S. 1639 Amendments

24 Amendments

The following 24 amendments were offered to S. 1639 as a "clay pigeon" amendment, in addition to managers' amendment that would contain technical changes.  A "clay pigeon" amendment is an amendment that is offered and then divided.  Once cloture on the bill is agreed to there will be up to 30 hours of debate and votes on the divided amendment and/or relevant motions and points of order.  After the use of the debate time all motions, points of order and remaining divisions will be voted on in stacked fashion, and on the bill itself at the end. 

1. Dodd - would increase the number of green cards for parents of U.S. citizens handed out each year, and [apparently] increase the duration of new parent visitor visas (created under the compromise), strike the study and certification required in the bill regarding the visitor program, and restrict the penalty for overstaying such a visa to the sponsorship of only that individual.
2. Webb – would strike the requirement that Z visas leave the United States to obtain a green card, and would limit the pool of unauthorized aliens who could obtain a Z visa to those who have lived here for at least four years.
3. Baucus – would strike all references to REAL ID in the bill.
4. Sanders – would prohibit a company from petitioning for foreign workers unless the company certifies that there has not been a mass layoff of workers during the past 12 months, and does not intend to conduct a mass layoff anytime soon.
   
5. Byrd – would impose a supplemental fee of $500 for unauthorized aliens to come into legal status, and mandate the use of the fees for interdiction activities. 
6. Menendez – would change the points under the merit-based system (created in the bill) allocated to extended family.
7. Brown – would require employers who use the Y visa program to post all comparable job opportunities with the State workforce agency.
8. McCaskill – would clarify the penalties for an employer that is a repeat violator of the prohibition against employing unauthorized aliens. 
9. Levin – would allow any Iraqi national member of a religious minority (including Sunni, Christian, Zoroastrian, etc.) in the United States who applied for asylum based on religious persecution, to continue the basis for the asylum claim despite “change in country conditions.”
10. Leahy – address and make changes to the investor immigrant visa (EB-5) program (not to be confused with the "E" nonimmigrant visa).
11. Schumer – It is uncertain what this amendment will entail other than that it involves biometric Social Security Cards.
12. Durbin – It is uncertain what this amendment will entail other than that it involves changes to the H-1B program.
13. Alexander – would codify the Oath of Allegiance and Renunciation (that naturalized citizens must take) and create a host of grant programs to assist in the integration of new citizens. 
14. Bond – would prohibit a Z visa holder (i.e., essentially an unauthorized alien whoregisters with DHS, passes a background check, and pays a fee) from obtaining a green card.
15. Coleman – would add a trigger to Titles IV and VI of the bill that the President must certify that local law enforcement is not being prohibited from acquiring information on a person’s immigration status in certain situations.
16. Domenici – would increase the number of Federal District Court judges for areas that have a very high criminal immigration caseload.
17. Ensign – would allow aliens to accumulate credit to qualify for Social Security only after they have been assigned a valid Social Security Number (essentially, only after they have been in the United States legally).
18. Graham/ Kyl – It is uncertain what this amendment will entail other than that it involves enforcement provisions. 
19. Grassley – would substitute Title III (Employment Verification System) with its own title.
20. Hutchison – would require unauthorized aliens who register to receive a Z visa to return home as a condition of receiving the Z visa.
21. Thune – would not allow unauthorized aliens to obtain probationary status until the triggers in section 1 of the bill are completed.
22. Chambliss – would not allow a Social Security totalization agreement with any country without first obtaining Congressional approval. 
23. Isakson – would preempt State laws regarding any State employment verification system (EVS) and prohibit local authorities from requiring (as part of zoning code) companies to provide day laborer shelter or employment site as a condition of building a new company facility at that site.
24. Graham - It is uncertain what this amendment will entail other than that it involves mandatory minimum penalties for visa overstayers.