Sanctioning Hizballah’s Illicit Use of Civilians as Defenseless Shields Act

Summary: Sanctioning the Use of Civilians as Defenseless Shields Act (Sec. 2) This bill states that it shall be U.S. policy to condemn the use of innocent civilians as human shields. (Sec. 3) The President shall submit to Congress within one year, and annually thereafter, a list of:   each foreign person that is a member of Hizballah or Hamas or is knowingly acting on behalf of Hizballah or Hamas and knowingly directs the use of civilians protected by the law of war to shield military objectives from attack, and  each foreign person or agency or instrumentality of a foreign state that knowingly and materially directs or supports any such act.  The President shall impose U.S.-based property-blocking and visa sanctions, including revocation of existing visas, against a listed person, entity, or instrumentality.  The President is urged to submit to Congress within one year, and annually thereafter, a list of each foreign person or entity that knowingly directs the use of civilians protected by the law of war to shield military objectives from attack, excluding those foreign persons included in the most recent mandatory sanctions list.   (Sec. 5) This bill shall cease to be effective on December 31, 2023. 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
    This Act may be cited as the ``Sanctioning the Use of Civilians as 
Defenseless Shields Act''.
SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF POLICY.
    It shall be the policy of the United States to officially and 
publicly condemn the use of innocent civilians as human shields.
SEC. 3. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO FOREIGN PERSONS THAT 
ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE USE OF CIVILIANS AS HUMAN SHIELDS.
    (a) Imposition of Sanctions.--
        (1) Mandatory sanctions.--The President shall impose sanctions 
    described in subsection (d) with respect to each person on the list 
    required under subsection (b).
        (2) Permissive sanctions.--The President may impose sanctions 
    described in subsection (d) with respect to each person on the list 
    described in subsection (c).
    (b) Mandatory Sanctions List.--Not later than one year after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the 
President shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a 
list of the following:
        (1) Each foreign person that the President determines, on or 
    after the date of the enactment of this Act--
            (A) is a member of Hizballah or is knowingly acting on 
        behalf of Hizballah; and
            (B) knowingly orders, controls, or otherwise directs the 
        use of civilians protected as such by the law of war to shield 
        military objectives from attack.
        (2) Each foreign person that the President determines, on or 
    after the date of the enactment of this Act--
            (A) is a member of Hamas or is knowingly acting on behalf 
        of Hamas; and
            (B) knowingly orders, controls, or otherwise directs the 
        use of civilians protected as such by the law of war to shield 
        military objectives from attack.
        (3) Each foreign person or agency or instrumentality of a 
    foreign state that the President determines, on or after the date 
    of the enactment of this Act, knowingly and materially supports, 
    orders, controls, directs, or otherwise engages in--
            (A) any act described in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) 
        by a person described in that paragraph; or
            (B) any act described in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (2) 
        by a person described in that paragraph.
    (c) Permissive Sanctions List.--Not later than one year after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the 
President should submit to the appropriate congressional committees a 
list of each foreign person that the President determines, on or after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, knowingly orders, controls, or 
otherwise directs the use of civilians protected as such by the law of 
war to shield military objectives from attack, excluding foreign 
persons included in the most recent list under subsection (b).
    (d) Sanctions Described.--The sanctions to be imposed on a foreign 
person or an agency or instrumentality of a foreign state under this 
subsection are the following:
        (1) Blocking of property.--The President shall exercise all of 
    the powers granted to the President under the International 
    Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) to the 
    extent necessary to block and prohibit all transactions in property 
    and interests in property of the foreign person or agency or 
    instrumentality of a foreign state if such property or interests in 
    property are in the United States, come within the United States, 
    or are or come within the possession or control of a United States 
    person.
        (2) Aliens ineligible for visas, admission, or parole.--
            (A) Visas, admission, or parole.--An alien who the 
        Secretary of State or the Secretary of Homeland Security 
        determines is subject to sanctions under subsection (a) is--
                (i) inadmissible to the United States;
                (ii) ineligible to receive a visa or other 
            documentation to enter the United States; and
                (iii) otherwise ineligible to be admitted or paroled 
            into the United States or to receive any other benefit 
            under the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et 
            seq.).
            (B) Current visas revoked.--Any visa or other documentation 
        issued to an alien who is subject to sanctions under subsection 
        (a), regardless of when such visa or other documentation was 
        issued, shall be revoked and such alien shall be denied 
        admission to the United States.
