[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5161 Introduced in House (IH)]







109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5161

To establish a commission to study the removal of Mexican-Americans to 
            Mexico during 1929-1941, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 6, 2006

   Ms. Solis (for herself, Mr. Gutierrez, Mr. Berman, Mr. Honda, Mr. 
Emanuel, Ms. Matsui, Mr. Lewis of Georgia, Ms. Lee, and Ms. Zoe Lofgren 
of California) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To establish a commission to study the removal of Mexican-Americans to 
            Mexico during 1929-1941, 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.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Commission on Mexican-American 
Removal during 1929-1941 Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) From 1929 through 1941, Federal, State, and local 
        Government authorities and certain private sector entities 
        throughout the United States undertook an aggressive program to 
        forcibly remove individuals of Mexican ancestry from the United 
        States.
            (2) As many as two million individuals of Mexican ancestry 
        were forcibly removed to Mexico, as many as 1.2 million of whom 
        were United States citizens.
            (3) These men, women, and children were removed outside the 
        United States in response to public pressure to curtail the 
        employment of Mexican-Americans, most of whom were United 
        States citizens or residing legally in the United States, 
        during the Depression.
            (4) Massive raids were conducted on Mexican-American 
        communities, and many of the people who were removed were never 
        able to return to the United States, their country of birth.
            (5) These raids targeted individuals of Mexican ancestry, 
        with Federal, State, and local Government authorities and 
        certain private sector entities characterizing these 
        individuals as ``illegal aliens'' even when such individuals 
        were United States citizens or permanent legal residents.
            (6) These raids also separated such United States citizens 
        and permanent legal residents from their families and deprived 
        them of their livelihoods and constitutional rights.
            (7) No official inquiry into this matter has been made.
    (b) Purpose.--It is the purpose of this Act to establish a fact 
finding commission to determine whether United States citizens and 
permanent legal residents were forcibly removed to Mexico from 1929 to 
1941 in violation of law as a result of past directives of Federal, 
State and local governments and the impact of such removal on those 
individuals, their families, and the Mexican-American community in the 
United States, and to recommend appropriate remedies.

SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION.

    There is established a commission to be known as the ``Commission 
on Mexican-American Removal during 1929-1941''.

SEC. 4. DUTIES OF THE COMMISSION.

    The Commission shall--
            (1) review the facts and circumstances surrounding the 
        removal of certain United States citizens and permanent legal 
        residents to Mexico, and the impact of such actions on these 
        individuals, their families, and the Mexican-American community 
        in the United States;
            (2) review past directives of Federal, State, and local 
        governments that required the removal of these individuals to 
        Mexico and any other information related to these directives; 
        and
            (3) submit to Congress a written report of its findings and 
        recommendations.

SEC. 5. MEMBERSHIP.

    (a) Number and Appointment.--The Commission shall be composed of 
seven members, who shall be appointed within 90 days after the date of 
the enactment of this Act as follows:
            (1) Three members appointed by the President.
            (2) Two members appointed by the Speaker of the House of 
        Representatives, in consultation with the minority leader of 
        the House of Representatives.
            (3) Two members appointed by the President pro tempore of 
        the Senate, in consultation with the minority leader of the 
        Senate.
    (b) Qualifications.--Members appointed under subsection (a) shall 
possess knowledge or expertise related to human rights, civil rights, 
immigration, labor, business, or other pertinent qualifications.
    (c) Term of Office.--Each member shall be appointed for the life of 
the Commission.
    (d) Quorum.--Four members of the Commission shall constitute a 
quorum, but a lesser number may hold hearings.
    (e) Initial Meeting.--The initial meeting of the Commission shall 
be called by the President within one hundred and twenty days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, or within thirty days after the date 
on which legislation is enacted making appropriations to carry out this 
Act, whichever is later.
    (f) Chairperson and Vice Chairperson.--The Commission shall elect a 
chairperson and vice chairperson from among its members. The term of 
office of each shall be for the life of the Commission.
    (g) Vacancies.--A vacancy in the Commission shall not affect its 
powers and shall be filled in the same manner in which the original 
appointment was made.
    (h) Basic Pay.--
            (1) Rate of pay.--Each member of the Commission who is not 
        otherwise employed by the United States shall receive 
        compensation at a rate equal to the daily rate prescribed for 
        level IV of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 
        5, United States Code, for each day, including travel time, 
        such member is engaged in the actual performance of the duties 
        of the Commission.
            (2) Prohibition of compensation of federal employees.--A 
        member of the Commission who is a full-time officer or employee 
        of the United States may not receive additional pay, 
        allowances, or benefits by reason of their service on the 
        Commission.
            (3) Travel expenses.--Each member of the Commission shall 
        receive travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of 
        subsistence, in accordance with sections 5702 and 5703 of title 
        5, United States Code.

