[House Report 112-622]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
112th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session 112-622
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FOR THE RELIEF OF ESTHER KARINGE
_______
July 24, 2012.--Referred to the Private Calendar and ordered to be
printed
_______
Mr. Smith of Texas, from the Committee on the Judiciary, submitted the
following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 316]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on the Judiciary, to whom was referred the
bill (H.R. 316) for the relief of Esther Karinge, having
considered the same, reports favorably thereon without
amendment and recommends that the bill do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
Purpose and Summary.............................................. 1
Background and Need for the Legislation.......................... 1
Hearings......................................................... 3
Committee Consideration.......................................... 3
Committee Votes.................................................. 3
Committee Oversight Findings..................................... 3
New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures........................ 3
Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................ 3
Performance Goals and Objectives................................. 4
Advisory on Earmarks............................................. 4
Section-by-Section Analysis...................................... 4
Purpose and Summary
The bill grants permanent resident status to Esther
Karinge.
Background and Need for the Legislation
Esther Njeri Karinge was born in Kenya in 1962. She came to
the United States in 1994 and applied for asylum in 1997.
According to her asylum application, she had worked in Kenya
for her uncle, a former Kenyan Councilor who fled the country
and was living in exile. Due to his political views and the
family's Kikuju ethnicity, Esther and her family allegedly
suffered through continual harassment, and received several
death threats, during a time of civil unrest in the region. An
immigration judge denied her request for asylum in 1998 and her
appeal was denied in 2003.
Esther's son Nicholas was born in Massachusetts in 1995
with multiple birth defects. He continues to suffer from
several severe physical and mental disabilities, including
cerebral palsy, spastic quadriplegia, hearing loss and
developmental delays. Upon learning of these birth defects,
Nicholas' father abandoned the family, leaving Esther as
Nicholas' only parent and caretaker. Nicholas is completely
dependent on Esther. He needs continuous medical care and
requires medical management from numerous specialists. It is
feared that ``[t]aking Nicholas back to Kenya . . . will
eliminate the sophisticated therapy that is Nick's lifeline to
diminishing the effects of cerebral palsy on his development.
He is now receiving services in arguably the finest settings
available in the world. Without these interventions, this
extremely bright boy would be unable to navigate either
physically or linguistically. His potential, which, with
continued therapy and education, is limitless, will be
drastically curtailed should current interventions be
terminated.''
H.R. 316 grants Ms. Karinge permanent residence.
There is precedent in the modern era for the enactment of
private bills where the aliens' U.S. citizen family members
suffered serious illnesses which would be exacerbated if the
aliens were returned home or the U.S. citizens accompanied them
home. A private bill was enacted in the 104th Congress for an
alien who had earlier been deported to Mexico for marriage
fraud.\1\ Before his deportation, he married his second wife in
a legitimate marriage and they had two children. His wife and
one of their children were carriers for Reiter's syndrome, a
severe, disabling, incurable arthritic disease who could be
triggered by an intestinal infection with an organism
widespread in Mexico. Thus, they risked serious illness by
joining him in Mexico. The private bill waived the grounds of
inadmissibility for marriage fraud. The House Report stated
that ``this legislation acknowledges the previously set
precedent in private legislation that separation due to medical
circumstances is viewed . . . as satisfying the standard of
extreme hardship to an American citizen.''
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\1\See Priv. L. No. 104-3 (H.R. Rep. No. 104-810).
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In the 106th Congress, a private bill was enacted granting
permanent residence to an alien whose petition for permanent
residence filed by his U.S. citizen wife had been denied
because of marriage fraud in his first marriage.\2\ The INS
believed this second marriage was valid. The alien's U.S.
citizen wife had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and her
doctor indicated that she might rapidly deteriorate as a result
of any type of severe stress.
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\2\See Priv. L. No. 106-13 (H.R. Rep. No. 106-905).
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In the 110th Congress, the Immigration Subcommittee
requested an ICE report on Ms. Karinge and ICE provided the
Subcommittee with a report which contained no derogatory
information. On May 8, 2008, the Subcommittee ordered H.R. 1485
(providing relief to Ms. Karinge) favorably reported by voice
vote. On May 14, 2008, the Committee ordered the bill favorably
reported by voice vote. On September 16, 2008, the bill passed
the House by voice vote. In the 111th Congress, the
Subcommittee requested an ICE report and ICE provided a report
which contained no derogatory information. On March 10, 2011,
the Subcommittee again voted to request a report. On December
19, 2011, ICE provided the report. It revealed no derogatory
information.
