[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 251 Introduced in House (IH)]






109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 251

To assist aliens who were transplanted to the United States as children 
 in continuing their education and otherwise integrating into American 
                                society.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 6, 2005

   Ms. Jackson-Lee of Texas introduced the following bill; which was 
               referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To assist aliens who were transplanted to the United States as children 
 in continuing their education and otherwise integrating into American 
                                society.

    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 ``Preserving Educational Opportunities 
for Immigrant Children Act of 2005''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Many children are brought to the United States at a 
        very young age by parents or other adults to accompany them 
        during the adults' stay in the United States.
            (2) In many such instances, parents or other adults 
        traveling to the United States enter and or remain in this 
        country without benefit of inspection or authorization to be 
        present in the United States.
            (3) Many children brought to the United States by parents 
        or other adults arrive in this country without the ability to 
        make independent decisions about where they wish to live. Once 
        in the United States, many such children also are incapable of 
        independent living.
            (4) Because of the early age at which many children arrive 
        in the United States, as they become older, they become fully 
        integrated into American life, learning English and either 
        losing or never acquiring the language of their native country. 
        At the same time, many lose all ties to relatives in their 
        country of origin or previous country of habitual residence.
            (5) Many such children attend public elementary and 
        secondary schools in the United States. Often, they excel in 
        academics and contribute to both their communities and the 
        families with whom they live.
            (6) Current United States immigration laws do not provide 
        the Attorney General with adequate flexibility to take into 
        account the special humanitarian circumstances in which such 
        transplanted alien children live. Consequently, such children 
        are in danger of being removed to a country they do not know, 
        an eventuality that would cause enormous disruptions in their 
        lives and in the lives of their loved ones.
            (7) Current immigration laws effectively preclude States 
        and units of local government from providing such children 
        access to State systems of higher education. Consequently, many 
        such children cannot continue their education upon graduating 
        from high school.
    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are--
            (1) to provide for aliens who, through no fault of their 
        own, were brought to the United States as children, 
        opportunities to regularize their status in the United States, 
        attend college, and become contributing members of their 
        communities in this country; and
            (2) to repeal certain legislative barriers that impede the 
        ability of such aliens to become fully integrated into United 
        States society.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    (a) Transplanted Child.--As used in this Act, the term, 
``transplanted child'' means an alien who is described in section 
101(a)(51) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (as amended by 
subsection (b) of this Act).
    (b) Amendment to the Immigration and Nationality Act.--Section 
101(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)) is 
amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(51) The term `transplanted child' means an alien who has 
        been granted cancellation of removal under section 240A(b)(3) 
        or who has pending before the Attorney General an application 
        for cancellation of removal under such section.''.

SEC. 4. RESTORATION OF STATE FLEXIBILITY IN PROVIDING IN-STATE TUITION 
              FOR COLLEGE-AGE ALIEN CHILDREN.

    (a) Restoration.--The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant 
Responsibility Act of 1996 (division C of Public Law 104-208; 8 U.S.C. 
1623) is amended by striking section 505.
    (b) Applicability.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall 
apply to postsecondary education benefits provided on or after July 1, 
1998.

SEC. 5. ELIGIBILITY OF TRANSPLANTED CHILDREN FOR PUBLIC BENEFITS.

    Section 431(b) of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity 
Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1641(b)) is amended--
            (1) at the end of paragraph (6), by striking ``; or'' and 
        inserting a semicolon;
            (2) at the end of paragraph (7), by striking the period and 
        inserting ``; or''; and
            (3) by adding after paragraph (7) the following new 
        paragraph:
            ``(8) an alien who is a transplanted child, as defined in 
        section 101(a)(51) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.''.

SEC. 6. AUTHORITY OF ATTORNEY GENERAL 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 by--
            (1) redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph (4); and
            (2) inserting after paragraph (2) the following new 
        paragraph:
            ``(3) Special rule for aliens brought to the united states 
        as children.--
                    ``(A) Authority.--Subject to subparagraph (B), the 
                Attorney General may cancel the 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 Attorney 
                General determines that--
                            ``(i)(I) in the case of an alien who has 
                        not attained the age of 18, the alien has been 
                        physically present in the United States for a 
                        continuous period of not less than 3 years 
                        immediately preceding the date of such 
                        application and during such period the alien 
                        has been a person of good moral character; or
                            ``(II) in the case of an alien who is 18 
                        years of age or older, the alien has been 
                        physically present in the United States for a 
                        continuous period of not less than 5 years 
                        immediately preceding the date of such 
                        application, including at least 3 years of 
                        continuous residence before reaching 18 years 
                        of age and during such 5 year period the alien 
                        has been a person of good moral character; and
                            ``(ii) the removal would result in extreme 
                        hardship to the alien, the alien's child, or 
                        the alien's parent.
                    ``(B) Restrictions on authority.--The authority of 
                the Attorney General under subparagraph (A) shall not 
                apply to--
                            ``(i) an alien who is inadmissible under 
                        section 212(a)(2)(A)(i)(I) or 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; or
                            ``(ii) an alien who is inadmissible under 
                        section 212(a)(3), or deportable under section 
                        237(a)(2)(D)(i) or 237(a)(2)(D)(ii) (relating 
                        to security and related grounds).''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 240A(b) of the Immigration and 
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1229b(b)), is amended in paragraph (4) (as so 
redesignated by the amendment made by subsection (a)) by striking 
``paragraph (1) or (2)'' each place it appears and inserting 
``paragraph (1), (2), or (3).''.
                                 <all>