Opinion ID: 350064
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: statutory authority of the attorney general

Text: 10 The Board of Immigration Appeals rejected Castaneda-Gonzalez's interpretation of the statute. According to the Board, section 103(a) of the Act, which defines the powers and duties of the Attorney General under the immigration laws, grants him the authority to invalidate a labor certificate issued by the Secretary of Labor. Section 103(a) provides: 11 The Attorney General shall be charged with the administration and enforcement of this chapter and all other laws relating to the immigration and naturalization of aliens, . . . (and decisions) by the Attorney General with respect to all questions of law shall be controlling. 12 8 U.S.C. § 1103(a) (1970). The findings required by subsection 212(a)(14) as to the available supply of American workers and the impact on wages and working conditions within the United States may not be strictly questions of adjudicative fact, but they are hardly questions of law. If section 103(a) is a source of authority for the Board to invalidate the Secretary of Labor's determination of those issues, it must arise from that section's general grant of power to administer and enforce all immigration laws. The Service urges us to adopt just such a construction. It first notes that the Secretary of Labor is not included within the explicit exception clause of section 103(a) 11 and then argues that if Congress had intended to except the Secretary's labor certificate determination from review by the Attorney General it would have included him within that clause. Although it would facilitate our decision, we cannot accept the proposition that any determination of fact not explicitly exempted by section 103(a) is necessarily subject to review by the Attorney General. To do so would be to fall prey to circular reasoning, for that proposition assumes that section 103(a)'s affirmative grant of authority to the Attorney General includes the power to decide whether the substantive requirements of subsection 212(a)(14) are satisfied in any given factual situation which is the precise issue we must decide in this case. If the affirmative grant of section 103(a) is not so inclusive, then, regardless of whether the Secretary of Labor's labor certification authority is mentioned in the exception clause of that section, the Board's deportation order exceeded its statutory authority. 12 13 Section 103(a) is a broad grant of general administrative and enforcement authority to the Attorney General. Subsection 212(a)(14) is a narrowly drawn provision which focuses particularly and precisely on the admission of aliens seeking to take up employment in the United States. It specifically provides that such aliens are excludable unless the Secretary of Labor has determined and certified . . . to the Attorney General that there are not sufficient American workers available and that employment of the alien seeking entry will not adversely affect wages and working conditions in the United States. This language clearly delegates the determination of whether the factual circumstances underlying any particular application for certification satisfy the substantive requirements of subsection 212(a)(14) to the Secretary of Labor and not to the Attorney General. Under the frequently-applied maxim of statutory construction that a specific provision prevails over a more general one, 13 we do not think that the general language of section 103(a) should be construed as delegating an authority to the Attorney General which is delegated only to the Secretary of Labor by subsection 212(a)(14). 14 The opinion of the Board of Immigration Appeals states that the legislative history of subsection 212(a)(14) is consistent with its decision that the Attorney General is statutorily empowered to declare a labor certificate issued by the Secretary of Labor invalid. The only authority cited for this sweeping assertion is a statement by Congressman Moore during floor debate of an amendment to another section of the Act, section 214(c), in which he obliquely refers to subsection 212(a)(14) in commenting that sections other than 214(c) contain adequate safeguards for American workers. 14 15 Section 214(c) deals with nonimmigrant aliens while 212(a)(14) deals with immigrants. Moreover, section 214(c) expressly provides that (t)he question of importing any alien as a nonimmigrant (temporary laborer) shall be determined by the Attorney General . . . . 8 U.S.C. § 1184(c) (1970). Congressman Moore was objecting to an amendment to this language to make section 214(c) read: shall be determined by the Attorney General, subject to the approval of the Secretary of Labor . . . . See 111 Cong.Rec. 21,805 (1965). He accurately characterized the effect of this change as granting the Secretary of Labor a veto over the Attorney General's power to decide whether a nonimmigrant laborer met the substantive statutory requirements for admission as a temporary laborer. The division of administrative authority between the Secretary of Labor and the Attorney General effected by that language is totally distinct from the allocation effected by subsection 212(a)(14)'s directive that immigrant alien laborers are excludable unless the Secretary of Labor has determined and certified to the . . . Attorney General that the substantive requirements of the statute are satisfied. 8 U.S.C. § 212(a)(14) (1970). 