A bill to provide for comprehensive immigration reform and for other purposes.
Latest action · Jun 28, 2007 Returned to the Calendar. Calendar No. 208.
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.
- IntroducedJun 18, 2007
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Establishes specified benchmarks which must be met before the guest worker and legalization programs under this Act may be initiated respecting: (1) operational control of the the border with Mexico; (2) Border Patrol increases; (3) border barriers, including vehicle barriers, fencing, radar, and aerial vehicles; (4) detention capacity for illegal aliens apprehended crossing the U.S.-Mexico border; (5) workplace enforcement, including an electronic employment verification system; and (6) Z-visa (as established by this Act) alien processing.
Establishes in the Treasury the Immigration Security Account to assist the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in meeting benchmark requirements.
Sets forth border security and enforcement provisions, including provisions respecting: (1) personnel and asset increases and enhancements, including Shadow Wolves units; (2) a National Strategy for Border Security and a National Land Border Security Plan; (3) border security initiatives, including biometric data enhancements, document integrity, and additional ports of entry; (4) a biometric entry-exit system; (5) cooperation with Mexico; (6) forfeiture of conveyances; (7) border security on federal lands; (8) a border relief grant program for a tribal, state, or local law enforcement agency in a border-proximate or high-impact area county; and (9) increased federal detention space.
Northern Border Prosecution Initiative Reimbursement Act - Directs the Attorney General to carry out the Northern Border Prosecution Initiative to reimburse northern border entities for costs incurred for handling case dispositions of criminal cases that are federally initiated but federally declined-referred.
Secure and Safe Detention and Asylum Act - Sets forth detention procedures and standards. Establishes: (1) an Office of Detention Oversight; and (2) a detention alternatives program.
Sets forth interior enforcement provisions, including provisions respecting: (1) additional immigration personnel; (2) detention and removal; (3) alien sex offenders and protection of immigrants from convicted sex offenders; (4) alien street gang members; (5) illegal entry and reentry; (6) passport and immigration fraud; (7) criminal aliens, including continuation of the Institutional Removal Program (IRP); (8) voluntary departure; (9) detention and alternatives; (10) criminal penalties; (11) alien smuggling; (12) tribal lands security; (13) state and local enforcement of immigration laws; (14) expedited removal; and (15) the Justice Prisoner and Alien Transfer System.
Makes it unlawful to knowingly hire, recruit, or refer for a fee an unauthorized alien.
Sets forth employment eligibility verification system provisions.
Provides for: (1) disclosure of certain taxpayer identity information to DHS; (2) establishment of the state records improvement grant program which may be used to help states comply with REAL ID requirements; and (3) establishment of the voluntary advanced verification program to verify employee identity.
Sets forth Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Social Security Administration (SSA) immigration-related enforcement provisions.
Establishes a temporary Y-visa program for non-seasonal (Y-1) and seasonal workers (Y-2) (which replaces the H-2B category). Provides for: (1) a two-year Y-1 admission with two additional two-year extensions (must be outside the United States for 12 months after working in the United States for two years), and a 10-month Y-2 admission; (2) issuance of Y-3 nonimmigrant visas for accompanying or following spouse and children; (3) three-year Y-1 commuter workers; (4) establishment in the Treasury of a State Impact Assistance Account and a state impact assistance grant program; (5) U.S. worker protection; (6) employer requirements; (7) specified annual admissions caps; and (8) bilateral agreements with countries of Y-visa nonimmigrants as a condition of making such visas available.
Establishes the Standing Commission on Immigration and Labor Markets.
Requires the Department of Labor to establish a publicly available electronic job registry link to state job registries.
Replaces the seasonal agricultural nonimmigrant temporary worker (H-2A visa) labor certification requirement with a labor condition application filing. Revises work condition provisions. Establishes the Commission on Agricultural Wage Standards. Provides for a 10-month period of admission with a dairy worker exception.
Revises student visa provisions respecting: (1) off campus work; (2) distance learning; (3) dual intent; and (4) graduate students in mathematics, engineering, natural sciences, or information technology.
Revises H-1B visa (specialty occupation) provisions, including: (1) annual admissions cap increases; (2) employer requirements; (3) degree requirements; (4) merit-based extension of stay; and (5) government requirements.
Revises L-visa (intracompany transfer) provisions, including limitations on start-up company petition approvals.
Provides L-visa and H-1B visa whistleblower protections.
Makes the Conrad J-1 visa (foreign physicians in medically underserved areas) waiver program permanent.
Increases family-sponsored immigrant visas until backlogs are adjudicated.
Establishes a merit-based immigrant evaluation system.
