II 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4011 

To temporarily suspend certain immigration enforcement activities during 

disease-related emergencies. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 18, 2020 

Mr. BLUMENTHAL (for Mr. MARKEY (for himself, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. 

SANDERS, Ms. WARREN, and Ms. HARRIS)) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To temporarily suspend certain immigration enforcement 

activities during disease-related emergencies. 

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 ‘‘Immigration Enforce5 ment Moratorium Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

7 It is the sense of Congress that— 

8 (1) during the COVID–19 pandemic, many im9 migration enforcement activities have needlessly enVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:09 Jul 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4011.IS S4011

pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 4011 IS

1 dangered public health, including the health of en2 forcement officers and members of the community; 

3 (2) continued arrests and apprehensions— 

4 (A) prevent immigrant communities from 

5 accessing necessary services for their health and 

6 well being; and 

7 (B) risk increasing the immigration deten8 tion population at a time when the number of 

9 people in immigration detention must urgently 

10 be reduced; 

11 (3) Department of Homeland Security medical 

12 experts estimate that between 75 and 100 percent of 

13 the people detained in many immigration detention 

14 centers across the country may contract COVID–19 

15 unless such centers are drastically depopulated; 

16 (4) other in-person activities, including check17 ins and removal hearings, create significant public 

18 health risks; 

19 (5) the National Association of Immigration 

20 Judges, a union of U.S. Immigration and Customs 

21 Enforcement trial attorneys, and the American Im22 migration Lawyers Association have all urged the 

23 Department of Justice to cease all in-person removal 

24 proceedings, citing expert guidance that continuing 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 4011 IS

1 in-person removal proceedings during the pandemic 

2 is ‘‘irresponsible’’; 

3 (6) deportations risk spreading COVID–19 to 

4 neighboring countries, where the virus will devastate 

5 already limited health systems and create untold 

6 harm; 

7 (7) the United States has already sent individ8 uals who tested positive for COVID–19 to at least 

9 8 countries; 

10 (8) a consortium of United Nations migration 

11 and human rights organizations has called on all 

12 countries in the global community to halt all forced 

13 removals during the pandemic, noting that ‘‘[f]orced 

14 returns can intensify serious public health risks for 

15 everyone – migrants, public health officials, health 

16 workers, social workers, and both host and origin 

17 communities’’; 

18 (9) expulsions at the border— 

19 (A) violate longstanding, congressionally 

20 mandated protections for asylum-seekers; and 

21 (B) fail to protect public health; 

22 (10) the Office of the United Nations High 

23 Commissioner for Refugees has declared that— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 4011 IS

1 (A) countries cannot enact ‘‘blanket 

2 measure[s] to preclude the admission of refu3 gees or asylum-seekers’’; and 

4 (B) any such ‘‘measures must be non-dis5 criminatory as well as necessary, proportionate 

6 and reasonable to the aim of protecting public 

7 health’’; 

8 (11) leading public health experts have urged 

9 United States officials to withdraw the order ena10 bling mass expulsion of asylum seekers, noting bor11 der expulsions fail to further public health and im12 plicate serious human rights concerns; 

13 (12) border crossing prosecutions have been 

14 suspended in several border districts because they 

15 are incompatible with public health; 

16 (13) the Department of Homeland Security 

17 continues to refer people for prosecutions in some 

18 districts for violations of section 276 of the Immi19 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1326); and 

20 (14) people continue to be unnecessarily held in 

21 pre-trial detention facilities where COVID–19 has 

22 spread. 

23 SEC. 3. TEMPORARY SUSPENSION OF IMMIGRATION EN24 FORCEMENT. 

25 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 4011 IS

1 (1) NONCITIZEN.—The term ‘‘noncitizen’’ 

2 means any individual who is not a citizen or national 

3 of the United States. 

4 (2) PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY.—The term 

5 ‘‘public health emergency’’ means— 

6 (A) a national emergency involving Federal 

7 primary responsibility determined to exist by 

8 the President under section 501(b) of the Rob9 ert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 

10 Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5191(b)) with re11 spect to a communicable disease; 

12 (B) a national emergency declared by the 

13 President under sections 201 and 301 of the 

14 National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1621 and 

15 1631) with respect to a communicable disease; 

16 (C) a national public health emergency de17 clared by the Secretary of Health and Human 

18 Services under section 319 of the Public Health 

19 Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d); or 

20 (D) a global pandemic declared by the 

21 World Health Organization. 

22 (b) SUSPENDED IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT AC23 TIVITIES.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in sub25 section (d), during a public health emergency, the 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 4011 IS

1 Secretary of Homeland Security shall suspend all 

2 immigration enforcement-related activities in the 

3 United States, including— 

4 (A) removals of noncitizens from the 

5 United States; 

6 (B) arrests and apprehensions by U.S. Im7 migration and Customs Enforcement or U.S. 

8 Customs and Border Protection of noncitizens 

9 who are physically present in the United States; 

10 (C) required meetings with Enforcement 

11 and Removal Operations (commonly known as 

12 ‘‘ICE check-ins’’); 

13 (D) service of Notices to Appear; and 

14 (E) referrals for prosecution under section 

15 275 or 276 of the Immigration and Nationality 

16 Act (8 U.S.C. 1325 and 1326). 

17 (2) INDIVIDUALS IN DETENTION WHO HAVE RE18 CEIVED REMOVAL ORDERS.—Notwithstanding sec19 tion 241(a)(2) of the Immigration and Nationality 

20 Act (8 U.S.C. 1231(a)(2)), individuals in detention 

21 who have received removal orders shall be released 

22 on orders of supervision. 