16 Statements by individual legislators should generally be given little weight when searching for the intent of the entire legislative body. See National Welfare Rights Organization v. Mathews, 174 U.S.App.D.C. 410, 415-416, 533 F.2d 637, 642-43 (1976). See generally 2A Sutherland, Statutes and Statutory Construction § 48.13 (C. Sands ed. 1973). This caveat applies with added force where, as here, the statement relied on was made during debate of a different statutory provision that addresses a different legislative concern in language which on its face obviously contemplates a different division of administrative authority. We cannot accept the legislative history cited by the Board and the Service as any support whatsoever for their claim of implied authority from subsection 212(a)(14) to declare labor certificates of the Secretary of Labor invalid. 17 The Attorney General has broad power to inquire into the admissibility 15 and deportability 16 of aliens. This includes the authority to decide whether they are within one of the 31 excludable classes of section 212(a), but insofar as 212(a)(14) is concerned the Attorney General's inquiry is limited to whether the Secretary of Labor has determined that the substantive requirements of that subsection are satisfied. Once an alien shows that the Secretary of Labor has made such a determination 17 in his favor, the statutorily delegated enforcement power of the Attorney General is exhausted. There is nothing in subsection 212(a)(14) itself that permits the Attorney General to ignore the Secretary's determination because he finds it factually defective and to decide for himself that under the correct facts a labor certificate should not have been granted. Subsection 212(a)(14) delegates that substantive determination only to the Secretary of Labor and simply directs the Attorney General to ensure that the Secretary has certified the alien. An alien so certified is not excludable under 212(a)(14). 18 Our holding that the substantive certification decision under subsection 212(a)(14) lies exclusively with the Secretary of Labor does not bar the Service from seeking to deport an alien on the basis of inaccuracies in the factual basis of a labor certificate. Subsection 212(a)(19) provides that an alien is excludable, and therefore deportable under 241(a)(1), if he has procured a visa or other documentation . . . by fraud, or by willfully misrepresenting a material fact. 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(19) (1970). The Service complains that if aliens admitted with labor certificates based on incorrect facts may only be deported under subsection 212(a)(19), then, where a misrepresentation is not willful, the Attorney General will be prevented from deporting (an alien) even though if the true facts had been known the labor certificate would never have been issued. Brief for Respondent at 14. We agree that this correctly states the consequences of requiring willfulness as well as materiality under subsection 212(a)(19), but we do not see that it is a reason to read subsection 212(a)(14) as authorizing the Attorney General to deport an alien with a labor certificate based on material but not willful misrepresentations. Congress explicitly chose to require the government to prove willfulness when seeking to deport an alien for misrepresenting facts in applying for entry documents, and we will not construe subsection 212(a)(14) so as to allow the Service to circumvent this congressionally-imposed burden of proof with respect to labor certificates. 19 As another source of statutory authority to reject the labor certification of the Secretary of Labor, the Service relies on section 221(h) of the Immigration and Nationality Act which provides that (n)othing in this chapter shall be construed to entitle any alien, to whom a visa or other documentation has been issued, to enter the United States, if, upon arrival . . . he is found to be inadmissible . . . . 8 U.S.C. § 1201(h) (1970). Under this provision the administrative authorities charged with determining the admissibility of aliens at ports of entry have long asserted the power to reexamine the factual basis of the admissibility determinations on which an alien's visa was issued and to refuse to admit any alien whom they find excludable, despite a contrary conclusion of the visaing official. See Vitale v. Immigration and Naturalization Service, 463 F.2d 579, 580 (7th Cir. 1972); Hermina Sague v. United States, 416 F.Supp. 217, 218-19 (D.P.R. 1976); United States ex rel. Katnic v. Reimer, 25 F.Supp. 925, 926 (S.D.N.Y. 1938), aff'd, 104 F.2d 1022 (2d Cir. 1939); cf. Ng Yip Yee v. Barber, 210 F.2d 613, 613-14 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 347 U.S. 988, 74 S.Ct. 850, 98 L.Ed. 1122 (1954); United States ex rel. Strachey v. Reimer, 101 F.2d 267, 269 (2d Cir. 1939). The Service argues that the phrase other documentation makes section 221(h) applicable to labor certificates and, characterizing the Secretary of Labor's determination under subsection 212(a)(14) as merely an  initial ruling, urges us to accept the Board of Immigration Appeals' conclusion that there is no distinction between a visa and a labor certificate. 20 Certainly section 221(h) applies to labor certificates, but contrary to the Service's position, the statutory relationship between the Secretary of Labor's authority to issue labor certificates and the Attorney General's authority to determine admissibility at the point of entry is much different than the relationship between the authority of consular officers to issue visas and the Attorney General's final decision on admissibility. 