[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1377 Introduced in House (IH)]

  1st Session
                                H. R. 1377

  To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to authorize States to 
 deny public education benefits to aliens not lawfully present in the 
                             United States.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 3, 1995

Mr. Gallegly (for himself, Mr. McCollum, Mr. Sensenbrenner, Mr. Archer, 
Mr. Weldon of Pennsylvania, Mr. Goodlatte, Mr. Kim, Mrs. Seastrand, Mr. 
Saxton, Mr. Shays, Mr. McKeon, Mr. Rohrabacher, Mr. Ewing, Mr. Hancock, 
  Mr. Condit, Mr. Baker of California, Mr. Bilbray, Mr. Calvert, Mr. 
Riggs, Mr. Bono, Mr. Radanovich, Mr. Packard, Mr. Bryant of Tennessee, 
   Mr. Herger, Mr. Hefley, Mr. Stump, Mr. Royce, Mr. Doolittle, Mr. 
    Hunter, Mr. Shadegg, Mr. Hoke, and Mrs. Roukema) introduced the 
  following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to authorize States to 
 deny public education benefits to aliens not lawfully present in the 
                             United States.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. AUTHORIZING STATES TO DENY PUBLIC EDUCATION BENEFITS TO 
              ALIENS NOT LAWFULLY PRESENT IN THE UNITED STATES.

    (a) In General.--The Immigration and Nationality Act is amended by 
adding at the end the following new title:

   ``TITLE V--DISQUALIFICATION OF ALIENS NOT LAWFULLY PRESENT IN THE 
                   UNITED STATES FROM CERTAIN PROGRAM

 ``congressional policy regarding ineligibility of aliens not lawfully 
       present in the united states for public education benefits

    ``Sec. 501. (a) Because Congress views that the right to a free 
public education for aliens who are not lawfully present in the United 
States promotes violations of the immigration laws and because such a 
free public education for such aliens creates a significant burden on 
States' economies and depletes States' limited educational resources, 
Congress declares it to be the policy of the United States that--
            ``(1) aliens who are not lawfully present in the United 
        States not be entitled to public education benefits in the same 
        manner as United States citizens and lawful resident aliens; 
        and
            ``(2) States should not be obligated to provide public 
        education benefits to aliens who are not lawfully present in 
        the United States.
    ``(b) Nothing in this section shall be construed as expressing any 
statement of Federal policy with regard to--
            ``(1) aliens who are lawfully present in the United States, 
        or
            ``(2) benefits other than public education benefits 
        provided under State law.

                         ``authority of states

    ``Sec. 502. (a) In order to carry out the policies described in 
section 501, each State may provide that an alien who is not lawfully 
present in the United States is not eligible for public education 
benefits in the State or, at the option of the State, may be treated as 
a non-resident of the State for purposes of provision of such benefits.
    ``(b) For purposes of subsection (a), an individual shall be 
considered to be not lawfully present in the United States unless the 
individual (or, in the case of an individual who is a child, another on 
the child's behalf)--
            ``(1) declares in writing under penalty of perjury that the 
        individual (or child) is a citizen or national of the United 
        States and (if required by a State) presents evidence of United 
        States citizenship or nationality; or
            ``(2)(A) declares in writing under penalty of perjury that 
        the individual (or child) is not a citizen or national of the 
        United States but is lawfully present in the United States, and
            ``(B) presents either--
                    ``(i) alien registration documentation or other 
                proof of immigration registration from the Service, or
                    ``(ii) such other documents as the State determines 
                constitutes reasonable evidence indicating that the 
                individual (or child) is lawfully present in the United 
                States.
If the documentation described in paragraph (2)(B)(i) is presented, the 
State may (at its option) verify with the Service the alien's 
immigration status through a system described in section 1137(d)(3) of 
the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320b-7(d)(3)).
    ``(c) If a State denies public education benefits under this 
section with respect to an alien, the State shall provide the alien 
with an opportunity for a fair hearing to establish that the alien is 
lawfully present in the United States, consistent with subsection (b) 
and Federal immigration law.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents of such Act is 
amended by adding at the end the following new items:

   ``TITLE V--DISQUALIFICATION OF ALIENS NOT LAWFULLY PRESENT IN THE 
                   UNITED STATES FROM CERTAIN PROGRAM

``Sec. 501. Congressional policy regarding ineligibility of aliens not 
                            lawfully present in the United States for 
                            public education benefits.
``Sec. 502. Authority of States.''.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take 
effect as of the date of the enactment of this Act.
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