I
105TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2413
To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act; title 18, United States
Code; the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act
of 1996; and the Immigration Act of 1990 to make technical corrections
to such statutes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
SEPTEMBER 5, 1997
Mr. SMITH of Texas introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary
A BILL
To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act; title 18,
United States Code; the Illegal Immigration Reform and
Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996; and the Immigra-
tion Act of 1990 to make technical corrections to such
statutes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Immigration Technical
Corrections Act of 1997’’.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this Act:
(1) The term ‘‘INA’’ means the Immigration
and Nationality Act.
(2) The term ‘‘IIRIRA’’ means the Illegal Im-
migration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act
of 1996 (Public Law 104–208, division C).
SEC. 3. GENERAL EFFECTIVE DATE.
Except as otherwise specifically provided in this Act,
the amendments made by this Act to a provision shall take
effect as if included in the provision at the time the provi-
sion was first enacted, or, if the provision has been amend-
ed since enactment, as if included in its most recent
amendment.
SEC. 4. AMENDMENTS TO INA AND IIRIRA RELATING TO IN-
ADMISSIBILITY AND REMOVAL OF ALIENS.
(a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 101(a) of the INA is
amended—
(1) in paragraph (13), by adding at the end the
following:
‘‘(D) In the case of an alien adjusted to the status
of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence,
such alien shall be regarded as having been admitted on
the date of such adjustment.’’;
(2) in paragraph (43)(F), by inserting ‘‘is’’
after ‘‘imprisonment’’; and
(3) in paragraph (43)(G), by inserting ‘‘is’’
after ‘‘imprisonment)’’.
(b) AMENDED DEFINITION OF AGGRAVATED FEL-
ONY.—Section 321(a)(3) of IIRIRA is amended by strik-
ing ‘‘(F), (G), (N), and (P),’’ and inserting ‘‘(F) and (G)’’.
(c) GENERAL CLASSES OF ALIENS INELIGIBLE TO
RECEIVE VISAS.—Section 212 of the INA is amended—
(1) in subsection (a)(2), by adding at the end
the following:
‘‘(G) CERTAIN FIREARM OFFENSES.—Any
alien who at any time has been convicted under
any law of purchasing, selling, offering for sale,
exchanging, using, owning, possessing, or carry-
ing, or of attempting or conspiring to purchase,
sell, offer for sale, exchange, use, own, possess,
or carry, any weapon, part, or accessory which
is a firearm or destructive device (as defined in
section 921(a) of title 18, United States Code)
in violation of any law is inadmissible.
‘‘(H) AGGRAVATED
FELONS.—Any alien
who has been at any time convicted of an ag-
gravated felony is inadmissible.’’;
(2) in subsection (a)(9)(A)—
(A) by redesignating clauses (ii) and (iii)
as clauses (iii) and (iv), respectively;
(B) in clause (iii), as so redesignated, by
inserting ‘‘or (ii)’’ after ‘‘clause (i)’’;
(C) in clause (iv), as so redesignated, by
striking ‘‘Clauses (i) and (ii)’’ and inserting
‘‘Clauses (i), (ii), and (iii)’’; and
(D) by inserting after clause (i) the follow-
ing:
‘‘(ii) EXCLUDED ALIENS.—Any alien
who has been ordered excluded from ad-
mission and deported under section 236, as
that section existed prior to its amendment
by the Illegal Immigration Reform and Im-
migrant Responsibility Act of 1996, and
who again seeks admission within 1 year of
the date of such deportation is inadmis-
sible.’’;
(3) in subsection (a)(9)(B)(iii), by adding at the
end the following:
‘‘(V) TEMPORARY PROTECTED STATUS.—
No period of time in which an alien is in tem-
porary protected status pursuant to section
244A shall be taken into account in determin-
ing the period of unlawful presence in the Unit-
ed States under clause (i).’’;
(4) in subsection (d)(12)(B), by inserting ‘‘an
individual who at the time of such action was’’ after
‘‘aid, or support’’; and
(5) in subsection (h)—
(A) by striking the third sentence; and
(B) by striking the period at the end of the
second sentence and inserting ‘‘, or in the case
of an alien who has been convicted of an aggra-
vated felony within 15 years before the date of
the alien’s application for such waiver or appli-
cation for a visa or adjustment of status.’’.
(d) INSPECTION BY IMMIGRATION OFFICERS.—Sec-
tion 235(a)(3) of the INA is amended by striking ‘‘admis-
sion or readmission’’ and inserting ‘‘admission, readmis-
sion, or entry’’.