            (C) Exception to comply with united nations headquarters 
        agreement and other international obligations.--The sanctions 
        under this paragraph shall not be imposed on an individual if 
        admitting such individual to the United States is necessary to 
        permit the United States to comply with the Agreement regarding 
        the Headquarters of the United Nations, signed at Lake Success 
        June 26, 1947, and entered into force November 21, 1947, 
        between the United Nations and the United States, or with other 
        applicable international obligations.
    (e) Penalties.--The penalties provided for in subsections (b) and 
(c) of section 206 of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act 
(50 U.S.C. 1705) shall apply to a person that knowingly violates, 
attempts to violate, conspires to violate, or causes a violation of 
regulations prescribed to carry out this section to the same extent 
that such penalties apply to a person that knowingly commits an 
unlawful act described in section 206(a) of such Act.
    (f) Procedures for Judicial Review of Classified Information.--
        (1) In general.--If a finding under this section, or a 
    prohibition, condition, or penalty imposed as a result of any such 
    finding, is based on classified information (as defined in section 
    1(a) of the Classified Information Procedures Act (18 U.S.C. App.)) 
    and a court reviews the finding or the imposition of the 
    prohibition, condition, or penalty, the President may submit such 
    information to the court ex parte and in camera.
        (2) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this subsection shall be 
    construed to confer or imply any right to judicial review of any 
    finding under this section or any prohibition, condition, or 
    penalty imposed as a result of any such finding.
    (g) Waiver.--The President may waive the application of sanctions 
under this section if the President determines and reports to the 
appropriate congressional committees that such waiver is in the 
national security interest of the United States.
    (h) Regulatory Authority.--
        (1) In general.--The President may exercise all authorities 
    under sections 203 and 205 of the International Emergency Economic 
    Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1702 and 1704) for purposes of carrying out 
    this section.
        (2) Issuance of regulations.--Not later than 180 days after the 
    date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall prescribe 
    such regulations as may be necessary to implement this section.
    (i) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section may be 
construed--
        (1) to limit the authorities of the President pursuant to the 
    International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et 
    seq.) or any other relevant provision of law; or
        (2) to apply with respect to any activity subject to the 
    reporting requirements under title V of the National Security Act 
    of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3091 et seq.), or to any authorized intelligence 
    activities of the United States.
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.
    In this Act:
        (1) Admitted; alien.--The terms ``admitted'' and ``alien'' have 
    the meanings given those terms in section 101 of the Immigration 
    and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101).
        (2) Agency or instrumentality of a foreign state.--The term 
    ``agency or instrumentality of a foreign state'' has the meaning 
    given that term in section 1603(b) of title 28, United States Code.
        (3) Appropriate congressional committees.--In this section, the 
    term ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
            (A) the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, 
        the Committee on Foreign Relations, and the Committee on the 
        Judiciary of the Senate; and
            (B) the Committee on Financial Services, the Committee on 
        Foreign Affairs, and the Committee on the Judiciary of the 
        House of Representatives.
        (4) Foreign person.--The term ``foreign person'' means--
            (A) any citizen or national of a foreign state, wherever 
        located; or
            (B) any entity not organized solely under the laws of the 
        United States or existing solely in the United States.
        (5) Hamas.--The term ``Hamas'' means--
            (A) the entity known as Hamas and designated by the 
        Secretary of State as a foreign terrorist organization pursuant 
        to section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
        1189); or
            (B) any person identified as an agent or instrumentality of 
        Hamas on the list of specially designated nationals and blocked 
        persons maintained by the Office of Foreign Asset Control of 
        the Department of the Treasury, the property or interests in 
        property of which are blocked pursuant to the International 
        Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.).
        (6) Hizballah.--The term ``Hizballah'' means--
            (A) the entity known as Hizballah and designated by the 
        Secretary of State as a foreign terrorist organization pursuant 
        to section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
        1189); or
            (B) any person identified as an agent or instrumentality of 
        Hizballah on the list of specially designated nationals and 
        blocked persons maintained by the Office of Foreign Asset 
        Control of the Department of the Treasury, the property or 
        interests in property of which are blocked pursuant to the 
        International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et 
        seq.).
        (7) United states person.--The term ``United States person'' 
    means any United States citizen, permanent resident alien, entity 
    organized under the laws of the United States (including foreign 
    branches), or any person in the United States.
SEC. 5. SUNSET.
    This Act shall cease to be effective on December 31, 2023.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.