Redefines "immediate relative." Eliminates specified family categories. Creates a new: (1) preference category for parents of U.S. citizens who are at least 21 years old; and (2) hardship category for persons who would have met eliminated categories.
Eliminates the diversity visa program.
Creates a new special visitor visa for parents of U.S. citizens and for spouses and minor children of Y-1 visa holders.
Increases per-country-limits for family-based and employment-based immigrants.
Establishes a nonimmigrant Z-visa category for illegal aliens who have been continuously physically present in the United States since January 1, 2007, and are: (1) employed and seek to continue working or studying (Z-1); (2) spouses, ex-spouses who were victims of domestic abuse, and parents over 65 years old of such workers (Z-2); or (3) children under 18 years old on the date of application who are the natural born or legally adopted child of the working Z-visa holder (Z-3).
Prohibits nonimmigrant status adjustment. Permits permanent resident status adjustment under a specified earned adjustment process, including: (1) a probationary period; (2) filing at a U.S. consulate abroad; and (3) payment of penalty.
Sets forth provisions respecting: (1) ineligibility; (2) fees and penalties; (3) security and law enforcement checks; (4) tax liability; (5) four-year admission and four-year extensions; (6) benefits termination; (7) employment; (8) administrative and judicial review; and (9) information disclosure.
Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act of 2007 or DREAM Act of 2007 - Authorizes adjustment to permanent resident status for certain Z-visa long-term U.S. residents who entered the United States before reaching 16 years old.
Exempts Z-visa aliens from the provision denying an unlawful alien's eligibility for higher education benefits based on state residence unless a U.S. national is similarly eligible without regard to such state residence.
Agricultural Job Opportunities, Benefits, and Security Act of 2007, or AgJOBS Act of 2007 - Establishes a nonimmigrant Z-A visa category for agricultural workers and their dependents who have performed qualifying periods of agricultural work in the United States during the two-year period ending December 31, 2006.
Permits permanent resident status adjustment under a specified earned adjustment process, including: (1) a probationary period; (2) filing at a U.S. consulate abroad; and (3) payment of penalty.
Sets forth provisions respecting: (1) admissibility; (2) security and background checks; (3) application requirements; (4) Z-visa caps; (5) five-year ineligibility for certain federal benefits; (6) visa termination; and (7) fines and penalties.
Establishes in the Treasury the Agricultural Worker Immigration Status Adjustment Account.
Provides that fingerprints provided by a qualifying individual at the time of military enlistment shall satisfy naturalization fingerprint requirements.
S.I. Hayakawa National Language Amendment Act of 2007 - Makes English the national language of the U.S. government. Directs the U.S. government to preserve and enhance the role of English as the U.S. national language.
Renames the Office of Citizenship as the Office of Citizenship and Integration. Directs the Office to provide grants to states and municipalities for creation of New Americans Integration Councils.
Establishes the Presidential Award for Business Leadership in Promoting American Citizenship.
Directs: (1) the Secretary of Education to develop an electronic English learning program; (2) the National Science Foundation (NSF) to establish an American competitiveness scholarship program; and (3) the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct a study of the immigration appeals appellate process.
Unaccompanied Alien Child Protection Act of 2007 - Addresses the care and custody of unaccompanied alien children with no lawful immigration status and no parent or legal guardian in the United States who is available to provide care and physical custody.
Directs immigration officers who find such children at U.S. land borders or ports of entry to permit them to withdraw their applications for admission and return to their country of nationality or last habitual residence.
Gives the Office of Refugee Resettlement jurisdiction over the care and custody of all unaccompanied alien children with specified exceptions. Requires federal departments or agencies to transfer such children in their custody to the Office.
Specifies the order of preference for placing released children, including custody rights of parents and legal guardians. Requires the Office to protect such children from smugglers and traffickers.
Prohibits the placement of such children in adult detention facilities or in facilities housing delinquent children unless they exhibit violent or criminal behavior.
Expresses the sense of Congress that children should not be repatriated into threatening settings.
Requires the Executive Office for Immigration Review to implement model guidelines for the legal representation of alien children in immigration proceedings.
Revise special immigrant juvenile visa provisions. Requires such children apprehended by DHS, except those subject to contiguous country rules, to be placed in removal proceedings. Exempts such children from certain bars to asylum.
Makes the Office responsible for: (1) placement suitability assessments; and (2) ensuring that minimum standards of care are met for residential alternatives to detention.
Wartime Treatment Study Act - Establishes: (1) the Commission on Wartime Treatment of European Americans; and (2) the Commission on Wartime Treatment of Jewish Refugees.
Recorded votes 2
Newest first. Open one to see how every member voted.