(e) GENERAL CLASSES OF DEPORTABLE ALIENS.—
Section 237 of the INA is amended—
(1) in subsection (a), in the first sentence, by
striking ‘‘(including an alien crewman)’’; and
(2) in subsection (a)(2)(E)(i), by striking ‘‘For
purposes of this clause’’ through and including the
period at the end of the sentence, and inserting
‘‘For purposes of this clause, the term ‘protection
order’ includes an injunction or any other order is-
sued for the purpose of preventing violent or threat-
ening acts or harassment against, or contact or com-
munication with or physical proximity to, another
person, including temporary and final orders issued
by civil or criminal courts (other than support or
child custody orders), whether obtained by filing an
independent action or as a pendente lite order in an-
other proceeding, so long as any civil order was is-
sued in response to a complaint, petition, or motion
filed by or on behalf of a person seeking protec-
tion.’’.
(f) EXPEDITED REMOVAL OF ALIENS CONVICTED OF
COMMITTING AGGRAVATED FELONIES.—Section 238 of
the INA is amended—
(1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘241’’ and in-
serting ‘‘237’’;
(2) in subsection (a)(2), by striking the first
sentence and inserting ‘‘With respect to an alien
convicted of any criminal offense covered in section
212(a)(2), section 237(a)(2)(A)(iii), subparagraphs
(B), (C), or (D) of section 237(a)(2), or any offense
covered by section 237(a)(2)(A)(ii) for which both
predicate 
offenses 
are 
covered 
by 
section
237(a)(2)(A)(i), who is taken into custody by the
Attorney General pursuant to section 236(c), the At-
torney General shall, to the maximum extent prac-
ticable, detain any such felon at a facility at which
other such aliens are detained.’’;
(3) in subsection (b)(1)—
(A) by striking ‘‘determine the deportabil-
ity of such alien under section 237(a)(2)(A)(iii)
(relating to conviction of an aggravated felony)’’
and inserting ‘‘order the removal of an alien
convicted of an aggravated felony,’’; and
(B) by striking ‘‘and issue an order of re-
moval’’;
(4) in the subsection heading for the first sub-
section (c), by striking ‘‘PRESUMPTION OF DEPORT-
ABILITY.—’’ and inserting ‘‘PRESUMPTION OF RE-
MOVABILITY.—’’;
(5) in the first subsection (c), by striking ‘‘de-
portable’’ and inserting ‘‘removable’’;
(6) by redesignating the second subsection (c)
(as redesignated by section 671(b)(13) of IIRIRA)
as subsection (d); and
(7) in subsection (d), as redesignated by para-
graph (6)—
(A) by striking ‘‘deportable’’ in each of
paragraphs (1) and (2)(D)(iv) and inserting
‘‘removable’’; and
(B) in paragraph (2)(B)—
(i) by striking ‘‘242B’’ and inserting
‘‘239’’; and
(ii) by striking ‘‘identifying the crime
or crimes which make the defendant de-
portable under section 241(a)(2)(A).’’ and
inserting ‘‘identifying the section or sec-
tions of law under which the defendant is
removable.’’.
(g) DETENTION AND REMOVAL OF ALIENS ORDERED
REMOVED.—Section 241 of the INA is amended—
(1) in subsection (b)(1)(A), by striking the pe-
riod at the end and inserting ‘‘or, in the case of an
alien arriving at a land border, to the country from
which the alien arrived.’’;
(2) in subsection (b)(1)(C), by striking ‘‘If’’ at
the beginning of the sentence and inserting ‘‘If the
Attorney General decides that removing the alien to
the country specified in subparagraph (A) or (B) is
prejudicial to the United States or if’’;
(3) in subsection (c)(1)(B)(i), by striking
‘‘235(a)(1)’’ and inserting ‘‘235(a)(2), 235(b)(1),’’;
(4) in subsection (c)(3)(B)—
(A) in clause (v), by striking ‘‘or’’ at the
end;
(B) in clause (vi), by striking the period at
the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(vii) the alien arrives upon a vessel
at a United States port of entry when such
arrival has been authorized by appropriate
Federal authority.’’; and
(5) 
in 
subsection 
(e)(1), 
by 
striking
‘‘235(a)(1)’’ and inserting ‘‘235(b)(1)’’.
(h) REENTRY OF REMOVED ALIENS.—Section 276(b)
of the INA is amended—
(1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by
striking ‘‘subsection—’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection
whose denial of admission, exclusion, deportation, re-
moval, or departure from the United States while an
order of exclusion, deportation, or removal was out-
standing—’’; and
(2) in each of paragraphs (1) and (2), by strik-
ing ‘‘whose removal’’.
SEC. 5. AMENDMENTS TO TITLE 18 RELATING TO CRIMINAL
ALIENS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Sections 1425(b), 1426(h), 1427,
1541, 1542, 1543, 1544, and 1546(a) of title 18, United
States Code, are each amended by striking ‘‘facility’’ in
the last sentence of each such section and inserting ‘‘facili-
tate’’.
