Immigration Bills being Voted on

Immigration Bill that is being voted on right now is S.2611 Sponsored by Sen Arlen Spectre.

Title: A bill to provide for comprehensive immigration reform and for other purposes.

Half a dozen amedments voted on for this bill.

Establishes a temporary guest worker program (H-2C visa). Provides: (1) that the Secretary of Homeland Security shall determine H-2C eligibility; (2) for a three-year admission with one additional three-year extension; (3) issuance of H-4 nonimmigrant visas for accompanying or following spouse and children; (4) for U.S. worker protection; (5) for implementation of an alien employment management system; and (6) establishment of a Temporary Worker Task Force.

Expands the S-visa (witness/informant) classification.

Limits the L-visa (intracompany transfer) classification.

Fairness in Immigration Litigation Act of 2006 - Sets forth provisions respecting remedies for immigration legislation.

Sets forth backlog reduction provisions respecting: (1) family-sponsored and employment-based immigrant levels; (2) country limits; (3) immigrant visa allocations; (4) minor children; (5) shortage occupations; and (6) student and advanced degree visas.

Widows and Orphans Act of 2006 - Establishes a special immigrant category for certain children and women at risk of harm.

Immigrant Accountability Act of 2006 - Provides permanent resident status adjustment for a qualifying illegal alien (and the spouse and children of such alien) who has been in the United States for five years and employed (with exceptions) for specified periods of time.

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Agricultural Job Opportunities, Benefits, and Security Act of 2006, or AgJOBS Act of 2006 - Establishes a pilot program (Blue Card program) for adjustment to permanent resident status of qualifying agricultural workers who have worked in the United States during the two-year period ending December 31, 2005, and have been employed for specified periods of time subsequent to enactment of this Act.

Related bills for immigration are:

H.R.4437 Sponsored by Rep. James F. Sensenbrenner, Jr.
Title: To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to strengthen enforcement of the immigration laws, to enhance border security, and for other purposes.

Title II: Combatting Alien Smuggling and Illegal Entry and Presence - (Sec. 201) Amends INA to revise the definition of "aggravated felony" to include all smuggling offenses, and illegal entry and reentry crimes where the sentence is a year or more.

(Sec. 202) Revises alien smuggling and related offense provisions to: (1) provide mandatory minimum sentences for smuggling convictions; (2) revise criminal offense and criminal penalty provisions; (3) expand seizure and forfeiture authority; and (4) provide extraterritorial jurisdiction over such offenses.

(Sec. 203) Makes illegal U.S. presence a crime.

Increases prison penalties for first-time improper U.S. entry. Expands: (1) penalties for marriage and immigration-related entrepreneurship fraud; and (2) criminal penalties imposed upon aliens who illegally enter the United States or who are present illegally following convictions of certain crimes.

(Sec. 204) Provides mandatory minimum sentences, with a specified affirmative defense exception, for aliens convicted of reentry after removal.

(Sec. 205) Subjects an individual who knowingly aids or conspires to allow, procure, or permit a removed alien to reenter the United States to criminal penalty, the same imprisonment term as applies to the alien so aided, or both.

(Sec. 206) Includes among smuggling crimes the carrying or use of a firearm during such activity.

(Sec. 207) States that: (1) the provision barring entry to aliens who have made false claims to U.S. citizenship also applies to aliens who have made false claims to U.S. nationality; and (2) the Secretary shall have access to any information kept by any federal agency regarding persons seeking immigration benefits or privileges.

(Sec. 208) Revises voluntary departure provisions to: (1) reduce the maximum period of voluntary departure that can be granted before the conclusion of removal proceedings from 120 to 60 days, and reduce such period from 60 to 45 days after the conclusion of removal proceedings; (2) require (currently, authorizes that such bond be provided) an alien receiving voluntary departure prior to conclusion of removal proceedings to post a bond or show that a bond would create a financial hardship or is unnecessary to guarantee departure; (3) require as part of a voluntary departure agreement that the alien waive all rights to any further motion, appeal, application, petition, or petition for review relating to removal or relief or protection from removal; (4) provide that a subsequent appeal would invalidate the voluntary departure grant, as would the alien’s failure to depart; (5) provide that failure to depart in violation of such an agreement would subject the alien to a $3,000 fine, make the alien ineligible for various immigration benefits for ten years after departure, and prohibit the reopening of removal proceedings, except to apply for withholding of removal or restriction on removal to a country where the alien's life or freedom would be threatened or to seek protection against torture; (6) authorize the Secretary to reduce the period of inadmissibility for certain aliens previously removed or unlawfully present; and (7) preclude courts from reinstating, enjoining, delaying, or tolling the period of voluntary departure.

