S94 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE January 6, 2009 

The Arreolas are in this uncertain 

situation in part because of grievous 

errors committed by their previous 

counsel, who has since been disbarred. 

In fact, the attorney’s conduct was so 

egregious that it compelled an immigration judge to write the Executive 

Office of Immigration Review seeking 

his disbarment for the disservice he 

caused his immigration clients. 

Mr. Arreola has lived in the United 

States since 1986. He was an agricultural migrant worker in the fields of 

California for several years, and as 

such would have been eligible for permanent residence through the Seasonal 

Agricultural Workers, SAW, program, 

had he known about it. 

Mrs. Arreola was living in the United 

States at the time she became pregnant with her daughter Cindy, but returned to Mexico to give birth so as to 

avoid any problems with the Immigration and Naturalization Service. 

Given the length of time that the 

Arreolas had, and have been, in the 

United States it is quite likely that 

they would have qualified for relief 

from deportation pursuant to the cancellation of removal provisions of the 

Immigration and Nationality Act, but 

for the conduct of their previous attorney. 

Perhaps one of the most compelling 

reasons for permitting the family to remain in the United States is the devastating impact their deportation 

would have on their children—three of 

whom are U.S. citizens—and the other 

two who have lived in the United 

States since they were toddlers. For 

these children, this country is the only 

country they really know. 

Nayely, the oldest, recently graduated from Fresno Pacific University 

with a degree in Business Administration and was recently hired as a substitute teacher in Tulare County. She 

was the first in her family to graduate 

from high school and the first to graduate college. She attended Fresno Pacific University, a regionally ranked 

university, on a full tuition scholarship 

package and worked part-time in the 

admissions office. 

At her young age, Nayely has demonstrated a strong commitment to the 

ideals of citizenship in her adopted 

country. She has worked hard to 

achieve her full potential both in her 

academic endeavors and through the 

service she provides her community. As 

the Associate Dean of Enrollment 

Services, Cary Templeton, at Fresno 

Pacific University states in a letter of 

support, ‘‘[t]he leaders of Fresno Pacific University saw in Nayely, a young 

person who will become exemplary of 

all that is good in the American 

dream.’’ 

In high school, Nayely was a member 

of Advancement Via Individual Determination, AVID, a college preparatory 

program in which students commit to 

determining their own futures through 

achieving a college degree. Nayely was 

also President of the Key Club, a community service organization. She 

helped mentor freshmen and participates in several other student organizations in her school. Perhaps the 

greatest hardship to this family, if 

forced to return to Mexico, will be her 

lost opportunity to realize her dreams 

and further contribute to her community and to this country. 

It is clear to me that Nayely feels a 

strong sense of responsibility for her 

community and country. By all indication, this is the case as well for all of 

the members of her family. 

The Arreolas also have other family 

who are lawful permanent residents of 

this country or United States citizens. 

Mrs. Arreola has three brothers who 

are U.S. citizens and Mr. Arreola has a 

sister who is a U.S. citizen. It is also 

my understanding that they have no 

immediate family in Mexico. 

According to immigration authorities, this family has never had any 

problems with law enforcement. I am 

told that they have filed their taxes for 

every year from 1990 to the present. 

They have always worked hard to support themselves. As I previously mentioned, Mr. Arreola was previously employed as a farm worker, but now has 

his own business repairing electronics. 

His business has been successful 

enough to enable him to purchase a 

home for his family. 

It seems so clear to me that this family has embraced the American dream 

and their continued presence in our 

country would do so much to enhance 

the values we hold dear. Enactment of 

the legislation I have reintroduced 

today will enable the Arreolas to continue to make significant contributions to their community as well as the 

United States. 

I ask my colleagues to support this 

private bill. 

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed 

in the RECORD. 

There being no objection, the text of 

the bill was ordered to be printed in 

the RECORD, as follows: 

S. 121 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in 

Congress assembled, 

SECTION 1. ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any 

other provision of law or any order, for the 

purposes of the Immigration and Nationality 

Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.), Esidronio ArreolaSaucedo, Maria Elna Cobian Arreola, Nayely 

Bibiana Arreola, and Cindy Jael Arreola 

shall be deemed to have been lawfully admitted to, and remained in, the United States, 

and shall be eligible for issuance of an immigrant visa or for adjustment of status under 

section 245 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1255). 

(b) APPLICATION AND PAYMENT OF FEES.— 

Subsection (a) shall apply only if the applications for issuance of immigrant visas or 

the applications for adjustment of status are 

filed with appropriate fees not later than 2 

years after the date of the enactment of this 

Act. 

