I 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5456 

To respond to the crisis of illegal immigration in the United States. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 23, 2006 

Mr. BURTON of Indiana introduced the following bill; which was referred to 

the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on 

Homeland Security, Education and the Workforce, and Ways and Means, 

for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case 

for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 

committee concerned 

A BILL 

To respond to the crisis of illegal immigration 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Il5 legal Immigration Crisis Response Act of 2006’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings. 

Sec. 3. Sense of Congress. 

Sec. 4. Border security. 


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Sec. 5. English as official language of the United States. 

Sec. 6. Illegal aliens living in the United States. 

Sec. 7. Visa tightening for temporary workers. 

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) The illegal entry of dangerous gang mem4 bers, such as MS-13, is a direct threat to the secu5 rity of the United States. 

6 (2) The continuing rise of illegal immigration 

7 increases the chances that a terrorist will gain entry 

8 into the United States undetected. 

9 (3) The rising cost to American taxpayers to 

10 support housing, health care, education expenses, 

11 and criminal justice for illegal aliens has reached be12 tween $11 billion and $22 billion per year. 

13 (4) Any attempt to deal with the illegal aliens 

14 currently living in the United States must be dealt 

15 with after the United States has secured its borders 

16 in order to prevent a flood of illegal aliens seeking 

17 to take advantage of any programs for citizenship. 

18 (5) Deportation of the estimated 12 to 20 mil19 lion illegal aliens currently residing in the United 

20 States is not feasible. 

21 (6) Placing illegal aliens currently living in the 

22 United States on a path to citizenship is the least 

23 desirable option, but is one of many options the 

24 United States must examine. 


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1 (7) Amnesties that have passed before were un2 successful because they did not fully execute a bor3 der security program at the same time. 

4 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

5 It is the sense of Congress that the worsening crisis 

6 of illegal immigration needs to be solved. 

7 SEC. 4. BORDER SECURITY. 

8 (a) FULL-TIME ACTIVE-DUTY BORDER PATROL

9 AGENTS.—In order to fulfill the requirement under sec10 tion 5202 of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Pre11 vention Act of 2004 (Public Law 108–458) (relating to 

12 an increase in the number of positions for full-time active13 duty border patrol agents within the Department of 

14 Homeland Security), and subject to the availability of ap15 propriations for such purpose, the Secretary of Homeland 

16 Security shall— 

17 (1) increase incentives to recruit individuals to 

18 become such agents by offering such individuals re19 payment of higher education loans; and 

20 (2) establish a Border Patrol Agent Training 

21 Program modeled on the Reserve Officers’ Training 

22 Corps under which individuals are provided with one 

23 year of tuition reimbursement for each year of serv24 ice as a full-time active-duty border patrol agent. 


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1 (b) DEPLOYMENT OF TECHNOLOGY.—The Secretary 

2 of Homeland Security is authorized to deploy newly devel3 oped technologies, such as infrared cameras, motion detec4 tors, and unmanned aerial surveillance vehicles, to secure 

5 the international land and maritime borders of the United 

6 States. 

7 (c) CONSTRUCTION OF BORDER FENCE.—The Sec8 retary of Homeland Security is authorized to construct a 

9 border security fence along portions of the southern inter10 national land border of the United States as the Secretary 

11 determines necessary. 

12 (d) ADMISSION TO THE UNITED STATES.—Not later 

13 than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

14 no individual may be admitted to the United States unless 

15 such individual presents to an immigration officer appro16 priate documentation, such as an authentic, valid passport 

17 issued by the government of a foreign country or by the 

18 Government of the United States, a valid nonimmigrant 

19 or immigrant visa, a United States driver’s license, an 

20 alien registration card, or a border crossing identification 

21 card. 

22 SEC. 5. ENGLISH AS OFFICIAL LANGUAGE OF THE UNITED 

23 STATES. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title 4, United States Code, is 

25 amended by adding at the end the following new chapter: 


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1 ‘‘CHAPTER 6—OFFICIAL LANGUAGE 

2 ‘‘§ 161. Official language of the United States 

3 ‘‘The official language of the United States is 

4 English. 

5 ‘‘§ 162. Preserving and enhancing the role of the offi6 cial language 

7 ‘‘Representatives of the Federal Government shall 

8 have an affirmative obligation to preserve and enhance the 

9 role of English as the official language of the Federal Gov10 ernment. Such obligation shall include encouraging great11 er opportunities for individuals to learn the English lan12 guage. 

13 ‘‘§ 163. Official functions of Government to be con14 ducted in English 

15 ‘‘(a) OFFICIAL FUNCTIONS.—The official functions 

16 of the Government of the United States shall be conducted 

17 in English. 

