 5062 passed the House on September 19, 2000, on the suspension calendar, but no further action was taken before Congress adjourned sine die. In the Senate, Sens. Edward Kennedy (D-MA), Bob Graham (D-FL) and others introduced S. 3120 on September 27, 2000, to correct fundamental due process problems caused by the 1996 laws. Sen. Patrick Moynihan (D-NY) introduced S. 173 on January 19, 1999, to restore judicial review and discretionary deportation relief and to eliminate mandatory detention. Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Sam Brownback (R-KS), Jim Jeffords (R-VT), and others introduced S. 1940 on November 17, 1999. The legislation would have limited expedited removal to emergency migration situations and made procedural reforms to protect asylum seekers. Sens. Bob Graham (D-FL) and Gordon Smith (R-OR) introduced the Family, Work and Immigration Integration Amendments of 2000, S. 2668, on May 25, 2000. That legislation would have created new opportunities for U.S. workers, family members of U.S. citizens and legal residents and other immigrants with extensive ties to the U.S. to obtain permanent residence. Sens. Harry Reid (D-NV) and Edward Kennedy (D-MA) introduced S. 2407 on April 12, 2000, and S. 2912 on July 25, 2000, to allow persons who have resided continuously in the United States since January 1, 1986, (and others) to become permanent residents. This legislation would have finally resolved the status of tens of thousands of legalization applicants whose cases were never decided under the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act and provided Central American and Haitian residents with the same opportunities to apply for green cards as Nicaraguans and Cubans. In response, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) proposed the "LIFE Act" to adjust the status of legalization applicants whose cases were never decided. LIFE was enacted as a part of the Omnibus Appropriations Act of 2001, P.L. 106-553. It also temporarily lifted a procedural impediment to obtaining legal permanent residence through the family- and employment-based legal immigration system. LIFE did not resolve the status of Haitian, Salvadoran and many other long-term residents. Bills to expand the agricultural guest worker program also were introduced in the House and Senate and were the subject of hearings in both houses. On July 27, 2000, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and Claims marked-up and reported out H.R. 4548, the Agricultural Opportunities Act, introduced by Rep. Richard W. Pombo (R-CA). The full House Judiciary Committee reported the bill on September 20, 2000, but there was no further action on the bill before Congress adjourned sine die. There also was significant attention focused on competing proposals to modify the provisions for admitting temporary H-1B workers. Several bills to restore access to public benefits also were introduced. On April 14, 1999, Sen. Moynihan and Rep. Sander Levin (D-MI) introduced companion bills, S. 792 and H.R. 1399. Both bills would have restored health and nutritional benefits to certain legal immigrant pregnant women, children, and blind or disabled medically needy individuals who were denied coverage under the 1996 federal welfare reform law. On June 16, 1999, the late-Senator John Chafee (R-RI) introduced S. 1227, a bi-partisan measure called the Immigrant Children's Health Improvement Act of 1999. That measure would have given states the option to provide Medicaid and State Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) coverage to all lawfully present children and pregnant women residing in their borders, including more than 55,000 children. Efforts to attach the bill to related legislation were rejected. Sens. Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and Arlen Specter (R-PA) introduced the Hunger Relief Act, S. 1805, on October 27, 1999. Limited legislative action occurred during the First Session on legislation that proposed to reorganize the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). H.R. 2528, legislation that would have divided the INS into a Bureau of Immigration Enforcement and a Bureau for Immigration Services within the Department of Justice, was introduced by Reps. Harold Rogers (R-KY), Lamar Smith (R-TX), and Silvestre Reyes (D-TX) on July 15, 1999. The measure passed the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and Claims on November 4, 1999, by a voice vote. Sens. Spencer Abraham (R-MI) and Edward Kennedy (D-MA) introduced S. 1563 to reorganize the INS into a new immigration agency within the Department of Justice on August 5, 1999. Although there was strong interest in restructuring the INS, no further action on these bills occurred. The House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and Claims held numerous oversight hearings focusing on the INS and its implementation of immigration laws enacted in 1996, including hearings on February 25, 1999, on immigration detention issues and June 15, 2000, on agricultural worker issues. The Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration has also held hearings relating to detention and INS reorganization. Return to Immigration Priority Page

2001 Priorities: Alternative Dispute Resolution Application of State Ethical Codes Federal Gun Control Federal Tort Laws Health Auto Product Superfund Immigration Independence of the Judiciary Compensation Erosion of the Process Vacancies Indigent Defense Funding Legal Remedies to Eliminate Discrimination Legal Services Corporation Rule of Law -- International Student Loan Forgiveness Tax Simplification