This bill (H.R. 1885) would extend the “Section 245 (i)” program allowing certain illegal immigrants to remain in this country while applying for legal residency. The applicant must have been in the U.S. as of December 21, 2000; a family member or employer must sponsor the application and the familial or employer relationship must have existed by August 15, 2001.
Passage came on March 12, 2002 in the form of a resolution incorporating the text of a separate bill on border security and then sending the package to the Senate. The vote was 275 to 137 (Roll Call 53). We have assigned pluses to the nays. Congressional Quarterly noted that the vote “was a sign that a long-term move toward liberalization of immigration laws has been delayed, but not stopped, by Sept. 11.”
