I

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1485

To permit certain long-term permanent resident aliens to seek cancellation

of removal or waiver of inadmissibility under the Immigration and Nationality Act, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

APRIL 20, 1999

Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts (for himself, Mr. FROST, Mr. DIAZ-BALART, Mr.

BENTSEN, Mr. DELAHUNT, Mr. DEUTSCH, Mr. FILNER, Mr. GONZALEZ,

Mr. GREEN of Texas, Mr. GUTIERREZ, Mr. HALL of Texas, Mr.

LAMPSON, Ms. LEE, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. HINOJOSA, Ms. JACKSON-LEE

of Texas, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, Mrs. MALONEY of

New York, Mr. MARTINEZ, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mrs. MEEK of Florida, Mr.

MENENDEZ, Mrs. MORELLA, Mr. ORTIZ, Mr. PASTOR, Mr. REYES, Mr.

RODRIGUEZ, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. SHAYS, and

Mr. WYNN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

A BILL

To permit certain long-term permanent resident aliens to

seek cancellation of removal or waiver of inadmissibility

under the Immigration and Nationality Act, and for

other purposes.

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. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Family Reunification

3 Act of 1999’’.

4 SEC. 2. LIMITING THE DISQUALIFICATION, BASED ON COM5 MISSION OF AN AGGRAVATED FELONY, FROM

6 CANCELLATION OF REMOVAL FOR CERTAIN

7 LONG-TERM PERMANENT RESIDENT ALIENS.

8 (a) CANCELLATION OF REMOVAL FOR CERTAIN PER9 MANENT RESIDENTS.—Section 240A(a) of the Immigra10 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1229b(a)) is amended

11 to read as follows:

12 ‘‘(a) CANCELLATION OF REMOVAL FOR CERTAIN

13 PERMANENT RESIDENTS.—

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General may

15 cancel removal in the case of an alien who is inad16 missible or deportable from the United States, if the

17 alien—

18 ‘‘(A) has been an alien lawfully admitted

19 for permanent residence for not less than 5

20 years;

21 ‘‘(B) has resided in the United States con22 tinuously for 7 years after having been admit23 ted in any status; and

24 ‘‘(C) has not been convicted of—

25 ‘‘(i) an aggravated felony or felonies

26 for which the alien has been sentenced, in
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1 the aggregate, to a term of imprisonment

2 of 5 years or more; or

3 ‘‘(ii) in the case of sentencing imposed

4 under a system of indeterminate sen5 tencing (as defined in section 20101 of the

6 Violent Crime Control and Law Enforce7 ment Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 13701)), an

8 aggravated felony or felonies for which—

9 ‘‘(I) the midpoint of the statutory

10 range of sentence applicable to the fel11 ony or felonies is, in the aggregate, 5

12 years or more; or

13 ‘‘(II) the alien has served, in the

14 aggregate, a term of imprisonment of

15 5 years or more.

16 ‘‘(2) NO DANGER TO PERSONS OR PROPERTY.—

17 In the case of an alien convicted of an aggravated

18 felony involving violence, the Attorney General may

19 exercise the discretion described in paragraph (1)

20 only after making a written determination that the

21 action poses no danger to the safety of persons or

22 property.

23 ‘‘(3) DEFINITION OF AGGRAVATED FELONY.—

24 For purposes of this subsection (and any other de25 termination under this Act made solely with respect
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1 to an alien whose removal is canceled under this

2 subsection)—

3 ‘‘(A) subparagraphs (F) and (G) of section

4 101(a)(43) shall be applied as if the amend5 ment in section 321(a)(3) of the Illegal Immi6 gration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility

7 Act of 1996 (Public Law 104–208; 110 Stat.

8 3009–627) had not been made; and

9 ‘‘(B) section 101(a)(43)(N) shall be ap10 plied by striking ‘‘spouse,’’ through ‘‘indi11 vidual)’’ and inserting ‘‘immediate family’’.

12 ‘‘(4) DEFINITION OF TERM OF IMPRISON13 MENT.—For purposes of this subsection (and any

14 other determination under this Act made solely with

15 respect to an alien whose removal is canceled under

16 this subsection), section 101(a)(48)(B) shall be ap17 plied so as to exclude from the time periods defined

18 in the section any period of suspension of the impo19 sition or execution of a term of imprisonment or a

20 sentence in whole or in part.

