[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 106 (Thursday, August 3, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8819-S8820]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mrs. FEINSTEIN:
  S. 3809. A bill for the relief of Jacqueline W. Coats; to the 
Committee on the Judiciary.
  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I offer today private relief 
legislation to provide lawful permanent residence status to Jacqueline 
Coats, a 26-year-old widow currently living in San Francisco.
  Mrs. Coats came to the U.S. in 2001 from Kenya on a student visa to 
study mass communications at San Jose State University. Her visa status 
lapsed in 2003, and the Department of Homeland Security began 
deportation proceedings against her.
  Mrs. Coats married Marlin Coats on April 17, 2006, after dating for 
several years. The couple was happily married and planning to start a 
family when, on May 13, Mr. Coats tragically died in a heroic attempt 
to save two young boys from drowning.
  The couple had been on a Mother's Day outing at Ocean Beach with some 
of Mr. Coats's nephews when they heard cries for help. Having worked as 
a lifeguard in the past, Mr. Coats instinctively dove into the water. 
The two children were saved with the help of a rescue crew, but Mr. 
Coats, caught in a riptide, died. Mrs. Coats received a medal honoring 
her husband.
  Four days before Mr. Coats's death, the couple prepared and signed an 
application for a green card at their attorney's office. Unfortunately 
the petition was not filed until after his death,

[[Page S8820]]

rendering it invalid. Mrs. Coats currently has a hearing before an 
immigration judge in San Francisco on August 24, but her attorney has 
informed my staff that she has no relief available to her and will be 
ordered deported.
  Mrs. Coats, devastated by the loss of her husband, is now caught in a 
battle for her right to stay in America. At a recent news conference 
with her lawyer, Thip Ark, she explained of her situation, ``I feel 
like I have nothing to live for. I have nothing to go home to. . . . 
I've been here 4 years. . . . It would be like starting a new life.''
  Ms. Ark explains that Mrs. Coats is extremely close with her late 
husband's family, with whom she lives in San Leandro, CA. Mrs. Coats 
has said that her husband's large family has become her own. Ramona 
Burton of San Francisco, one of Marlin Coats's seven brothers and 
sisters explains, ``She spent her first American Christmas with us, her 
first American Thanksgiving. . . . I can't imagine looking around and 
not seeing her there. She needs to be there.''
  The San Francisco and bay area community is rallying strong support 
for Mrs. Coats. The San Francisco chapters of the NAACP, the San 
Francisco Board of Supervisors, and the San Francisco Police 
Department, have all passed resolutions in support of Mrs. Coats's 
right to remain in the country.
  Unfortunately, if this private relief bill is not approved, this 
young woman, and the Coats family, will face yet another disorienting 
and heartbreaking tragedy. Mrs. Coats will be deported to Kenya, a 
country she has not lived in since she was 21. In her time of grieving, 
she will be forced to leave her home, her job with AC Transit, her new 
family, and everything she has known for the past 5 years.
  I cannot think of a compelling reason why the United States should 
not allow this young widow to continue the green card process. Had her 
husband lived, Mrs. Coats would have filed the papers without 
difficulty. It was because of her husband's selfless and heroic act 
that Mrs. Coats must now struggle to remain in the country. As one 
concerned California constituent wrote to me, ``If ever there was a 
case where common fairness, morality and decency should reign over 
legal technicalities, this is it. We, as a country, need to reward 
heroism and good.''
  I believe that we can reward the late Mr. Coats for his noble actions 
by granting his wife citizenship. It is what he intended for her. It 
can even be argued that a green card for his wife was one of his dying 
wishes, as the papers were signed just 4 days prior to his death.
  For these reasons, I offer this private relief immigration bill and 
ask my colleagues to support it on behalf of Mrs. Coats.
  I also ask for unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed 
in the Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                S. 3809

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

     SECTION 1. PERMANENT RESIDENT STATUS FOR JACQUELINE W. COATS.

       (a) In General.--Notwithstanding subsections (a) and (b) of 
     section 201 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
     1151), Jacqueline W. Coats shall be eligible for issuance of 
     an immigrant visa or for adjustment of status to that of an 
     alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence upon filing 
     an application for issuance of an immigrant visa under 
     section 204 of that Act or for adjustment of status to lawful 
     permanent resident.
       (b) Adjustment of Status.--If Jacqueline W. Coats enters 
     the United States before the filing deadline specified in 
     subsection (c), Jacqueline W. Coats shall be considered to 
     have entered and remained lawfully and shall be eligible for 
     adjustment of status under section 245 of the Immigration and 
     Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1255) as of the date of enactment 
     of this Act.
       (c) Deadline for Application and Payment of Fees.--
     Subsections (a) and (b) shall apply only if the application 
     for issuance of an immigrant visa or the application for 
     adjustment of status is filed with appropriate fees within 2 
     years after the date of enactment of this Act.
       (d) Reduction of Immigrant Visa Numbers.--Upon the granting 
     of an immigrant visa or permanent residence to Jacqueline W. 
     Coats, the Secretary of State shall instruct the proper 
     officer to reduce by 1, during the current or next following 
     fiscal year, the total number of immigrant visas that are 
     made available to natives of the country of birth of 
     Jacqueline W. Coats under section 203(a) of the Immigration 
     and Nationality Act or, if applicable, the total number of 
     immigrant visas that are made available to natives of the 
     country of birth of Jacqueline W. Coats under section 202(e) 
     of that Act.
                                 ______