[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2312 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2312

To amend section 1584 of title 18, United States Code, to clarify that 
    forcing immigrants into slave labor by withholding immigration 
 documents, or by threatening to involve immigration authorities, is a 
                       violation of such section.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 30, 1997

 Mr. Schumer introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend section 1584 of title 18, United States Code, to clarify that 
    forcing immigrants into slave labor by withholding immigration 
 documents, or by threatening to involve immigration authorities, is a 
                       violation of such section.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This act may be cited as the ``Immigrant Slave Trade Punishment Act 
of 1997''.

SEC. 2. INVOLUNTARY SERVITUDE.

    Section 1584 of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
    (1) by inserting ``(a)'' before ``Whoever'';
    (2) by inserting at the end the following:
    ``(b) Whoever for pecuniary gain violates subsection (a) with 
respect to five or more persons shall be imprisoned for not less than 
20 years or for life.
    ``(c) For purposes of this section, the term ``involuntary 
servitude'' includes any circumstance under which any legal or illegal 
immigrant is coerced to work through withholding of the immigrant's 
immigration documents, or through threatening to report an illegal 
immigrant to the authorities.''; and
    (3) in the heading by striking ``Sale into involuntary'', and 
inserting ``Involuntary''.

SEC. 3. CLERICAL AMENDMENT.

    The table of sections for chapter 77 of title 18, United States 
Code, is amended in the matter relating to section 1584 by striking 
``Sale into involuntary'' and inserting ``Involuntary''.
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