II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 52 

To make aliens associated with a criminal gang inadmissible, deportable, 

and ineligible for various forms of relief. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 5, 2017 

Mr. GRASSLEY (for himself, Mr. TILLIS, Mr. CRUZ, Mr. INHOFE, Mr. BOOZMAN, and Mr. COTTON) introduced the following bill; which was read 

twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To make aliens associated with a criminal gang inadmissible, 

deportable, and ineligible for various forms of relief. 

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

3 SECTION 1. ALIEN GANG MEMBERS. 

4 (a) DEFINITION.—Section 101(a) of the Immigration 

5 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)) is amended by 

6 adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(53)(A) The term ‘criminal gang’ means an ongoing 

8 group, club, organization, or association of five or more 

9 persons— 


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1 ‘‘(i)(I) that has as one of its primary purposes 

2 the commission of one or more of the criminal of3 fenses described in subparagraph (B); and 

4 ‘‘(II) the members of which engage, or have en5 gaged within the past five years, in a continuing se6 ries of offenses described in subparagraph (B); or 

7 ‘‘(ii) that has been designated as a criminal 

8 gang under section 220 by the Secretary of Home9 land Security, in consultation with the Attorney 

10 General, or by the Secretary of State. 

11 ‘‘(B) The offenses described in this subparagraph, 

12 whether in violation of Federal or State law or foreign law 

13 and regardless of whether the offenses occurred before, on, 

14 or after the date of the enactment of this paragraph, are 

15 the following: 

16 ‘‘(i) A ‘felony drug offense’ (as defined in sec17 tion 102 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 

18 U.S.C. 802)). 

19 ‘‘(ii) An offense under section 274 (relating to 

20 bringing in and harboring certain aliens), section 

21 277 (relating to aiding or assisting certain aliens to 

22 enter the United States), or section 278 (relating to 

23 importation of alien for immoral purpose). 

24 ‘‘(iii) A crime of violence (as defined in section 

25 16 of title 18, United States Code). 


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1 ‘‘(iv) A crime involving obstruction of justice, 

2 tampering with or retaliating against a witness, vic3 tim, or informant, or burglary. 

4 ‘‘(v) Any conduct punishable under section 

5 1028 or 1029 of title 18, United States Code (relat6 ing to fraud and related activity in connection with 

7 identification documents or access devices), sections 

8 1581 through 1594 of such title (relating to peon9 age, slavery and trafficking in persons), section 

10 1952 of such title (relating to interstate and foreign 

11 travel or transportation in aid of racketeering enter12 prises), section 1956 of such title (relating to the 

13 laundering of monetary instruments), section 1957 

14 of such title (relating to engaging in monetary trans15 actions in property derived from specified unlawful 

16 activity), or sections 2312 through 2315 of such title 

17 (relating to interstate transportation of stolen motor 

18 vehicles or stolen property). 

19 ‘‘(vi) A conspiracy to commit an offense de20 scribed in clauses (i) through (v). 

21 ‘‘(C) Notwithstanding any other provision of law (in22 cluding any effective date), the term ‘criminal gang’ ap23 plies regardless of whether the conduct occurred before, 

24 on, or after the date of the enactment of this paragraph.’’. 


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1 (b) INADMISSIBILITY.—Section 212(a)(2) of the Im2 migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(2)) is 

3 amended by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(J) ALIENS ASSOCIATED WITH CRIMINAL

5 GANGS.—Any alien is inadmissible if a consular 

6 officer, the Secretary of Homeland Security, or 

7 the Attorney General knows or has reason to 

8 believe that the alien— 

9 ‘‘(i) is or has been a member of a 

10 criminal gang; or 

11 ‘‘(ii) has participated in the activities 

12 of a criminal gang, knowing or having rea13 son to know that such activities will pro14 mote, further, aid, or support the illegal 

15 activity of the criminal gang.’’. 