(Sec. 209) Makes aliens ordered removed from the United States who fail to depart ineligible for discretionary relief from removal pursuant to a motion to reopen during the time they remain in the United States and for a period of ten years after their departure, with the exception of motions to reopen to seek withholding of removal to a country where the alien's life or freedom would be threatened or to seek protection against torture.

Subjects aliens who improperly enter the United States after voluntarily departing to improper entry fine and/or imprisonment provisions.

(Sec. 210) Directs the Secretary to establish a Fraudulent Documents Center (Forensic Document Laboratory) to: (1) collect information on fraudulent documents intended for U.S. use from federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, and foreign governments; (2) maintain a database of such information for ongoing distribution to law enforcement agencies.

(Sec. 211) Amends federal criminal law to include distribution of fraudulent immigrant documents among the offenses subject to document fraud and misuse fine and/or penalty provisions.

(Sec. 212) Amends INA to make a motion to reopen or reconsider a removal decision discretionary with the Attorney General.

Sets forth a special rule for alternative country removal.

(Sec. 213) Amends federal criminal law to revise provisions respecting passports, visa, and immigration fraud.

Makes it a crime subject to fine and/or imprisonment to knowingly defraud a person in an immigration matter, including falsely claiming to be a lawyer.

Provides for: (1) increased penalties for terrorism-related offenses; (2) seizure and forfeiture; and (3) additional jurisdiction and venue.

(Sec. 214) Establishes a rebuttable presumption that an alien should be detained if such person: (1) has no lawful U.S. immigration status; (2) is subject to a final order of removal; or (3) has committed a specified felony under INA or federal criminal law.

(Sec. 215) Establishes a ten-year statute of limitations for immigration, naturalization, and peonage offenses.

(Sec. 216) Amends INA to make certain passport and document fraud conforming amendments.

(Sec. 217) Makes certain passport and immigration violations under federal criminal law grounds for inadmissibility and deportation.

(Sec. 219) Requires the Director of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to undertake maximum efforts to reduce processing and adjudicative backlogs.

S.2454 Sponsored by Sen. William H. Frist.
Title: A bill to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide for comprehensive reform and for other purposes.

Makes alien members of criminal street gangs inadmissible and deportable. Denies temporary protected status to gang members.

S.2612 Sponsored by Sen. Chuck Hagel.
Title: A bill to provide for comprehensive immigration reform and for other purposes.

Agricultural Job Opportunities, Benefits, and Security Act of 2006, or AgJOBS Act of 2006 - Establishes a pilot program (Blue Card program) for adjustment to permanent resident status of qualifying agricultural workers who have worked in the United States during the two-year period ending December 31, 2005, and have been employed for specified periods of time subsequent to enactment of this Act.

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Authorizes mandatory departure and immigrant or nonimmigrant reentry for a qualifying illegal alien who has been present and employed in the United States since January 7, 2004. Establishes a three-year mandatory departure status, and sets forth immigration prohibitions and penalties for failure to depart or delayed departure. Subjects the spouse or children of a principal alien to the same conditions as such alien, except that if such alien meets the departure requirement the spouse and children will be deemed to have done so.

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Immigrant Accountability Act of 2006 - Provides permanent resident status adjustment for a qualifying illegal alien (and the spouse and children of such alien) who has been in the United States for five years and employed (with exceptions) for specified periods of time.

There is more, but this is just a few picked from it.

Most of the bills seem to be identical with a few exceptions or small change in wording.

Some stand out with a few extras, like what I posted above, which seem to imply a type of amnesty.

Frist's bill at least targets the gangs and gang members who are illegal aliens, where I don't really see anything like that in the other bills.

Sen. Spectre and Sen. Hagel's bill seem very similiar including the proposed 'amnesty' of those illegal aliens that have been here and working for a set amount of time.

Rep. Sensenbrenner seems to have the only bill that I have noticed that wants illegal US. presence a crime, (wording seems a bit off, like he isn't talk about illegal aliens) and speaks of increasing prison penalties and mandatory sentences, which seems to be lacking in the other bills.

Spectre and Hagel's seem to mirror each other, while Frist and Sensenbrenner seem to have a bit more original ideas placed in their Bills.

Click on the links provided for each Bill to see the summary of each bill, including the Amendments, votes and co-sponsors of the Bill.