18 ‘‘(b) SCOPE.—For the purposes of this section, the 

19 term ‘United States’ means the several States and the 

20 District of Columbia, and the term ‘official’ refers to any 

21 function that (i) binds the Government, (ii) is required 

22 by law, or (iii) is otherwise subject to scrutiny by either 

23 the press or the public. 

24 ‘‘(c) PRACTICAL EFFECT.—This section shall apply 

25 to all laws, public proceedings, regulations, publications, 


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1 orders, actions, programs, and policies, but does not apply 

2 to— 

3 ‘‘(1) teaching of languages; 

4 ‘‘(2) requirements under the Individuals with 

5 Disabilities Education Act; 

6 ‘‘(3) actions, documents, or policies necessary 

7 for national security, international relations, trade, 

8 tourism, or commerce; 

9 ‘‘(4) actions or documents that protect the pub10 lic health and safety; 

11 ‘‘(5) actions or documents that facilitate the ac12 tivities of the Bureau of the Census in compiling any 

13 census of population; 

14 ‘‘(6) actions that protect the rights of victims of 

15 crimes or criminal defendants; or 

16 ‘‘(7) using terms of art or phrases from lan17 guages other than English. 

18 ‘‘§ 164. Uniform English language rule for naturaliza19 tion 

20 ‘‘(a) UNIFORM LANGUAGE TESTING STANDARD.—All 

21 citizens should be able to read and understand generally 

22 the English language text of the Declaration of Independ23 ence, the Constitution, and the laws of the United States 

24 made in pursuance of the Constitution. 


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1 ‘‘(b) CEREMONIES.—All naturalization ceremonies 

2 shall be conducted in English. 

3 ‘‘§ 165. Rules of construction 

4 ‘‘Nothing in this chapter shall be construed— 

5 ‘‘(1) to prohibit a Member of Congress or any 

6 officer or agent of the Federal Government, while 

7 performing official functions, from communicating 

8 unofficially through any medium with another per9 son in a language other than English (as long as of10 ficial functions are performed in English); 

11 ‘‘(2) to limit the preservation or use of Native 

12 Alaskan or Native American languages (as defined 

13 in the Native American Languages Act); 

14 ‘‘(3) to disparage any language or to discourage 

15 any person from learning or using a language; or 

16 ‘‘(4) to be inconsistent with the Constitution of 

17 the United States. 

18 ‘‘§ 166. Standing 

19 ‘‘A person injured by a violation of this chapter may 

20 in a civil action (including an action under chapter 151 

21 of title 28) obtain appropriate relief.’’. 

22 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of chapters 

23 at the beginning of title 4, United States Code, is amended 

24 by inserting after the item relating to chapter 5 the fol25 lowing new item: 

‘‘CHAPTER 6. OFFICIAL LANGUAGE’’. 


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1 (c) GENERAL RULES OF CONSTRUCTION FOR

2 ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEXTS OF THE LAWS OF THE

3 UNITED STATES.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 1 of title 1, United 

5 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 

6 following new section: 

7 ‘‘§ 8. General rules of construction for laws of the 

8 United States 

9 ‘‘(a) English language requirements and workplace 

10 policies, whether in the public or private sector, shall be 

11 presumptively consistent with the laws of the United 

12 States; and 

13 ‘‘(b) Any ambiguity in the English language text of 

14 the laws of the United States shall be resolved, in accord15 ance with the last two articles of the Bill of Rights, not 

16 to deny or disparage rights retained by the people, and 

17 to reserve powers to the States respectively, or to the peo18 ple.’’. 

19 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec20 tions at the beginning of chapter 1 of title 1, United 

21 States Code, is amended by inserting after the item 

22 relating to section 7 the following new item: 

‘‘8. General Rules of Construction for Laws of the United States.’’. 

23 (d) IMPLEMENTING REGULATIONS.—Not later than 

24 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

25 Secretary of Homeland Security shall issue for public noVerDate Aug 31 2005 21:58 May 26, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5456.IH H5456

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1 tice and comment a proposed rule for uniform testing 

2 English language ability of candidates for naturalization, 

3 based upon the principles that— 

4 (1) all citizens should be able to read and un5 derstand generally the English language text of the 

6 Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and 

7 the laws of the United States which are made in 

8 pursuance thereof; and 

9 (2) any exceptions to this standard should be 

10 limited to extraordinary circumstances, such as asy11 lum. 

12 SEC. 6. ILLEGAL ALIENS LIVING IN THE UNITED STATES. 

13 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE OF ALIEN REG14 ISTRATION.—Not later than six months after the date of 

15 the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Se16 curity shall establish in the Department of Homeland Se17 curity an Office of Alien Registration (in this section re18 ferred to as the ‘‘Office’’) that shall be responsible for 

19 managing the registration, adjustment, and citizenship 

20 process under this section of aliens who are unlawfully 

21 present in the United States. 

