I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 778 

To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to facilitate the removal 

of aliens identified in the terrorist screening database, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 2, 2023 

Mr. DUNCAN (for himself, Mrs. HARSHBARGER, Mr. NORMAN, Mrs. MILLER

of Illinois, Mr. GOSAR, Mr. MOORE of Alabama, Mr. POSEY, Mr. ZINKE, 

and Mr. CARTER of Georgia) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to facilitate 

the removal of aliens identified in the terrorist screening 

database, 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 TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Terrorist Deportation 

5 Act of 2023’’. 

6 SEC. 2. INADMISSIBILITY OF ALIENS IDENTIFIED IN TER7 RORIST SCREENING DATABASE. 

8 Section 212(a)(3)(B)(i) of the Immigration and Na9 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(3)(B)(i)) is amended— 


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1 (1) in subclause (VIII), by striking ‘‘or’’ at the 

2 end; 

3 (2) by redesignating subclause (IX) as sub4 clause (X); and 

5 (3) by inserting after subclause (VIII) the fol6 lowing: 

7 ‘‘(IX) is identified in the terrorist 

8 screening database (as such term is 

9 defined in section 2101(10) of the 

10 Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 

11 U.S.C. 621(10))), except for an alien 

12 lawfully admitted for permanent resi13 dence (as defined in section 

14 101(a)(20)); or’’. 

15 SEC. 3. DEPORTABILITY OF ALIENS IDENTIFIED IN TER16 RORIST SCREENING DATABASE. 

17 Section 237(a)(4)(B) of the Immigration and Nation18 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1227(a)(4)(B)) is amended by insert19 ing before the period at the end the following ‘‘, except 

20 that an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence 

21 (as defined in section 101(a)(20)) is not deportable for 

22 being described in subparagraph (B)(i)(IX) of section 

23 212(a)(3)’’. 


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1 SEC. 4. WAIVERS OF GROUND OF INADMISSIBILITY FOR 

2 ALIENS IDENTIFIED IN TERRORIST SCREEN3 ING DATABASE. 

4 Section 212(d)(3) of the Immigration and Nationality 

5 Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(d)(3)) is amended— 

6 (1) in each of clauses (i) and (ii) of subpara7 graph (A), by inserting ‘‘and other than paragraph 

8 (3)(B)(i)(IX) of such subsection except as provided 

9 in subparagraph (C)’’ after ‘‘of such subsection’’; 

10 (2) in subparagraph (B)(i), by inserting ‘‘or 

11 who is within the scope of subsection 

12 (a)(3)(B)(i)(IX) except as provided in subparagraph 

13 (C),’’ after ‘‘(a)(3)(B)(i)(II),’’; and 

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

15 ‘‘(C)(i) Subject to clause (ii) and only on an indi16 vidual case-by-case basis, if the Secretary of Homeland Se17 curity determines in the Secretary’s unreviewable discre18 tion that it is in the national security interests of the 

19 United States, an alien— 

20 ‘‘(I) may be granted a nonimmigrant visa and 

21 be admitted into the United States temporarily as a 

22 nonimmigrant under subparagraph (A)(i); 

23 ‘‘(II) may be admitted into the United States 

24 temporarily as a nonimmigrant under subparagraph 

25 (A)(ii); and 


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1 ‘‘(III) shall not be subject to subsection 

2 (a)(3)(B)(i)(IX). 

3 ‘‘(ii) The Secretary of Homeland Security may grant 

4 a waiver under clause (i) with respect to an alien only with 

5 the unanimous concurrence of the Attorney General, the 

6 Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Di7 rector of National Intelligence, and the Secretary of 

8 State.’’. 

9 SEC. 5. UNAVAILABILITY OF CERTAIN IMMIGRATION BENE10 FITS TO ALIENS IDENTIFIED IN TERRORIST 

11 SCREENING DATABASE. 

12 (a) ASYLUM.—Section 208(b)(2)(A)(v) of the Immi13 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1158(b)(2)(A)(v)) 

14 is amended by striking ‘‘or (VI)’’ and inserting ‘‘(VI), or 

15 (IX)’’. 

16 (b) WITHHOLDING OF REMOVAL.—Section 

17 241(b)(3)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

18 U.S.C. 1231(b)(3)(B)) is amended, in the matter pre19 ceding clause (i), by inserting ‘‘inadmissible under section 

20 212(a)(3)(B)(i)(IX) or deportable under section 

21 237(a)(4)(B) as a consequence of being described in sec22 tion 212(a)(3)(B)(i)(IX), or’’ after ‘‘does not apply to an 

23 alien’’. 

