[House Report 110-741]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



110th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session                                                     110-741

======================================================================



 
                    FOR THE RELIEF OF ESTHER KARINGE

                                _______
                                

   July 8, 2008.--Referred to the Private Calendar and ordered to be 
                                printed

                                _______
                                

    Mr. Conyers, from the Committee on the Judiciary, submitted the 
                               following

                              R E P O R T

                             together with

                            ADDITIONAL VIEWS

                        [To accompany H.R. 1485]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

  The Committee on the Judiciary, to whom was referred the bill 
(H.R. 1485) for the relief of Esther Karinge, having considered 
the same, reports favorably thereon without amendment and 
recommends that the bill do pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                   Page
Purpose and Summary..............................................     1
Background and Need for the Legislation..........................     2
Hearings.........................................................     2
Committee Consideration..........................................     2
Committee Votes..................................................     3
Committee Oversight Findings.....................................     3
New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures........................     3
Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................     3
Performance Goals and Objectives.................................     4
Constitutional Authority Statement...............................     4
Advisory on Earmarks.............................................     4
Section-by-Section Analysis......................................     4
Agency Views.....................................................     5
Additional Views.................................................     9

                          Purpose and Summary

    H.R. 1485 would make Esther Karinge eligible for adjustment 
of her status to that of a permanent resident.

                Background and Need for the Legislation

    Esther Njeri Karinge was born in Limuru, Kenya on April 24, 
1962. She came to the United States on September 30, 1994 and 
affirmatively applied for asylum on August 6, 1997. On November 
13, 1997, an asylum officer referred her case to an immigration 
judge who denied the application, but granted voluntary 
departure on March 12, 1998. Esther lost her appeal of that 
decision on January 31, 2003.
    Since then, however, Esther has been allowed to remain in 
the country through official stays of removal, which the 
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has granted annually for 
humanitarian reasons. Esther's son, Nicholas, was born in 
Cambridge, Massachusetts on December 2, 1995 with multiple 
birth defects. He continues to suffer from several severe 
physical and mental disabilities, including cerebral palsy, 
spastic quadriplegia, hearing loss, and developmental delays. 
Upon learning of these birth defects, Nicholas' father 
abandoned the family, leaving Esther as Nicholas' only parent 
and caretaker.
    As a result, Nicholas is completely dependent on Esther for 
his survival. He needs continuous medical care and requires 
medical management from numerous specialists, including 
orthopedists, neurologists, ophthalmologists, audiologists, 
otolaryngologists, physical therapists, occupational 
therapists, speech therapists, and other professionals. 
Nicholas has made significant improvements due to the efforts 
of his doctors and care providers, but his doctors believe any 
progress will be lost if he were to return to Kenya where such 
services are not available to him.
    According to his medical doctors, Nicholas' removal to 
Kenya or separation from his mother would have serious, 
detrimental impacts on his development. Nicholas' doctors state 
that he might not survive if he were taken back to Kenya. While 
Nicholas has exceeded doctors' expectations with the treatment 
he has received in the United States, the treatment he depends 
on for survival is not available in Kenya. His doctors also 
believe that separating Nicholas from his mother would be 
emotionally devastating and potentially life-threatening for 
him because of his mental and physiological disabilities. One 
of Nicholas' specialists notes that children separated from a 
parent in such circumstances often develop ``failure to 
thrive'' syndrome, which can include deterioration of physical 
and mental development.
    As a result of the severity of Nicholas' medical condition, 
DHS has granted Esther annual stays of removal since February 
13, 2003. Such stays of removal are temporary and 
discretionary. H.R. 1485 presents the only option for Esther 
and her son to remain permanently in the United States.

                                Hearings

    The Committee on the Judiciary held no hearings on H.R. 
1485.

                        Committee Consideration

    On May 8, 2008, the Subcommittee on Immigration, 
Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law 
met in open session and ordered the bill, H.R. 1485, favorably 
reported, without amendment, by voice vote, a quorum being 
present. On May 14, 2008, the Committee met in open session and 
ordered the bill, H.R. 1485, favorably reported without 
amendment, by voice vote, a quorum being present.

                            Committee Votes

    In compliance with clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, the Committee advises that there 
were no recorded votes during the Committee's consideration of 
H.R. 1485.

                      Committee Oversight Findings

    In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules 
of the House of Representatives, the Committee advises that the 
findings and recommendations of the Committee, based on 
oversight activities under clause 2(b)(1) of rule X of the 
Rules of the House of Representatives, are incorporated in the 
descriptive portions of this report.

               New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures

    Clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives is inapplicable because this legislation does 
not provide new budgetary authority or increased tax 
expenditures.

               Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate

    In compliance with clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules 
of the House of Representatives, the Committee sets forth, with 
respect to the bill, H.R. 1485, the following estimate and 
comparison prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office under section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 
1974:

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                     Washington, DC, June 11, 2008.
Hon. John Conyers, Jr., Chairman,
Committee on the Judiciary,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 1485, a bill for 
the relief of Esther Karinge.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Mark 
Grabowicz, who can be reached at 226-2860.
            Sincerely,
                                           Peter R. Orszag,
                                                  Director.

Enclosure

cc:
        Honorable Lamar S. Smith.
        Ranking Member
H.R. 1485--A bill for the relief of Esther Karinge.
    H.R. 1485 would make Esther Karinge eligible for permanent 
residence in the United States. CBO estimates that enacting 
this legislation would have no significant impact on the 
Federal budget.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Mark Grabowicz, 
who can be reached at 226-2860. This estimate was approved by 
Peter H. Fontaine, Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.

                    Performance Goals and Objectives

    The Committee states that pursuant to clause 3(c)(4) of 
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, H.R. 
1485 would make Esther Karinge eligible for adjustment of her 
status to that of a lawful permanent resident.

                   Constitutional Authority Statement

    Pursuant to clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, the Committee finds the authority for 
this legislation in article 1, section 8, clause 4 of the 
Constitution.

                          Advisory on Earmarks

    In accordance with clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, H.R. 1485 does not contain any 
congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff 
benefits as defined in clause 9(d), 9(e), or 9(f) of Rule XXI.

                      Section-by-Section Analysis

    The following discussion describes the bill as reported by 
the Committee.
    Sec. 1. Permanent Resident Status for Esther Karinge. 
Subsection (a) provides that, notwithstanding subsections (a) 
and (b) of section 201 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 
Esther Karinge is 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 such Act or for 
adjustment of status to lawful permanent resident.
    Subsection (b) provides that if Esther Karinge enters the 
United States before the filing deadline specified in 
subsection (c), she must be considered to have entered and 
remained lawfully and, if otherwise eligible, be eligible for 
adjustment of status under section 245 of the Immigration and 
Nationality Act as of the date of the enactment of this Act.
    Subsection (c) provides that subsections (a) and (b) 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 the enactment 
of this Act.
    Subsection (d) provides that, upon the granting of an 
immigrant visa or permanent residence to Esther Karinge, the 
Secretary of State must 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 alien's birth 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 the alien's birth under 
section 202(e) of such Act.
    Subsection (e) provides that the natural parents, brothers, 
and sisters of Esther Karinge must not, by virtue of such 
relationship, be accorded any right, privilege, or status under 
the Immigration and Nationality Act.

                              Agency Views

    The comments of the Department of Homeland Security on H.R. 
1485 are as follows:


                            Additional Views

    Meritorious private bills should either represent unique 
and compelling circumstances or fit within private bill 
precedent of the modern era (from the 97th Congress onward, 
following the ABSCAM private bill scandal).
    There is precedent in the modern era for the enactment of 
private bills where the aliens' U.S. citizen family members 
suffered serious illnesses which would be exacerbated if the 
aliens were returned home or the U.S. citizens accompanied them 
home. A private bill was enacted in the 104th Congress for an 
alien who had earlier been deported to Mexico for marriage 
fraud.\1\ Before his deportation, he married his second wife in 
a legitimate marriage and they had two children. His wife and 
one of their children were carriers for Reiter's syndrome, a 
severe, disabling, incurable arthritic disease who could be 
triggered by an intestinal infection with an organism 
widespread in Mexico. Thus, they risked serious illness by 
joining him in Mexico. The private bill waived the grounds of 
inadmissibility for marriage fraud. The House Report stated 
that ``this legislation acknowledges the previously set 
precedent in private legislation that separation due to medical 
circumstances is viewed . . . as satisfying the standard of 
extreme hardship to an American citizen.''\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\See Priv. L. No. 104-3.
    \2\H.R. Rep. No. 104-810, at 2-3.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    In the 106th Congress, a private bill was enacted granting 
permanent residence to an alien whose petition for permanent 
residence filed by his U.S. citizen wife had been denied 
because of marriage fraud in his first marriage.\3\ The INS 
believed this second marriage was valid. The alien's U.S. 
citizen wife had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and her 
doctor indicated that she might rapidly deteriorate as a result 
of any type of severe stress.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \3\See Priv. L. No. 106-13.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    A DHS report on Ms. Karinge was received on May 6 and 
contained no derogatory information. Because H.R. 1485 fits 
within private bill precedent and the DHS report contained no 
derogatory information, this is a meritorious private bill.

                                   Lamar Smith.

                                  
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