21 ‘‘(5) PERIOD OF CONTINUOUS RESIDENCE.—

22 ‘‘(A) SUSPENSION OF PERIOD.—For pur23 poses of this subsection and subsection (d)(1)

24 (and any other determination under this Act

25 made solely with respect to an alien whose re-
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1 moval is canceled under this subsection), sec2 tion 237(a)(2)(A)(i)(II) shall be applied by

3 striking ‘may be’ and inserting ‘is’.

4 ‘‘(B) CONTINUATION OF PERIOD UPON

5 SATISFACTION OF CONDITIONS.—

6 ‘‘(i) CONTINUATION.—

7 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—In the case

8 of an alien otherwise eligible for can9 cellation of removal under this sub10 section, any period of continuous resi11 dence that is deemed to end under

12 subsection (d)(1) upon the commis13 sion of an offense described in clause

14 (ii) shall be deemed, for purposes of

15 this subsection, to continue upon the

16 occurrence of the latest of the fol17 lowing events (to the extent applicable

18 to the offense):

19 ‘‘(aa) The completion of any

20 term of imprisonment imposed

21 for the offense.

22 ‘‘(bb) The commencement of

23 any term of probation imposed

24 for the offense (but only to the

25 extent such probation is com-
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1 pleted without a probation viola2 tion).

3 ‘‘(cc) The payment of any

4 fine imposed for the offense.

5 ‘‘(II) NO BREAK IN RESI6 DENCE.—Such termination and re7 commencement shall not be construed

8 to cause a break in the continuity of

9 residence, which shall be calculated

10 taking into account any period before

11 such termination and any period after

12 such recommencement.

13 ‘‘(ii) OFFENSES DESCRIBED.—An of14 fense described in this clause is—

15 ‘‘(I) any aggravated felony that

16 is not described in paragraph (1)(C);

17 or

18 ‘‘(II) any other crime that ren19 ders the alien removable from the

20 United States under subparagraph

21 (A) or (B) of section 237(a)(2) (in22 cluding subparagraph (A)(i) of such

23 section, as modified by subparagraph

24 (A) of this paragraph).
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1 ‘‘(6) RELEASE FROM DETENTION PENDING DE2 CISION.—Notwithstanding section 236(c)(2), the At3 torney General may release an alien applying for

4 cancellation of removal under this subsection, pend5 ing a decision on whether the alien is to be removed

6 from the United States, if the alien demonstrates to

7 the satisfaction of the Attorney General that the

8 alien is not a threat to the community and is likely

9 to appear for any scheduled proceeding. A decision

10 relating to such release shall be made in accordance

11 with a procedure that considers the severity of the

12 offense committed by the alien.

13 ‘‘(7) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Notwithstanding

14 paragraph (2) of section 242(a), a judgment regard15 ing the granting or denial of relief under this sub16 section shall be subject to judicial review under sec17 tion 242 (and the provisions of such paragraph (2)

18 shall not apply).’’.

19 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by

20 subsection (a) shall take effect as if included in the enact21 ment of section 304 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and

22 Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (Public Law 104–

23 208; 110 Stat. 3009–587).

24 (c) APPLICATION FOR RELIEF.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section

2 240(c)(6) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8

3 U.S.C. 1229a(c)(6)) or any other limitation imposed

4 by law on motions to reopen removal proceedings,

5 the Attorney General shall establish a process

6 (whether through permitting the reopening of a re7 moval proceeding or otherwise) under which an alien

8 who—

9 (A) is (or was) in removal proceedings be10 fore the date of the enactment of this Act

11 (whether or not the alien has been removed as

12 of such date); and

13 (B) has become eligible for cancellation of

14 removal as a result of the amendment made by

15 subsection (a);

16 may apply (or reapply) for cancellation of removal

17 and release from detention under section 240A(a) of

18 the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended by

19 such subsection.

20 (2) PAROLE.—The Attorney General should ex21 ercise the parole authority under section

22 212(d)(5)(A) of the Immigration and Nationality

23 Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(d)(5)(A)) for the purpose of

24 permitting aliens removed from the United States to
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1 participate in the process established under para2 graph (1).

3 SEC. 3. APPLICATION FOR DISCRETIONARY WAIVER OF IN4 ADMISSIBILITY FOR CERTAIN LONG-TERM

5 PERMANENT RESIDENT ALIENS.

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General shall estab7 lish a process (whether through permitting the reopening

8 of a proceeding described in subsection (b) or otherwise)

9 under which an alien described in subsection (b) may re10 quest the Attorney General to exercise the discretion

11 granted under section 212(c) of the Immigration and Na12 tionality Act (as in effect on March 31, 1997, before its

13 repeal by section 304(b) of the Illegal Immigration Reform

14 and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (110 Stat.