24 (c) CANCELLATION OF REMOVAL.— 


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1 (1) CANCELLATION OF REMOVAL FOR CERTAIN

2 PERMANENT RESIDENTS.—Section 240A(a) of the 

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

4 1229b(a)) is amended, in the matter preceding para5 graph (1), by striking ‘‘inadmissible or deportable’’ 

6 and inserting ‘‘inadmissible (except an alien who is 

7 inadmissible under section 212(a)(3)(B)(i)(IX)) or 

8 deportable (except an alien who is deportable under 

9 section 237(a)(4)(B) as a consequence of being de10 scribed in section 212(a)(3)(B)(i)(IX))’’. 

11 (2) CANCELLATION OF REMOVAL FOR CERTAIN

12 NONPERMANENT RESIDENTS.—Section 240A(b)(1) 

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

14 1229b(b)(1)) is amended, in the matter preceding 

15 subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘inadmissible or de16 portable’’ and inserting ‘‘inadmissible (except an 

17 alien who is inadmissible under section 

18 212(a)(3)(B)(i)(IX)) or deportable (except an alien 

19 who is deportable under section 237(a)(4)(B) as a 

20 consequence of being described in section 

21 212(a)(3)(B)(i)(IX))’’. 

22 (d) VOLUNTARY DEPARTURE.—Section 240B(c) of 

23 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1229c(c)) 

24 is amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(c) ALIENS INELIGIBLE.—The Secretary of Home2 land Security shall not permit an alien to depart volun3 tarily under this section if the alien— 

4 ‘‘(1) was previously permitted to so depart after 

5 having been found inadmissible under section 

6 212(a)(6)(A); or 

7 ‘‘(2) is inadmissible under section 

8 212(a)(3)(B)(i)(IX) or deportable under section 

9 237(a)(4)(B) as a consequence of being described in 

10 section 212(a)(3)(B)(i)(IX).’’. 

11 (e) ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS.—Section 245 of the 

12 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1255) is 

13 amended— 

14 (1) in subsection (c), by striking item (6) and 

15 inserting ‘‘(6) an alien who is inadmissible under 

16 section 212(a)(3)(B)(i)(IX) or deportable under sec17 tion 237(a)(4)(B);’’; and 

18 (2) in subsection (m)(1), in the matter pre19 ceding subparagraph (A), by striking 

20 ‘‘212(a)(3)(E),’’ and inserting ‘‘subparagraph 

21 (B)(i)(IX) or (E) of section 212(a)(3) or section 

22 237(a)(4)(B) as a consequence of being described in 

23 section 212(a)(3)(B)(i)(IX),’’. 

24 (f) REGISTRY.—Section 249 of the Immigration and 

25 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1259) is amended— 


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

2 such term appears and inserting ‘‘Secretary of 

3 Homeland Security’’; and 

4 (2) by striking ‘‘inadmissible under section 

5 212(a)(3)(E) or under’’ and inserting ‘‘inadmissible 

6 under section 212(a)(3)(B)(i)(IX) or (E) or deport7 able from the United States under section 

8 237(a)(4)(B) as a consequence of being described in 

9 section 212(a)(3)(B)(i)(IX) or under’’. 

10 (g) CONVENTION AGAINST TORTURE.—Not later 

11 than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

12 the Secretary of Homeland Security shall revise the regu13 lations found at sections 208.16 through 208.18 of title 

14 8, Code of Federal Regulations, implementing the United 

15 Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Forms of 

16 Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, 

17 done at New York on December 10, 1984. The revised 

18 regulations— 

19 (1) shall exclude from the protection of such 

20 regulations aliens described in section 

21 212(a)(3)(B)(i)(IX) of the Immigration and Nation22 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(3)(B)(i)(IX)) and make 

23 such aliens ineligible for withholding or deferral of 

24 removal under the immigration laws (as defined in 


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1 section 101(a)(17) of the Immigration and Nation2 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(17))); and 

3 (2) shall ensure that the revised regulations op4 erate so as to allow for the reopening and readjudi5 cation of determinations made under the regulations 

6 before the effective date of the revision and apply to 

7 acts and conditions constituting grounds of ineligi8 bility for the protection of such regulations (includ9 ing ineligibility for withholding or deferral of re10 moval) as revised, regardless of when such acts or 

11 conditions occurred. 