Hearings
The Committee on the Judiciary held no hearings on H.R.
316.
Committee Consideration
On June 28, 2012, the Committee met in open session and
ordered the bill H.R. 316 favorably reported without amendment,
by voice vote, a quorum being present.
Committee Votes
In compliance with clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, the Committee advises that there
were no recorded votes during the Committee's consideration of
H.R. 316.
Committee Oversight Findings
In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules
of the House of Representatives, the Committee advises that the
findings and recommendations of the Committee, based on
oversight activities under clause 2(b)(1) of rule X of the
Rules of the House of Representatives, are incorporated in the
descriptive portions of this report.
New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures
Clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives is inapplicable because this legislation does
not provide new budgetary authority or increased tax
expenditures.
Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate
In compliance with clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules
of the House of Representatives, the Committee sets forth, with
respect to the bill, H.R. 316, the following estimate and
comparison prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office under section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of
1974:
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, July 5, 2012.
Hon. Lamar Smith, Chairman,
Committee on the Judiciary,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
reviewed the following legislation ordered reported by the
House Committee on the Judiciary on June 28, 2012:
LH.R. 823, a bill for the relief of Maria
Carmen Castro Ramirez and J. Refugio Carreno Rojas;
LH.R. 824, a bill for the relief of Daniel
Wachira;
LH.R. 316, a bill for the relief of Esther
Karinge;
LH.R. 794, a bill for the relief of Allan
Bolor Kelley;
LH.R. 357, a bill for the relief of Corina de
Chalup Turcinovic; and
LH.R. 1857, a bill for the relief of Bartosz
Kumor.
Those bills would make certain individuals eligible for
permanent U.S. residence and could have a very small effect on
fees collected by the Department of Homeland Security and thus
would affect direct spending. Therefore, pay-as-you-go
procedures apply. CBO estimates, however, that enacting those
pieces of legislation would not have a significant impact on
the federal budget.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Mark
Grabowicz, who can be reached at 226-2860.
Sincerely,
Douglas W. Elmendorf,
Director.
Enclosure
cc:
Honorable John Conyers, Jr.
Ranking Member
Performance Goals and Objectives
The Committee states that pursuant to clause 3(c)(4) of
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, H.R.
316 grants permanent resident status to Esther Karinge.
Advisory on Earmarks
In accordance with clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, H.R. 316 does not contain any
congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff
benefits as defined in clause 9(e), 9(f), or 9(g) of Rule XXI.
Section-by-Section Analysis
The following discussion describes the bill as reported by
the Committee.
Sec. 1. Permanent Resident Status for Esther Karinge.
Subsection (a) provides that Esther Karinge shall be
eligible for issuance of an immigrant visa or for adjustment of
status to that of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent
residence upon filing an application for issuance of an
immigrant visa under section 204 of the Immigration and
Nationality Act (INA) or for adjustment of status to lawful
permanent resident.
Subsection (b) provides that if Ms. Karinge enters the
United States before the filing deadline specified in
subsection (c), she shall be considered to have entered and
remained lawfully and shall, if otherwise eligible, be eligible
for adjustment of status under section 245 of the INA as of the
date of the enactment of this Act.
Subsection (c) provides that subsections (a) and (b) shall
apply only if the application for issuance of an immigrant visa
or the application for adjustment of status is filed with
appropriate fees within 2 years after the date of the enactment
of this Act.
Subsection (d) provides that upon the granting of an
immigrant visa or permanent residence to Ms. Karinge, the
Secretary of State shall instruct the proper officer to reduce
by 1, during the current or next following fiscal year, the
total number of immigrant visas that are made available to
natives of the country of her birth under section 203(a) of the
INA or, if applicable, the total number of immigrant visas that
are made available to natives of the country of her birth under
section 202(e) of the INA.
Subsection (e) provides that the natural parents, brothers,
and sisters of Ms. Karinge shall not, by virtue of such
relationship, be accorded any right, privilege, or status under
the Immigration and Nationality Act.