Illegal Alien Employment Prohibition Act of 1979
Latest action. Referred to House Committee on the Judiciary.
Illegal Alien Employment Prohibition Act - Prohibits, under the Immigration and Nationality Act, the employment or referral for employment of aliens who have not been lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence, unless such employment is authorized by the Attorney General. States that a person will not be deemed to have violated this Act who has made a bona fide inquiry whether a person employed or referred is a citizen or alien. States that a signed statement from such person that he is a citizen or authorized alien constitutes a bona fide inquiry provided that the writing conforms with regulations prescribed by the Attorney General. Directs the Attorney General to serve a citation upon first-time violators of this Act. Establishes a civil penalty of not more than $500 for each alien if a violation occurs within two years after the service of a citation. Permits a civil penalty to be imposed only after an opportunity for hearing and after the Attorney General has determined that a violation did occur. Provides that one who is assessed a civil penalty and thereafter violates this Act shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction punished by a fine not exceeding $1,000 or by one year imprisonment, or both, for each alien in respect to whom any violation of this Act occurs. Directs any officer or employee of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare to disclose the name and most recent address of any illegal alien whom the employee knows to be receiving assistance under any State plan under specified titles of the Social Security Act. Adds border crossing cards, alien registration receipt cards, and other documents prescribed by regulation for entry into the United States to the list of documents the false making of which shall be punished by a fine or imprisonment or both.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on January 25, 1979. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on January 25, 1979: Referred to House Committee on the Judiciary.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 96th Congress (1979-80), 613 of the 12,581 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.9 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
WILLIAM LEHMAN (D-FL) introduced it on January 25, 1979. No cosponsors are recorded.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on January 25, 1979, 17395 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 17395 days ago, on January 25, 1979.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 96th Congress has not finished by January 3, 1981 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers