I

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1377

To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to authorize States to deny

public education benefits to aliens not lawfully present in the United States.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

APRIL 3, 1995

Mr. GALLEGLY (for himself, Mr. MCCOLLUM, Mr. SENSENBRENNER, Mr. ARCHER, Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania, Mr. GOODLATTE, Mr. KIM, Mrs.

SEASTRAND, Mr. SAXTON, Mr. SHAYS, Mr. MCKEON, Mr.

ROHRABACHER, Mr. EWING, Mr. HANCOCK, Mr. CONDIT, Mr. BAKER of

California, Mr. BILBRAY, Mr. CALVERT, Mr. RIGGS, Mr. BONO, Mr.

RADANOVICH, Mr. PACKARD, Mr. BRYANT of Tennessee, Mr. HERGER,

Mr. HEFLEY, Mr. STUMP, Mr. ROYCE, Mr. DOOLITTLE, Mr. HUNTER,

Mr. SHADEGG, Mr. HOKE, and Mrs. ROUKEMA) introduced the following

bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

A BILL

To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to authorize

States to deny public education benefits to aliens not

lawfully present in the United States.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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1 SECTION 1. AUTHORIZING STATES TO DENY PUBLIC EDU2 CATION BENEFITS TO ALIENS NOT LAW3 FULLY PRESENT IN THE UNITED STATES.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Immigration and Nationality

5 Act is amended by adding at the end the following new

6 title:

7 ‘‘TITLE V—DISQUALIFICATION OF ALIENS NOT

8 LAWFULLY PRESENT IN THE UNITED

9 STATES FROM CERTAIN PROGRAM

10 ‘‘CONGRESSIONAL POLICY REGARDING INELIGIBILITY OF

11 ALIENS NOT LAWFULLY PRESENT IN THE UNITED

12 STATES FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION BENEFITS

13 ‘‘SEC. 501. (a) Because Congress views that the right

14 to a free public education for aliens who are not lawfully

15 present in the United States promotes violations of the

16 immigration laws and because such a free public education

17 for such aliens creates a significant burden on States’

18 economies and depletes States’ limited educational re19 sources, Congress declares it to be the policy of the United

20 States that—

21 ‘‘(1) aliens who are not lawfully present in the

22 United States not be entitled to public education

23 benefits in the same manner as United States citi24 zens and lawful resident aliens; and
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1 ‘‘(2) States should not be obligated to provide

2 public education benefits to aliens who are not law3 fully present in the United States.

4 ‘‘(b) Nothing in this section shall be construed as ex5 pressing any statement of Federal policy with regard to—

6 ‘‘(1) aliens who are lawfully present in the

7 United States, or

8 ‘‘(2) benefits other than public education bene9 fits provided under State law.

10 ‘‘AUTHORITY OF STATES

11 ‘‘SEC. 502. (a) In order to carry out the policies de12 scribed in section 501, each State may provide that an

13 alien who is not lawfully present in the United States is

14 not eligible for public education benefits in the State or,

15 at the option of the State, may be treated as a non-resi16 dent of the State for purposes of provision of such

17 benefits.

18 ‘‘(b) For purposes of subsection (a), an individual

19 shall be considered to be not lawfully present in the United

20 States unless the individual (or, in the case of an individ21 ual who is a child, another on the child’s behalf)—

22 ‘‘(1) declares in writing under penalty of per23 jury that the individual (or child) is a citizen or na24 tional of the United States and (if required by a

25 State) presents evidence of United States citizenship

26 or nationality; or
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1 ‘‘(2)(A) declares in writing under penalty of

2 perjury that the individual (or child) is not a citizen

3 or national of the United States but is lawfully

4 present in the United States, and

5 ‘‘(B) presents either—

6 ‘‘(i) alien registration documentation or

7 other proof of immigration registration from

8 the Service, or

9 ‘‘(ii) such other documents as the State de10 termines constitutes reasonable evidence indi11 cating that the individual (or child) is lawfully

12 present in the United States.

13 If the documentation described in paragraph (2)(B)(i) is

14 presented, the State may (at its option) verify with the

15 Service the alien’s immigration status through a system

16 described in section 1137(d)(3) of the Social Security Act

17 (42 U.S.C. 1320b–7(d)(3)).

18 ‘‘(c) If a State denies public education benefits under

19 this section with respect to an alien, the State shall pro20 vide the alien with an opportunity for a fair hearing to

21 establish that the alien is lawfully present in the United

22 States, consistent with subsection (b) and Federal immi23 gration law.’’.
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1 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents

2 of such Act is amended by adding at the end the following

3 new items:

‘‘TITLE V—DISQUALIFICATION OF ALIENS NOT LAWFULLY

PRESENT IN THE UNITED STATES FROM CERTAIN PROGRAM

‘‘Sec. 501. Congressional policy regarding ineligibility of aliens not lawfully

present in the United States for public education benefits.

‘‘Sec. 502. Authority of States.’’.

4 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

5 this section shall take effect as of the date of the enact6 ment of this Act.

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