II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 879 

To provide a process for granting lawful permanent resident status to aliens 

from certain countries who meet specified eligibility requirements, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 26, 2019 

Mr. VAN HOLLEN (for himself, Mr. CARDIN, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. KAINE, Mr. REED, Ms. CORTEZ MASTO, and Ms. SMITH) 

introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 

Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To provide a process for granting lawful permanent resident 

status to aliens from certain countries who meet specified 

eligibility requirements, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLES. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Safe Environment 

5 from Countries Under Repression and Emergency Act’’ or 

6 the ‘‘SECURE Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS OF CERTAIN FOREIGN NA2 TIONALS. 

3 (a) ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS.— 

4 (1) AUTHORIZATION.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding sec6 tion 245(c) of the Immigration and Nationality 

7 Act (8 U.S.C. 1255(c)), the status of any alien 

8 described in subsection (b)(1) shall be adjusted 

9 by the Secretary of Homeland Security to that 

10 of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent res11 idence if the alien— 

12 (i) is not inadmissible under para13 graph (2) or (3) of section 212(a) of such 

14 Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)); 

15 (ii) is not deportable under paragraph 

16 (2), (3), or (4) of section 237(a) of such 

17 Act (8 U.S.C. 1227(a)); and 

18 (iii) is not described in section 

19 208(b)(2)(A)(i) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 

20 1158(b)(2)(A)(i)). 

21 (B) TREATMENT OF EXPUNGED CONVIC22 TIONS.—For purposes of this Act, the term 

23 ‘‘conviction’’ does not include a judgment that 

24 has been expunged or set aside that resulted in 

25 a rehabilitative disposition or the equivalent. 

26 (2) APPLICATION.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

2 subparagraph (B), any alien who is physically 

3 present in the United States may apply for ad4 justment of status under this section. 

5 (B) APPLICATIONS FROM OUTSIDE UNITED

6 STATES FOR CERTAIN ALIENS PREVIOUSLY RE7 MOVED OR WHO DEPARTED.—In the case of an 

8 alien who, on or after September 28, 2016, was 

9 removed from the United States or departed 

10 pursuant to an order of voluntary departure, 

11 the alien may apply for adjustment of status 

12 under this section from outside the United 

13 States if, on the day before the date on which 

14 the alien was so removed or so departed, the 

15 alien was an alien described in subsection 

16 (b)(1). 

17 (C) FEE.— 

18 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of 

19 Homeland Security shall require any alien 

20 applying for permanent resident status 

21 under this section to pay a reasonable fee 

22 that is commensurate with the cost of 

23 processing the application. Such fee may 

24 not exceed $1,140. 


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1 (ii) FEE EXEMPTION.—An applicant 

2 may be exempted from paying the applica3 tion fee required under clause (i) if the ap4 plicant— 

5 (I) is younger than 18 years of 

6 age; 

7 (II) received total income, during 

8 the 12-month period immediately pre9 ceding the date on which the applicant 

10 files an application under this section, 

11 that is less than 150 percent of the 

12 Federal poverty line; 

13 (III) is in foster care or other14 wise lacking any parental or other fa15 milial support; or 

16 (IV) cannot care for himself or 

17 herself because of a serious, chronic 

18 disability. 

19 (D) RELATIONSHIP OF APPLICATION TO

20 CERTAIN ORDERS.— 

21 (i) MOTION NOT REQUIRED.—An 

22 alien described in subparagraph (A) or (B) 

23 who has been the subject of an order of re24 moval or voluntary departure may not be 

25 required, as a condition of submitting or 


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1 approving an application under such sub2 paragraph, to file a motion to reopen, re3 consider, or vacate such order. 

4 (ii) APPROVAL.—If the Secretary of 

5 Homeland Security approves an application 

6 submitted by an alien under this para7 graph, the Secretary shall cancel any order 

8 of removal or voluntary departure to which 

9 the alien is or was subject. 

10 (iii) DENIAL.—If the Secretary of 

11 Homeland Security renders a final admin12 istrative decision to deny an application 

13 submitted by an alien under this para14 graph, any order of removal or voluntary 

15 departure to which the alien is subject 

16 shall be effective and enforceable to the 

17 same extent as if such application had not 

18 been made. 