(b) CRIMINAL FORFEITURE.—Section 982(a) of title
18, United States Code, is amended—
(1) by redesignating the second paragraph (6)
as paragraph (7); and
(2) in paragraph (7), as so redesignated—
(A) in subparagraph (A)(i), by striking
‘‘subsection (a)’’ and inserting ‘‘such laws’’; and
(B) in subparagraph (A)(ii)(I), by striking
‘‘subsection (a)’’ through ‘‘of this title’’ and in-
serting ‘‘such laws’’.
(c) AUTHORIZATION FOR INTERCEPTION OF WIRE,
ORAL, 
OR
ELECTRONIC
COMMUNICATIONS.—Section
2516(1) of title 18, United States Code, is amended by
striking the first paragraph (p) (added as paragraph (o)
by section 434 of the Antiterrorism and Effective Death
Penalty Act of 1996).
SEC. 6. MISCELLANEOUS AMENDMENTS TO INA.
(a) DEFINITIONS RELATING TO ALIEN TERRORIST
REMOVAL PROCEEDINGS.—Section 501(1) of the INA is
amended by striking ‘‘241(a)(4)(B)’’ and inserting
‘‘237(a)(4)(B) or 212(a)(3)(B)’’.
(b) REQUIREMENTS FOR SPONSOR’S AFFIDAVIT OF
SUPPORT.—Section 213A of the INA is amended—
(1) by redesignating the subsection (h) added
by section 551 of IIRIRA as subsection (g); and
(2) by redesignating subsection (i) as subsection
(h).
(c) APPREHENSION
AND DETENTION
OF ALIENS
NOT
LAWFULLY
IN
UNITED
STATES.—Section
236(c)(1)(C) of the INA is amended by striking ‘‘sen-
tence’’ and inserting ‘‘sentenced’’.
(d) REMOVAL HEARING.—Section 504(e)(1)(A) of
the INA is amended by striking ‘‘a removal’’ and inserting
‘‘removal’’.
(e) VOLUNTARY DEPARTURE.—Section 240B(a)(1)
of the INA is amended by striking ‘‘237(a)(2)(A)(iii) or
section 237(a)(4)(B).’’ and inserting ‘‘237(a)(2)(A)(iii) or
subparagraph (B) or (D) of section 237(a)(4).’’.
(f) WORLDWIDE LEVEL OF IMMIGRATION.—Section
201(b)(1)(D) of the INA is amended by striking
‘‘240A(a)’’ and inserting ‘‘240A(b)’’.
(g) 
TEMPORARY
PROTECTED
STATUS.—Section
244(e) of the INA is amended by striking ‘‘240A(a)’’ and
inserting ‘‘240A(b)’’.
(h) INADMISSIBILITY.—The following provisions of
the INA are amended by striking the term ‘‘excludable’’
each place it appears and inserting ‘‘inadmissible’’:
(1) 
Clauses 
(ii) 
and 
(iii) 
of 
section
212(a)(3)(C).
(2) Section 213A(a)(1).
(i) PUBLIC VESSEL EXCEPTION.—Sections 235(d)(2)
and 241(d)(3) of the INA are amended by inserting ‘‘(ex-
cept for the commanding officer of a public vessel)’’ after
‘‘commanding officer’’.
(j) DETENTION AND REMOVAL OF ALIENS ORDERED
REMOVED.—Section 241(a)(4)(B)(i) of the INA, as added
by section 305(a) of IIRIRA, is amended by inserting ‘‘)’’
immediately after ‘‘or (L)’’.
(k) UNLAWFUL EMPLOYMENT OF ALIENS.—Section
274A(e)(2)(C) of the INA is amended by striking ‘‘para-
graph (2)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph (3)’’.
(l) 
ADMISSION
OF
NONIMMIGRANTS.—Section
214(l)(1)(D) of the INA, as redesignated by section
622(c) of IIRIRA, is amended by striking ‘‘paragraph
(2)’’ and inserting ‘‘subparagraph (C)’’.
(m) FOREIGN STUDENTS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 214 of the INA is
amended by redesignating the subsection (l) added
by section 625 of IIRIRA as subsection (m).
(2) 
CONFORMING
AMENDMENT.—Section
212(a)(6)(G) of the INA is amended by striking
‘‘214(l)’’ and inserting ‘‘214(m)’’.
(n) TRANSPORT BY AIRLINE.—Section 212 of the
INA is amended—
(1) in subsection (f), by striking ‘‘Whenever the
Attorney General finds that a commercial airline has
failed to comply with regulations of the Attorney
General relating to requirements of airlines for the
detection of fraudulent documents used by pas-
sengers traveling to the United States (including the
training of personnel in such detection), the Attor-
ney General may suspend the entry of some or all
aliens transported to the United States by such air-
line.’’; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(p) Whenever the Attorney General finds that a
commercial airline has failed to comply with regulations
of the Attorney General relating to requirements of air-
lines for the detection of fraudulent documents used by
passengers traveling to the United States (including the
training of personnel in such detection), the Attorney Gen-
eral may suspend the entry of some or all aliens trans-
ported to the United States by such airline.’’.
