On September 29, 2010, Senator Orrin Hatch (R–UT) introduced the “Strengthening Our Commitment to Legal Immigration and America’s Security Act” (S.3901) (pdf). The bill is the third notable piece of immigration legislation introduced last week, together with the comprehensive immigration reform bill introduced by Senators Menendez and Leahy, and Senator Chambliss’ HARVEST Act (relating to agricultural workers). Senator Hatch’s bill addresses numerous immigration enforcement topics, and notable provisions include:

• Illegal aliens could only be paroled or granted deferred action on a case-by-case basis (for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit). Mass paroles and deferrals would be prohibited.
• Any state, county, city, or township that is eligible to participate in the Secure Communities program or to cross-designate local law enforcement officers to perform immigration law enforcement functions under section 287(g) (pdf) and does not participate in such programs may not receive compensation for incarceration expenses of illegal aliens.
• Individuals known or reasonably believed to be members of a known criminal organization regularly engaged in transnational criminal activity would be ineligible for visas.
• Elimination of the Diversity Visa Program, unless Congress signs off on changes designed to combat fraud and eliminate abuse in the program.
• Annual reporting by the Secretary of Health and Human Services on welfare benefits provided to states, and the portion thereof provided to illegal immigrants.
• Limiting states’ expansion of the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) coverage to noncitizen children or noncitizen pregnant women.
• Requiring the IRS to notify Social Security number holders if the agency suspects fraudulent use of their number for employment verification purposes.