Cosponsors 1
Members who signed on, in the order they did. All signed on Jun 18, 2007.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-PA | Arlen Specter | Original | Jun 18, 2007 |
Actions 15
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Jun 28, 2007Considered by Senate. (consideration: CR S8641-8651)
- Jun 28, 2007Cloture on the bill not invoked in Senate by Yea-Nay Vote. 46 - 53. Record Vote Number: 235. (consideration: CR S8650-8651; text: CR S8650)
- Jun 28, 2007Returned to the Calendar. Calendar No. 208.
- Jun 27, 2007Considered by Senate. (consideration: CR S8526, S8532-8573, S8579-8599)
- Jun 26, 2007Motion to proceed to measure considered in Senate. (consideration: CR S8378-8398)
In the Congressional Record 11
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senate | Debate and remarks S13763–S13765 | Chuck Grassley R-IA | Nov 5, 2007 |
| Senate · Extensions | Debate and remarks E1453, E1459, S8732, S8733 | Charles E. Schumer D-NY, Charles W. Dent R-PA, Gabrielle Giffords D-AZ, Jim Webb D-VA | Jun 29, 2007 |
| Senate | Debate and remarks S8641–S8651, S8653–S8656, S8659–S8662, S8673–S8680Amendments S8715, S8716, S8717, S8718Cloture motions S8650Recorded votes S8650cloture motion | Arlen Specter D-PA, Barbara A. Mikulski D-MD (cloture motion), Ben Nelson D-NE (cloture motion), Benjamin L. Cardin D-MD (cloture motion), Bill Nelson D-FL, Bob Corker R-TN, Carl Levin D-MI, Charles E. Schumer D-NY (cloture motion), Daniel K. Inouye D-HI (cloture motion), David Vitter R-LA, Dianne Feinstein D-CA (amendment, cloture motion), Edward M. Kennedy D-MA (amendment, cloture motion), Elizabeth Dole R-NC, Frank R. Lautenberg D-NJ (cloture motion), Harry Reid D-NV (amendment, cloture motion), Hillary Rodham Clinton D-NY (amendment), Jeff Sessions R-AL, Jim DeMint R-SC, John Cornyn R-TX, John F. Kerry D-MA (cloture motion), Jon Kyl R-AZ, Joseph I. Lieberman I-CT (cloture motion), Kay Bailey Hutchison R-TX, Ken Salazar D-CO (cloture motion), Lindsey Graham R-SC, Mel Martinez R-FL, Michael B. Enzi R-WY, Mitch McConnell R-KY, Orrin G. Hatch R-UT, Patrick J. Leahy D-VT (cloture motion), Pete V. Domenici R-NM, Richard J. Durbin D-IL (cloture motion), Robert Menendez D-NJ (amendment), Russell D. Feingold D-WI (cloture motion), Sheldon Whitehouse D-RI (cloture motion), Thomas R. Carper D-DE (cloture motion) | Jun 28, 2007 |
| House · Senate | Debate and remarks H7210, S8524–S8600, S8638–S8640Amendments S8534, S8570, S8571, S8597, S8613, S8622, S8623, S8624, S8625, S8626, S8627, S8628, S8630, S8631, S8632, S8633, S8634, S8636Motions S8571, S8572, S8584, S8587, S8588Recorded votes S8571, S8573, S8584, S8587, S8588, S8596Reid motion to table Bond Division III of Kennedy/Specter amendment (prohibit issuance of immigrant visas or adjustment of status to lawfully admitted permanent resident for certain undocumented individuals)Reid motion to table Feinstein Division I of Kennedy/Specter amendment (require aliens who have entered the U.S. illegally to return to their native country before initiating work visa application process)Reid motion to table Grassley/Baucus Division VII of Kennedy/Specter amendment (require employers to conduct employment eligibility verification)Reid motion to table Menendez division of Kennedy/Specter amendment (revise merit-based point system to place more emphasis on family ties)Specter motion to table Dodd Division IV of Kennedy/Specter amendmentSpecter motion to table Webb Division II of Kennedy/Specter amendmentLists S8595Organizations opposing the Grassley/Baucus amendment to S. 1639, immigration reform, on requiring employers to conduct employment eligibility verification | Arlen Specter D-PA (amendment, motion), Bernard