CLEAR Act of 2003
Latest action · Oct 1, 2003 Subcommittee Hearings Held.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedJul 9, 2003
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Clear Law Enforcement for Criminal Alien Removal Act of 2003 or the CLEAR Act of 2003 - States that: (1) State and local law enforcement personnel are fully authorized to investigate, apprehend, or remove aliens in the United States (including interstate transportation of such aliens to detention centers) in the enforcement of U.S. immigration laws; and (2) a State that does not have a statute permitting enforcement of Federal immigration laws within two years of enactment of this Act shall not receive certain Federal incarceration assistance.
Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act with respect to illegal aliens to: (1) establish criminal penalties and forfeiture for aliens unlawfully present in the United States; (2) increase specified criminal and civil penalties for illegal entry and failure to depart violations; and (3) provide for payment of funds from certain civil penalties to State and local law enforcement agencies for apprehension of such aliens.
Provides for the listing of immigration violators in the National Crime Information Center database.
Requires States and localities to provide the Department of Homeland Security with specified information about apprehended illegal aliens. Eliminates certain Federal incarceration assistance for noncompliance.
Directs the Attorney General to make grants to local police agencies for equipment and facilities related to housing and processing illegal aliens.
Amends the Act to provide for Federal custody and State or local compensation of State or locally apprehended illegal aliens.
Establishes a process for State and local claims against the Federal Government for failure to cooperate in enforcing immigration laws.
Directs the Secretary or the Attorney General to establish immigration-related training for State and local personnel.
Provides: (1) personal liability immunity for Federal, State, or local personnel enforcing immigration laws within the scope of their duties; and (2) civil rights money damage immunity for Federal, State, or local agencies enforcing immigration laws unless their personnel violated criminal law in such enforcement.
States that the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security shall continue to operate the Institutional Removal Program, which shall be expanded to all States.
Cosponsors 125
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Jul 9, 2003 to Nov 19, 2004; 3 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-FL | Allen Boyd | Original | Jul 9, 2003 |
| R-PA | Melissa A. Hart | Original | Jul 9, 2003 |
| R-GA | Nathan Deal | Original | Jul 9, 2003 |
| R-FL | Dave Weldon | Jul 16, 2003 | |
| R-NE | Doug Bereuter | Jul 16, 2003 | |
| R-KY | Ed Whitfield | Jul 16, 2003 | |
| R-CA | Elton Gallegly | Jul 16, 2003 | |
| R-MN | Gil Gutknecht | Jul 16, 2003 | |
| R-FL | Ginny Brown-Waite | Jul 16, 2003 | |
| R-VA | J. Randy Forbes | Jul 16, 2003 | |
| R-GA | Jack Kingston | Jul 16, 2003 | |
| R-VA | Jo Ann Davis | Jul 16, 2003 | |
| R-SC | Joe Wilson | Jul 16, 2003 | |
| R-OH | John A. Boehner | Jul 16, 2003 | |
| R-TX | John Abney Culberson | Jul 16, 2003 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Judiciary Committee | Referred Jul 9, 2003 |
| Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement Subcommittee | Referred Sep 4, 2003Hearings Oct 1, 2003 |
Actions 7
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Oct 1, 2003Subcommittee Hearings Held.
- Sep 23, 2003Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR H8468-8469)
- Sep 4, 2003Referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security, and Claims.
- Jul 21, 2003Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR H7201-7202)
- Jul 18, 2003Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR H7162-7163)
- Jul 9, 2003Introduced in House
- Jul 9, 2003Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
In the Congressional Record 5
Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.
| Where | In the Record | Members | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| House | Debate and remarks H8997 | Charles W. Norwood R-GA | Sep 30, 2003 |
| House | Debate and remarks H8468 | Charles W. Norwood R-GA | Sep 23, 2003 |
| House | Debate and remarks H7201 | Charles W. Norwood R-GA | Jul 21, 2003 |
| House | Debate and remarks H7162 | Charles W. Norwood R-GA | Jul 18, 2003 |
| House | Debate and remarks H6586 | Charles W. Norwood R-GA | Jul 10, 2003 |
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Congressional Budget Office cost estimates 2
- Feb 25, 2004H.R. 2671, Clear Law Enforcement for Criminal Alien Removal Act of 2003<p>Cost estimate for the bill as introduced on July 9, 2003</p>
- Feb 25, 2004H.R. 2671, Clear Law Enforcement for Criminal Alien Removal Act of 2003Cost estimate for the bill as introduced on July 9, 2003
Printed hearings 1
Hearings whose printed record names this bill, newest first: hearings on it, and wider hearings where it came up.
| Number | Hearing | Committee | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| — | FUNDING FOR IMMIGRATION IN THE PRESIDENT'S 2005 BUDGET115 pages | Judiciary Committee | Feb 25, 2004–Mar 11, 2004 |
Titles 3
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To provide for enhanced Federal, State, and local enforcement of the immigration laws of the United States.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Clear Law Enforcement for Criminal Alien Removal Act of 2003
- CLEAR Act of 2003
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Immigration.
- Administrative fees
- Administrative law judges
- Administrative remedies
- Aliens
- Arrest
- Auditing
- Claims
- Crime and Law Enforcement
- Criminal aliens
- Criminal investigation
- Criminal justice information
- Data banks
- Department of Justice
- Deportation
- Detention of persons
- Driver licenses
- Economics and Public Finance
- Executive reorganization
- Federal aid to law enforcement
- Federal-local relations
- Federal-state relations
- Fees
- Fines (Penalties)
- Fingerprints
- Forfeiture
- Fraud
- Government liability
- Government Operations and Politics
- Government paperwork
- Government publications
- Government trust funds
- Identification devices
- Illegal aliens
- Immigration
- Imprisonment
- Intergovernmental fiscal relations
- Labor and Employment
- Law
- Liability (Law)
- Local laws
- Police training
- Prisons
- Recidivists
- Science, Technology, Communications
- State laws
- Teleconferencing
- Transportation and Public Works
- Visas
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Jul 9, 2003Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.