19 (b) ALIENS ELIGIBLE FOR ADJUSTMENT OF STA20 TUS.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—An alien is described in this 

22 subsection if the alien— 

23 (A) is a national of a foreign state that 

24 was at any time designated under section 


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1 244(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

2 (8 U.S.C. 1254a(b)); 

3 (B)(i) is in temporary protected status 

4 under section 244 of the Immigration and Na5 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1254a); 

6 (ii) held temporary protected status as a 

7 national of a designated country listed in para8 graph (1); 

9 (iii) qualified for temporary protected sta10 tus on the date on which the last designation or 

11 extension was made by the Secretary of Home12 land Security; or 

13 (iv) was present in the United States pur14 suant to a grant of deferred enforced departure 

15 that had been extended beyond September 28, 

16 2016; 

17 (C)(i) has been continuously present in the 

18 United States for not less than 3 years and is 

19 physically present in the United States on the 

20 date on which the alien files an application for 

21 adjustment of status under this section; or 

22 (ii) in the case of an alien who, on or after 

23 September 28, 2016, was removed from the 

24 United States or departed pursuant to an order 

25 of voluntary departure, was continuously presVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:54 Apr 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S879.IS S879

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1 ent in the United States for a period of not less 

2 than 3 years before the date on which the alien 

3 was so removed or so departed; and 

4 (D) passes all applicable criminal and na5 tional security background checks. 

6 (2) SHORT ABSENCES.—An alien shall not be 

7 considered to have failed to maintain continuous 

8 physical presence in the United States under para9 graph (1)(C) by reason of an absence, or multiple 

10 absences, from the United States for any period or 

11 periods that do not exceed, in the aggregate, 180 

12 days. 

13 (3) WAIVER AUTHORIZED.—Notwithstanding 

14 any provision of the Immigration and Nationality 

15 Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.), an alien who fails to 

16 meet the continuous physical presence requirement 

17 under paragraph (1)(C) shall be considered eligible 

18 for adjustment of status under this section if the At19 torney General or the Secretary of Homeland Secu20 rity, as applicable, determines that the removal or 

21 continued absence of the alien from the United 

22 States, as applicable, would result in extreme hard23 ship to the alien or to the alien’s spouse, children, 

24 parents, or domestic partner. 

25 (c) STAY OF REMOVAL.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para2 graph (2), an alien who is subject to a final order 

3 of removal may not be removed if the alien— 

4 (A) has a pending application under sub5 section (a); or 

6 (B)(i) is prima facie eligible to file an ap7 plication under subsection (a); and 

8 (ii) indicates that he or she intends to file 

9 such an application. 

10 (2) EXCEPTION.—Paragraph (1) shall not 

11 apply to any alien whose application under sub12 section (a) has been denied by the Secretary of 

13 Homeland Security in a final administrative deter14 mination. 

15 (3) DURING CERTAIN PROCEEDINGS.— 

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

17 subparagraph (B) and notwithstanding any pro18 vision of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

19 (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.), the Secretary of Home20 land Security may not order any alien to be re21 moved from the United States if the alien 

22 raises, as a defense to such an order, the eligi23 bility of the alien to apply for adjustment of 

24 status under subsection (a). 


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1 (B) EXCEPTION.—Subparagraph (A) shall 

2 not apply to any alien whose application under 

3 subsection (a) has been denied by the Secretary 

4 of Homeland Security in a final administrative 

5 determination. 

6 (4) WORK AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary of 

7 Homeland Security— 

8 (A) shall authorize any alien who has ap9 plied for adjustment of status under subsection 

10 (a) to engage in employment in the United 

11 States while such application is pending; and 

12 (B) may provide such alien with an ‘‘em13 ployment authorized’’ endorsement or other ap14 propriate document signifying such employment 

15 authorization. 

16 (d) ADVANCE PAROLE.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—During the period beginning 

18 on the date on which an alien applies for adjustment 

19 of status under this Act and ending on the date on 

20 which the Secretary of Homeland Security makes a 

21 final decision regarding such application, the alien 

22 shall be eligible to apply for advance parole. 

