To require the Attorney General to establish a program in local prisons to identify, prior to arraignment, criminal aliens and aliens who are unlawfully present in the United States, and for other purposes.
Became Public Law No: 105-141.
Congressional Research Service
Official summary
Version 17 · Reported to House with amendment(s) · Oct 23, 1997
Directs the Attorney General to implement a program to identify aliens held in local incarceration facilities prior to criminal arraignment who are illegally in the United States or who are deportable on criminal or security grounds. Requires that at least one Immigration and Naturalization Service employee with identification expertise be assigned to each program facility. Directs the Attorney General to select facilities for participation that: (1) are owned by requesting local political subdivisions; (2) are located in counties or subdivisions with high concentrations of illegal or deportable aliens; and (3) incarcerate persons prior to criminal arraignment. States that all local facilities within Orange and Ventura Counties, California, that incarcerate prior to arraignment shall be selected for program participation. Sets forth required numbers of qualifying subdivisions. Directs the Attorney General to report with respect to future program enlargement, including computer or other electronic means of off-site status verification.
Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 410 - 2 (Roll no. 571).
At the conclusion of debate, the Yeas and Nays were demanded and ordered. Pursuant to the provisions of clause 5, rule I, the Chair announced that further proceedings on the motion would be postponed.
DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate.
Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H9887-9891, H9966)
Mr. Gallegly moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 197.
Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Judiciary. H. Rept. 105-338.
Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Judiciary. H. Rept. 105-338.
Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by Voice Vote.
Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
Forwarded by Subcommittee to Full Committee (Amended) by Voice Vote.
Subcommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
Subcommittee Hearings Held.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration and Claims.
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Bill text & related measures
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Aug 10, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Explore the bill from different angles
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Neutral evidence review
Objective
Analyze H.R.1493 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
View full prompt & sources
Fairness and public impact
Progressive lens
Examine H.R.1493 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
View full prompt & sources
Institutions and government scope
Conservative lens
Examine H.R.1493 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
View full prompt & sources
Individual rights and government power
Liberty lens
Examine H.R.1493 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.