SAFER Act
Latest action. Referred to the subcommitteeA smaller panel inside a standing committee with jurisdiction over a slice of its subject matter. Most hearings and the first markup usually happen here.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) on Immigration, Border Security, and Claims.
Securing America's Future through Enforcement Reform Act of 2005 (SAFER Act) - Increases the number of personnel assigned to combat alien smuggling. Requires enhanced penalties for certain smuggling-related offenses.
Authorizes the use of military personnel for border enforcement.
Increases the number of full-time inspectors within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to require Visa Waiver Program (VWP) participants to have machine-readable passports by October 1, 2005.
Requires consular officers to conduct in-person interviews of visa applicants.
Recodifies and amends grounds of inadmissibility and removability.
Applies attestation requirements concerning nondisplacement of U.S. workers to all employers of H-1B (specialty occupation) nonimmigrants.
Requires implementation of an integrated entry-exit system at all land border ports of entry by October 26, 2005.
Directs institutions of higher education to provide information on courses taken by foreign students.
Requires lawful permanent residents to register with the Secretary annually and other aliens to register every three months.
Authorizes visa term compliance bonds for nonimmigrants.
Addresses the removal of alien terrorists, criminals, and serious human rights violators.
Requires aliens to use secure travel and identification documents.
Makes the employment eligibility verification system applicable to all employers.
Requires the expedited removal of undocumented aliens who have not been continuously physically present in the United States for five years (except criminal aliens and asylum seekers).
Establishes criminal and civil penalties for aliens who are knowingly unlawfully present.
Makes government agencies that prohibit employees from sharing immigration status information with DHS ineligible for Federal law enforcement grants.
Authorizes the Secretary to grant asylum to alien refugees. Places the burden of proof on asylum applicants. Requires corroborating evidence where reasonable.
Eliminates review of determinations regarding the withholding of removal under the United Nations Convention Against Torture. Limits review of asylum decisions and orders of removal against criminal aliens.
Temporarily suspends the VWP, adjustment of status applications, and renewals of temporary protected status. Discontinues nonimmigrant visas for aliens from countries that deny or delay repatriation.
The summary continues for 6 more paragraphs. Read it in full on Congress.gov
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on February 9, 2005. 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 April 4, 2005: Referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security, and Claims.
- 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 109th Congress (2005-06), 482 of the 10,701 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.5 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?
J. Barrett (R-SC) introduced it on February 9, 2005, and 9 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 9 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 February 9, 2005, 7883 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 7829 days ago, on April 4, 2005.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 109th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2007 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