23 (2) APPLICABILITY.—Section 101(g) of the Im24 migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(g)) 


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1 shall not apply to an alien granted advance parole 

2 under this subsection. 

3 (e) ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS FOR SPOUSES AND

4 CHILDREN.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 

6 245(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

7 U.S.C. 1255(c)) and except as provided in para8 graphs (2) and (3), the Secretary of Homeland Se9 curity shall adjust the status of an alien to that of 

10 an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence 

11 if the alien— 

12 (A) is the spouse, domestic partner, child, 

13 or unmarried son or daughter of an alien whose 

14 status has been adjusted to that of an alien 

15 lawfully admitted for permanent residence 

16 under subsection (a); 

17 (B) is physically present in the United 

18 States on the date on which the alien files an 

19 application for such adjustment of status; and 

20 (C) is otherwise eligible to receive an immi21 grant visa and is otherwise admissible to the 

22 United States for permanent residence. 

23 (2) CONTINUOUS PRESENCE REQUIREMENT.— 

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—The status of an un25 married son or daughter referred to in paraVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:54 Apr 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S879.IS S879

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1 graph (1)(A) may not be adjusted under para2 graph (1) until such son or daughter establishes 

3 that he or she has been physically present in 

4 the United States for at least 1 year. 

5 (B) SHORT ABSENCES.—An alien shall not 

6 be considered to have failed to maintain contin7 uous physical presence in the United States 

8 under subparagraph (A) by reason of an ab9 sence, or multiple absences, from the United 

10 States for any period or periods that do not ex11 ceed, in the aggregate, 180 days. 

12 (3) WAIVER.—In determining eligibility and ad13 missibility under paragraph (1)(C), the grounds for 

14 inadmissibility under paragraphs (4), (5), (6), 

15 (7)(A), and (9) of section 212(a) of the Immigration 

16 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)) shall not 

17 apply. 

18 (f) CLARIFICATION OF INSPECTION AND ADMISSION

19 UNDER TEMPORARY PROTECTED STATUS.—Section 

20 244(f)(4) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

21 U.S.C. 1254a(f)(4)) is amended by inserting ‘‘as having 

22 been inspected and admitted into the United States, and’’ 

23 after ‘‘considered’’. 

24 (g) AVAILABILITY OF ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW.— 

25 The Secretary of Homeland Security shall provide appliVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:54 Apr 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S879.IS S879

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1 cants for adjustment of status under subsection (a) the 

2 same right to, and procedures for, administrative review 

3 as are provided to— 

4 (1) applicants for adjustment of status under 

5 section 245 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

6 (8 U.S.C. 1255); or 

7 (2) aliens who are subject to removal pro8 ceedings under section 240 of such Act (8 U.S.C. 

9 1229a). 

10 (h) EXCEPTIONS TO NUMERICAL LIMITATIONS.— 

11 The numerical limitations set forth in sections 201 and 

12 202 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

13 1151 and 1152) shall not apply to aliens whose status is 

14 adjusted pursuant to subsection (a). 

15 SEC. 3. CONFIDENTIALITY OF INFORMATION. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland Secu17 rity may not disclose or use information provided in appli18 cations filed under section 2 for the purpose of immigra19 tion enforcement. 

20 (b) REFERRALS PROHIBITED.—The Secretary may 

21 not refer any individual who has been granted permanent 

22 resident status under section 2 to U.S. Immigration and 

23 Customs Enforcement, U.S. Customs and Border Protec24 tion, or any designee of either such entity. 


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1 (c) LIMITED EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding sub2 sections (a) and (b), information provided in an applica3 tion for permanent resident status under section 2 may 

4 be shared with Federal security and law enforcement 

5 agencies— 

6 (1) for assistance in the consideration of an ap7 plication for permanent resident status under such 

8 section; 

9 (2) to identify or prevent fraudulent claims; 

10 (3) for national security purposes; or 

11 (4) for the investigation or prosecution of any 

12 felony not related to immigration status. 