21 Section 211(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act provides that as a general rule no immigrant shall be admitted into the United States unless . . . he has a valid unexpired immigrant visa . . . . 8 U.S.C. § 1181(a) (1970). Section 221 of the Act delegates the authority to issue visas to consular offices 18 and directs them not to issue visas to any alien who falls within one of the excludable classes described in section 212(a). 8 U.S.C. §§ 1201(a), (g) (1970); see, id. § 1182(a). Thus, as an absolute precondition to admission, an alien must submit his proof that he is not excludable to a preliminary screening by a consular officer. 19 Immigration & Nationality Act § 222, 8 U.S.C. § 1202 (1970); 22 C.F.R. §§ 42.90-.91, and 42.111 (1976). Acceptance of his claim by a consular officer does not guarantee admission to an alien, however, since sections 235-236 of the Act, 8 U.S.C. §§ 1225-1226 (1970), direct the Service to inspect each alien applying for admission at a port of entry to determine whether he or she is excludable. In making that determination the Service must decide the same questions of excludability the consular officer decided when issuing a visa to the alien applicant. For example, both the consular officer and the Service must decide whether an alien is excludable as a drug addict or chronic alcoholic, 212(a) (5), as one who has been convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude, 212(a) (9), as a prostitute, 212(a)(12), or as one likely to become a public charge, 212(a)(15). 8 U.S.C. §§ 1182(a)(5), (9), (12), (15) (1970). The decision of the consular officer that an alien is not within one of the excludable classes of section 212(a) is not binding on the Service because of section 221(h). It serves simply as a preliminary investigation, and a favorable decision does no more than entitle an alien to present himself at a port of entry to prove his admissibility before the Service. See Reimer, supra at 269; Hermina Sague, supra at 218-19. If the port-of-entry inspection of an alien's qualifications raises any doubts as to his admissibility, section 236(a) of the Act directs the Service to conduct an evidentiary proceeding before one of its special inquiry officers who renders a final decision on the matter. 20 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a) (1970); 8 C.F.R. § 236 (1976). 22 This double check system, which requires an alien to demonstrate his admissibility before two different administrative officials with independent and coequal authority, has not gone uncriticized. 21 Nevertheless, despite its duplication and potential for confusion, Congress apparently has decided that its benefits outweigh its costs, and has continued the statutory framework which requires consular officers and the Attorney General independently to address the same issues in different contexts. 22 23 The statutory relationship between the Secretary of Labor and the Attorney General with respect to labor certificates is wholly dissimilar to the system of bifurcated authority between consular officers and the Attorney General under which visas are issued and between the Secretary of State and the Attorney General with respect to determination of nationality. 23 Subsection 212(a)(14) clearly delegates to the Secretary of Labor the power to determine the availability of American workers and the impact on wages or working conditions when an alien applies for a labor certificate. The statutory language defines its excludable class as all those aliens without the Secretary of Labor's certification that there are no domestic workers available and that there will be no adverse impact on wages and conditions. It does not first define the class as all aliens seeking entry to accept employment for which American workers are available or whose admission would have an adverse impact on wages or working conditions and then provide the certification process as a prescreening device or enforcement aid. 24 In the context of nonimmigrant alien labor, Congress has expressly given the Attorney General power to decide the substantive question of the availability of American workers. 24 This indicates that Congress was not unaware of the issue of the proper allocation of administrative authority, and we think that the failure to expressly grant the Attorney General authority to make the same substantive decision in the context of immigrant alien laborers under subsection 212(a)(14) strongly implies that Congress intended to reserve that authority to the Secretary of Labor alone. Moreover, no other provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act directs the Attorney General to make the determinations which the Secretary of Labor must make under subsection 212(a) (14). Thus, unlike the admissibility decisions embodied in a visa decision of a consular officer or a nationality determination of the Secretary of State, the Attorney General is not called upon to make the same decisions in another context. The Secretary of Labor alone decides whether there are sufficient American workers to fill a particular job and whether an alien's entry to accept that job would adversely affect wages or working conditions. The function of the Attorney General and the consular officers 25 is simply to ensure that that determination has been made by the Secretary of Labor in favor of an alien immigrant. If so, that alien is not excludable under subsection 212(a)(14), although he might be inadmissible or deportable for other reasons. 