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1 1 (February 1, 2023)

handle is hein.crs/govekki0001 and id is 1 raw text is: L Congressional_______ Re Research Service The Effect of Private Immigration Legislation and Recent Policy Changes February 1, 2023 For many years, private immigration bills have served as the last step to prevent the removal of certain aliens (as defined in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA)) who are subject to final orders of removal. Generally, this practice has been reserved for a very small group of aliens who, while having been deemed by the private bills' sponsors to have extraordinary equities in the United States, are also- for whatever reason-statutorily ineligible for any relief under existing federal immigration laws. Supporters of the use of private immigration bills argue that they serve as a critical safety net in situations where the aliens' removal would result in great hardship for their families in this country. Alternatively, opponents contend that private bills undermine the fair and uniform administration of the nation's immigration laws. In general, the goal of a private immigration bill is to confer lawful permanent resident status on an alien beneficiary, thus bypassing the typical procedures to obtain such status in this country. By contrast, most aliens who seek to become lawful permanent residents have to apply for adjustment of status based on an approved visa petition, and demonstrate their admissibility for permanent residence (or if they are in removal proceedings, they may apply for cancellation of removal if they can meet certain statutory requirements). Nevertheless, private immigration bills have rarely been passed by Congress. Out of several hundred such proposed bills within the past 15 years, few have been signed into law. When a private immigration bill is introduced, the identified alien's legal status remains unchanged. Prior to 2017, it had been the longstanding policy of the Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) (and before that, the Department of Justice's Immigration and Naturalization Service) to authorize a stay of removal of the alien upon receiving a request for information about the alien from either the Senate or House Judiciary Committee or Subcommittee where the private bill was referred. (More information about the process for introduction and consideration of private bills in Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov LSB10909 CRS Legal Sidebar Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress

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