(c) REDUCTION OF IMMIGRANT VISA NUMBERS.—Upon the granting of immigrant visas 

to Esidronio Arreola-Saucedo, Maria Elna 

Cobian Arreola, Nayely Bibiana Arreola, and 

Cindy Jael Arreola, the Secretary of State 

shall instruct the proper officer to reduce by 

4, during the current or subsequent fiscal 

year, the total number of immigrant visas 

that are made available to natives of the 

country of birth of Esidronio ArreolaSaucedo, Marina Elna Cobian Arreola, 

Nayely Bibiana Arreola, and Cindy Jael 

Arreola under section 203(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(a)) or, 

if applicable, the total number of immigrant 

visas that are made available to natives of 

the country of birth of Esidronio ArreolaSaucedo, Maria Elna Cobian Arreola, Nayely 

Bibiana Arreola, and Cindy Jael Arreola 

under section 202(e) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 

1152(c)). 

By Mrs. FEINSTEIN: 

S. 122. A bill for the relief of Robert 

Liang and Alice Liang; to the Committee on the Judiciary. 

Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I 

offer today private relief legislation to 

provide lawful permanent residence 

status to Robert Kuan Liang and his 

wife, Chun-Mei, Alice, Hsu-Liang, foreign nationals who live in San Bruno, 

California. 

I have decided to reintroduce private 

relief immigration bills on their behalf 

because I believe that, without them, 

this hardworking couple and their 

three United States citizen children 

would endure an immense and unfair 

hardship. Indeed, without this legislation, this family may not remain a 

family for much longer. 

The Liangs are foreign nationals facing deportation on account of their 

overstay of visitors visas and the failure of their previous attorney to timely file a suspension of deportation application before the immigration laws 

changed in 1996. 

Mr. Liang is a foreign national and 

refugee from Laos. His wife is a citizen 

of Taiwan. They entered the United 

States over 25 years ago as tourists and 

established residency in San Bruno, 

California. Because they overstayed 

the terms of their temporary visas, 

they now face deportation from the 

United States. 

After living here for so many years, 

removal from the United States would 

not come easily or perhaps without 

tearing this family apart. The Liangs 

have three children born in this country: Wesley, 17 years old, Bruce, 13 

years old, and Eva, 11 years old. Young 

Wesley suffers from asthma and has a 

history of social and emotional anxiety. 

The immigration judge who presided 

over the Liangs’ case in 1997 concluded 

that there was no question that the 

Liang children would be adversely impacted if they were required to leave 

their relatives and friends behind in 

California to follow their parents to 

Taiwan, a country whose language and 

culture is unfamiliar to them. 

I can only imagine how much more 

they would be adversely impacted now 

given the passage of 9 more years. 

The Liangs have filed annual income 

tax returns; established a successful 

business, Fong Yong Restaurant, in the 

United States; are home owners, and 


wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with SENATE
January 6, 2009 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S95 

are financially successful. Since they 

arrived in the United States, they have 

pursued and, to a degree, achieved the 

American Dream. 

Mr. and Mrs. Liang’s quest to legalize 

their immigration status began in 1993 

when they filed for relief from deportation before an immigration judge. 

The Immigration and Naturalization 

Service, however, did not act on their 

application until nearly 5 years later, 

in 1997, after which time the immigration laws had significantly changed. 

According to the immigration judge, 

had the INS acted on their application 

for relief from deportation in a timely 

manner, they would have qualified for 

suspension of deportation, given that 

they were long-term residents of this 

country with U.S. citizen children and 

other positive factors. By the time INS 

processed their application, however, 

Congress passed the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, which changed the 

requirements for relief from removal to 

the Liangs’ disadvantage. 

I supported the changes of the 1996 

law, but I believe sometimes there are 

exceptions which merit special consideration. The Liangs are such a couple 

and family. Perhaps what distinguishes 

this family from many others is that 

through hard work and perseverance, 

Mr. Liang has achieved a significant 

degree of success in the United States 

while battling a severe form of Post 

Traumatic Stress Disorder. 

According to his psychologist, this 

disorder stems from the persecution he, 

his family and community experienced 

in his native country of Laos during 

the Vietnam War. 

Throughout his childhood and adolescence, Mr. Liang was exposed to numerous traumatic experiences, including the murder of his mother by the 

North Vietnamese and frequent episodes of wartime violence. He also routinely witnessed the brutal persecution 

and deaths of others in his village. In 

1975, he was granted refugee status in 

Taiwan. 

The emotional impact of Mr. Liang’s 

experiences in his war-torn native 

country has been profound and continues to haunt him. His psychologist 

has also indicated that he suffers from 

severe clinical depression, which has 

been exacerbated by the prospect of 

being deported to Taiwan, where on account of his nationality, he believes he 

and his family would be treated as second-class citizens. 

Moreover, Mr. Liang believes that 

the pursuit of further mental health 

treatment in Taiwan would only exacerbate the stigma of being an outsider 

in a country whose language he does 

not speak. Given those prospects, he 

also fears the impact such a stigma 

would have on the well-being and future of his children. 

Given these extraordinary and 

unique facts, I ask my colleagues to 

support this private relief bill on behalf 

of the Liangs. Mr. President, I ask 

unanimous consent that the text of the 

bill be printed in the RECORD. 

