I
103D CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 4054
To provide for Federal incarceration of undocumented criminal aliens.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 16, 1994
Mr. BECERRA (for himself, Mr. BEILENSON, Mr. BERMAN, Mr. FARR of Cali-
fornia, Mr. FILNER, Mr. MARTINEZ, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. TORRES,
Mr. DELLUMS, Mr. FAZIO, Mr. DIXON, Mr. SERRANO, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ,
Mr. PASTOR, and Mr. INSLEE) introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
A BILL
To provide for Federal incarceration of undocumented
criminal aliens.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 
1. 
FEDERAL 
INCARCERATION 
OF 
UNDOCU-
MENTED CRIMINAL ALIENS.
(a) FEDERAL INCARCERATION.—Section 242 of the
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1252) is
amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(j) FEDERAL INCARCERATION.—
‘‘(1) Subject to paragraph (2), the Attorney
General shall take into the custody of the Federal
Government, and shall incarcerate for a determinate
sentence of imprisonment, an undocumented crimi-
nal alien if—
‘‘(A) the chief official of the State (or, if
appropriate, a political subdivision of the State)
exercising authority with respect to the incar-
ceration of the undocumented criminal alien
submits a written request to the Attorney Gen-
eral; and
‘‘(B) the undocumented criminal alien is
sentenced to a determinate term of imprison-
ment.
‘‘(2)(A) If the Attorney General determines
that adequate Federal facilities are not available for
the incarceration of an undocumented criminal alien
under paragraph (1), the Attorney General shall
enter into a contractual arrangement which provides
for compensation to the State or a political subdivi-
sion of the State, as may be appropriate, with re-
spect to the incarceration of such undocumented
criminal alien for such determinate sentence of im-
prisonment.
‘‘(B) Compensation under subparagraph (A)
shall be determined by the Attorney General and
may not exceed the median cost of incarceration of
a prisoner in all maximum security facilities in the
United States as determined by the Bureau of Jus-
tice Statistics.
‘‘(3) For purposes of this subsection, the term
‘undocumented criminal alien’ means an alien who—
‘‘(A) has been convicted of a felony and
sentenced to a term of imprisonment, and
‘‘(B)(i) entered the United States without
inspection or at any time or place other than as
designated by the Attorney General,
‘‘(ii) was the subject of exclusion or depor-
tation proceedings at the time he or she was
taken into custody by the State or a political
subdivision of the State, or
‘‘(iii) was admitted as a nonimmigrant and
at the time he or she was taken into custody by
the State or a political subdivision of the State
has failed to maintain the nonimmigrant status
in which the alien was admitted or to which it
was changed under section 248, or to comply
with the conditions of any such status.’’.
‘‘(4)(A) In carrying out this subsection, the At-
torney General shall give priority to the Federal in-
carceration of undocumented criminal aliens who
have committed aggravated felonies.
‘‘(B) The Attorney General shall ensure that
undocumented criminal aliens incarcerated in Fed-
eral facilities pursuant to this subsection are held in
facilities which provide a level of security appro-
priate to the crimes for which they were convicted.’’.
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by
this section shall take effect October 1, 1994.
Æ