[House Report 110-827]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



110th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session                                                     110-827

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



 
      FOR THE RELIEF OF MIKAEL ADRIAN CHRISTOPHER FIGUEROA ALVAREZ

                                _______
                                

September 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

                        [To accompany H.R. 2575]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

  The Committee on the Judiciary, to whom was referred the bill 
(H.R. 2575) for the relief of Mikael Adrian Christopher 
Figueroa Alvarez, 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........................     4
Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................     4
Performance Goals and Objectives.................................     4
Constitutional Authority Statement...............................     5
Advisory on Earmarks.............................................     5
Section-by-Section Analysis......................................     5
Agency Views.....................................................     5

                          Purpose and Summary

    H.R. 2575 would make Mikael Adrian Christopher Figueroa 
Alvarez eligible for adjustment of his status to that of a 
permanent resident.

                Background and Need for the Legislation

    Mikael Adrian Christopher Alvarez was born in Paranaque 
City, Philippines, on October 16, 1984. His parents brought him 
to the United States from the Philippines when he was only 6 
years old. He and his family, including three older siblings, 
entered the United States legally with tourist (``B-2'') visas. 
Mr. Alvarez was an accompanying minor on his parents' tourist 
visas. He and his family did not return to the Philippines 
after their initial entry into the United States in 1991.
    Mr. Alvarez's family spent years trying to regularize their 
immigration status. His parents' immigration case, which began 
when he was 9 years old in 1994, was ultimately denied on 
appeal in 2001, and the family was eventually ordered removed 
that year. The immigration cases of Mr. Alvarez's siblings were 
severed from their parents' case, and these siblings are all 
now legal permanent residents of the United States. Because Mr. 
Alvarez was the youngest child in his family and was a minor at 
the time, however, his case remained attached to his parents' 
denied application.
    During this time, Mr. Alvarez graduated from Homestead High 
School in Santa Clara, California, where he was a member of the 
volleyball team. He was attending De Anza Community College and 
serving as a swim instructor at the De Anza Cupertino Aquatics 
Center until his arrest and detention by U.S. Immigration and 
Customs Enforcement (ICE) on May 2, 2007. He was detained until 
August 7, 2007, when ICE released him due to the Subcommittee's 
consideration of this bill.
    Mr. Alvarez is now 23 years old. After having lived 16 
years in the United States, he does not speak Tagalog, the 
language of the Philippines, and he has few memories of his 
birth place. He grew up and was educated in the United States, 
having received no schooling in the Philippines. If allowed to 
remain in the United States, Mr. Alvarez aspires to transfer to 
a 4-year institution where he can pursue a career in 
elementary-level teaching and develop his interest in computer 
engineering. He has no basis to immigrate to the United States 
other than H.R. 2575.
    On August 3, 2007, the Subcommittee on Immigration, 
Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law 
requested, in accordance with its customary practice for 
private immigration bills, that DHS' Office of Immigration and 
Customs Enforcement (ICE) provide the Subcommittee with 
information regarding Mr. Alvarez relevant to the bill. ICE's 
report, submitted to the Subcommittee on May 7, 2008, contained 
no derogatory information about Mr. Alvarez. The ICE report is 
reprinted in full in the ``Agency Views'' section below.
    The Committee does not intend that this bill serve as 
precedent for future private bills.

                                Hearings

    The Committee on the Judiciary held no hearings on H.R. 
2575.

                        Committee Consideration

    On July 10, 2008, the Subcommittee on Immigration, 
Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law 
met in open session and ordered the bill, H.R. 2575, favorably 
reported, without amendment, by a vote of 6 to 3, a quorum 
being present. On July 30, 2008, the Committee met in open 
session and ordered the bill, H.R. 2575, favorably reported 
without amendment, by a vote of 19 to 9, 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 the 
following rollcall votes occurred during the Committee's 
consideration of H.R. 2575. On July 30, 2008, the Committee 
ordered H.R. 2575 favorably reported without amendment, by a 
rollcall vote of 19 to 9. The rollcall vote was as follows:

                                                 ROLLCALL NO. 1
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                       Ayes            Nays           Present
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mr. Conyers, Jr., Chairman......................................              X
Mr. Berman......................................................
Mr. Boucher.....................................................
Mr. Nadler......................................................              X
Mr. Scott.......................................................              X
Mr. Watt........................................................              X
Ms. Lofgren.....................................................              X
Ms. Jackson Lee.................................................
Ms. Waters......................................................              X
Mr. Delahunt....................................................              X
Mr. Wexler......................................................
Ms. Sanchez.....................................................              X
Mr. Cohen.......................................................              X
Mr. Johnson.....................................................              X
Ms. Sutton......................................................              X
Mr. Gutierrez...................................................
Mr. Sherman.....................................................              X
Ms. Baldwin.....................................................              X
Mr. Weiner......................................................              X
Mr. Schiff......................................................              X
Mr. Davis.......................................................              X
Ms. Wasserman Schultz...........................................
Mr. Ellison.....................................................
Mr. Smith (Texas)...............................................              X
Mr. Sensenbrenner, Jr...........................................                              X
Mr. Coble.......................................................                              X
Mr. Gallegly....................................................
Mr. Goodlatte...................................................                              X
Mr. Chabot......................................................
Mr. Lungren.....................................................
Mr. Cannon......................................................              X
Mr. Keller......................................................                              X
Mr. Issa........................................................
Mr. Pence.......................................................
Mr. Forbes......................................................                              X
Mr. King........................................................                              X
Mr. Feeney......................................................                              X
Mr. Franks......................................................                              X
Mr. Gohmert.....................................................              X
Mr. Jordan......................................................                              X
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................................             19               9
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                      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. 2575, 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, August 1, 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. 2575, a bill for 
the relief of Mikael Adrian Christopher Figueroa Alvarez.
    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. 2575--A bill for the relief of Mikael Adrian Christopher Figueroa 
        Alvarez.
    H.R. 2575 would make Mikael Adrian Christopher Figueroa 
Alvarez 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 
Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget 
Analysis.(r)MD23/

                    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. 
2575 would make Mikael Adrian Christopher Figueroa Alvarez 
eligible for adjustment of his 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. 2575 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 Mikael Adrian 
Christopher Figueroa Alvarez. Subsection (a) provides that, 
notwithstanding subsections (a) and (b) of section 201 of the 
Immigration and Nationality Act, Mikael Adrian Christopher 
Figueroa Alvarez 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 Mr. Alvarez enters the 
United States before the filing deadline specified in 
subsection (c), he 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 Mr. Alvarez, the 
Secretary of State must instruct the proper officer to reduce 
by one, 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 Mikael Adrian Christopher Figueroa Alvarez must 
not, by virtue of such relationship, be accorded any right, 
privilege, or status under the Immigration and Nationality Act.

                              Agency Views

    The report from the Department of Homeland Security's 
Office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement on H.R. 2575 is 
set forth below:


                                 
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