CLEAR Act: Bill To Require Local Law Enforcement To Enforce Immigration Law Debated In Subcommittee

IMMIGRATION LAW & POLICY

Congressional Developments

CLEAR ACT: BILL TO REQUIRE LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT TO ENFORCE IMMIGRATION LAW DEBATED IN SUBCOMMITTEE
Immigrants' Rights Update, Vol. 17, No. 6, October 21, 2003

In a contentious hearing before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security and Claims, lawmakers clashed over a proposal that would, among other things, require state and local police to enforce civil immigration law or risk the loss of federal funds. The proposal, titled the Clear Law Enforcement for Criminal Alien Removal (CLEAR) Act, was introduced by Rep. Charlie Norwood (R-GA) and, as of Oct. 16, had garnered 106 cosponsors in the House of Representatives. No companion legislation has yet been introduced in the Senate; however, Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) has indicated that he plans to introduce similar legislation. (For more about Rep. Norwood's bill, see "Sweeping Legislation Introduced to Require Local Police to Enforce Immigration Law," IMMIGRANTS' RIGHTS UPDATE, Sept. 4, 2003, p. 1.)

Testimony presented during the Oct. 1, 2003, subcommittee hearing and the accompanying debate was deeply split along partisan lines. The chair, Rep. John Hostettler (R-IN), opened the hearing by stating that the legislation is needed to address the "immigration crisis" facing the United States. Other Republicans, including Rep. Norwood, linked the legislation to national security exigencies raised by the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and alleged that large numbers of "criminal aliens" remain at large because the federal government lacks sufficient resources to apprehend and deport them. The only Republican to express opposition to the bill was Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ). Flake introduced a letter from Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) president Grover Norquist, American Conservative Union president and conservative lobbyist David Keene, and former representative from Georgia Bob Barr on behalf of the ATR that cited the CLEAR Act as "bad policy that is not really needed."

All the Democratic lawmakers present at the hearing voiced vehement opposition to the bill. Ranking Member Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) described the legislation as an "unfunded mandate" that would exacerbate the budget problems now facing nearly all of the states. Other Democrats, including Reps. Zoe Lofgren, Howard Berman, and Loretta Sanchez, all of California, introduced letters from police departments around the country expressing strong disagreement with the CLEAR Act's provisions.

Testifying on behalf of the legislation were three witnesses: John Morganelli, district attorney for Northampton County, PA; James R. Edwards, adjunct fellow at the Hudson Institute and author of a paper published by the Center for Immigration Studies on police enforcement of immigration law; and Kris Kobach, associate professor of law at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, congressional candidate for the Third District in Kansas, and a former advisor to U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft. Many view Kobach as a leading architect of some of the draconian immigration-related policies that were instituted after 9/11, including the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS) program, under which non-U.S. citizens from certain countries must register with the government.

The only witness called by the subcommittee's Democrats was Gordon Quan, a member of the Houston City Council and currently the city's mayor pro tem as well as an immigration lawyer in private practice. Houston has in place a police department general order prohibiting police from stopping or questioning individuals based solely on officers' suspicion that they are in the U.S. illegally. Quan was questioned at length about the general order.

The next step for the Norquist bill is likely to be mark-up, in which the subcommittee amends the bill prior to reporting it to the full committee. If a subcommittee votes not to report legislation to the full committee, the bill dies.

Opposition to the CLEAR Act bill is mounting throughout the country as local communities are mobilizing to urge their local city councils and police departments to voice their disagreement with the bill. For more information on advocacy efforts or to be placed on an e-mail list to receive regular updates on the legislation, contact Lynn Tramonte at the National Immigration Forum at 202-347-0040.