[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 15]
[House]
[Pages 22089-22091]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    FOR THE RELIEF OF SHIGERU YAMADA

  Ms. CHU. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill 
(S. 4010) for the relief of Shigeru Yamada.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                S. 4010

       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 SHIGERU YAMADA.

       (a) In General.--Notwithstanding subsections (a) and (b) of 
     section 201 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
     1151), Shigeru Yamada 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 Shigeru Yamada enters the 
     United States before the filing deadline specified in 
     subsection (c), Shigeru Yamada 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 the 
     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 Shigeru 
     Yamada, 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 Shigeru 
     Yamada 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 Shigeru Yamada 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.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Chu) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Poe) each will 
control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from California.


                             General Leave

  Ms. CHU. I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative 
days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material 
on the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. CHU. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  S. 4010 is an immigration relief bill for Shigeru Yamada. The House 
passed a substantially identical version of this bill by voice vote in 
the 110th Congress, but the Senate was unable to take up the measure. I 
am pleased to see that the House will have an opportunity to vote on 
final passage today.

[[Page 22090]]

  Shigeru was brought to the United States from Japan when he was 10 
years old. Together with his mother and his two sisters, Shigeru 
entered the country on a non-immigrant visa and remained in the United 
States for over 3 years on his mother's student visa. During this 
period, Shigeru's mother became engaged to a U.S. citizen. Had she 
married her fiance, she and her children would have been able to obtain 
lawful permanent residence in the country. However, in September 1995, 
when Shigeru was only 13 years old, his mother was killed in a car 
accident.
  After his mother's death, Shigeru and his sisters were raised by 
their maternal aunt and uncle in Chula Vista, California. Shigeru's 
natural father was an alcoholic who was physically abusive to Shigeru, 
his sisters, and their mother. There was no other viable caretaker in 
Japan.
  Shigeru's aunt attempted to formally adopt him, but was unable to 
complete the adoption before his 16th birthday. Under current 
immigration law, virtually all adoptions of foreign children by U.S. 
citizens must be completed before the child's 16th birthday in order 
for the child to qualify for legal status in the United States. 
Although Shigeru's sisters obtained legal status through adoption and 
marriage, Shigeru continued to reside here without such status.
  In the meantime, Shigeru became a model student, graduating from 
Eastlake High School with honors in 2010. At Eastlake, he served on 
student government, participated in numerous community service 
activities, and excelled at football and wrestling. He was an All-
American Scholar and was named Outstanding English Student his freshman 
year. He was also voted the Most Inspirational Player of the Year in 
various sports, both at the junior varsity and varsity level. He served 
as vice president of the associated student body his senior year.
  Shigeru also volunteered to coach the Eastlake High School softball 
team and obtained an associate's degree from Southwestern Community 
College.

                              {time}  1110

  It is through no fault of his own that Shigeru was raised in the 
United States without legal immigration status. Shigeru's mother died 
before she could regularize his status, and adoption proceedings by his 
aunt were completed too late to affect his immigration status. S. 4010 
presents the only option for Shigeru to remain in the United States.
  I commend Representative Bob Filner and Senator Dianne Feinstein, who 
each introduced their first private immigration bill on Shigeru's 
behalf back in the 108th Congress. I would also like to recognize 
Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Immigration Subcommittee 
Chairwoman Zoe Lofgren and Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Lamar 
Smith for their help in moving this bill to the floor today.
  I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation.

         U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and 
           Customs Enforcement,
                                    Washington, DC, Aug. 27, 2009.
     Hon. Zoe Lofgren,
     Chairwoman, Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, 
         Refugees, Border Security, & International Law, Committee 
         on the Judiciary, House of Representatives, Washington, 
         DC.
       Dear Madam Chairwoman: In response to your request for a 
     report relative to H.R. 698, private legislation for the 
     relief of Shigeru Yamada, enclosed is a memorandum of 
     information concerning the beneficiary.
       The bill provides that the beneficiary 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 the Immigration and Nationality Act or 
     for adjustment of status to lawful permanent resident.
       We hope the information provided is useful. Please do not 
     hesitate to call me if you have additional questions.
           Sincerely,
                                                  Elliot Williams,
                                                         Director.


  department of homeland security immigration and customs enforcement 
         memorandum of information for H.R. 698 111th congress

