[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2235 Introduced in House (IH)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2235

 To suspend certain nonessential visas, in order to provide temporary 
   workload relief critical to the successful reorganization of the 
immigration and naturalization functions of the Department of Homeland 
   Security, to ensure that the screening and monitoring of arriving 
     immigrants and nonimmigrants, and the deterrence of entry and 
settlement by illegal or unauthorized aliens, is sufficient to maintain 
 the integrity of the sovereign borders of the United States, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 22, 2003

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To suspend certain nonessential visas, in order to provide temporary 
   workload relief critical to the successful reorganization of the 
immigration and naturalization functions of the Department of Homeland 
   Security, to ensure that the screening and monitoring of arriving 
     immigrants and nonimmigrants, and the deterrence of entry and 
settlement by illegal or unauthorized aliens, is sufficient to maintain 
 the integrity of the sovereign borders of the United States, and for 
                            other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS; SEVERABILITY; EFFECTIVE 
              DATE.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Emergency 
Immigration Workload Reduction and Homeland Security Enhancement Act of 
2003''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as 
follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents; severability; effective date.
Sec. 2. Findings.
Sec. 3. Temporary suspension of visa waiver program.
Sec. 4. Temporary suspension of adjustment of status.
Sec. 5. Temporary suspension of renewals of temporary protected status.
Sec. 6. Temporary suspension of certain immigrant visa programs.
Sec. 7. Restriction of nonimmigrant visas for nationals of countries 
                            denying or delaying acceptance of aliens.
Sec. 8. Waivers of temporary suspensions.
Sec. 9. Termination of temporary suspensions.
Sec. 10. Suspension of nonimmigrant visas.
Sec. 11. Temporary funding for detention and removal assistance 
                            provided by State and local law enforcement 
                            agencies.
    (c) Severability.--If any provision of this Act, or the application 
of such a provision to any person or circumstance, is held to be 
unconstitutional, the remainder of the Act, and the application of this 
Act to any other person or circumstance, shall not be affected by such 
holding.
    (d) Effective Date.--This Act shall take effect in each local time 
zone upon the commencement in such zone of the first Sunday that occurs 
two weeks after the date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds as follows:
            (1) The effective establishment and organization of the 
        Directorate of Border and Transportation Security of the 
        Department of Homeland Security is imperative if the 
        Directorate is to carry out the immigration enforcement 
        responsibilities delegated to it by the Congress in the manner 
        expected by the American people.
            (2) The effective implementation of these duties will not 
        be achieved without an unacceptable compromise to the security 
        interests of the United States unless certain immigration 
        programs are temporarily suspended, and other material 
        assistance is provided to law enforcement agencies and other 
        entities that support the immigration enforcement functions of 
        the Directorate, until such time as the Secretary of Homeland 
        Security can make the certifications to Congress required in 
        section 9.
            (3) Such certifications, taken together, will establish the 
        effective operational transfer of immigration enforcement 
        functions to the new Directorate.

SEC. 3. TEMPORARY SUSPENSION OF VISA WAIVER PROGRAM.

    The admission of aliens to the United States under section 217 of 
the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1187) is suspended.

SEC. 4. TEMPORARY SUSPENSION OF ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS.

    (a) In General.--The authority of the Secretary of Homeland 
Security to adjust the status of any alien to that of an alien lawfully 
admitted for permanent residence under section 240A of the Immigration 
and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1229b) or section 245 of such Act (8 
U.S.C. 1187), is suspended.
    (b) Effect on Applications.--The suspension described in subsection 
(a) shall include the suspension of acceptance for filing of 
applications for the adjustments of status described in such 
subsection.

SEC. 5. TEMPORARY SUSPENSION OF RENEWALS OF TEMPORARY PROTECTED STATUS.

    The authority of the Secretary of Homeland Security to extend any 
designation made under subparagraph (B) or (C) of section 244(b)(1) of 
the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1254(b)(1)) is suspended.

SEC. 6. TEMPORARY SUSPENSION OF CERTAIN IMMIGRANT VISA PROGRAMS.