There being no objection, the text of 

the bill was ordered to be printed in 

the RECORD, as follows: 

S. 122 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in 

Congress assembled, 

SECTION 1. ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any 

other provision of law or any order, for the 

purposes of the Immigration and Nationality 

Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.), Robert Liang and 

Alice Liang shall be deemed to have been 

lawfully admitted to, and remained in, the 

United States, and shall be eligible for 

issuance of an immigrant visa or for adjustment of status under section 245 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1255). 

(b) APPLICATION AND PAYMENT OF FEES.— 

Subsection (a) shall apply only if the applications for issuance of immigrant visas or 

the applications for adjustment of status are 

filed with appropriate fees not later than 2 

years after the date of the enactment of this 

Act. 

(c) REDUCTION OF IMMIGRANT VISA NUMBERS.—Upon the granting of immigrant visas 

to Robert Liang and Alice Liang, the Secretary of State shall instruct the proper officer to reduce by 2, during the current or subsequent fiscal year, the total number of immigrant visas that are made available to natives of the country of birth of Robert Liang 

and Alice Liang under section 203(a) of the 

Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

1153(a)), or, if applicable, the total number of 

immigrant visas that are made available to 

natives of the country of birth of Robert 

Liang and Alice Liang under section 202(e) of 

that Act (8 U.S.C. 1152(e)). 

By Mrs. FEINSTEIN: 

S. 123. A bill for the relief of Jose 

Buendia Balderas, Alicia Aranda De 

Buendia, and Ana Laura Buendia 

Aranda; to the Committee on the Judiciary. 

Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, 

today I am reintroducing legislation to 

provide lawful permanent residence 

status to Jose Buendia Balderas, his 

wife, Alicia Aranda De Buendia, and 

their daughter, Ana Laura Buendia 

Aranda, Mexican nationals who have 

been living and working in the Fresno 

area of California for over 20 years. 

Jose Buendia is a remarkable individual who epitomizes the American 

dream. His father worked as an agricultural laborer in the Bracero program 

over 25 years ago. In 1981, Jose followed 

his father to the United States—where 

he worked in the shadows to help provide for his family in Mexico. 

Since then, Jose has moved from 

working as a landscaper to construction, where he is now a valued employee of Bone Construction in 

Reedley, California. He has been employed by this cement company for the 

past 8 years. Although he knew nothing 

about construction when he began 

working in the field, he was disciplined 

and persistent in his training and is 

now a lead foreman. 

His employer, Timothy Bone, says 

Mr. Buendia is a ‘‘reliable, hardworking and conscientious’’ employee. 

In fact, it was Mr. Bone who contacted 

my office to seek relief for Mr. 

Buendia. 

Alicia Buendia, Jose Buendia’s wife, 

has been working as a seasonal fruit 

packer for several years. The family 

has consistently paid all of their taxes. 

Recently, they paid off their mortgage 

and today, they are debt free. They 

have health insurance, savings and retirement accounts, participate in the 

company profit-sharing company, and 

support their family here and in Mexico. In short, they are living the American dream. 

Their daughter, Ana Laura, is an outstanding student. She earned a 4.0 GPA 

at Reedley High School and was awarded an academic scholarship to the University of California–Berkeley. Unfortunately, because of her immigration 

status, she was unable to accept the 

scholarship and her parents now pay 

full out-of-state tuition for her to attend the University of California– 

Irvine. She is now completing her second year there. 

Their son, Jose, is a U.S. citizen, and 

graduated high school with a 3.85 grade 

point average and honors, and is currently an engineering student at 

Reedley Junior College. For both Jose 

and Ana Laura, the United States is 

the only country they know. 

What makes the story of the 

Buendias so tragic is that they would 

have been eligible to correct their illegal status but for the unscrupulous 

practices of their former immigration 

attorney. 

Because Mr. Buendia has been in this 

country for so long, he qualified for legalization pursuant to the Immigration 

and Reform Control Act of 1986. Unfortunately, his legalization application 

was never acted upon because his attorney, Jose Velez, was convicted of 

fraudulently submitting legalization 

and Special Agricultural Worker applications. 

This criminal conduct tainted all of 

Mr. Velez’s clients. Although Mr. 

Buendia’s application was found not to 

contain any fraudulent documentation, 

it was submitted while his lawyer was 

under investigation. The result was 

that Mr. Buendia was unable to be 

interviewed and obtain legal status. 

To complicate matters, it took the 

Immigration and Naturalization Service nearly 7 years to determine that 

Mr. Buendia’s application contained no 

fraudulent information. In the meantime, the Immigration and Naturalization Service reinterpreted the law and 

determined that he was no longer eligible for relief because he had left the 

United States briefly when he married 

his wife. 

Despite these setbacks, the Buendia 

family has continued to seek legal status. They believed they were successful 

when an immigration judge granted 

the family relief based on the hardship 

their U.S. citizen son would face if his 

family was deported to Mexico. Unfortunately, the government appealed the 

judge’s decision and had it overturned 

by the Board of Immigration Appeals. 

Despite the problems with adjusting 

their legal status, this family has 

forged ahead and continued to play a 

meaningful role in their community. 


wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with SENATE