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. 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with REPORTS
2 

BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR THE LEGISLATION

Mikael Adrian Christopher Alvarez was born in Paran ̃ aque 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, 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with REPORTS
3 

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. Sa ́nchez ...................................................................................................... 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 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with REPORTS
4 

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. 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with REPORTS
5 

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: 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with REPORTS
6 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with REPORTS2575-1.eps
7 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with REPORTS2575-2.eps
8 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with REPORTS2575-3.eps
9 

Æ 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with REPORTS2575-4.eps