69–007 

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. 


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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, 


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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. 


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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, 


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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: 


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1See Priv. L. No. 104–3. 2 H.R. Rep. No. 104–810, at 2–3. 3See Priv. L. No. 106–13. 

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

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. 

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. 

Æ 


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