22 (b) REGISTRATION WITH OFFICE.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para24 graph (2), if an alien who is unlawfully present in 

25 the United States can prove to the satisfaction of 


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1 the Secretary of Homeland Security, in accordance 

2 with regulations promulgated by the Secretary, that 

3 such alien was continuously physically present in the 

4 United States since the date of the introduction in 

5 the House of Representatives of the Illegal Immigra6 tion Crisis Response Act of 2006 (109th Congress), 

7 such alien may register with the Office under this 

8 section during the six-month period beginning on the 

9 date of the establishment of the Office. 

10 (2) PROHIBITION ON REGISTRATION OF CRIMI11 NAL ALIENS AND TERRORISTS.—The Secretary may 

12 not register an alien under this subsection unless the 

13 Secretary has verified, including by screening 

14 against an appropriate terrorist watchlist and 

15 through a criminal background check, that the alien 

16 is not inadmissible on any ground under paragraph 

17 (2) or (3) of section 212(a) of the Immigration and 

18 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)) (relating to inad19 missibility on criminal and related grounds activities 

20 and on security and related grounds, including ter21 rorism). 

22 (3) IDENTIFICATION CARDS PROVIDED.— 

23 (A) TEMPORARY IDENTIFICATION CARD.— 

24 At the time of registration under this sub25 section, an alien shall be issued a temporary 


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1 identification card by the Office and shall pro2 vide the Office with information necessary for 

3 the issuance of a permanent identification card 

4 under subparagraph (B). 

5 (B) PERMANENT IDENTIFICATION CARD.— 

6 The Office shall, as expeditiously as practicable, 

7 mail to an alien who has registered under this 

8 section a permanent identification card. Such 

9 permanent identification cards shall be tamper10 resistant and counterfeit-proof and shall feature 

11 a common machine-readable technology with de12 fined minimum data elements, including the fol13 lowing information: 

14 (i) The alien’s full legal name. 

15 (ii) The alien’s date of birth. 

16 (iii) The alien’s gender. 

17 (iv) A digital photograph of the alien. 

18 (v) The alien’s address of principal 

19 residence. 

20 (vi) The alien’s signature. 

21 (vii) Physical security features, similar 

22 to those in use for United States currency, 

23 designed to prevent tampering, counter24 feiting, or duplication of the identification 

25 card for fraudulent purposes. 


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1 (viii) A biometric component, such as 

2 a fingerprint or an iris scan. 

3 (4) FEES.—An alien shall pay to the Office a 

4 fee for the costs associated with— 

5 (A) registration of such an alien under this 

6 subsection; and 

7 (B) providing such an alien with such tem8 porary and permanent identification cards. 

9 (5) SURRENDER OF CARD.—At the time of the 

10 naturalization of an alien registered under this sub11 section, such an alien shall surrender to the Office 

12 the alien’s temporary and permanent identification 

13 cards. 

14 (c) EXPEDITED REMOVAL AND CRIMINAL PEN15 ALTIES FOR NONREGISTERED ALIENS.— 

16 (1) EXPEDITED REMOVAL.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

18 subparagraph (B), notwithstanding any other 

19 provision of law— 

20 (i) any alien who— 

21 (I) is unlawfully present in the 

22 United States; 

23 (II) is not registered under sub24 section (b), or is so registered but or 


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1 has not satisfied the requirements of 

2 subsection (e); and 

3 (III) is apprehended in the 

4 United States at a location that is not 

5 along the international land or mari6 time borders of the United States; 

7 shall be immediately detained and pre8 sented before an immigration judge (as de9 fined in section 101(b)(4) of the Immigra10 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

11 1101(b)(4))); 

12 (ii) the name and fingerprints of such 

13 alien shall be added to an appropriate 

14 watch list maintained by the Department 

15 of Homeland Security concerning aliens 

16 who have been unlawfully present in the 

17 United States; and 

18 (iii) the judge shall order the alien im19 mediately removed from the United States 

20 without being released from detention and 

21 without further hearing or review in the 

22 same manner as an alien described in sub23 paragraph (A)(i) of section 235(a)(1) of 

24 such Act (8 U.S.C. 1225(a)(1)) is subject 


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1 to immediate removal from the United 

2 States under the provisions of such section. 

3 (B) EXCEPTION.—In the case of an alien 

4 who is eligible to register under subsection (b), 

5 subparagraph (A) shall not apply until after the 

6 last day of the six-month registration period 

7 provided under such subsection. 

8 (2) CRIMINAL PENALTIES FOR SUBSEQUENT

9 UNLAWFUL PRESENCE.—An alien who is removed 

10 from the United States under paragraph (1) and 

11 who is subsequently determined to be unlawfully 

12 present in the United States shall be imprisoned for 

13 not more than five years and fined in accordance 

14 with title 18, United States Code, and shall be re15 moved from the United States under such paragraph 

16 after having completed the term of imprisonment. 