    (a) Brothers and Sisters of Citizens.--The allocation of family-
sponsored immigrant visas to alien brothers and sisters of citizens 
under section 203(a)(4) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 
U.S.C. 1153(a)(4)), and the admission of such aliens to the United 
States as immigrants, is suspended.
    (b) Sons and Daughters of Citizens.--The allocation of family-
sponsored immigrant visas to alien sons and daughters of citizens under 
paragraph (1) or (3) of section 203(a) of the Immigration and 
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(a)), and the admission of such aliens to 
the United States as immigrants, is suspended.
    (c) Unmarried Sons and Daughters of Permanent Resident Aliens.--
            (1) In general.--The allocation of family-sponsored 
        immigrant visas to aliens who are the unmarried sons and 
        daughters (but are not the children) of an alien lawfully 
        admitted for permanent residence under section 203(a)(2)(B) of 
        the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(a)(2)(B)), 
        and the admission of such aliens to the United States as 
        immigrants, is suspended.
            (2) Children.--The allocation of family-sponsored immigrant 
        visas to aliens who are the children of an alien lawfully 
admitted for permanent residence under section 203(a)(2)(A) of the 
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(a)(2)(A)), and the 
admission of such aliens to the United States as immigrants, is 
suspended, except that this paragraph shall not apply to dependent 
children who are under 18 years of age at the time an immigrant visa 
becomes available to the child.
    (d) Diversity Immigrants.--The allocation of immigrant visas to 
aliens under section 203(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 
U.S.C. 1153(c)), and the admission of such aliens to the United States 
as immigrants, is suspended.
    (e) Effect on Classification Petitions.--The suspensions of 
immigrant visa allocations described in this section shall include the 
suspension of acceptance for filing of petitions for classification 
under section 204 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
1154) with respect to the affected immigrant visa categories.

SEC. 7. RESTRICTION OF NONIMMIGRANT VISAS FOR NATIONALS OF COUNTRIES 
              DENYING OR DELAYING ACCEPTANCE OF ALIENS.

    (a) Public Listing of Aliens With No Significant Likelihood of 
Removal.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary of Homeland Security shall 
        establish and maintain a public listing of every alien who is 
        subject to a final order of removal and with respect to whom 
        the Secretary or any Federal court has determined that there is 
        no significant likelihood of removal in the reasonably 
        foreseeable future due to the refusal, or unreasonable delay, 
        of all countries designated by the alien or under this section 
        to receive the alien.
            (2) Discontinuation of visas.--In the case of any foreign 
        state for which 24 or more of the citizens, subjects, or 
        nationals of such state appear on the public listing described 
        in paragraph (1), such foreign state shall be deemed to have 
        denied or unreasonably delayed the acceptance of such aliens, 
        and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall make the 
        notification to the Secretary of State prescribed in section 
        243(d) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
        1253(d)). Consular officers in such foreign state shall 
        accordingly discontinue the issuance of nonimmigrant visas to 
        citizens, subjects, or nationals of the state.
    (b) Sunset.--Subsection (a) shall sunset in accordance with section 
9.

SEC. 8. WAIVERS OF TEMPORARY SUSPENSIONS.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Homeland Security may, in the 
Secretary's discretion--
            (1) waive on an individual case-by-case basis sections 4, 
        6, and 7; or
            (2) waive, with the concurrence for the Secretary of State, 
        section 3 for designated classes of applicants, if such 
        applicants are not inadmissible under section 212(a) of the 
        Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)) or 
        deportable under section 237(a) of such Act (8 U.S.C 1227).
    (b) Delegation.--The Secretary of Homeland Security may, in the 
discretion of the Secretary, delegate to the Secretary of State, for 
designated classes of applicants, the waiver authority of subsection 
(a)(1) with respect to sections 6 and 7.

SEC. 9. TERMINATION OF TEMPORARY SUSPENSIONS.

