[House Report 116-597]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


116th Congress }                                            { Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session    }                                            { 116-597

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



 
                FOR THE RELIEF OF VICTORIA GALINDO LOPEZ

                                _______
                                

November 18, 2020.--Referred to the Private Calendar and ordered to be 
                                printed

                                _______
                                

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

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 7146]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on the Judiciary, to whom was referred the 
bill (H.R. 7146) for the relief of Victoria Galindo Lopez, 
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.........................................................     3
Committee Consideration..........................................     3
Committee Votes..................................................     3
Committee Oversight Findings.....................................     3
New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures........................     3
Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................     4
Duplication of Federal Programs..................................     5
Performance Goals and Objectives.................................     5
Advisory on Earmarks.............................................     5
Section-by-Section Analysis......................................     5

                          Purpose and Summary

    H.R. 7146, ``For the relief of Victoria Galindo Lopez,'' 
would provide the beneficiary of this private bill, Ms. Galindo 
Lopez, with an opportunity to obtain lawful permanent resident 
status in the United States.

                Background and Need for the Legislation


                       A. IMMIGRATION BACKGROUND

    Victoria Galindo Lopez entered the United States in 1988. 
She has left only twice since then, for short periods of time, 
reentering without inspection both times. She has three U.S. 
citizen children and a daughter who is a recipient of deferred 
action under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) 
program. In 2000, Ms. Galindo Lopez and her then husband (and 
father of two of her children) sought to regularize their 
immigration status but were placed into deportation proceedings 
and eventually ordered removed on August 18, 2005. Since August 
2011, Ms. Galindo Lopez has been granted successive stays of 
removal, most recently on July 29, 2020 for a period of six-
months.

                         B. MEDICAL CONDITIONS

    Ms. Galindo Lopez's youngest U.S. citizen daughter is an 
incest survivor; her father began to sexually assault her when 
she was just 9 years old while Ms. Galindo Lopez was working 
nights. Her daughter learned at an early age that she is not 
safe when her mother is not home, and at age 11, she made her 
first suicide attempt. Although she has been in treatment for 
depression for most of her young life, the root cause of her 
distress remained hidden until after her sixteenth suicide 
attempt at age 17 and a stay in a mental health facility. 
Immediately following this revelation, Ms. Galindo Lopez acted 
to protect her daughter and her other children. She filed 
criminal charges against her husband and filed for divorce, 
obtained a restraining order, and helped secure her husband's 
removal from the United States.
    Ms. Galindo Lopez's daughter risks devastating health 
consequences if her mother is removed from this country. She 
has been diagnosed with depression, anxiety, Post-Traumatic 
Stress Disorder (PTSD), insomnia, and borderline personality 
disorder stemming from repeated sexual abuse by her father for 
half of her childhood. Ms. Galindo Lopez, who works as a 
housekeeper at a hotel in Ventura, California, is the primary 
breadwinner and pillar of support for her family. Her daughter 
is at grave risk of suicide if she is deprived of her mother's 
constant care. Ms. Galindo Lopez ensures that she stays current 
with her medications, attends therapy, and continues to work 
through the devastating consequences of the prolonged abuse 
from her father.

   C. HOUSE PRECEDENT FOR CONSIDERATION OF PRIVATE IMMIGRATION BILLS

    In the modern era, Congress has passed numerous private 
bills where the extreme hardship that would result from the 
beneficiary's removal centers around medical issues. For 
example, in the 106th Congress, the House passed a private bill 
for Saeed Rezai, whose U.S. citizen wife was stricken with 
multiple sclerosis.\1\ Medical professionals indicated that her 
condition would likely deteriorate rapidly from the severe 
stress resulting from her husband's removal.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\See H.R. Rep. No. 106-905 (2000); See also H.R. 5266, 106th 
Cong. (2000).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Also in the 106th Congress, the House passed a private bill 
for Marina Khalina and her son Albert Kifakov, the latter of 
whom had cerebral palsy and would require lifelong medical 
treatment,\2\ as well as a bill for the relief of Jacqueline 
Salinas--who was paralyzed from the waist down--and her 
children, one of whom was afflicted with bone cancer.\3\ In the 
104th Congress, the House passed a private bill for Oscar 
Salas-Velazquez, whose U.S. citizen child and wife were 
carriers of an antigen that predisposes them to developing 
Reiter's syndrome--a severe, disabling, incurable arthritic 
disease which can be triggered by an intestinal infection from 
organisms widespread in Mexico.\4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \2\See H.R. Rep. No. 106-956 (2000); See also S. 150, 106th Cong. 
(1999).
    \3\See H.R. Rep. No. 106-962 (2000); See also S. 1513, 106th Cong. 
(1999).
    \4\See H.R. Rep. No. 104-810 (1996); See also H.R. 1031, 104th 
Cong. (1995).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Like Mr. Rezai's U.S. citizen wife, the removal of Ms. 
Galindo Lopez from the United States would cause unbearable 
stress for her U.S. citizen daughter, resulting in the rapid 
deterioration of the medical conditions that resulted from the 
horrific abuse she endured at the hands of her father. As this 
case is truly a matter of life and death, the Committee has 
determined that H.R. 7146 meets the existing medical condition 
precedent. It is not the Committee's intent that this 
legislation serve as precedent for other private legislation 
where the hardship resulting from the beneficiary's removal 
centers solely around an individual's mental stability or 
emotional difficulties.

                                Hearings

    The Committee on the Judiciary held no hearings on H.R. 
7146.

                        Committee Consideration

    On September 9, 2020, the Committee met in open session and 
ordered the bill, H.R. 7146, favorably reported without 
amendment, by a 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. 7146.

                      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. 7146, 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, September 22, 2020.
Hon. Jerrold Nadler,
Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for these four bills:
           H.R. 631, For the relief of Arpita Kurdekar, 
        Girish Kurdekar, and Vandana Kurdekar;
           H.R. 4225, For the relief of Maria Isabel 
        Bueso Barrera, Alberto Bueso Mendoza, and Karla Maria 
        Barrera De Bueso;
           H.R. 7146, For the relief of Victoria 
        Galindo Lopez; and
           H.R. 7572, For the relief of Median El-
        Moustrah.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is David 
Rafferty.
            Sincerely,
                                         Phillip L. Swagel,
                                                          Director.
Enclosure.

cc:
        Honorable Doug Collins
        Ranking Member

        [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
        

    On September 9, 2020, the House Committee on the Judiciary 
ordered reported four bills that would allow the people named 
in each bill to become lawful permanent residents:
           H.R. 631, For the relief of Arpita Kurdekar, 
        Girish Kurdekar, and Vandana Kurdekar;
           H.R. 4225, For the relief of Maria Isabel 
        Bueso Barrera, Alberto Bueso Mendoza, and Karla Maria 
        Barrera De Bueso;
           H.R. 7146, For the relief of Victoria 
        Galindo Lopez; and
           H.R. 7572, For the relief of Median El-
        Moustrah.
    Enacting each of those four bills could increase direct 
spending and reduce revenues because lawful permanent residents 
are eligible for certain federal benefits, such as Medicaid and 
premium tax credits for health insurance purchased through the 
marketplaces established by the Affordable Care Act, if they 
otherwise meet the eligibility requirements for those benefits. 
CBO estimates that those effects would not be significant 
because of the small number of people who would be affected by 
each bill.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is David Rafferty. 
The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy 
Director of Budget Analysis.

                    Duplication of Federal Programs

    No provision of H.R. 7146 establishes or reauthorizes a 
program of the federal government known to be duplicative of 
another federal program, a program that was included in any 
report from the Government Accountability Office to Congress 
pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111-139, or a program 
related to a program identified in the most recent Catalog of 
Federal Domestic Assistance.

                    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. 
7146 would provide Victoria Galindo Lopez with an opportunity 
to obtain lawful permanent resident status in the United 
States.

                          Advisory on Earmarks

    In accordance with clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, H.R. 7146 does not contain any 
congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff 
benefits as defined in clause 9(e), 9(f), or 9(g) of rule XXI.

                      Section-by-Section Analysis

    The following discussion describes the bill as reported by 
the Committee.
    Sec. 1. Permanent Resident Status for Victoria Galindo 
Lopez. Subsection (a) provides that Victoria Galindo Lopez 
shall be eligible for issuance of an immigrant visa or for 
adjustment of status to lawful permanent residence upon filing 
the appropriate application.
    Subsection (b) provides that if Victoria Galindo Lopez 
enters the United States before the filing deadline specified 
in subsection (d), she shall be considered to have entered and 
remained lawfully and shall be eligible for adjustment of 
status as of the date of the enactment of this Act.
    Subsection (c)(1) provides that Victoria Galindo Lopez may 
not be removed from the United States, denied admission, or 
considered ineligible for lawful permanent residence by reason 
of any ground of removal or inadmissibility that is reflected 
in the records of the Department of Homeland Security or the 
Department of State as of the date of the enactment of this 
Act.
    Subsection (c)(2) provides that the Secretary of Homeland 
Security shall rescind any outstanding orders of removal or 
deportation, or any finding of inadmissibility or 
deportability, that has been entered against Victoria Galindo 
Lopez.
    Subsection (d) requires Victoria Galindo Lopez to apply for 
an immigrant visa or adjustment of status within 2 years after 
the date of the enactment of this Act.
    Subsection (e) provides that upon granting an immigrant 
visa or permanent residence to Victoria Galindo Lopez, the 
Secretary of State shall reduce by one, the total number of 
immigrant visas that are made available to natives of the 
country of her birth.
    Subsection (f) provides that the natural parents, brothers, 
and sisters of Victoria Galindo Lopez shall not, by virtue of 
such relationship, be accorded any right, privilege, or status 
under the Immigration and Nationality Act.