Welcoming Immigrants to a Secure Homeland Act of 2006

Bill: 109-s-2326
Sponsor: Sen. Domenici, Pete V. [R-NM]
Introduced: 2006-02-17 in the Senate
Policy area: Immigration
Subjects: Administrative fees
Administrative procedure
Administrative remedies
Admission of nonimmigrants
Agricultural labor
Agriculture and Food
Alien labor
Aliens
Border patrols
Boundaries
Business records
Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues
Civil actions and liability
Commerce
Computer matching
Congress
Congressional reporting requirements
Crime and Law Enforcement
Criminal aliens
Criminal justice information
Data banks
Department of Homeland Security
Deportation
Dismissal of employees
Drug abuse
Drug law enforcement
Drug traffic
Economics and Public Finance
Education
Electronic data interchange
Electronic government information
Employee rights
Employee selection
Employers' liability
Engineers
Evidence (Law)
Ex-offenders
Families
Federal employees
Federal law enforcement officers
Fines (Penalties)
Forced labor
Foreign students
Fraud
Gangs
Genocide
Government Operations and Politics
Government paperwork
Government publicity
Governmental investigations
Grants-in-aid
Health
Higher education
Human rights
Identification devices
Identification of criminals
Illegal aliens
Immigrants
International Affairs
International cooperation
Judicial review
Labor and Employment
Latin America
Law
Legal aid
Legal services
Legislation
Married people
Mathematics
Mexico
Minimum wages
Nonprofit organizations
Passports
Personnel records
Physical examinations
Political persecution
Prostitution
Recruiting of employees
Refugees
Repatriation
Residence requirements
Right of privacy
Right to travel
Science, Technology, Communications
Scientists
Skilled labor
Slavery
Small business
Smuggling
Social Welfare
Social security numbers
Student employment
Subversive activities
Tax returns
Taxation
Terrorism
Treaties
Vaccination
Violence
Visas
Wages
Whistle blowing

Summary:
action_date: 2006-02-17
text: 
Welcoming Immigrants to a Secure Homeland Act of 2006 or WISH Act of 2006 - Provides for increased: (1) worksite enforcement and fraud detection agents; and (2) foreign student, vocational student, and exchange visitor visa processing personnel.
 
Provides penalties for: (1) unauthorized employment and false citizenship claims; and (2) social security number misuse.
 
Sets forth a mandatory electronic employment verification system.
 
Authorizes the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish a nonimmigrant guest worker program of up to 500,000 fiscal year entrants. Sets forth program provisions, including: (1) a three-year initial admittance (with two additional three-year periods available), and a requirement to return to the alien's home country for at least three years before being eligible to return as a guest worker or to receive other immigration benefits; (2) family member admissions eligibility; (3) security and other checks; and (4) eligibility to adjust to immigrant status after six years of U.S. employment.
 
Prohibits such status for citizens or nationals of Mexico until a bilateral U.S.-Mexico agreement is entered into covering repatriation, data sharing, border, and illegal immigration issues.
 
Directs the Secretary to grant nonimmigrant guest worker status to qualifying aliens illegally in the United States under specified circumstances. Provides for nonimmigrant status adjustment after an alien has resided under such lawful status in the United States for five years and after returning to the alien's home country.
 
Directs the Secretary to establish an employment management system. 
 
Authorizes grants for public education and training respecting the changes made by this Act.
 
Removes numerical limitations for nonimmigrant aliens with advanced degrees. 
 
 Exempts from direct numerical limitations: (1) aliens with an advanced degree in science, technology, engineering, or math who have been working in a related field in the United States during the three-year period preceding their application for an employment-based immigrant visa; (2) certain aliens who are priority workers or who have received a national interest waiver; and (3) immediate relatives of an employment-based immigrant. 
 
Authorizes full-time foreign students to work part-time off campus. Requires employer wages, hours, and U.S. citizen recruitment attestation.
 
Provides temporary visas for certain alien honors graduates waiting for issuance of an employment based nonimmgrant visa.
 
Authorizes foreign student, vocational student, and exchange visitor travel outside the United States under specified circumstances.
 
States that the Secretary: (1) may not prohibit a nonimmigrant temporary visitor from traveling up to 100 miles from a U.S. international border; and (2) may permit such a nonimmigrant to travel further from such a border.
 
Expresses the sense of the Senate that any comprehensive immigration reform during the 109th Congress should include agricultural worker reforms.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2006-02-17
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (text of measure as introduced: CR S1465-1471)
action_date: 2006-02-17
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S1464-1465)
action_date: 2006-02-17
text: Introduced in Senate