    Sections 3 through 8 shall cease to be effective one week after the 
certification by the Secretary of Homeland Security to the Congress 
that the following conditions are satisfied:
            (1) The integrated entry and exit data system required by 
        the Immigration and Naturalization Service Data Management 
        Improvement Act of 2000 (Public Law 106-215), including the 
        requirements added by section 302(a) of the Enhanced Border 
        Security and Visa Entry Reform Act of 2002 (Public Law 107-
        173), is fully operational at all ports of entry.
            (2) The system of machine-readable tamper-resistant visas 
        and other travel and entry documents required by section 302(b) 
        of the Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act of 
        2002 (Public Law 107-173), as well as the technology standard 
        for visa waiver program participants required by section 302(c) 
        of such Act, are fully operational at all ports of entry and, 
        where applicable, at consular posts abroad.
            (3) The Department of Homeland Security has the operational 
        capability to take into custody and remove from the United 
        States any alien described in section 237(a) of the Immigration 
        and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1227(a)) who has been brought to 
        the attention of the Service by a State or local law 
        enforcement agency.
            (4) Adequate Federal funds have been appropriated and are 
        available to reimburse all verified claims described in section 
        11.
            (5) The data system for the registration of aliens under 
        chapter 7 of title II of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 
        U.S.C. 261 et seq.) is fully operational and--
                    (A) is fully compliant with the data system 
                integration and interoperability standards enacted in 
                section 202(a) of the Enhanced Border Security and Visa 
                Entry Reform Act of 2002 (Public Law 107-173);
                    (B) ensures the entry of all registrations made in 
                accordance with section 221(b) of the Immigration and 
                Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1201(b)) into the 
                registration system at the time at the time of the 
                relevant visa application;
                    (C) ensures that all other registrations made under 
                procedures required by section 264 of such Act (8 
                U.S.C. 1304) are entered into the data system within 72 
                hours of submission by the alien of an approved form of 
                registration; and
                    (D) ensures that all notices of change of address 
                required by section 265 of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1305) are 
                entered in the data system within 5 working days of 
                submission by the alien of an approved change of 
                address form.
            (6) A program for the random audit of the backlog of 
        applications for changes in immigration status by aliens 
present in the United States existing on the effective date of this Act 
has been fully implemented by the Department of Homeland Security.
            (7) The program described in paragraph (6) reliably 
        indicates that the incidence of fraud or false statements is no 
        more than 3 percent of all approved applications.
            (8) The foreign student monitoring system described in 
        section 641 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant 
        Responsibility Act (8 U.S.C. 1372), as amended and expanded by 
        sections 501 and 502 of the Enhanced Border Security and Visa 
        Entry Reform Act of 2002 (Public Law 107-173), is fully 
        operational, and no educational institution certified to 
        receive nonimmigrant students under subparagraph (F), (M), or 
        (J) of section 101(a)(15) of the Immigration and Nationality 
        Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)) registers or admits aliens present 
        in the United States in violation of law.
            (9) The number of aliens removed from the United States, 
        during each of 4 months preceding the month in which the 
        certification under this section is executed, was at least 25 
        percent higher than in the comparable months of the previous 
        year.
            (10) All reports and plans, and all operational transfers 
        of functions, required under title IV of the Homeland Security 
        Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 201 et seq.) have been successfully 
        performed and implemented to the extent required by law as of 
        the certification date.
            (11) The elimination of the backlog of immigration benefit 
        applications required by section 458 of the Homeland Security 
        Act of 2002 (Public Law 107-296; 116 Stat. 2201) has been 
        completed.
            (12) The annual report required by section 205(b) of the 
        American Competitiveness in the Twenty-first Century Act of 
        2000 (8 U.S.C. 1574(b)), for the fiscal year preceding the date 
        of the certification, has been submitted to the Congress.
            (13) Process changes described in section 205(b)(2)(C)(vi) 
        of the American Competitiveness in the Twenty-first Century Act 
        of 2000 (8 U.S.C. 1574(b)(2)(C)(vi)) have been implemented and 
        are substantially operational.

SEC. 10. SUSPENSION OF NONIMMIGRANT VISAS.

    (a) In General.--The authority of the Secretary of State to issue 
nonimmigrant visas is suspended. The authority of the Secretary of 
Homeland Security to admit nonimmigrant aliens into the United States 
is suspended.
    (b) Effect on Applications.--The suspensions described in 
subsection (a) shall include the suspension of acceptance for filing of 
applications for nonimmigrant visas and applications for admission as a 
nonimmigrant.
    (c) Waivers Authorized.--The Secretary of Homeland Security may, in 
the Secretary's discretion, waive the application of subsection (a) in 
the case of any alien or class of aliens if the following conditions 
are satisfied:
            (1) Section 203(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act 
        (8 U.S.C. 1153(c), and any other provision of law authorizing 
        the issuance of diversity immigrant visas, is repealed.
            (2) Personal interviews are mandatory for admission of 
        aliens to the United States under section 217 of the 
        Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1187).
            (3) The Secretary, with the Secretary of State, verifies 
        that each alien admitted on the basis of a nonimmigrant visa 
        has had a personal interview with a consular officer prior to 
        the issuance of the visa.
    (d) Construction.--During any period in which a waiver granted 
under subsection (c) applies to aliens barred from receipt of 
nonimmigrant visas under section 7(a)(2), the bar shall supersede the 
waiver.

SEC. 11. TEMPORARY FUNDING FOR DETENTION AND REMOVAL ASSISTANCE 
              PROVIDED BY STATE AND LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES.

    The Secretary of Homeland Security shall reimburse verifiable 
claims submitted by a law enforcement agency of a State, or any 
political subdivision of a State, that were lawfully incurred for the 
emergency medical care, housing, and care in a secure facility, and the 
transportation into Federal custody at a location designated by the 
Secretary, of any alien detained as inadmissible under section 212(a) 
of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)) or deportable 
under section 237(a) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1227(a)), if--
            (1) transfer to Federal custody has occurred;
            (2)(A) a determination is subsequently made under section 
        240(c)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
        1229a(c)(1)) that such alien is removable; or
            (B) a determination is made that the alien has permanently 
        departed the United States;
            (3) reimbursement for all costs excepting transportation 
        costs is made according to a per diem rate established by the 
        Secretary; and
            (4) the first day of such detention is not later than the 
        date on which the certification described in section 9 is made.
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