Sanders I-VT (amendment), Bill Nelson D-FL (amendment), Charles E. Schumer D-NY (amendment), Christopher J. Dodd D-CT (amendment), Christopher S. Bond R-MO, Chuck Grassley R-IA (amendment), Cliff Stearns R-FL, David Vitter R-LA (amendment), Dianne Feinstein D-CA (amendment), Edward M. Kennedy D-MA (amendment), Elizabeth Dole R-NC (amendment), Frank R. Lautenberg D-NJ (amendment), Harry Reid D-NV (amendment, motion), Hillary Rodham Clinton D-NY (amendment), James M. Inhofe R-OK (amendment), Jeff Bingaman D-NM (amendment), Jeff Sessions R-AL (amendment), Jim Bunning R-KY, Jim DeMint R-SC, Jim Webb D-VA, John Cornyn R-TX (amendment), John Ensign R-NV (amendment), John Thune R-SD (amendment), Jon Kyl R-AZ, Judd Gregg R-NH (amendment), Kay Bailey Hutchison R-TX, Ken Salazar D-CO, Kent Conrad D-ND (amendment), Lamar Alexander R-TN (amendment), Lindsey Graham R-SC (amendment), Mel Martinez R-FL (amendment), Michael B. Enzi R-WY (amendment), Norm Coleman R-MN (amendment), Orrin G. Hatch R-UT (amendment), Patrick J. Leahy D-VT, Robert Menendez D-NJ (amendment), Sam Brownback R-KS (amendment), Ted Stevens R-AK (amendment), Tim Walberg R-MI, Tom Coburn R-OK (amendment) | Jun 27, 2007 |
| House · Senate | Debate and remarks H7080, S8383–S8387, S8397, S8403, S8404Amendments S8413, S8419, S8420, S8421, S8422, S8423, S8424, S8425, S8426, S8427, S8428, S8429, S8430, S8432, S8469, S8470, S8471, S8472Cloture motions S8398, S8403Recorded votes S8398cloture motion on motion to proceed | Arlen Specter D-PA (amendment), Barbara A. Mikulski D-MD (cloture motion), Barbara Boxer D-CA (amendment), Ben Nelson D-NE (cloture motion), Benjamin L. Cardin D-MD (cloture motion), Bill Nelson D-FL (cloture motion), Charles E. Schumer D-NY (cloture motion), Chuck Grassley R-IA (amendment), Daniel K. Inouye D-HI (cloture motion), David Vitter R-LA (amendment), Dianne Feinstein D-CA (cloture motion), Edward M. Kennedy D-MA (amendment, cloture motion), Frank R. Lautenberg D-NJ (cloture motion), George V. Voinovich R-OH (amendment), Harry Reid D-NV (cloture motion), James M. Inhofe R-OK (amendment), Jeff Bingaman D-NM (amendment), Jeff Sessions R-AL (amendment), Jim DeMint R-SC (amendment), John Cornyn R-TX (amendment), John Ensign R-NV (amendment), John F. Kerry D-MA (cloture motion), John Warner R-VA (amendment), Johnny Isakson R-GA (amendment), Joseph I. Lieberman I-CT (cloture motion), Judd Gregg R-NH, Kay Bailey Hutchison R-TX (amendment), Ken Salazar D-CO (cloture motion), Lamar Alexander R-TN (amendment), Mel Martinez R-FL (amendment), Patrick J. Leahy D-VT (cloture motion), Pete V. Domenici R-NM (amendment), Richard Burr R-NC (amendment), Richard J. Durbin D-IL (cloture motion), Russell D. Feingold D-WI (cloture motion), Sam Brownback R-KS (amendment), Saxby Chambliss R-GA (amendment), Sheldon Whitehouse D-RI (cloture motion), Ted Poe R-TX, Thad Cochran R-MS (amendment), Thomas R. Carper D-DE (cloture motion), Tom Coburn R-OK (amendment) | Jun 26, 2007 |
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.
Printed hearings 2
Hearings whose printed record names this bill, newest first: hearings on it, and wider hearings where it came up.
| Number | Hearing | Committee | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serial No. 110-74 | STATUS OF VISAS AND OTHER POLICIES FOR FOREIGN STUDENTS AND SCHOLARS103 pages | Science, Space, and Technology Committee | Feb 7, 2008 |
| Serial No. 110-47 | SECURITY THROUGH REGULARIZED IMMIGRATION AND A VIBRANT ECONOMY (STRIVE) ACT OF 2007 -- H.R. 1645344 pages | Judiciary Committee | Sep 6, 2007 |
CRS reports 13
Congressional Research Service work that CRS links to this bill or the law it became, newest first.