23 (c) BORDER PROCESSING.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 217 

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


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
7 

•S 4011 IS

1 1187) or any other provision of law, any noncitizen 

2 applying for admission at a port of entry on or after 

3 the date on which the public health emergency went 

4 into effect who is deemed inadmissible or who is ap5 prehended by U.S. Customs and Border Protection 

6 within 14 days after crossing the international bor7 der into the United States without authorization on 

8 or after the date on which the public health emer9 gency went into effect, shall, if he or she presents 

10 a claim to relief under the immigration laws and is 

11 not otherwise subject to the exception described in 

12 subsection (d), be paroled into the United States 

13 pursuant to section 212(d)(5)(A) of the Immigration 

14 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(d)(5)(A)). 

15 (2) REMOVAL PROCEEDINGS.—If the Depart16 ment of Homeland Security initiates removal pro17 ceedings against a noncitizen described in paragraph 

18 (1), such proceedings shall take place in accordance 

19 with section 240 (8 U.S.C. 1229a). 

20 (d) EXCEPTION.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (b) and the pa22 role provision under subsection (c) shall not apply if 

23 the Federal official authorized to carry out an immi24 gration enforcement activity described in either such 

25 subsection has clear and convincing evidence, based 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
8 

•S 4011 IS

1 on credible and individualized information, that the 

2 noncitizen is a threat to another person or the com3 munity. 

4 (2) PRIOR CONVICTION.—A prior conviction or 

5 pending criminal charge against the noncitizen de6 scribed in paragraph (1) may not be the sole factor 

7 to justify carrying out an otherwise prohibited immi8 gration enforcement activity described in subsection 

9 (b) or granting parole pursuant to subsection (c). 

10 (3) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—A noncitizen described 

11 in paragraph (1) is entitled to immediate de novo re12 view of the Federal official’s determination in— 

13 (A) the United States District Court for 

14 the District of Columbia; or 

15 (B) any Federal district court satisfying 

16 the venue requirements described in section 

17 1391 of title 28, United States Code. 

18 (e) UNLAWFUL PRESENCE.—During the public 

19 health emergency, the accrual of unlawful presence under 

20 subparagraphs (B)(i)(I) and (C)(i)(I) of section 212(a)(9) 

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

22 1182(a)(9)) shall be suspended for any noncitizen who re23 sided in the United States on or before the date on which 

24 the public health emergency went into effect. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
9 

•S 4011 IS

1 (f) IMMIGRATION COURT PROCEEDINGS.—During 

2 the period beginning on the date on which a public health 

3 emergency is in effect in any State of territory of the 

4 United States and ending on the date that is 30 days after 

5 the date on which the public health emergency is termi6 nated, the Attorney General shall— 

7 (1) suspend all in-person immigration court 

8 proceedings; 

9 (2) establish a procedure for conducting custody 

10 determination hearings for detained individuals to 

11 appear telephonically or by video teleconference, 

12 which shall permit— 

13 (A) attorneys and representatives to ap14 pear telephonically or by video teleconference; 

15 and 

16 (B) supporting documents to be faxed, 

17 emailed, or otherwise electronically transmitted 

18 to the appropriate court clerk; 

19 (3) suspend all immigration court proceedings 

20 not described in paragraph (2), except that cases in21 volving individuals who are detained may proceed if 

22 the respondent and his or her counsel or representa23 tive requests in writing that the immigration court 

24 proceedings move forward telephonically or by video 

25 teleconference; 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
10 

•S 4011 IS

1 (4) issue a blanket extraordinary circumstances 

2 exception for 1 year asylum filing deadlines; and 

3 (5) toll any deadline imposed by statute, regula4 tion, local rule, standing order, or policy guidance 

5 requiring the appearance or other action by the re6 spondent unless the respondent or the respondent’s 

7 counsel or legal representative submits a written re8 quest to the contrary. 

9 (g) LIMITATION ON USE OF FEDERAL FUNDS FOR

10 RELIANCE ON ULTRA-VIRES AUTHORITY.—Federal funds 

11 may not be used by the Department of Homeland Security 

12 to expel, pursuant to section 362 or 365 of the Public 

13 Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 265 and 268), any noncit14 izen who— 

15 (1) is present in the United States; 

16 (2) entered or is entering the United States at 

17 a port of entry; or 

18 (3) crossed or is crossing the United States bor19 der between ports of entry. 

20 (h) DURATION.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subsections (b), (c), (e), and 

22 (f) shall remain in effect throughout the duration of 

23 a public health emergency and for at least 30 days 

24 after the public health emergency is no longer in ef25 fect. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
11 

•S 4011 IS

1 (2) REMOVALS.—If an emergency referred to in 

2 subsection (a)(2)(D) is declared, removals shall fur3 ther remain suspended to a receiving country until 

4 the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Sec5 retary of State each certify in writing to Congress 

6 that the country— 

7 (A) has demonstrated evidence of dimin8 ishing cases and risk of community trans9 mission; and 

10 (B) has public health infrastructure that is 

11 able to adequately handle the return of its na12 tionals. 

13 (i) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Nothing in this section 

14 may be construed to alter the William Wilberforce Traf15 ficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 

16 (Public Law 110–457). 

Æ 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS