[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6095 Referred in Senate (RFS)]


109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6095


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 21, 2006

  Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
To affirm the inherent authority of State and local law enforcement to 
assist in the enforcement of immigration laws, to provide for effective 
 prosecution of alien smugglers, and to reform immigration litigation 
                              procedures.

    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 ``Immigration Law Enforcement Act of 
2006''.

TITLE I--STATE AND LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT COOPERATION IN THE ENFORCEMENT 
                         OF IMMIGRATION LAW ACT

SEC. 101. FEDERAL AFFIRMATION OF ASSISTANCE IN IMMIGRATION LAW 
              ENFORCEMENT BY STATES AND POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS OF 
              STATES.

    (a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law and 
reaffirming the existing inherent authority of States, law enforcement 
personnel of a State or a political subdivision of a State have the 
inherent authority of a sovereign entity to investigate, identify, 
apprehend, arrest, detain, or transfer to Federal custody aliens in the 
United States (including the transportation of such aliens across State 
lines to detention centers), for the purposes of assisting in the 
enforcement of the immigration laws of the United States in the course 
of carrying out routine duties. This State authority has never been 
displaced or preempted by Congress.
    (b) Construction.--Nothing in this section may be construed to 
require law enforcement personnel of a State or political subdivision 
of a State to--
            (1) report the identity of a victim of, or a witness to, a 
        criminal offense to the Secretary of Homeland Security for 
        immigration enforcement purposes; or
            (2) arrest such victim or witness for a violation of the 
        immigration laws of the United States.

                TITLE II--ALIEN SMUGGLER PROSECUTION ACT

SEC. 201. EFFECTIVE PROSECUTION OF ALIEN SMUGGLERS.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds as follows:
            (1) Recent experience shows that alien smuggling is 
        flourishing, is increasingly violent, and is highly profitable.
            (2) Alien smuggling operations also present terrorist and 
        criminal organizations with opportunities for smuggling their 
        members into the United States practically at will.
            (3) Alien smuggling is a lucrative business. Each year, 
        criminal organizations that smuggle or traffic in persons are 
        estimated to generate $9,500,000,000 in revenue worldwide.
            (4) Alien smuggling frequently involves dangerous and 
        inhumane conditions for smuggled aliens. Migrants are 
        frequently abused or exploited, both during their journey and 
        upon reaching the United States. Consequently, aliens smuggled 
        into the United States are at significant risk of physical 
        injury, abuse, and death.
            (5) Notwithstanding that alien smuggling poses a risk to 
        the United States as a whole, uniform guidelines for the 
        prosecution of smuggling offenses are not employed by the 
        various United States attorneys. Understanding that border-area 
        United States attorneys face an overwhelming workload, a lack 
        of sufficient prosecutions by certain United States attorneys 
        has encouraged additional smuggling, and demoralized Border 
        Patrol officers charged with enforcing our anti-smuggling laws.
    (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of the Congress that the 
Attorney General should adopt, not later than 3 months after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, uniform guidelines for the prosecution of 
smuggling offenses to be followed by each United States attorney in the 
United States.
    (c) Additional Personnel.--In each of the fiscal years 2008 through 
2013, the Attorney General shall, subject to the availability of 
appropriations, increase by not less than 20 the number of attorneys in 
the offices of United States attorneys employed to prosecute cases 
under section 274 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
1324), as compared to the previous fiscal year.

            TITLE III--ENDING CATCH AND RELEASE ACT OF 2006

SEC. 301. APPROPRIATE REMEDIES FOR IMMIGRATION LITIGATION.