13 (d) PENALTY.—Any person who knowingly uses, pub14 lishes, or permits information to be examined in violation 

15 of this section shall be fined not more than $10,000. 

16 SEC. 4. ADDITIONAL REPORTING REQUIREMENTS REGARD17 ING FUTURE DISCONTINUED ELIGIBILITY OF 

18 ALIENS FROM COUNTRIES CURRENTLY LIST19 ED UNDER TEMPORARY PROTECTED STATUS. 

20 Section 244(b)(3) of the Immigration and Nationality 

21 Act (8 U.S.C. 1254a(b)(3)) is amended— 

22 (1) in subparagraph (A)— 

23 (A) by striking ‘‘Attorney General’’ each 

24 place such term appears and inserting ‘‘Sec25 retary of Homeland Security’’; and 


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1 (B) by inserting ‘‘(including a rec2 ommendation from the Secretary of State that 

3 is received by the Secretary of Homeland Secu4 rity not later than 90 days before the end of 

5 such period of designation)’’ after ‘‘Govern6 ment’’; and 

7 (2) in subparagraph (B)— 

8 (A) by striking ‘‘If the Attorney General’’ 

9 and inserting the following: 

10 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary of 

11 Homeland Security’’; and 

12 (B) in clause (i), as designated by subpara13 graph (A), by striking ‘‘Attorney General’’ and 

14 inserting ‘‘Secretary’’; and 

15 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(ii) REPORT.—Not later than 3 days 

17 after the publication of the Secretary’s de18 termination in the Federal Register that a 

19 country’s designation under paragraph (1) 

20 is being terminated, the Secretary shall 

21 submit a report to the Committee on the 

22 Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee 

23 on the Judiciary of the House of Rep24 resentatives that includes— 


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1 ‘‘(I) an explanation of the event 

2 or events that initially prompted such 

3 country’s designation under para4 graph (1); 

5 ‘‘(II) the progress the country 

6 has made in remedying the designa7 tion under paragraph (1), including 

8 any significant challenges or short9 comings that have not been addressed 

10 since the initial designation; 

11 ‘‘(III) a statement indicating 

12 whether the country has requested a 

13 designation under paragraph (1), a 

14 redesignation under such paragraph, 

15 or an extension of such designation; 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(IV) an analysis, with applicable 

18 and relevant metrics, as determined 

19 by the Secretary, of the country’s abil20 ity to repatriate its nationals, includ21 ing— 

22 ‘‘(aa) the country’s financial 

23 ability to provide for its repatri24 ated citizens; 


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1 ‘‘(bb) the country’s financial 

2 ability to address the initial des3 ignation under paragraph (1) 

4 without foreign assistance; 

5 ‘‘(cc) the country’s gross do6 mestic product and per capita 

7 gross domestic product per cap8 ita; 

9 ‘‘(dd) an analysis of the 

10 country’s political stability and 

11 its ability to be economically self12 sufficient without foreign assist13 ance; 

14 ‘‘(ee) the economic and so15 cial impact the repatriation of 

16 nationals in possession of tem17 porary protected status would 

18 have on the recipient country; 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(ff) any additional metrics 

21 the Secretary considers nec22 essary.’’. 

23 SEC. 5. OTHER MATTERS. 

24 (a) APPLICATION OF IMMIGRATION AND NATION25 ALITY ACT PROVISIONS.—Except as otherwise specifically 


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1 provided in this Act, the definitions under section 101 of 

2 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101) 

3 shall apply when such terms are used in this Act. 

4 (b) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Nothing in this Act may 

5 be construed to repeal, amend, alter, modify, effect, or re6 strict the powers, duties, functions, or authority of the 

7 Secretary of Homeland Security in the administration and 

8 enforcement of the immigration laws. 

9 (c) ELIGIBILITY FOR OTHER IMMIGRATION BENE10 FITS.—Any alien who is eligible to be granted the status 

11 of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence 

12 under section 2 may not be precluded from seeking such 

13 status under any other provision of law for which the alien 

14 may otherwise be eligible. 

Æ 


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