[House Report 117-236]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
117th Congress } { Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session } { 117-236
======================================================================
FOR THE RELIEF OF VICTORIA GALINDO LOPEZ
_______
February 1, 2022--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. 187]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on the Judiciary, to whom was referred the
bill (H.R. 187) 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
Committee Estimate of Budgetary Effects.......................... 3
New Budget Authority and 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. 187, ``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 January 27, 2021 for a period of one
year.
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 was not
safe when her mother was 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--that her father repeatedly sexually assaulted her--
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
during 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 Miftakhov, 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. 187 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.
187.
Committee Consideration
On September 29, 2021, the Committee met in open session
and ordered the bill, H.R. 187, favorably reported without an
amendment, by a voice vote, a quorum being present.
Committee Votes
In compliance with clause 3(b) of House Rule XIII, the
Committee advises that there were no recorded votes during the
Committee's consideration of H.R. 187.
Committee Oversight Findings
In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of House Rule XIII, the
Committee advises that the findings and recommendations of the
Committee, based on oversight activities under clause 2(b)(1)
of House Rule X, are incorporated in the descriptive portions
of this report.
Committee Estimate of Budgetary Effects
Pursuant to clause 3(d)(1) of House Rule XIII, the
Committee adopts as its own the cost estimate prepared by the
Director of the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section
402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
New Budget Authority and Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate
Pursuant to clause 3(c)(2) of House Rule XIII and section
308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, and pursuant to
clause (3)(c)(3) of House Rule XIII and section 402 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee sets forth,
with respect to the bill, H.R. 187, the following analysis and
estimate prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office:
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, January 11, 2022.
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 five bills:
H.R. 187, For the relief of Victoria Galindo
Lopez;
H.R. 680, For the relief of Arpita Kurdekar,
Girish Kurdekar, and Vandana Kurdekar;
H.R. 681, For the relief of Rebecca Trimble;
H.R. 739, For the relief of Median El-
Moustrah; and
H.R. 785, For the relief of Maria Isabel
Bueso Barrera, Alberto Bueso Mendoza, and Karla Maria
Barrera De Bueso.
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.
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
On September 29, 2021, the House Committee on the Judiciary
ordered reported five bills that would allow the people named
in each bill to become lawful permanent residents:
H.R. 187, For the relief of Victoria Galindo
Lopez;
H.R. 680, For the relief of Arpita Kurdekar,
Girish Kurdekar, and Vandana Kurdekar;
H.R. 681, For the relief of Rebecca Trimble;
H.R. 739, For the relief of Median El-
Moustrah; and
H.R. 785, For the relief of Maria Isabel
Bueso Barrera, Alberto Bueso Mendoza, and Karla Maria
Barrera De Bueso.
Enacting each of those five 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
Pursuant to clause 3(c)(5) of House Rule XIII, no provision
of H.R. 187 establishes or reauthorizes a program of the
federal government known to be duplicative of another federal
program.
Performance Goals and Objectives
The Committee states that pursuant to clause 3(c)(4) of
House Rule XIII, H.R. 187 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 House Rule XXI, H.R. 187
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 House 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.
[all]