[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 112 (Wednesday, July 25, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5412-S5413]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 FOR THE RELIEF OF SOPURUCHI CHUKWUEKE

  Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
Senate proceed to the consideration of Calendar No. 464, S. 285.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (S. 285) for the relief of Sopuruchi Chukwueke.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill, 
which had been reported from the Committee on the Judiciary, with an 
amendment, as follows:
  (The part of the bill intended to be inserted is shown in italics.)

                                 S. 285

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

     SECTION 1. ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS.

       (a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
     law, for the purposes of the Immigration and Nationality Act 
     (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.), Sopuruchi Chukwueke shall be deemed 
     to have been lawfully admitted to, and remained in, the 
     United States, and shall be eligible for adjustment of status 
     to that of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence 
     under section 245 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 
     U.S.C. 1255) upon filing an application for such adjustment 
     of status.
       (b) Application and Payment of Fees.--Subsection (a) shall 
     apply only if 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.
       (c) Reduction of Immigrant Visa Numbers.--Upon the granting 
     of permanent resident status to Sopuruchi Chukwueke, 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 the birth of Sopuruchi 
     Chukwueke under section 202(a)(2) of the Immigration and 
     Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1152(a)(2)).
       (d) Denial of Preferential Immigration Treatment for 
     Certain Relatives.--The natural parents, brothers, and 
     sisters of Sopuruchi Victor Chukwueke shall not, by virtue of 
     such relationship, be accorded any right, privilege, or 
     status under the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
     1101 et seq.).

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I wish to express my support for S. 285, 
a private relief bill for Soptuuchi ``Victor'' Chukwueke.
  Mr. Chukwueke has a compelling story. He has suffered a serious 
medical condition, was abandoned by his parents, and was brought to the 
U.S. at a young age. He has endured several surgeries as a result of 
his serious medical condition, and has overcome many barriers to get 
where he is today.
  Despite his personal story and achievements, members of the Judiciary 
Committee were informed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement that he 
was an orphan and had no family in the U.S. or in Nigeria, his home 
country. We were led to believe that he had no family because that is 
how he represented himself during interviews with Federal agents. We 
found out later, however, that he still had a mother and father, and 
six siblings in Nigeria. Upon learning of this discrepancy, I 
immediately asked Immigration and Customs Enforcement to clear up these 
conflicting statements, and to provide any other background information 
or paper in his files, including interview notes to understand the line 
of questioning that took place between ICE and Mr. Chukwueke. ICE 
rejected sharing the file with members of the Judiciary Committee. 
After weeks of a standstill, ICE agreed to show committee staff what 
was in his alien file. The file was helpful because we could review 
interview notes, visa applications, pictures, and other notes on Mr. 
Chukwueke.
  Upon completing the review of the file, committee staff held a 
conference call with Mr. Chukwueke. During that interview, Mr. 
Chukwueke stated that he told investigators that he believed he was an 
orphan and that he had no intention of lying. For the record, I ask 
unanimous consent to have printed in the Record a copy of the sworn 
affidavit that was provided by Mr. Chukwueke to ICE and to members of 
the Judiciary committee.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  (See exhibit 1.)
  Mr. GRASSLEY. The committee reported S. 285 out of committee on July 
19. The committee-reported bill includes a provision that prohibits Mr. 
Chukwueke from using his status to sponsor immediate family for 
benefits under the Immigration and Nationality Act. The language in my 
amendment is identical to language used in other private relief bills. 
Similar language was included in bills in 1999 and 2000. Senator Levin, 
the sponsor of this private relief bill, supported the amendment.
  We always consider private relief bills on a case-by-case basis. In 
the case of Mr. Chukwueke, we were told that he did not have parents or 
family in the U.S. or in Nigeria. It turned out that was not the case. 
Those statements were inaccurate. He says he did not mean to mislead 
ICE agents about his family, but the fact is that he did. He did not 
tell the whole truth.
  As I said, in previous private relief bills, we have excluded private 
bill recipients from sponsoring immediate family members. That is not 
to say that the family members are barred from ever entering the 
country. It simply means they cannot use the private bill recipient's 
special status to provide them a benefit or to gain derivative status.
  There are many worthwhile people who want to come or remain in the 
United States. However, there are bad actors and people who will 
perpetuate fraud in order to do so. People will go to great lengths to 
come to the United States. We need to be worried about individuals who 
will take advantage of our open door policies and manipulate the system 
to get a benefit. We need to be watchful for potential fraud and abuse 
of the system.
  If S. 285 passes the House and is sent to the President, Mr. 
Chukwueke may be able to attend medical school in the fall. He has the 
support of many upstanding individuals, including Senator

[[Page S5413]]

Levin. Mr. chukwueke is also supported by a number of people in his 
community. We received letters of recommendation from Wayne State 
University and the Daughters of Mary Mother of Mercy.
  I wish Mr. Chukwueke the best of luck in his future endeavors.