       Shigeru YAMADA (A 97 476 166) is the beneficiary of H.R. 
     698, private legislation introduced by Congressman Filner on 
     January 26, 2009. Sen. Diane Feinstein introduced a companion 
     bill in the Senate, S. 124, on January 6, 2009. Sen. 
     Feinstein previously introduced S. 418, in the 110th 
     Congress, S. 111 in the 109th Congress and S. 2548 in the 
     108th Congress, identical bills to benefit Mr. Yamada. 
     Congressman Filner introduced an identical bill, H.R. 2760 in 
     the 110th Congress, which was passed by the House of 
     Representatives, but not acted upon by the Senate.
       On May 7, 2009, an ICE Special Agent interviewed YAMADA for 
     the purpose of updating information contained in previous 
     reports to the Senate Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on 
     Immigration, Refugees, and Border Security. The beneficiary, 
     Shigeru YAMADA, a native and citizen of Japan, was born on 
     March 26, 1982, in Japan. On March 27, 1992, YAMADA entered 
     the United States as a non-immigrant visitor along with his 
     mother and two sisters. Shortly after their entry, YAMADA's 
     mother changed her non-immigrant status from a visitor to 
     that of a student. YAMADA resided with his mother and two 
     sisters until his mother passed away in an automobile 
     accident on September 15, 1995. YAMADA then went on to live 
     with his maternal aunt, Kumsook Jae in the San Diego area 
     until January, 2003.
       YAMADA graduated form Eastlake High School in June, 2000, 
     and then went on to earn an Associates degree from 
     Southwestern College in June, 2005. YAMADA is currently 
     employed at the San Diego Lasik Institute as a Lasik 
     Coordinator and earns approximately $50,000.00 per year. 
     YAMADA has been employed at his current location since 
     January, 2008. Prior to this employment, YAMADA worked as a 
     sales associate at Nordstrom Department Store in San Diego, 
     CA from September, 2004, until October, 2007.
       On May 8, 2009, the National Crime Identification Center 
     (NCIC) and Central Index Identifier were queried for criminal 
     histories on beneficiary Shigeru YAMADA. NCIC revealed YAMADA 
     had been issued FBI#386666EC7 on May 10, 2004 after his 
     arrest on April 26, 2004, by the U.S. Border Patrol in San 
     Diego, CA. YAMADA was issued a Notice to Appear for Removal 
     Proceedings by the U.S. Border Patrol for having violated the 
     terms of his entry into the United States. These proceedings 
     were terminated without prejudice on June 15, 2004. Mr. 
     YAMADA was granted deferred action on July 8, 2004, as a 
     matter of prosecutorial discretion.

  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. POE of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Madam Speaker, I am pleased to support this legislation. Shigeru 
Yamada was born in Japan in 1992. When Shigeru was 10 years old, his 
mother brought him to the United States as a dependent on her student 
visa. In 1995 when Shigeru was 13 years old, his mother was killed in a 
car accident.
  At the time of her death, Shigeru's mother was engaged to be married 
to an American citizen. If his mother had survived and in fact married 
the U.S. citizen, Shigeru would have obtained legal permanent resident 
status through her. Shigeru's natural father was an alcoholic and 
physically abusive to Shigeru's mother and the siblings. After the 
mother's death, Shigeru and the siblings were raised by an aunt in 
Chula Vista, California.
  Although Shigeru's aunt attempted to formally adopt Shigeru, the 
adoption was not completed before the 18th birthday. Under current 
immigration law, Shigeru would have had to have been adopted before the 
age of 16 to obtain legal immigration status in the United States. 
Shigeru's younger sibling was adopted by another family while another 
sibling was married to an American citizen. Shigeru attended Eastlake 
High School and graduated with honors in 2000.
  This bill easily fits within the modern-era private immigration bill 
precedent. Private immigration bills have been enacted where the 
foreigners, the aliens, have been abandoned by their parents or the 
parents had died. As this bill is consistent with private immigration 
bill precedent, and the Department of Homeland Security report revealed 
no adverse information about the beneficiary, I urge my colleagues to 
support it.
  Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of California. Madam Speaker, Shigeru Yamada was 
brought to the United States from Japan when he was 10 years old. He 
entered the country on a non-immigrant visa with his mother and his two 
sisters, and remained here on his mother's student visa for over 3 
years. Although his mother became engaged to a U.S. citizen,

