Immigration Legislation and Issues in the 109th Congress

Publication Date: December 2006

Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Author(s):

Research Area: Population and demographics

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Abstract:

Security concerns have figured prominently in the development of and debate on immigration legislation in the 109th Congress. In May 2005, the REAL ID Act became law as Division B of P.L. 109-13. It contains a number of immigration and identification document-related provisions intended to improve homeland security. Among these are provisions: to make changes to the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) with respect to asylum and other forms of relief from removal; to expand the terrorism-related grounds for alien inadmissibility and deportation; and to set standards for state-issued drivers' licenses and personal identification cards, if such documents are to be accepted for federal purposes.

The security-related issue of immigration enforcement remains on Congress's agenda. H.R. 4437, as passed by the House, contains provisions on border security, the role of state and local law enforcement, employment eligibility verification and worksite enforcement, smuggling, detention, and other enforcement-related issues. In addition to these provisions, H.R. 4437 contains significant and, in some cases, highly controversial provisions on unlawful presence, voluntary departure and removal, expedited removal, and denying U.S. entry to nationals from uncooperative countries. Despite efforts by some House Members to amend H.R. 4437 to establish new guest worker programs, the bill does not contain any such provisions. S. 2611, as passed by the Senate, combines provisions on enforcement and on unlawful presence, voluntary departure and removal, expedited removal, and denying U.S. entry to nationals from uncooperative countries with provisions on legal temporary admissions, including guest workers, and legal permanent admissions. S. 2611 also would establish legalization programs to enable certain groups of unauthorized aliens in the United States to obtain legal permanent resident (LPR) status.

The 109th Congress has enacted some border security-related provisions. P.L. 109-295, the FY2007 Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, includes border tunnel provisions like those in S. 2611, as well as other enforcementrelated provisions. P.L. 109-367 includes border fencing provisions similar to those in H.R. 4437. In addition, the House has passed other bills with border security and enforcement-related provisions (H.R. 4830, H.R. 6094, H.R. 6095, H.R. 6160, H.R. 6162).

The 109th Congress also has enacted limited provisions on temporary and permanent employment-based immigration as part of P.L. 109-13 and P.L. 109-364. Among the other immigration bills that have received action are measures on alien victims of domestic violence (P.L. 109-162, P.L. 109-271, and S. 1197), trafficking in persons (P.L. 109-162, P.L. 109-164, and S. 1197), and refugees (P.L. 109-102 and P.L. 109-149).

This report will not be updated.