Sec. 401. Findings
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The Congress finds the following: Immigration law allows citizens and aliens lawfully admitted for permanent residence to bring foreign family members to the United States on the basis of immediate relative status or a preference classification. Immediate relative status and preference classifications are obtained by filing petitions with the Secretary of Homeland Security. For national security purposes, the Secretary of Homeland Security conducts background checks on the beneficiaries of such petitions and, since September 11, 2001, on the petitioners as well. The Government Accountability Office
(GAO)has determined that, in fiscal year 2005, at least 398 of the petitioners who filed family-based visa petitions were on the National Sex Offender Registry maintained by the Federal Bureau of Investigations. GAO was only able to ascertain the nature of the sex offense for 194 of the 398 petitioners. GAO was able to ascertain, however, that 119 of the convictions were for sex assault, 35 for child fondling, 9 for strong arm rape, 9 for carnal abuse combined with a sexual assault, 7 were for statutory rape, 4 for crimes against persons, 3 for indecent exposure, 2 for kidnapping, 2 for obscene material possession, 1 for exploitation of a minor with photographs, 1 for incest with a minor, 1 for sodomizing a boy, and 1 for restricting movement. At least 14 of the 398 petitioners were classified as sexual predators , which means a determination had been made that they are likely to commit additional sex offenses. At least 45 of the petitioners were convicted of sex offenses against children. The Immigration and Nationality Act does not provide the Secretary of Homeland Security with authorization to deny family-based petitions on the basis of a petitioner’s conviction for a sex offense, even when the conviction record indicates that a spouse or a child beneficiary may be in grave danger.