542


AMENDMENT 542

Amendment: Section 2H4.1(a) is amended by deleting “(Apply the greater):” and inserting in lieu thereof ": 22"; and by deleting subdivisions (1) and (2) as follows:

"(1) 15; or

(2) 2 plus the offense level applicable to any underlying offense.".

Section 2H4.1 is amended by inserting after subsection (a) the following additional subsection:

"(b) Specific Offense Characteristics

(1) (A) If any victim sustained permanent or life-threatening bodily injury, increase by 4 levels; or (B) if any victim sustained serious bodily injury, increase by 2 levels.

(2) If a dangerous weapon was used, increase by 2 levels.

(3) If any victim was held in a condition of peonage or involuntary servitude for (A) more than one year, increase by 3 levels; (B) between 180 days and one year, increase by 2 levels; or (C) more than 30 days but less than 180 days, increase by 1 level.

(4) If any other felony offense was committed during the commission of, or in connection with, the peonage or involuntary servitude offense, increase to the greater of:

(A) 2 plus the offense level as determined above, or

(B) 2 plus the offense level from the offense guideline applicable to that other offense, but in no event greater than level 43.".

The Commentary to §2H4.1 captioned "Statutory Provisions" is amended by inserting "241," before "1581".

The Commentary to §2H4.1 captioned “Application Note” is amended by deleting “Note” and inserting in lieu thereof "Notes"; by deleting:

"1. ‘Offense level applicable to the underlying offense’ is explained in the Commentary to §2H1.1.",

and inserting in lieu thereof:

"1. For purposes of this guideline—

‘A dangerous weapon was used’ means that a firearm was discharged, or that a firearm or dangerous weapon was otherwise used.

Definitions of ‘firearm,’ ‘dangerous weapon,’ ‘otherwise used,’ ‘serious bodily injury,’ and ‘permanent or life-threatening bodily injury’ are found in the Commentary to §1B1.1 (Application Instructions).";

and by inserting after Note 1the following additional notes:

"2. Under subsection (b)(4), ‘any other felony offense’ means any conduct that constitutes a felony offense under federal, state, or local law (other than an offense that is itself covered by this subpart). When there is more than one such other offense, the most serious such offense (or group of closely related offenses in the case of offenses that would be grouped together under §3D1.2(d)) is to be used. See Application Note 3 of §1B1.5 (Interpretation of References to other Offense Guidelines).

3. If the offense involved the holding of more than ten victims in a condition of peonage or involuntary servitude, an upward departure may be warranted.".

The Commentary to §2H4.1 captioned “Background” is deleted as follows:

"Background: This section covers statutes that prohibit peonage, involuntary servitude, and slave trade. For purposes of deterrence and just punishment, the minimum base offense level is 15. However, these offenses frequently involve other serious offenses. In such cases, the offense level will be increased under §2H4.1(a)(2).".

Reason for Amendment: This amendment implements section 218 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, Pub. L. 104-208, 110 Stat. 3009-573, which directs the Commission to review the guideline for peonage, involuntary servitude and slave trade offenses and amend the guideline pursuant to that review.

Effective Date: The effective date of this amendment is May 1, 1997.