Cite it 13
Products on other subjects that cite it, usually among other measures.
| Product | Title | Kind | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| R47164 | U.S. Employment-Based Immigration Policy | Report | Nov 19, 2024 |
| R45995 | Unauthorized Childhood Arrivals, DACA, and Related Legislation Archived | Report | Jun 30, 2020 |
| R41207 | Unauthorized Aliens in the United States: Policy Discussion Archived | Report | May 8, 2014 |
| R43335 | Unauthorized Alien Students: Legislation in the 109th and 110th Congresses Archived | Report | Dec 11, 2013 |
| R42980 | Brief History of Comprehensive Immigration Reform Efforts in the 109th and 110th Congresses to Inform Policy Discussions in the 113th Congress Archived | Report | Feb 27, 2013 |
Amendments 161
Amendments offered to this bill.
| Amendment | Description | Offered by | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| SA 1701 | No description on file | Elizabeth Dole R-NC | Senate amendment submitted |
| SA 1805 | No description on file | Jeff Sessions R-AL | Senate amendment submitted |
| SA 1806 | No description on file | Jeff Sessions R-AL | Senate amendment submitted |
| SA 1807 | No description on file | Jeff Sessions R-AL | Senate amendment submitted |
| SA 1808 | No description on file | Jeff Sessions R-AL | Senate amendment submitted |
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 1348 | Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007 | Related bill | Jun 7, 2007 |
Titles 10
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- A bill to provide for comprehensive immigration reform and for other purposes.
- Short Titles as Introduced for portions of this bill
- Wartime Treatment Study Act
- Unaccompanied Alien Child Protection Act of 2007
- S.I. Hayakawa National Language Amendment Act of 2007
- AgJOBS Act of 2007
- Agricultural Job Opportunities, Benefits, and Security Act of 2007
- DREAM Act of 2007
- Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act of 2007
- Secure and Safe Detention and Asylum Act
- Northern Border Prosecution Initiative Reimbursement Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Immigration.
- Access to health care
- Administrative courts
- Administrative remedies
- Admission of nonimmigrants
- Agricultural labor
- Agriculture and Food
- Alien labor
- Allegiance
- Armed forces abroad
- Armed Forces and National Security
- Auditing
- Awards, medals, prizes
- Border patrols
- Canada
- Child safety
- Citizenship
- Civics education
- Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues
- Commemorations
- Commerce
- Congress
- Congressional investigations
- Congressional reporting requirements
- Correctional institutions
- Correctional personnel
- Counterfeiting
- Crime and Law Enforcement
- Criminal aliens
- Criminal investigation
- Custody of children
- Customs administration
- Dairy industry
- Data banks
- Death
- Department of Homeland Security
- Department of Justice
- Department of Labor
- Deportation
- Detention of persons
- Distance education
- Drone aircraft
- Drunk driving
- Earned income tax credit
- Earnings
- Economics and Public Finance
- Education
- Electronic surveillance
- Employee selection
- Employee training
- Engineering
- Engineers
- English language
- Entrepreneurs
- Ex-offenders
- Families
- Federal aid to law enforcement
- Federal law enforcement officers
- Federal-local relations
- Federal-state relations
- Fingerprints
- Firearms
- Foreign students
- Foreign Trade and International Finance
- Foreign-trained physicians
- Forfeiture
- Forgery
- Fraud
- Fugitives from justice
- Gangs
- Genocide
- Government attorneys
- Government Operations and Politics
- Government paperwork
- Government publicity
- Government statistics
- Government trust funds
- Governmental investigations
- Graduate education
- Health
- Higher education
- History
- Identity theft
- Illegal aliens
- Immigrants
- Immigration
- Imprisonment
- Indian lands
- Indian law enforcement
- Information technology
- Infrastructure
- International Affairs
- Jewish holocaust (1939-1945)
- Judges
- Judicial officers
- Judicial review
- Labor and Employment
- Latin America
- Law
- Legal services
- Limitation of actions
- Married people
- Mathematics
- Mexico
- Minorities
- Money laundering
- National forests
- National parks
- Naturalization
- Oaths
- Old age, survivors and disability insurance
- Parents
- Passports
- Perjury
- Police communication systems
- Political persecution
- Prison alternatives
- Prisoners' rights
- Prosecution
- Public Lands and Natural Resources
- Public prosecutors
- Radar
- Recruiting of employees
- Refugees
- Repatriation
- Right of asylum
- Science, Technology, Communications
- Searches and seizures
- Seasonal labor
- Sentencing guidelines
- Sex offenders
- Smuggling
- Social security numbers
- Social Welfare
- Standards
- Student employment
- Tax returns
- Taxation
- Temporary employment
- Torture
- Translating and interpreting
- Transportation and Public Works
- Treaties
- U.S. Sentencing Commission
- User charges
- Victims of crimes
- Visas
- Whistle blowing
- World War II
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Jun 19, 2007Placed on Calendar Senate
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.