                               Exhibit #1

                Affidavit of Sopuruchi Victor Chukwueke

       I, Sopuruchi Victor Chukwueke, swear under penalty of 
     perjury that the following is true and accurate to the best 
     of my knowledge and belief:
       1. My name is Sopuruchi Victor Chukwueke. I write this 
     statement in support of S.B. 285, a private bill introduced 
     on my behalf by U.S. Senator Carl Levin.
       2. I was born in Nigeria on February 10, 1986. During my 
     early childhood, I developed a benign tumor caused by 
     Neurofibromatosis, which grew on my frontal and right facial 
     area, subsequently resulting in a very significant facial 
     deformity.
       3. My mother took me to different hospitals for treatment 
     but we were unable to find a facility or surgeon to treat my 
     condition. At some point, she heard of a Catholic nun called 
     Rev. Mother Paul Offiah who ran a handicap (orphanage) center 
     for orphans, abandoned and neglected disabled children. The 
     name of the center is called St. Vincent de Paul Handicap 
     Center located in Umuahia, Abia, Nigeria. My mother took me 
     there, explained the situation to Mother Offiah, and left me. 
     I do not remember how old I was at that point, but I felt 
     abandoned.
       4. Rev. Mother Paul Offiah took me in, fed and clothed me 
     and became my sole parental figure, offering both emotional 
     and financial support. My mother kept in contact with Mother 
     Paul Offiah and came a few times to visit me at the center. I 
     spent all my time there and Mother Paul Offiah started making 
     arrangements for me to come to United States for life-saving 
     treatment.
       5. Dr. Ian Jackson at Providence Hospital in Michigan 
     agreed to perform the surgery free of charge. Several 
     generous Nigerians assisted with the effort to raise funds to 
     that I could travel to the U.S. for treatment.
       6. On August 21, 2001, when I was 15, Mother Offiah brought 
     me to the United States on a B-2 visa and left me in the care 
     of Sister Immaculata Osueke and other nuns in Lansing, 
     Michigan. She then went back to Nigeria. I was authorized to 
     stay in the U.S. until August 29, 2002.
       7. My application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status was 
     rejected twice, because I could not afford the visa fee at 
     the time. Also, the evidence submitted was signed by a 
     clinical social worker instead of a licensed physician. The 
     delay in filing for the third time was in part because I was 
     having surgery during that time. I had my second major 
     surgery on January 14, 2003. That period was a very difficult 
     and stressful time in my life, because I had to prepare for 
     surgery, undergo the painful surgery and post-operative 
     recovery, and at the same time worry about my visa status. I 
     was just 16 years old at the time.
       8. In February 2003, my mother and father signed sworn 
     affidavits to give up their parental rights, so I could be 
     adopted here in the United States.
       9. In November 2003, I began to study for the GED at home 
     while receiving treatment for Neurofibromatosis. In January 
     2004, I took the GED and passed it.
       10. A few years later, in 2006, Mother Offiah died of a 
     brain tumor, leaving me with no parental figure in Nigeria 
     who could provide for and support me with my medical 
     condition.
       11. In May 2006, I enrolled at the Oakland Community 
     College in Southfield, Michigan. My education was paid for by 
     a Catholic benefactor, Mr. Jerry Burns.
       12. In August 2008, I graduated from Oakland Community 
     College with an AA in Science and in September 2008, I 
     transferred to Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan to 
     pursue a Bachelor's Degree.
       13. I had been abandoned by my family in an orphanage in 
     Nigeria, and I felt I have no one to care for me there, 
     especially after Mother Paul Offiah passed away. As I grew up 
     in the United States and received medical treatment for my 
     condition, I realized that my mother knew she could not 
     provide for me and so she had entrusted me to the people who 
     could take care of me. I realized that she had done the right 
     thing at the time, given the circumstances. So I decided to 
     reach out to my family again, especially my mother.
       14. Sister Immaculata Osueke reached out to other nuns at 
     the orphanage in Nigeria to get my mother's telephone number, 
     so that I could try to reconnect with my family.
       15. I was chosen to give the commencement speech at the 
     Wayne State University graduation in 2011. Dr. Kenneth Honn, 
     my research professor, said that he want to bring my mother 
     to witness ``her son's graduation.'' He wrote an invitation 
     letter for my mother to come visit me, but all of the travel 
     arrangements were done by a Wayne State administrator, Mr. 
     Christopher Harris. With the help of Dr. Honn, Mr. Harris, 
     and Senator Levin's letter to the U.S. Consulate in Nigeria, 
     my mother came to visit me at my graduation from Wayne State 
     last year. It was the first time I had seen her in more than 
     ten years. She arrived a few hours before my graduation and 
     returned to Nigeria on May 16, 2011.
       16. Since my arrival in Michigan in 2001, 1 have been in 
     and out of the hospital, and ahve had seven major surgeries 
     between 2002 and 2011 to remove the Neurofibromatosis and 
     reconstruct my face.
       17. In November 2011, I applied and was accepted by the 
     University of Toledo, College of Medicine, conditioned on 
     receiving lawful permanent residence in the United States on 
     or before August 1, 2012.
           Respectfully submitted,
                                       Sopurucki Victor Chukwueke.

  Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
committee-reported amendment be agreed to, the bill, as amended, be 
read a third time and passed, the motions to reconsider be laid upon 
the table, with no intervening action or debate, and any statements 
related to the bill be printed in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The committee-reported amendment was agreed to.
  The amendment was ordered to be engrossed, and the bill to be read a 
third time.
  The bill was read the third time.
  The bill (H.R. 285), as amended, was passed.
  (The bill will be printed in a future edition of the Record.)

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