[[Page 22091]]

which would have resulted in lawful permanent resident status for 
Shigeru and his sisters, tragedy prevented this from coming to pass. 
When Shigeru was 13 years old, his mother was killed in a car accident, 
and he and his siblings were taken to live with their maternal aunt and 
uncle in Chula Vista, California.
  When Shigeru's aunt attempted to formally adopt him, she was unable 
to complete the process before he turned 16 years old. Under current 
immigration law, virtually all adoptions of foreign children by U.S. 
citizens must be completed before the child's 16th birthday in order 
for the child to qualify for legal status in the United States. 
Although Shigeru's sisters obtained legal status through adoption and 
marriage, Shigeru continued to reside here without such status.
  Despite these difficulties, Shigeru shined. He graduated with honors 
in 2000 from Eastlake High School, where he served on student 
government, participated in numerous community service activities, and 
excelled at football and wrestling. He was an All-American Scholar and 
was named ``Outstanding English Student'' his freshman year. He was 
also voted the ``Most Inspirational Player of the Year'' in various 
sports, both at the junior-varsity and varsity level. He served as vice 
president of the associated student body his senior year. Shigeru later 
obtained an associate's degree from Southwestern Community College.
  Shigeru's story highlights so many things that are wrong with our 
current immigration system. First, Shigeru is just the type of young 
person who would benefit from the DREAM Act, which passed the House 
with bipartisan support 1 week ago today. More importantly, America is 
just the country that would benefit from providing Shigeru a path to 
lawful status, so that he could continue to excel and serve as a model 
to all those around him.
  Second, Shigeru's story highlights the nonsensical inflexibility of 
our international adoption rules. Earlier this summer, the House passed 
H.R. 5532, the International Adoption Harmonization Act of 2010. H.R. 
5532 would harmonize our international adoption rules by setting the 
uniform deadline by which all adoptions must be finalized at a child's 
18th birthday. One purpose of H.R. 5532 is to ensure that when a child 
is legally adopted by U.S. citizen parents between the child's 16th and 
18th birthdays, the child is permitted to remain with his or her 
parents in the United States. The need for this commonsense piece of 
legislation was demonstrated by the many private immigration laws 
enacted by previous Congresses to provide exactly this form of relief 
to just those individual children who came to our attention--bills just 
like the one before us today. H.R. 5532 remains stalled in the Senate, 
which represents a real failure to protect American families and 
adopted children.
  I remain hopeful that our Senate colleagues on both sides of the 
aisle will recognize that passage of the DREAM Act and H.R. 5532 are 
both in America's best interest. But under current law, S. 4010 
represents the only option for Shigeru Yamada to remain in the United 
States, the country that he rightly calls home.
  Mr. FILNER. Madam Speaker, I'd like to thank Senator Feinstein, the 
Senate and House Judiciary Committees, Chairman Conyers, and Chairwoman 
Lofgren for their leadership in the passage of S. 4010, a bill for the 
relief of Shigeru Yamada, an extraordinary young man who is in danger 
of being deported back to Japan, despite living here for most of his 
life. Shigeru came to the U.S. legally in 1992 at the age of 10 with 
his mother and two younger sisters. In 1995, when Yamada was 13 years 
old, his mother was tragically killed in a car accident. Yamada and his 
sisters were suddenly orphaned, and due to a change in immigration 
laws, were stripped of their legal status. Notwithstanding personal 
adversities, Yamada excelled in high school where he was active in 
sports, student government, and the community, while maintaining almost 
a 4.00 GPA. Yamada has attended Southwestern College and is a model 
member of the Chula Vista, California community. His two younger 
sisters were able to become citizens. One married a U.S. citizen and 
the other one was adopted by family members. The family tried to adopt 
Shigeru, but they were not successful. Yamada does not have any family 
or home in Japan. His mother's side of the family is Korean which makes 
it extremely difficult for him to integrate into Japanese society. He 
would be virtually unemployable in Japan because he does not speak, 
read, or write Japanese. His situation shows that he would suffer 
extreme hardship if forced to return to Japan. The passage of this bill 
brings justice one step closer to Yamada. We want and need more people 
like Shigeru in our country and he deserves the opportunity to become a 
permanent U.S. citizen. Once again, I'd like to thank the leadership 
for passage of this critical bill.
  Mr. POE of Texas. I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. CHU. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Chu) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, S. 4010.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________