[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 30 (Wednesday, March 2, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1137-S1138]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mrs. FEINSTEIN:
  S. 450. A bill for the relief of Jacqueline W. Coats; to the 
Committee on the Judiciary.
  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I come to the floor to reintroduce 
private relief legislation on behalf of Jacqueline Coats, a widow 
living in the San Francisco Bay Area. I rise today to ask my colleagues 
to support this legislation in the 112th Congress, which would provide 
Jacqueline with the extraordinary relief I believe she deserves.
  Jacqueline came to the United States from Kenya in 2001 on a student 
visa to study Mass Communications at San Jose State University. In 
January 2002, based on the advice she received from a college advisor, 
Jacqueline attempted to transfer to City College of San Francisco, 
which required her to file for reinstatement. However, the request for 
reinstatement was denied in October 2002, and Jacqueline's immigration 
status lapsed the following year.
  Jacqueline married Marlin Coats, an American citizen, on April 17, 
2006, at San Francisco City Hall. But not even a month after the 
marriage, on May 13, 2006, Jacqueline's husband died while heroically 
attempting to save two boys from drowning at Ocean Beach in San 
Francisco. The two children survived with the help of a rescue crew, 
but Mr. Coats was caught in a riptide and died. The sudden and 
unexpected loss of her husband devastated Jacqueline.
  Unfortunately, a loophole in U.S. immigration laws meant that 
Jacqueline's status in the United States was suddenly in jeopardy due 
to the death of her husband. Jacqueline and her husband had prepared 
and signed an application for a green card at their attorney's office 
just four days before Mr. Coats died. However, the petition did not get 
filed until after his death, meaning it could no longer be considered 
valid.
  Jacqueline very likely would have received permanent residence in the 
United States were it not for the abrupt death of Mr. Coats. At the 
time, Jacqueline received a medal honoring her husband's heroic 
actions. The San

[[Page S1138]]

Francisco Board of Supervisors, the San Francisco Police Department, 
and the San Francisco chapter of the NAACP all passed resolutions in 
support of her remaining in the United States.
  In 2009, I co-sponsored legislation known as the Fairness to 
Surviving Spouses Act to address this hole in U.S. immigration laws 
that creates unnecessary hardship for foreign-born men and women--like 
Jacqueline--whose immigration status is at risk when the sponsoring 
U.S. citizen spouse dies. I do not believe our immigration system 
should penalize individuals whose earnest efforts to become permanent 
legal residents of this country are cut short when their sponsoring 
spouse dies.
  I was pleased that the President signed the Fairness to Surviving 
Spouses Act into law as part of a Department of Homeland Security 
appropriations bill on October 28, 2009. U.S. Citizenship and 
Immigration Services is now implementing this law, which allows widows 
of American citizens to continue to petition for permanent residency as 
long as they can prove that they entered into their marriage in good 
faith. Jacqueline may be eligible for this form of relief; however, I 
believe that a private bill remains necessary until this process can be 
finalized.
  Jacqueline has been a hard-working employee for a transit company in 
Oakland, California, since 2004. She is taking three classes at St. 
Mary's College, and she remains close with the family of her late 
husband. For Jacqueline, the Coats family here in the United States has 
become her own.
  Ramona Burton, one of Mr. Coats' siblings, wrote in a letter to me: 
``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.'' Another concerned California 
constituent wrote to me that common fairness, morality and decency'' 
should be the standards by which we view this case. I agree. Despite 
the tragedy of losing her husband, Jacqueline continues to work hard, 
take classes, and integrate herself within her community.
  Without some form of relief, Jacqueline will be deported to Kenya, a 
country she has not lived in since she was 21 years old. This is never 
what her late husband, a citizen of the United States, intended.
  I believe Congress should honor this family by granting Jacqueline 
permanent residency in the United States. I urge my colleagues to give 
consideration to Jacqueline and to support this private relief 
immigration bill.
  Mr. President, I ask 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. 450

       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 (8 U.S.C. 1154) 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 in the United States 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) 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 not later than 2 years after the 
     date of the 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 subsequent 
     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 (8 U.S.C. 1153(a)) 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 (8 U.S.C. 1152(e)).
       (e) PAYGO.--The budgetary effects of this Act, for the 
     purpose of complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go-Act of 
     2010, shall be determined by reference to the latest 
     statement titled ``Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation'' 
     for this Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional 
     Record by the Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, 
     provided that such statement has been submitted prior to the 
     vote on passage.
                                 ______