SEC. 6. POWERS.

    (a) Hearings.--
            (1) In general.--The Commission or on the authorization of 
        the Commission, any subcommittee or member thereof, may for the 
        purpose of carrying out this Act, hold hearings, sit and act at 
        times and places, take testimony, and receive evidence as the 
        Commission or any subcommittee or member considers appropriate.
            (2) Location.--The Commission may hold public hearings in 
        any city of the United States that it finds appropriate.
    (b) Subpoena Power.--
            (1) In general.--The Commission may issue subpoenas 
        requiring the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the 
        production of any evidence relating to any matter under 
        investigation by the Commission which the Commission is 
        empowered to investigate by this Act.
            (2) Failure to obey a subpoena.--If a person refuses to 
        obey a subpoena issued under paragraph (1), the Commission may 
        apply to a United States district court for an order requiring 
        that person to appear before the Commission to give testimony, 
        produce evidence, or both, relating to the matter under 
        investigation. The application may be made within the judicial 
        district where the hearing is conducted or where such person is 
        found, resides, or transacts business. Any failure to obey the 
        order of the court may be punished by the court as civil 
        contempt.
            (3) Service of subpoena.--A subpoena of the Commission 
        shall be served in the manner provided for subpoenas issued by 
        a United States district court under the Federal Rules of Civil 
        Procedure for the United States district courts.
            (4) Service of process.--All process of any court to which 
        application is made under paragraph (2) may be served in the 
        judicial district in which the person required to be served 
        resides or may be found.
    (c) Obtaining Official Data.--The Commission may secure directly 
from any department or agency of the United States, or from any State 
or local government, information necessary to enable it to carry out 
this Act. Upon request of any member, the head of such department or 
agency shall furnish such information to the Commission.
    (d) Contract Authority.--To the extent or in the amounts provided 
in advance in appropriation Acts, the Commission may contract with and 
compensate government and private agencies or persons for any services, 
supplies, or other activities necessary to enable the Commission to 
carry out its duties under this Act.

SEC. 7. STAFF.

    (a) In General.--The Commission may appoint and fix the pay of such 
additional staff as it considers appropriate.
    (b) Applicability of Certain Civil Service Laws.--Any staff of the 
Commission may be appointed without regard to the provisions of title 
5, United States Code, governing appointments in the competitive 
service, and may be paid without regard to the provisions of chapter 51 
and subchapter III of chapter 53 of such title relating to 
classification and General Schedule pay rates.
    (c) Experts and Consultants.--The Commission may procure temporary 
and intermittent services under section 3109(b) of title 5, United 
States Code.
    (d) Administrative Support Services.--Upon request of the 
Commission, the Administrator of General Services shall provide to the 
Commission, on a reimbursable basis, the administrative support 
services necessary for the Commission to carry out its duties under 
this Act.

SEC. 8. REPORT.

    The Commission shall submit to Congress a written report not later 
than the date which is one year after the date of the initial meeting 
called pursuant to section 5(d) of this Act. The report shall contain a 
detailed statement of the findings and conclusions of the Commission, 
together with its recommendations for legislative actions that the 
Commission considers appropriate.

SEC. 9. TERMINATION.

    The Commission shall terminate 30 days after submitting the report 
under section 8.

SEC. 10. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the 
        Commission on Mexican-American Removal during 1929-1941.
            (2) Member.--The term ``member'' means a member of the 
        Commission.
            (3) State.--The term ``State'' means any State of the 
        United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of 
        Puerto Rico, and any other commonwealth, possession, or 
        territory of the United States.
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