Aggravated Felonies

Any member of Congress can introduce private legislation to create or maintain immigration status for an individual, including those with aggravated felony convictions.  When there are strong equities and no other options, one can attempt to obtain relief through a private bill.   Only a very small number of such bills are ever passed.[400]  It appears that a private bill will not be considered by Congress until the noncitizen has been ordered deported.  The DHS does not give an automatic stay of removal pending consideration of the request unless requested to do so by a Congressional Subcommittee.[401]  It is extremely difficult to get the subcommittee even to request a stay.  In 2004, only 10 to 20 of these private bills were pending in congress.  The Senate and House rules on this matter appear at http://www.house.gov/judiciary/privimmpro.pdf.[402]

Conservative U.S. Representative Bill McCollum of Florida once introduced a highly publicized private bill.  Although Rep. McCollum has supported harsh measures against immigrants, he introduced this bill on behalf of the son of a prominent Republican family who had been in prison for some years after being convicted of multiple charges of theft, burglary, forgery and trafficking stolen goods to support a drug habit.[403]

[400]  For a review of all grants of private legislation, see Maguire, Public Legislation and Private Bills (University Press 1997).

[401] See Operations Instructions 107.1(c).

[402] House Judiciary Print: Rules of Procedure and Statement of Policy for Private Immigration Bills. GPO Stock No. 552-070-27778-1.) See also 70 Interpreter Releases 597-602 (May 3, 1993; Griffith, Kati L, Student article, Perfecting Public Immigration Legislation: Private Immigration Bills and Deportable Lawful Permanent Residents, 18 Geo. Immigr. L.J. 273-304 (2004).

[403]  See, e.g., “McCollum Makes an Exception,” editorial in the St. Petersburg Times of Florida (Jan. 20, 1999).