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S. 1505 111th Congress Senate

SAVE Act of 2009

Official title: A bill to provide immigration reform by securing America's borders, clarifying and enforcing existing laws, and enabling a practical employer verification program, and for other purposes.

Introduced: July 23, 2009 See on congress.gov
Immigration ArizonaBorder security and unlawful immigrationCaliforniaCanada
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This bill died when the 111th Congress ended
It never became law before the 111th Congress (2009–2010) adjourned, and bills don't carry over to the next Congress. It would have to be reintroduced. You can still save it for reference, but it won't receive updates.
 Everywhere this bill has been 2 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Jul 23, 2009
Introduced in Senate
Jul 23, 2009
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
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 Latest action July 23, 2009

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Secure America Through Verification and Enforcement Act of 2009 or SAVE Act of 2009 - Sets forth border security and enforcement provisions, including provisions respecting: (1) increases in Border Patrol and investigative personnel; (2) recruitment of former military personnel; (3) use of Department of Defense (DOD) equipment; (4) infrastructure improvements; (5) aerial and other surveillance; (5) a national strategy to secure the borders; (6) accountable financing under the Secure Border Initiative; (7) emergency deployment of Border Patrol agents; and (8) expansion of the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism along the northern and southern borders.

Requires that Department of Homeland Security (DHS) personnel check against terrorist watchlists alien smugglers and smuggled individuals who are interdicted at U.S. borders.

Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act and specified maritime law sections to revise alien smuggling provisions.

Sets forth provisions respecting border security on certain federal lands under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of Agriculture or the Secretary of the Interior.

Amends the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 to make the basic employment eligibility confirmation pilot program permanent.

Sets forth conditions for the mandatory use of the E-verify system.

Requires: (1) employer/employee notification of social security number mismatches and multiple uses, and related information sharing with DHS; and (2) establishment of electronic birth and death registration systems.

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) penalize specified employers for failure to correct information returns; and (2) prohibit employers from deducting from gross income wages paid to unauthorized aliens, with an exception for an employer participating in the basic employment eligibility confirmation program.

Increases criminal alien program (CAP) personnel.

Authorizes border relief grants for local law enforcement agencies within 25 miles of the southern U.S. border.

Establishes within DHS a rewards program to assist in the elimination of commercial operations to produce or sell fraudulent immigration-related documents and to assist in the investigation, prosecution, or disruption of commercial alien smuggling operations.

Provides for: (1) increased alien detention facilities; (2) additional immigration court judgeships; and (3) a media campaign to inform the public of changes made by this Act including a multilingual media campaign explaining noncompliance penalties.

 Related & companion bills 1
 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 2
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APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). S. 1505: SAVE Act of 2009. 111th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/111-S-1505/
MLA
"S. 1505: SAVE Act of 2009." 111th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/111-S-1505/.
Bluebook (legal)
S. 1505, 111th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/111-S-1505/.
Markdown link
[S. 1505: SAVE Act of 2009](https://openamerica.io/bill/111-S-1505/)
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