17 (d) TEMPORARY RESIDENT STATUS.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Upon registration under 

19 subsection (b), the Secretary of Homeland Security 

20 shall adjust the status of such an alien to that of an 

21 alien lawfully admitted for temporary residence. 

22 (2) PERIOD OF VALIDITY.—Such temporary 

23 status shall be valid for a period of 15 months be24 ginning on the date of the adjustment but shall be 

25 extended during the pendency of an application for 


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1 adjustment to lawful permanent resident status 

2 under subsection (e)(1)(A). 

3 (3) TERMINATION OF STATUS AND REMOVAL

4 FROM UNITED STATES.—The Secretary shall termi5 nate the status of an alien provided lawful tem6 porary residence under this section and remove such 

7 alien from the United States in accordance with sub8 section (c) in the same manner as an alien described 

9 in such subsection is subject to removal if— 

10 (A) the Secretary determines that such 

11 alien was in fact not eligible for registration 

12 under subsection (b); or 

13 (B) such alien— 

14 (i) commits an act that makes such 

15 alien inadmissible to the United States as 

16 an immigrant; or 

17 (ii) is convicted of any felony or three 

18 or more misdemeanors committed in the 

19 United States. 

20 (e) SUBSEQUENT ADJUSTMENT TO PERMANENT

21 RESIDENCE.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland 

23 Security shall adjust the status of an alien provided 

24 lawful temporary resident status under subsection 

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1 mination under paragraph (3) of such subsection) to 

2 that of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent res3 idence if such alien satisfies the following require4 ments: 

5 (A) TIMELY APPLICATION AFTER ONE

6 YEAR’S RESIDENCE.—Such alien submits to the 

7 Office an application for such adjustment dur8 ing the three month period beginning with the 

9 twelfth month that begins after the date such 

10 alien was granted such temporary resident sta11 tus. 

12 (B) BASIC CITIZENSHIP SKILLS.—Such 

13 alien demonstrates to the satisfaction of the 

14 Secretary of Homeland Security that such alien 

15 satisfies the requirements of section 312(a) of 

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

17 1423(a)) (relating to an understanding of the 

18 English language, including an ability to read, 

19 write, and speak words in ordinary usage in the 

20 English language, and a knowledge and under21 standing of the fundamentals of the history, 

22 and of the principles and form of government, 

23 of the United States). 

24 (2) RELATION TO NATURALIZATION EXAMINA25 TION.—In accordance with regulations of the SecVerDate Aug 31 2005 21:58 May 26, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5456.IH H5456

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1 retary of Homeland Security, an alien who has dem2 onstrated under paragraph (1)(B) that such alien 

3 satisfies the requirements of section 312(a) of the 

4 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1423(a)) 

5 may be considered to have satisfied the requirements 

6 of such section for purposes of becoming naturalized 

7 as a citizen of the United States under title III of 

8 such Act. 

9 (3) REMOVAL FROM UNITED STATES FOR FAIL10 URE TO ADJUST STATUS.—If an alien obtains lawful 

11 temporary resident status and does not satisfy the 

12 requirements of this subsection for adjustment to 

13 lawful permanent residence, such alien shall be re14 moved from the United States in accordance with 

15 subsection (c) in the same manner as an alien de16 scribed in such subsection is subject to removal. 

17 (f) EMPLOYER RESPONSIBILITIES.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each employer in the United 

19 States that employs an alien who is eligible for reg20 istration under subsection (b) and who is not other21 wise so registered shall register such alien with the 

22 Office under such subsection. 

23 (2) PENALTIES.—An employer that violates the 

24 requirement of paragraph (1) shall be fined by the 

25 Office in an amount not to exceed $50,000 for each 


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1 such alien with respect to whom such a violation oc2 curs. 

3 (g) PAYMENT OF TAXES.—Beginning on the date of 

4 an alien’s registration under subsection (b), such an alien 

5 shall be liable for the payment of all applicable Federal, 

6 State, and local taxes. 

7 (h) NATURALIZATION.—An alien who is registered 

8 with the Office under subsection (b) and whose status has 

9 been adjusted under subsection (e) to that of an alien law10 fully admitted for permanent residence is eligible for natu11 ralization under title III of the Immigration and Nation12 ality Act if such an alien satisfies the requirements for 

13 otherwise applicable. 

14 SEC. 7. VISA TIGHTENING FOR TEMPORARY WORKERS. 

15 Visas issued to nonimmigrants under subparagraph 

16 (H)(ii) of section 101(a)(15) of the Immigration and Na17 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)) shall be tamper-re18 sistant and counterfeit-proof and shall contain a biometric 

19 component, such as a fingerprint or an iris scan, that is 

20 substantially similar to the biometric component required 

21 under section 6(b)(3)(B)(viii). 

Æ 


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