[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1582 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1582

 To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to adjust the status of 
  certain long-staying alien children, to lower high school drop out 
rates for certain immigrant children, and to restore the right of State 
and local governments to decide whom they will admit to their State and 
                    local colleges and universities.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 25, 2001

Mr. Gutierrez introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
    Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on 
Education and the Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined 
 by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as 
        fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to adjust the status of 
  certain long-staying alien children, to lower high school drop out 
rates for certain immigrant children, and to restore the right of State 
and local governments to decide whom they will admit to their State and 
                    local colleges and universities.

    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 Children's Educational 
Advancement and Dropout Prevention Act of 2001''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Undocumented children come to the United States for a 
        variety of reasons. Most are brought to the United States by 
        adults and have no ability to make an independent decision 
        about whether or not to migrate to the United States. Some come 
        with their parents. Others are brought by smugglers and 
        traffickers intent on exploiting them.
            (2) It is the policy of the United States Government, 
        supported both by acts of Congress and Supreme Court precedent, 
        to permit undocumented children to attend public schools in the 
        United States. This policy is rooted in recognition of the fact 
        that such children often are not in a position to make an 
        independent decision about where they will live, of the 
        vulnerability of children, and by the desire to ensure that 
        such children have an opportunity to become educated while in 
        the United States.
            (3) Each year, 50,000 to 75,000 such undocumented children 
        graduate from United States public schools after having resided 
        in the United States for 5 or more years.
            (4) Young children who have resided in the United States 
        for a substantial period of their lives often are acculturated 
        as Americans, including learning to speak English. Often, they 
        consider themselves Americans and have little or no knowledge 
        or ties to the country in which they were born.
            (5) Current law provides little avenue for long-staying 
        alien children to regularize their immigration status. This, in 
        turn, prevents them from continuing their education past high 
        school, making it less likely that they will succeed in life 
        and encouraging many to drop out of high school before 
        graduating.
            (6) While current law requires State and local governments 
        to provide elementary and secondary education to undocumented 
        alien children, the law effectively precludes State and local 
        governments from providing in-State tuition to these same alien 
        children once they have graduated from high school.
    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are--
            (1) to provide an opportunity to certain alien children who 
        were brought to the United States at a young age and have since 
        been acculturated in the United States to adjust their status 
        to lawful permanent residency and become contributing members 
        of United States society;
            (2) to restore to each State the flexibility to provide in-
        State tuition to all children residing in the State, including 
        to undocumented alien children; and
            (3) to permit and encourage alien children who were brought 
        to the United States at a young age and have been educated in 
        United States elementary and secondary schools to continue 
        their education through high school graduation and into 
        college.

SEC. 3. ATTORNEY GENERAL AUTHORITY TO ADJUST STATUS OF CERTAIN 
              CHILDREN.

    (a) In General.--Section 240A(b) of the Immigration and Nationality 
Act (8 U.S.C. 1229b(b)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (3)--
                    (A) by striking ``paragraph (1) or (2)'' and 
                inserting ``paragraph (1), (2), or (3)'' each place it 
                appears;
                    (B) by redesignating such paragraph as paragraph 
                (5); and
                    (C) by moving such paragraph to follow paragraph 
                (4); and
            (2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following new 
        paragraph:
            ``(3) Rule for alien residents brought to the united states 
        as children.--
                    ``(A) Authority.--Subject to the restrictions in 
                subparagraph (D), the Attorney General shall cancel 
                removal of, and adjust to the status of an alien 
                lawfully admitted for permanent residence, an alien who 
                is inadmissible or deportable from the United States if 
                the alien demonstrates that--
                            ``(i) in the case of an alien who--
                                    ``(I) has not attained the age of 
                                21 at the time of application, the 
                                alien has been physically present in 
                                the United States for a continuous 
                                period of not less than five years 
                                immediately preceding the date of such 
                                application, or
                                    ``(II) has attained the age of 21 
                                but had not attained the age of 25 at 
                                the time of application, such alien has 
                                been physically present in the United 
                                States for a continuous period of not 
                                less than five years immediately 
                                preceding the date of such application, 
                                including the five years immediately 
                                preceding the attainment of the age of 
                                21;
                            ``(ii) the alien has been a person of good 
                        moral character during the five-year period 
                        preceding the application and admission; and
                            ``(iii) the alien is either a secondary 
                        school student in the United States, is 
                        attending an accredited two-year or four-year 
                        post secondary educational institution in the 
                        United States, or has submitted an application 
                        for admission to an accredited two-year or 
                        four-year post-secondary educational 
                        institution in the United States.
                    ``(B) Treatment of minor children.--The status of 
                an alien shall be adjusted by the Attorney General to 
                that of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent 
                residence if the alien is the child of an alien 
                described in subparagraph (A).
                    ``(C) Application for relief.--The Attorney General 
                shall provide a procedure by regulation allowing 
                eligible individuals to apply affirmatively for the 
                relief available under this paragraph without being 
                placed in removal proceedings.
                    ``(D) Restrictions on authority.--The provisions of 
                this paragraph shall not apply to any of the following 
                aliens:
                            ``(i) An alien who is inadmissible under 
                        section 212(a)(2)(A)(i)(I) or is deportable 
                        under section 237(a)(2)(A)(i) (relating to 
                        crimes of moral turpitude) unless the Attorney 
                        General determines that the alien's removal 
                        would result in extreme hardship to the alien, 
                        the alien's child, or (in the case of an alien 
                        who is a child) to the alien's parent.
                            ``(ii) An alien who is inadmissible under 
                        section 212(a)(3) or is deportable under 
                        section 237(a)(2)(D)(i) or 237(a)(2)(D)(ii) 
                        (relating to security and related grounds).''.
    (b) Exemption From Numerical Limitations.--Section 240A(e)(3) of 
such Act (8 U.S.C. 1229b(e)) is amended by adding at the end the 
following new subparagraph:
                    ``(C) Aliens described in subsection (b)(3).''.

SEC. 4. ELIGIBILITY OF CANCELLATION APPLICANTS FOR FEDERAL AND STATE 
              HIGHER EDUCATION ASSISTANCE.

    Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a child who has applied 
for relief under section 240A(b)(3) of the Immigration and Nationality 
Act (as added by the section 3(a)) but whose application has not been 
finally adjudicated, shall be deemed to be a ``qualified alien'' under 
section 431(b) of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity 
Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1641(b)) for the purpose of 
receiving any post-secondary education benefit, including any grants, 
loans, or scholarships.

SEC. 5. STATE CONTROL OVER HIGHER EDUCATION ADMISSIONS IN STATE 
              SYSTEMS.

    (a) In General.--Section 505 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and 
Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (division C of Public Law 104-208; 
110 Stat 3009-672; 8 U.S.C. 1623) is hereby repealed.
    (b) Effective Date.--The repeal made by subsection (a) shall take 
effect as if included in the enactment of the Illegal Immigration 
Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996.
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