12 SEC. 6. EXPEDITED REMOVAL OF ALIENS INADMISSIBLE OR 

13 DEPORTABLE ON SECURITY AND RELATED 

14 GROUNDS. 

15 Section 238 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

16 (8 U.S.C. 1228) is amended— 

17 (1) in the section heading, by adding at the end 

18 the following: ‘‘OR INADMISSIBLE OR DEPORTABLE

19 ON SECURITY OR RELATED GROUNDS’’; 

20 (2) by redesignating the subsections succeeding 

21 subsection (b) as subsections (d) and (e), respec22 tively; and 

23 (3) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol24 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(c) REMOVAL OF ALIENS WHO ARE NOT PERMA2 NENT RESIDENTS AND WHO ARE INADMISSIBLE OR DE3 PORTABLE ON SECURITY OR RELATED GROUNDS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland 

5 Security, in accordance with paragraph (3)— 

6 ‘‘(A) notwithstanding section 240, in the 

7 case of every alien described in paragraph (2), 

8 shall determine the inadmissibility of such alien 

9 under section 212(a)(3)(B)(i)(IX) or the de10 portability of such alien under section 

11 237(a)(4)(B) as a consequence of being de12 scribed in section 212(a)(3)(B)(i)(IX) and issue 

13 an order of removal pursuant to the procedures 

14 set forth in this subsection to every such alien 

15 determined to be inadmissible under section 

16 212(a)(3)(B)(i)(IX) or deportable under section 

17 237(a)(4)(B) as a consequence of being de18 scribed in section 212(a)(3)(B)(i)(IX); and 

19 ‘‘(B) in the case of an alien described in 

20 paragraph (2) who is not issued an order under 

21 subparagraph (A), may determine the inadmis22 sibility of such alien under section 212(a)(3)(B) 

23 (other than subparagraph (B)(i)(IX)) or the de24 portability of such alien under section 

25 237(a)(4)(B) (other than as a consequence of 


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1 being described in section 212(a)(3)(B)(i)(IX)) 

2 and issue an order of removal pursuant to the 

3 procedures set forth in this subsection or sec4 tion 240. 

5 ‘‘(2) ALIENS DESCRIBED.—An alien is de6 scribed in this paragraph if— 

7 ‘‘(A) the alien has not been granted a 

8 waiver under section 212(d)(3)(C); and 

9 ‘‘(B) the alien— 

10 ‘‘(i) was not lawfully admitted for per11 manent residence at the time at which pro12 ceedings under this subsection commenced; 

13 or 

14 ‘‘(ii) had permanent resident status 

15 on a conditional basis (as described in sec16 tion 216) at the time that proceedings 

17 under this subsection commenced. 

18 ‘‘(3) EXPEDITED PROCEEDINGS.—Proceedings 

19 under this subsection shall be in accordance with 

20 such regulations as the Secretary of Homeland Secu21 rity shall prescribe. The Secretary shall ensure 

22 that— 

23 ‘‘(A) the alien is given reasonable notice of 

24 the charges and of the opportunity described in 

25 subparagraph (C); 


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1 ‘‘(B) the alien shall have the privilege of 

2 being represented (at no expense to the govern3 ment) by such counsel, authorized to practice in 

4 such proceedings, as the alien shall choose; 

5 ‘‘(C) the alien has a reasonable oppor6 tunity to inspect the evidence and rebut the 

7 charges; 

8 ‘‘(D) a determination is made for the 

9 record that the individual upon whom the notice 

10 for the proceeding under this section is served 

11 (either in person or by mail) is, in fact, the 

12 alien named in such notice; 

13 ‘‘(E) a record is maintained for judicial re14 view; and 

15 ‘‘(F) the final order of removal is not adju16 dicated by the same person who issues the 

17 charges. 

18 ‘‘(4) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—The Secretary of 

19 Homeland Security may not execute any order de20 scribed in paragraph (1) until 14 calendar days have 

21 passed from the date that such order was issued, un22 less waived by the alien, in order that the alien has 

23 an opportunity to apply for judicial review under 

24 section 242. 


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1 ‘‘(5) INELIGIBILITY FOR DISCRETIONARY RE2 LIEF FROM REMOVAL.—No alien adjudicated inad3 missible or deportable in a proceeding under this 

4 subsection shall be eligible for any relief from re5 moval that the Secretary of Homeland Security may 

6 grant in the Secretary’s discretion.’’. 

7 SEC. 7. EFFECTIVE DATE; APPLICABILITY. 

8 This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall 

9 take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act and 

10 shall apply to all aliens identified in the terrorist screening 

11 database (as such term is defined in section 2101(10) of 

12 the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 621(10))) 

13 on or after such date. 

Æ 


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