(o) GOOD MORAL CHARACTER.—Section 101(f) of
the INA is amended by striking ‘‘(9)(A)’’ and inserting
‘‘(10)(A)’’.
(p) INITIATION OF REMOVAL PROCEEDINGS.—Sec-
tion 239(c) of the INA is amended by inserting ‘‘at the
time of arrest or’’ after ‘‘alien’’.
(q) 
ALIENS
PREVIOUSLY
REMOVED.—Section
212(a)(9)(C) of the INA is amended by striking ‘‘enters
or attempts to reenter’’ and inserting ‘‘subsequently has
entered or attempted to reenter’’.
SEC. 7. MISCELLANEOUS AMENDMENTS TO IIRIRA.
(a) NEW DOCUMENT FRAUD OFFENSES.—Section
212(e) of IIRIRA is amended by inserting ‘‘or documents’’
after ‘‘applications’’.
(b) PILOT PROGRAM
ON LIMITING ISSUANCE
OF
DRIVER’S LICENSES TO ILLEGAL ALIENS.—Section 502
of IIRIRA is amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(c) CURRENT STATE AUTHORITY.—The denial of
driver’s licenses under operation of state law in effect on
the date of enactment of this Act to aliens not lawfully
present in the United States is unaffected by this sec-
tion.’’.
(c) ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS FOR CERTAIN POLISH
AND
HUNGARIAN
PAROLEES.—Section 646(a)(1) of
IIRIRA is amended by striking ‘‘applies for such adjust-
ment’’ and inserting ‘‘files a completed application for
such adjustment prior to September 30, 1998.’’.
(d) TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS.—Section 671(b)(5)
of IIRIRA is amended by striking ‘‘(K)(ii)’’ and inserting
‘‘(K)(iii)’’.
(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR IN-
CREASE IN NUMBER OF CERTAIN INVESTIGATORS.—Sec-
tion 131(c) of IIRIRA is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘$25,000’’ and inserting
‘‘$30,000’’; and
(2) by striking ‘‘fiscal’’ and inserting ‘‘cal-
endar’’.
(f) REDESIGNATION AND REORGANIZATION OF PRO-
VISIONS.—Section 308(g) of IIRIRA is amended—
(1) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘(as in effect
before October 1, 1996)’’ and inserting ‘‘(as in effect
before October 31, 1996, except that in such cases
review may be had only by petition for review to the
circuit court of appeals)’’; and
(2) 
in 
paragraph 
(8)(A)(i), 
by 
striking
‘‘240A(a)’’ and inserting ‘‘240A(b)’’.
(g) EFFECTIVE DATES; TRANSITION.—Section 309
of IIRIRA is amended—
(1) in subsection (c)(4)(F), by inserting ‘‘, and,
notwithstanding the provisions of section 106(c), the
departure of the alien from the United States shall
not deprive the court of review of jurisdiction’’ after
‘‘otherwise’’; and
(2) by striking subsection (e).
(h) PROGRAM TO COLLECT INFORMATION RELATING
TO NONIMMIGRANT FOREIGN STUDENTS AND OTHER EX-
CHANGE PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS.—Section 641(c)(1)(B)
of IIRIRA is amended by striking ‘‘the date on which a
visa under the classification was issued or extended’’ and
inserting ‘‘the date on which the alien was admitted to
the United States under the classification or otherwise ac-
quired or extended that status’’.
(i) PENALTIES
FOR
DISCLOSURE
OF
INFORMA-
TION.—Section 384 of IIRIRA is amended—
(1) in subsection (a)(2)—
(A) by striking ‘‘or’’ after ‘‘216(c)(4)(C),’’;
and
(B) by inserting ‘‘(as in effect prior to
April 1, 1997), or section 240A(b)(2)’’ after
‘‘244(a)(3)’’; and
(2) in subsection (b), by adding at the end the
following:
‘‘(6) Pursuant to section 431(c) of the Personal
Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation
Act of 1996, the Department of Justice is author-
ized to disclose information to Federal, State, local
or private benefit-granting agencies for use solely in
determining eligibility or continued eligibility for
benefits.’’.
SEC. 8. AMENDMENTS TO OTHER PROVISIONS.
(a) GOOD MORAL CHARACTER.—Section 509(b) of
the Immigration Act of 1990 is amended by striking ‘‘on
or after’’ through the period at the end and inserting ‘‘be-
fore, on, or after such date.’’
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by
subsection (a) shall take effect as if included in the enact-
ment of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant
Responsibility Act of 1996.
Æ