United States-Mexico Good Neighbor Employment Act of 1979
Latest action. Referred to House Committee on the Judiciary.
United States - Mexico Good Neighbor Employment Act of 1979 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to direct the Attorney General to establish a program for the non-immigrant admission of Mexican nationals as temporary workers in the United States. Provides that: (1) the Attorney General shall establish annual and monthly quotas for temporary worker visas based on the chronological order of application; (2) such temporary services or labor shall not exceed 180 days per year; (3) such visas shall not limit the geographic area or employment within which an alien may work unless specific restrictions are requested by the Secretary of Labor in order to protect domestic workers; (4) an alien who violates the 180-day visa limitation or any imposed geographic restriction shall be ineligible for another temporary visa for five years; and (5) an alien who enters the United States illegally shall be ineligible for obtaining a temporary work visa for ten years. Excludes such temporary Mexican workers from the definition of "immigrant" for purposes of the Immigration and Nationality Act. Includes such workers within the category of aliens whose non-immigrant status may not be adjusted to that of an immigrant. Prohibits the Attorney General from consenting to the reapplication for admission of any such workers whose 180-day limitation has been exhausted. Authorizes the Secretary of State to establish and expand United States Consulates in Mexico in order to implement such temporary worker program. Directs the Secretary of Labor to make the nature of such program known to Mexican nationals residing in the United States. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should establish with Mexico an advisory commission to advise the Attorney General with regard to such temporary worker program.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on August 2, 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 August 2, 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?
DANIEL LUNGREN (R-CA) introduced it on August 2, 1979, and 11 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 1 Democrat, 10 Republicans.
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 August 2, 1979, 17206 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 17206 days ago, on August 2, 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