16 (c) DEPORTABILITY.—Section 237(a)(2) of the Im17 migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1227(a)(2)) is 

18 amended by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(G) ALIENS ASSOCIATED WITH CRIMINAL

20 GANGS.—Any alien is deportable if the Sec21 retary of Homeland Security or the Attorney 

22 General knows or has reason to believe that the 

23 alien— 

24 ‘‘(i) is or has been a member of a 

25 criminal gang; or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) has participated in the activities 

2 of a criminal gang, knowing or having rea3 son to know that such activities will pro4 mote, further, aid, or support the illegal 

5 activity of the criminal gang.’’. 

6 (d) DESIGNATION.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 2 of title II of the 

8 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1181 et 

9 seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 220. DESIGNATION OF CRIMINAL GANGS. 

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland Se12 curity, in consultation with the Attorney General, or the 

13 Secretary of State may designate a group or association 

14 as a criminal gang if their conduct is described in section 

15 101(a)(53) or if the group or association conduct poses 

16 a significant risk that threatens the security and the pub17 lic safety of nationals of the United States or the national 

18 security, homeland security, foreign policy, or economy of 

19 the United States. 

20 ‘‘(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—A designation made under 

21 subsection (a) shall remain in effect until the designation 

22 is revoked after consultation between the Secretary of 

23 Homeland Security, the Attorney General, and the Sec24 retary of State or is terminated in accordance with Fed25 eral law.’’. 


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1 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of con2 tents in the first section of the Immigration and Na3 tionality Act is amended by inserting after the item 

4 relating to section 219 the following: 

‘‘220. Designation of criminal gangs.’’. 

5 (e) MANDATORY DETENTION OF CRIMINAL GANG

6 MEMBERS.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 236(c)(1)(D) of the 

8 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

9 1226(c)(1)(D)) is amended— 

10 (A) by striking ‘‘section 212(a)(3)(B)’’ and 

11 inserting ‘‘paragraph (2)(J) or (3)(B) of section 

12 212(a)’’; and 

13 (B) by striking ‘‘237(a)(4)(B),’’ and in14 serting ‘‘paragraph (2)(G) or (4)(B) of section 

15 237(a),’’. 

16 (2) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than March 1 

17 of each year (beginning 1 year after the date of the 

18 enactment of this Act), the Secretary of Homeland 

19 Security, after consultation with the appropriate 

20 Federal agencies, shall submit a report to the Com21 mittee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Com22 mittee on the Judiciary of the House of Representa23 tives on the number of aliens detained as a result of 

24 the amendments made by paragraph (1). 


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1 (f) ASYLUM CLAIMS BASED ON GANG AFFILI2 ATION.— 

3 (1) INELIGIBILITY FOR ASYLUM.—Section 

4 208(b)(2)(A) of the Immigration and Nationality 

5 Act (8 U.S.C. 1158(b)(2)(A)) is amended— 

6 (A) in clause (v), by striking ‘‘or’’ at the 

7 end; 

8 (B) by redesignating clause (vi) as clause 

9 (vii); and 

10 (C) by inserting after clause (v) the fol11 lowing: 

12 ‘‘(vi) the alien is described in section 

13 212(a)(2)(J)(i) or 237(a)(2)(G)(i) (relating 

14 to participation in criminal gangs); or’’. 

15 (2) INAPPLICABILITY OF RESTRICTION ON RE16 MOVAL TO CERTAIN COUNTRIES.—Section 

17 241(b)(3)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality 

18 Act (8 U.S.C. 1231(b)(3)(B)) is amended, in the 

19 matter preceding clause (i), by inserting ‘‘who is de20 scribed in section 212(a)(2)(J)(i) or section 

21 237(a)(2)(G)(i) or who is’’ after ‘‘to an alien’’. 

22 (g) TEMPORARY PROTECTED STATUS.—Section 244 

23 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1254a) 

24 is amended— 


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1 (1) by striking ‘‘Attorney General’’ each place 

2 that term appears and inserting ‘‘Secretary of 

3 Homeland Security’’; 

4 (2) in subparagraph (c)(2)(B)— 

5 (A) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘States, or’’ 

6 and inserting ‘‘States;’’; 

7 (B) in clause (ii), by striking the period 

8 and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

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

10 ‘‘(iii) the alien is a member of a crimi11 nal gang.’’; and 

12 (3) in subsection (d)— 

13 (A) by striking paragraph (3); 

14 (B) by redesignating paragraph (4) as 

15 paragraph (3); and 

16 (C) in paragraph (3), as redesignated, by 

17 adding at the end the following: ‘‘The Secretary 

18 of Homeland Security may detain an alien pro19 vided temporary protected status under this 

20 section whenever appropriate under any other 

21 provision of law.’’. 

22 (h) SPECIAL IMMIGRANT JUVENILE VISAS.—Section 

23 101(a)(27)(J)(iii) of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

24 (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(27)(J)(iii)) is amended— 

25 (1) in subclause (I), by striking ‘‘and’’; 


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1 (2) in subclause (II), by adding ‘‘and’’ at the 

2 end; and 

3 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(III) no alien who is a member 

5 of a criminal gang shall be eligible for 

6 any immigration benefit under this 

7 subparagraph;’’. 

8 (i) DEFERRED ACTION.—An alien described in sec9 tion 212(a)(2)(J) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 

10 as added by subsection (b), shall not be eligible for de11 ferred action. 

12 (j) PAROLE.—An alien described in section 

13 212(a)(2)(J) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as 

14 added by subsection (b), shall not be eligible for parole 

15 under section 212(d)(5)(A) of such Act unless— 

16 (1) the alien is assisting or has assisted the 

17 United States Government in a law enforcement 

18 matter, including a criminal investigation; and 

19 (2) the alien’s presence in the United States is 

20 required by the Government with respect to such as21 sistance. 

22 (k) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

23 this section— 

24 (1) shall take effect on the date of the enact25 ment of this Act; and 


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1 (2) shall apply to acts that occur before, on, or 

2 after such date. 

3 SEC. 2. MANDATORY EXPEDITED REMOVAL OF DANGEROUS 

4 CRIMINALS, TERRORISTS, AND GANG MEM5 BERS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi7 sion of law, an immigration officer who finds an alien de8 scribed in subsection (b) at a land border or port of entry 

9 of the United States and determines that such alien is in10 admissible under the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

11 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.) shall treat such alien in accordance 

12 with section 235 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

13 (8 U.S.C. 1225). 

14 (b) THREATS TO PUBLIC SAFETY.—An alien de15 scribed in this subsection is an alien who the Secretary 

16 of Homeland Security determines, or has reason to be17 lieve— 

18 (1) has been convicted of any offense carrying 

19 a maximum term of imprisonment of more than 180 

20 days; 

21 (2) has been convicted of an offense involving— 

22 (A) domestic violence (as defined in section 

23 40002(a) of the Violence Against Women Act of 

24 1994 (42 U.S.C. 13925(a))); 


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1 (B) child abuse and neglect (as defined in 

2 section 40002(a) of the Violence Against 

3 Women Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 13925(a))); 

4 (C) assault resulting in bodily injury (as 

5 defined in section 2266 of title 18, United 

6 States Code); 

7 (D) the violation of a protection order (as 

8 defined in section 2266 of title 18, United 

9 States Code); 

10 (E) driving while intoxicated (as defined in 

11 section 164(a) of title 23, United States Code); 

12 or 

13 (F) any offense under foreign law, except 

14 for a purely political offense, which, if the of15 fense had been committed in the United States, 

16 would render the alien inadmissible under sec17 tion 212(a) of the Immigration and Nationality 

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

19 (3) has been convicted of more than one crimi20 nal offense (other than minor traffic offenses); 

21 (4) has engaged in, is engaged in, or is likely 

22 to engage after entry in any terrorist activity (as de23 fined in section 212(a)(3)(B)(iii) of the Immigration 

24 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(3)(B)(iii))), 

25 or intends to participate or has participated in the 


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1 activities of a foreign terrorist organization (as des2 ignated under section 219 of the Immigration and 

3 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1189)); 

4 (5) is or was a member of a criminal street 

5 gang (as defined in paragraph (53) of section 101(a) 

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

7 1101(a)), as added by section 1(a)); or 

8 (6) has entered the United States more than 

9 one time in violation of section 275(a) of the Immi10 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1325(a)), 

11 knowing that such entry was unlawful. 

Æ 


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