    (a) Requirements for an Order Granting Prospective Relief Against 
the Government.--
            (1) In general.--If a court determines that prospective 
        relief should be ordered against the Government in any civil 
        action pertaining to the administration or enforcement of the 
        immigration laws of the United States, the court shall--
                    (A) limit the relief to the minimum necessary to 
                correct the violation of law;
                    (B) adopt the least intrusive means to correct the 
                violation of law;
                    (C) minimize, to the greatest extent practicable, 
                the adverse impact on national security, border 
                security, immigration administration and enforcement, 
                and public safety; and
                    (D) provide for the expiration of the relief on a 
                specific date, which is not later than the earliest 
                date necessary for the Government to remedy the 
                violation.
            (2) Written explanation.--The requirements described in 
        paragraph (1) shall be discussed and explained in writing in 
        the order granting prospective relief and must be sufficiently 
        detailed to allow review by another court.
            (3) Expiration of preliminary injunctive relief.--
        Preliminary injunctive relief shall automatically expire on the 
        date that is 90 days after the date on which such relief is 
        entered, unless the court--
                    (A) makes the findings required under paragraph (1) 
                for the entry of permanent prospective relief; and
                    (B) makes the order final before expiration of such 
                90-day period.
            (4) Requirements for order denying motion.--This subsection 
        shall apply to any order denying the Government's motion to 
        vacate, modify, dissolve or otherwise terminate an order 
        granting prospective relief in any civil action pertaining to 
        the administration or enforcement of the immigration laws of 
        the United States.
    (b) Procedure for Motion Affecting Order Granting Prospective 
Relief Against the Government.--
            (1) In general.--A court shall promptly rule on the 
        Government's motion to vacate, modify, dissolve or otherwise 
        terminate an order granting prospective relief in any civil 
        action pertaining to the administration or enforcement of the 
        immigration laws of the United States.
            (2) Automatic stays.--
                    (A) In general.--The Government's motion to vacate, 
                modify, dissolve, or otherwise terminate an order 
                granting prospective relief made in any civil action 
                pertaining to the administration or enforcement of the 
                immigration laws of the United States shall 
                automatically, and without further order of the court, 
                stay the order granting prospective relief on the date 
                that is 15 days after the date on which such motion is 
                filed unless the court previously has granted or denied 
                the Government's motion.
                    (B) Duration of automatic stay.--An automatic stay 
                under subparagraph (A) shall continue until the court 
                enters an order granting or denying the Government's 
                motion.
                    (C) Postponement.--The court, for good cause, may 
                postpone an automatic stay under subparagraph (A) for 
                not longer than 15 days.
                    (D) Orders blocking automatic stays.--Any order 
                staying, suspending, delaying, or otherwise barring the 
                effective date of the automatic stay described in 
                subparagraph (A), other than an order to postpone the 
                effective date of the automatic stay for not longer 
                than 15 days under subparagraph (C), shall be--
                            (i) treated as an order refusing to vacate, 
                        modify, dissolve or otherwise terminate an 
                        injunction; and
                            (ii) immediately appealable under section 
                        1292(a)(1) of title 28, United States Code.
    (c) Settlements.--
            (1) Consent decrees.--In any civil action pertaining to the 
        administration or enforcement of the immigration laws of the 
        United States, the court may not enter, approve, or continue a 
        consent decree that does not comply with subsection (a).
            (2) Private settlement agreements.--Nothing in this section 
        shall preclude parties from entering into a private settlement 
        agreement that does not comply with subsection (a) if the terms 
        of that agreement are not subject to court enforcement other 
        than reinstatement of the civil proceedings that the agreement 
        settled.
    (d) Expedited Proceedings.--It shall be the duty of every court to 
advance on the docket and to expedite the disposition of any civil 
action or motion considered under this section.
    (e) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Consent decree.--The term ``consent decree''--
                    (A) means any relief entered by the court that is 
                based in whole or in part on the consent or 
                acquiescence of the parties; and
                    (B) does not include private settlements.
            (2) Good cause.--The term ``good cause'' does not include 
        discovery or congestion of the court's calendar.
            (3) Government.--The term ``Government'' means the United 
        States, any Federal department or agency, or any Federal agent 
        or official acting within the scope of official duties.
            (4) Permanent relief.--The term ``permanent relief'' means 
        relief issued in connection with a final decision of a court.
            (5) Private settlement agreement.--The term ``private 
        settlement agreement'' means an agreement entered into among 
        the parties that is not subject to judicial enforcement other 
        than the reinstatement of the civil action that the agreement 
        settled.
            (6) Prospective relief.--The term ``prospective relief'' 
        means temporary, preliminary, or permanent relief other than 
        compensatory monetary damages.

SEC. 302. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    (a) In General.--This title shall apply with respect to all orders 
granting prospective relief in any civil action pertaining to the 
administration or enforcement of the immigration laws of the United 
States, whether such relief was ordered before, on, or after the date 
of the enactment of this Act.
    (b) Pending Motions.--Every motion to vacate, modify, dissolve or 
otherwise terminate an order granting prospective relief in any such 
action, which motion is pending on the date of the enactment of this 
Act, shall be treated as if it had been filed on such date of 
enactment.
    (c) Automatic Stay for Pending Motions.--
            (1) In general.--An automatic stay with respect to the 
        prospective relief that is the subject of a motion described in 
        subsection (b) shall take effect without further order of the 
        court on the date which is 10 days after the date of the 
        enactment of this Act if the motion--
                    (A) was pending for 45 days as of the date of the 
                enactment of this Act; and
                    (B) is still pending on the date which is 10 days 
                after such date of enactment.
            (2) Duration of automatic stay.--An automatic stay that 
        takes effect under paragraph (1) shall continue until the court 
        enters an order granting or denying the Government's motion 
        under section 301(b). There shall be no further postponement of 
        the automatic stay with respect to any such pending motion 
        under section 301(b)(2). Any order, staying, suspending, 
        delaying or otherwise barring the effective date of this 
        automatic stay with respect to pending motions described in 
        subsection (b) shall be an order blocking an automatic stay 
        subject to immediate appeal under section 301(b)(2)(D).

            Passed the House of Representatives September 21, 2006.

            Attest:

                                                 KAREN L. HAAS,

                                                                 Clerk.