25 The Service also argues that this case is similar to the situation when an alien applies for a preference classification under section 203(a) on the basis that he or she is a member of a profession, has exceptional ability in the sciences or arts, or is capable of labor for which a shortage exists in the United States. See Immigration and Nationality Act §§ 203(a)(3), (6), 8 U.S.C. §§ 1153(a)(3), (6) (1970) (amended 1976). We acknowledge the factual similarity of such a situation to the one at bar 26 and the authority of the numerous cases cited by the Service for the proposition that the Attorney General may deny such preference requests without reference to the Secretary of Labor because he determines that the applicant alien does not qualify for the preference category relied on. 27 Those cases are not relevant to this case, however, for they address an entirely different legal issue. Section 203(a) simply states the substantive standards for determining the preference priority category to which an immigrant alien should be assigned. There is no question that the statute authorizes the Attorney General to pass on a request for preference status, see Immigration and Nationality Act §§ 204(a), (b), 8 U.S.C. §§ 1154(a), (b) (1970), and the only issues addressed by the section 203(a) cases cited by the Service were the proper standard of judicial review of an exercise of that authority and whether the decision of the Attorney General satisfied that standard. In this case, however, we must decide the distinct and more fundamental question of whether the Attorney General is statutorily authorized to ignore the labor certification of the Secretary of Labor based on his own substantive evaluation of the standards articulated in subsection 212(a)(14). 26 A comparison of the statutory provisions governing preference status decisions and subsection 212(a)(14) supports our holding that the Attorney General does not have legislatively delegated authority to review the basis for the Secretary of Labor's certification decision. With respect to petitions for preference status which require assessment of either an alien's qualifications for an occupation or the state of the labor supply in the United States, section 204(b) directs the Attorney General to (consult) with the Secretary of Labor but nonetheless clearly provides that the Attorney General, himself, shall determine whether an alien is eligible for a preference under section 203(a). Id., 8 U.S.C. § 1154(b) (1970). This is further evidence of congressional sensitivity to the interplay of administrative authority which permeates the immigration laws, and demonstrates that, where Congress sought to involve the Department of Labor simply as an enforcement aid to the Attorney General in areas of its expertise, the legislators did not rely on any implied power of the Attorney General but provided an unambiguous expression of their intent. Subsection 212(a)(14) does not refer to consultation with or initial screening by the Secretary of Labor with respect to substantive issues which it or any other section of the Act directs the Attorney General to decide. It simply states that immigrant aliens seeking entry to perform labor are to be excluded unless the Secretary of Labor has determined and certified . . . . 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(14) (1970). Congress did not provide, as it could have, that the Attorney General shall determine, after an initial decision by the Secretary of Labor, whether an immigrant alien laborer satisfies the substantive requirements of subsection 212(a)(14), and we will not impute such a gloss to its words in light of its express provision for such a result where it was intended in other areas of the immigration laws. 27 We now turn to the Service's claim that the authority of a special inquiry officer under section 236 to determine whether an arriving alien . . . shall be allowed to enter or shall be excluded and deported includes the power to review the merits of the Secretary of Labor's certification decision and declare a labor certificate invalid. We agree with the Service that this section authorizes it to exclude aliens who are not qualified under the immigration laws for entry into the United States. We do not agree, however, that it necessarily empowers the Service to declare that an alien who has received a labor certificate from the Secretary of Labor is nonetheless excludable under subsection 212(a)(14) because the Service concludes that he is not qualified for the employment covered by his certificate. The job qualifications of an alien laborer are matters to be considered by his prospective employer and the Secretary of Labor, insofar as they bear on his determination whether there are capable American workers available to fill the job. To avoid a finding of disqualification by the Service under subsection 212(a)(14) of the immigration laws, however, an alien need only show that the Secretary of Labor has determined that no American workers are available for the job he will accept and that his employment will not adversely affect wages or working conditions in the United States. An alien with a labor certificate indicating that such a determination has been made is not disqualified for entry because the Service is dissatisfied with its factual basis or with the merits of the Secretary of Labor's decision.