15 3009–597)) as if—

16 (1) such section 212(c) had been amended—

17 (A) by striking ‘‘(c)’’ and inserting

18 ‘‘(c)(1)’’;

19 (B) in the first sentence—

20 (i) by inserting ‘‘for not less than 5

21 years’’ after ‘‘lawfully admitted for perma22 nent residence’’; and

23 (ii) by striking ‘‘who are returning to

24 a lawful unrelinquished domicile of seven

25 consecutive year’’ and inserting ‘‘who have
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1 resided in the United States continuously

2 for 7 years after having been admitted in

3 any status’’; and

4 (C) by striking the last sentence and add5 ing at the end the following:

6 ‘‘(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to an alien who

7 has been convicted of—

8 ‘‘(A) an aggravated felony or felonies for which

9 the alien has been sentenced, in the aggregate, to a

10 term of imprisonment of 5 years or more; or

11 ‘‘(B) in the case of sentencing imposed under a

12 system of indeterminate sentencing (as defined in

13 section 20101 of the Violent Crime Control and Law

14 Enforcement Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 13701)), an

15 aggravated felony or felonies for which—

16 ‘‘(i) the midpoint of the statutory range of

17 sentence applicable to the felony or felonies is,

18 in the aggregate, 5 years or more; or

19 ‘‘(ii) the alien has served, in the aggregate,

20 a term of imprisonment of 5 years or more.’’;

21 (2) the amendment in section 321(a)(3) of the

22 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Respon23 sibility Act of 1996 (110 Stat. 3009–627) to sub24 paragraphs (F) and (G) of section 101(a)(43) of the
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1 Immigration and Nationality Act had not been

2 made;

3 (3) section 321(a)(8) of the Illegal Immigration

4 Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996

5 (110 Stat. 3009–628) had amended section

6 101(a)(43)(N) of the Immigration and Nationality

7 Act by striking ‘‘for which the term’’ and all that

8 follows and inserting the following: ‘‘, except in the

9 case of a first offense for which the alien has affirm10 atively shown that the alien committed the offense

11 for the purpose of assisting, abetting, or aiding only

12 the alien’s immediate family to violate a provision of

13 this Act;’’; and

14 (4) section 101(a)(48)(B) of the Immigration

15 and Nationality Act, as added by section 322 of the

16 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Respon17 sibility Act of 1996 (110 Stat. 3009–628), excluded

18 from the time periods defined in the section any pe19 riod of suspension of the imposition or execution of

20 a term of imprisonment or a sentence in whole or in

21 part.

22 (b) ALIEN DESCRIBED.—An alien referred to in sub23 section (a) is an alien who is the subject of a proceeding—

24 (1) in which the alien would have satisfied the

25 requirements for the application of discretion grant-
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1 ed to the Attorney General under section 212(c) of

2 the Immigration and Nationality Act (as in effect

3 before the enactment of section 440(d) of the

4 Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of

5 1996 (Public Law 104–132; 110 Stat. 1277)) but

6 for the amendments made by—

7 (A) such section 440(d);

8 (B) paragraphs (3) and (8) of section

9 321(a) of the Illegal Immigration Reform and

10 Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 to sub11 paragraphs (F), (G), and (N) of section

12 101(a)(43) of the Immigration and Nationality

13 Act; and

14 (C) section 322 of the Illegal Immigration

15 Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of

16 1996 (to the extent such section added section

17 101(a)(48)(B) to the Immigration and Nation18 ality Act);

19 (2) with respect to which the Attorney General

20 has not elected to proceed under paragraph (2) of

21 section 309(c) of the Illegal Immigration Reform

22 and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C.

23 1101 note); and

24 (3) which has not been terminated under para25 graph (3) of such section 309(c).
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1 (c) NO DANGER TO PERSONS OR PROPERTY.—In the

2 case of an alien convicted of an aggravated felony involv3 ing violence, the Attorney General may exercise the discre4 tion described in subsection (a) only after making a writ5 ten determination that the action poses no danger to the

6 safety of persons or property.

7 (d) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—A judgment regarding the

8 granting or denial of relief under this section shall be sub9 ject to judicial review in accordance with section 106 of

10 the Immigration and Nationality Act (as in effect on April

11 23, 1996), notwithstanding section 242 of the Immigra12 tion and Nationality Act, section 440(a) of the

13 Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996

14 (Public Law 104–132; 110 Stat. 1277), sections 306 and

15 309(c)(4) of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immi16 grant Responsibility Act of 1996 (Public Law 104–208;

17 110 Stat. 3009–607 et seq.), or any other provision of

18 law limiting judicial review of a discretionary decision

19 under section 212(c) of the Immigration and Nationality

20 Act (as in effect before its repeal).

21 (e) PAROLE.—The Attorney General should exercise

22 the parole authority under section 212(d)(5)(A) of the Im23 migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(d)(5)(A))

24 for the purpose of permitting aliens deported from the
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1 United States to participate in the process established

2 under subsection (a).

3 SEC. 4. CANCELLATION OF REMOVAL OR WAIVER OF INAD4 MISSIBILITY FOR CERTAIN OTHER LONG5 TERM PERMANENT RESIDENT ALIENS FOR

6 URGENT HUMANITARIAN REASONS OR SIG7 NIFICANT PUBLIC BENEFIT.

8 (a) CANCELLATION OF REMOVAL.—

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 240A of the Immi10 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1229b), as

11 amended by section 2, is further amended by adding

12 at the end the following:

13 ‘‘(f) CANCELLATION OF REMOVAL FOR CERTAIN

14 PERMANENT RESIDENTS FOR URGENT HUMANITARIAN

15 REASONS OR SIGNIFICANT PUBLIC BENEFIT.—

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of an alien oth17 erwise eligible for cancellation of removal under sub18 section (a), except that the alien has been convicted

19 of an aggravated felony that renders the alien un20 able to satisfy the requirement in subsection

21 (a)(1)(C) (or, in some cases, the requirements in

22 subparagraphs (B) and (C) of subsection (a)(1)), the

23 Attorney General may cancel removal of the alien

24 under such conditions as the Attorney General may

25 prescribe, but only—
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1 ‘‘(A) on a case-by-case basis for urgent hu2 manitarian reasons, significant public benefit

3 (including assuring family unity), or any other

4 sufficiently compelling reason; and

5 ‘‘(B) after making a written determination

6 that the cancellation of removal poses no dan7 ger to the safety of persons or property.

8 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION OF PROVISIONS.—Para9 graphs (3) through (7) of subsection (a) shall apply

10 to a determination of whether an alien satisfies the

11 requirements of paragraph (1) of this subsection in

12 the same manner as such paragraphs apply to a de13 termination under subsection (a).’’.

14 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made

15 by paragraph (1) shall take effect as if included in

16 the enactment of section 304 of the Illegal Immigra17 tion Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of

18 1996 (Public Law 104–208; 110 Stat. 3009–587).

19 (3) APPLICATION FOR RELIEF.—

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding sec21 tion 240(c)(6) of the Immigration and Nation22 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1229a(c)(6)) or any other

23 limitation imposed by law on motions to reopen

24 removal proceedings, the Attorney General shall

25 establish a process (whether through permitting
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1 the reopening of a removal proceeding or other2 wise) under which an alien who—

3 (i) is (or was) in removal proceedings

4 before the date of the enactment of this

5 Act (whether or not the alien has been re6 moved as of such date); and

7 (ii) has become eligible for cancella8 tion of removal as a result of the amend9 ment made by paragraph (1);

10 may apply for cancellation of removal and re11 lease from detention under section 240A(f) of

12 the Immigration and Nationality Act, as added

13 by such paragraph.

14 (B) PAROLE.—The Attorney General

15 should exercise the parole authority under sec16 tion 212(d)(5)(A) of the Immigration and Na17 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(d)(5)(A)) for the

18 purpose of permitting aliens removed from the

19 United States to participate in the process es20 tablished under subparagraph (A).

21 (b) WAIVER OF INADMISSIBILITY.—In the case of an

22 alien otherwise eligible for the relief provided under sec23 tion 3, except that the alien has been convicted of an ag24 gravated felony or felonies referred to in the amendment

25 described in section 3(a)(1)(C)—
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1 (1) the Attorney General shall permit the alien

2 to request the Attorney General to exercise the dis3 cretion described in paragraph (2) pursuant to the

4 process established under section 3 (including sub5 section (e) of such section);

6 (2) the Attorney General may exercise the dis7 cretion described in section 3(a) (including para8 graph (1)(B), the strike (but not the addition) in

9 paragraph (1)(C), and paragraphs (2) through (4)

10 of such section), under such conditions as the Attor11 ney General may prescribe, but only—

12 (A) on a case-by-case basis for urgent hu13 manitarian reasons, significant public benefit

14 (including assuring family unity), or any other

15 sufficiently compelling reason; and

16 (B) after making a written determination

17 that the action poses no danger to the safety of

18 persons or property; and

19 (3) a judgment regarding the granting or denial

20 of relief to the alien under this subsection shall be

21 subject to judicial review in accordance with section

22 3(d) in the same manner as a judgment regarding

23 relief under section 3.
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1 SEC. 5. SUSPENSION OF DEPORTATION FOR CERTAIN

2 OTHER ALIENS.

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General shall estab4 lish a process (whether through permitting the reopening

5 of a proceeding described in subsection (b) or otherwise)

6 under which an alien described in subsection (b) may re7 quest the Attorney General to exercise the discretion

8 granted under paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of section 244(a)

9 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (as in effect on

10 March 31, 1997) as if—

11 (1) the amendment in section 321(a)(3) of the

12 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Respon13 sibility Act of 1996 (110 Stat. 3009–627) to sub14 paragraphs (F) and (G) of section 101(a)(43) of the

15 Immigration and Nationality Act had not been

16 made; and

17 (2) section 321(a)(8) of the Illegal Immigration

18 Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996

19 (110 Stat. 3009–628) had amended section

20 101(a)(43)(N) of the Immigration and Nationality

21 Act by striking ‘‘for which the term’’ and all that

22 follows and inserting the following: ‘‘, except in the

23 case of a first offense for which the alien has affirm24 atively shown that the alien committed the offense

25 for the purpose of assisting, abetting, or aiding only
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1 the alien’s immediate family to violate a provision of

2 this Act;’’.

3 (b) ALIEN DESCRIBED.—An alien referred to in sub4 section (a) is an alien who is the subject of a proceeding—

5 (1) in which the alien would have satisfied the

6 requirements for the application of discretion grant7 ed to the Attorney General under paragraph (1),

8 (2), or (3) of section 244(a) of the Immigration and

9 Nationality Act (as in effect on March 31, 1997) but

10 for the amendments made by paragraphs (3) and (8)

11 of section 321(a) of the Illegal Immigration Reform

12 and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 to sub13 paragraphs (F), (G), and (N) of section 101(a)(43)

14 of the Immigration and Nationality Act;

15 (2) with respect to which the Attorney General

16 has not elected to proceed under paragraph (2) of

17 section 309(c) of the Illegal Immigration Reform

18 and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C.

19 1101 note); and

20 (3) which has not been terminated under para21 graph (3) of such section 309(c).

22 (c) NO DANGER TO PERSONS OR PROPERTY.—In the

23 case of an alien convicted of an aggravated felony involv24 ing violence, the Attorney General may exercise the discre25 tion described in subsection (a) only after making a writ-
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1 ten determination that the action poses no danger to the

2 safety of persons or property.

3 (d) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—A judgment regarding the

4 granting or denial of relief under this section shall be sub5 ject to judicial review in accordance with section 106 of

6 the Immigration and Nationality Act (as in effect on April

7 23, 1996), notwithstanding section 242 of the Immigra8 tion and Nationality Act, section 440(a) of the

9 Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996

10 (Public Law 104–132; 110 Stat. 1277), sections 306 and

11 309(c)(4) of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immi12 grant Responsibility Act of 1996 (Public Law 104–208;

13 110 Stat. 3009–607 et seq.), or any other provision of

14 law limiting judicial review of a discretionary decision

15 under section 244 of the Immigration and Nationality Act

16 (as in effect on March 31, 1997).

17 (e) PAROLE.—The Attorney General should exercise

18 the parole authority under section 212(d)(5)(A) of the Im19 migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(d)(5)(A))

20 for the purpose of permitting aliens deported from the

21 United States to participate in the process established

22 under subsection (a).

23 SEC. 6. CONSTRUCTION.

24 In the case of an alien who is eligible for relief under

25 section 212(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (as
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1 in effect before the enactment of section 440(d) of the

2 Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996)

3 (Public Law 104–132; 110 Stat. 1277), nothing in this

4 Act, or any amendment made by this Act, shall be con5 strued to modify such eligibility.

Æ