II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 685 

To close loopholes in the immigration laws that serve as incentives to aliens 

to attempt to enter the United States unlawfully, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 7, 2023 

Mr. LEE (for himself, Mr. CRUZ, Mr. TUBERVILLE, Mr. DAINES, Mrs. BRITT, 

Mrs. BLACKBURN, Mr. COTTON, Mr. MORAN, Mr. GRAHAM, Mr. GRASSLEY, Mr. BRAUN, and Ms. ERNST) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To close loopholes in the immigration laws that serve as 

incentives to aliens to attempt to enter the United States 

unlawfully, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Stopping Border Surges Act’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—UNACCOMPANIED ALIEN CHILDREN 


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Sec. 101. Repatriation of unaccompanied alien children. 

Sec. 102. Clarification of standards for family detention. 

Sec. 103. Special immigrant juvenile status for immigrants unable to reunite 

with either parent. 

TITLE II—ASYLUM REFORM 

Sec. 201. Clarification of asylum eligibility. 

Sec. 202. Safe third country. 

Sec. 203. Application timing. 

Sec. 204. Clarification of burden of proof. 

Sec. 205. Anti-fraud investigative work product. 

Sec. 206. Additional exception. 

Sec. 207. Jurisdiction of asylum applications. 

Sec. 208. Renunciation of asylum status pursuant to return to home country. 

Sec. 209. Clarification regarding employment eligibility. 

Sec. 210. Notice concerning frivolous asylum applications. 

Sec. 211. Credible fear interviews. 

Sec. 212. Recording expedited removal and credible fear interviews. 

Sec. 213. Penalties for asylum fraud. 

Sec. 214. Statute of limitations for asylum fraud. 

Sec. 215. Technical amendments. 

1 TITLE I—UNACCOMPANIED 

2 ALIEN CHILDREN 

3 SEC. 101. REPATRIATION OF UNACCOMPANIED ALIEN CHIL4 DREN. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 235 of the William Wil6 berforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization 

7 Act of 2008 (8 U.S.C. 1232) is amended— 

8 (1) in subsection (a)— 

9 (A) in paragraph (2)— 

10 (i) by amending the paragraph head11 ing to read as follows: ‘‘RULES FOR UNAC12 COMPANIED ALIEN CHILDREN.—’’; 

13 (ii) in subparagraph (A)— 

14 (I) in the matter preceding clause 

15 (i), by striking ‘‘who is a national or 


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1 habitual resident of a country that is 

2 contiguous with the United States’’; 

3 (II) in clause (i), by inserting 

4 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

5 (III) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘; 

6 and’’ and inserting a period; and 

7 (IV) by striking clause (iii); 

8 (iii) in subparagraph (B)— 

9 (I) in the matter preceding clause 

10 (i), by striking ‘‘(8 U.S.C. 1101 et 

11 seq.) may—’’ and inserting ‘‘(8 

12 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.)—’’; 

13 (II) in clause (i), by inserting be14 fore ‘‘permit such child to withdraw’’ 

15 the following: ‘‘may’’; and 

16 (III) in clause (ii), by inserting 

17 before ‘‘return such child’’ the fol18 lowing: ‘‘shall’’; and 

19 (iv) in subparagraph (C)— 

20 (I) by amending the subpara21 graph heading to read as follows: 

22 ‘‘AGREEMENTS WITH FOREIGN COUN23 TRIES.—’’; and 

24 (II) in the matter preceding 

25 clause (i), by striking ‘‘The Secretary 


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1 of State shall negotiate agreements 

2 between the United States and coun3 tries contiguous to the United States’’ 

4 and inserting ‘‘The Secretary of State 

5 may negotiate agreements between the 

6 United States and any foreign country 

7 that the Secretary determines appro8 priate’’; 

9 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (3) 

10 through (5) as paragraphs (4) through (6), re11 spectively; 

12 (C) by inserting after paragraph (2) the 

13 following: 

14 ‘‘(3) SPECIAL RULES FOR INTERVIEWING UNAC15 COMPANIED ALIEN CHILDREN.—An unaccompanied 

16 alien child shall be interviewed by an immigration 

17 officer with specialized training in interviewing child 

18 trafficking victims.’’; and 

19 (D) in paragraph (6)(D), as redesig20 nated— 

21 (i) in the matter preceding clause (i), 

22 by striking ‘‘, except for an unaccompanied 

23 alien child from a contiguous country sub24 ject to exceptions under subsection (a)(2),’’ 


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1 and inserting ‘‘who does not meet the cri2 teria listed in paragraph (2)(A)’’; and 

3 (ii) in clause (i), by inserting ‘‘, which 

4 shall include a hearing before an immigra5 tion judge not later than 14 days after 

6 being screened under paragraph (4)’’ be7 fore the semicolon at the end; 

8 (2) in subsection (b)— 

9 (A) in paragraph (2)— 

10 (i) in subparagraph (A), by inserting 

11 ‘‘believed not to meet the criteria listed in 

12 subsection (a)(2)(A)’’ before the semicolon 

13 at the end; and 

14 (ii) in subparagraph (B), by inserting 

15 ‘‘and does not meet the criteria listed in 

16 subsection (a)(2)(A)’’ before the period at 

17 the end; and 

18 (B) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘an un19 accompanied alien child in custody shall’’ and 

20 all that follows, and inserting the following: ‘‘an 

21 unaccompanied alien child in custody— 

22 ‘‘(A) in the case of a child who does not 

23 meet the criteria listed in subsection (a)(2)(A), 

24 shall transfer the custody of such child to the 

25 Secretary of Health and Human Services not 


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1 later than 30 days after determining that such 

2 child is an unaccompanied alien child who does 

3 not meet such criteria; or 

4 ‘‘(B) in the case of child who meets the 

5 criteria listed in subsection (a)(2)(A), may 

6 transfer the custody of such child to the Sec7 retary of Health and Human Services after de8 termining that such child is an unaccompanied 

9 alien child who meets such criteria.’’; and 

10 (3) in subsection (c)— 

11 (A) in paragraph (3), by adding at the end 

12 the following: 

13 ‘‘(D) INFORMATION ABOUT INDIVIDUALS

14 WITH WHOM CHILDREN ARE PLACED.— 

15 ‘‘(i) INFORMATION TO BE PROVIDED

16 TO THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SE17 CURITY.—Before placing an unaccom18 panied alien child with an individual, the 

19 Secretary of Health and Human Services 

20 shall provide to the Secretary of Homeland 

21 Security, regarding the individual with 

22 whom the child will be placed, the fol23 lowing information: 

24 ‘‘(I) The name of the individual. 


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1 ‘‘(II) The Social Security number 

2 of the individual, if available. 

3 ‘‘(III) The date of birth of the in4 dividual. 

5 ‘‘(IV) The location of the individ6 ual’s residence where the child will be 

7 placed. 

8 ‘‘(V) The immigration status of 

9 the individual, if known. 

10 ‘‘(VI) Contact information for 

11 the individual. 

12 ‘‘(ii) SPECIAL RULE.—Not later than 

13 90 days after the date of the enactment of 

14 this subparagraph, the Secretary of Health 

15 and Human Services shall provide to the 

16 Secretary of Homeland Security the infor17 mation listed in clause (i) with respect to 

18 any unaccompanied alien child appre19 hended between January 1, 2021, and 

20 such date of enactment who the Secretary 

21 of Health and Human Services has placed 

22 with an individual. 

23 ‘‘(iii) ACTIVITIES OF THE SECRETARY

24 OF HOMELAND SECURITY.—Not later than 

25 30 days after receiving the information 


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1 listed in clause (i), the Secretary of Home2 land Security shall— 

3 ‘‘(I) if the immigration status of 

4 an individual with whom a child is 

5 placed is unknown, investigate the im6 migration status of such individual; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(II) upon determining that an 

9 individual with whom a child is placed 

10 is unlawfully present in the United 

11 States, initiate removal proceedings 

12 against such individual pursuant to 

13 chapter 4 of title II of the Immigra14 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

15 1221 et seq.)’’; and 

16 (B) in paragraph (5)— 

17 (i) by inserting after ‘‘to the greatest 

18 extent practicable’’ the following: ‘‘(at no 

19 expense to the Government)’’; and 

20 (ii) by striking ‘‘have counsel to rep21 resent them’’ and inserting ‘‘have access to 

22 counsel to represent them’’. 

23 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

24 this section shall apply to any unaccompanied alien child 

25 apprehended on or after the date of enactment of this Act. 


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1 SEC. 102. CLARIFICATION OF STANDARDS FOR FAMILY DE2 TENTION. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 235 of the William Wil4 berforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization 

5 Act of 2008 (8 U.S.C. 1232) is amended by adding at 

6 the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(j) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

9 provision of law, judicial determination, consent de10 cree, or settlement agreement, the detention of any 

11 alien child who is not an unaccompanied alien child 

12 shall be governed by sections 217, 235, 236, and 

13 241 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

14 U.S.C. 1187, 1225, 1226, and 1231). There is no 

15 presumption that an alien child who is not an unac16 companied alien child should not be detained, and all 

17 determinations regarding the detention of such chil18 dren shall be in the discretion of the Secretary of 

19 Homeland Security. 

20 ‘‘(2) RELEASE OF MINORS OTHER THAN UNAC21 COMPANIED ALIENS.—An alien minor who is not an 

22 unaccompanied alien child may not be released by 

23 the Secretary of Homeland Security other than to a 

24 parent or legal guardian who is lawfully present in 

25 the United States. 


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1 ‘‘(3) FAMILY DETENTION.—The Secretary of 

2 Homeland Security shall— 

3 ‘‘(A) maintain the care and custody of an 

4 alien, during the period during which the 

5 charges described in clause (i) are pending, 

6 who— 

7 ‘‘(i) is charged only with a mis8 demeanor offense under section 275(a) of 

9 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

10 U.S.C. 1325(a)); and 

11 ‘‘(ii) entered the United States with 

12 the alien’s child who has not attained 18 

13 years of age; and 

14 ‘‘(B) detain the alien with the alien’s 

15 child.’’. 

16 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con17 gress that the amendment made by subsection (a) is in18 tended to satisfy the requirements of the Settlement 

19 Agreement in Flores v. Meese, No. 85–4544 (C.D. Cal) 

20 as approved by the court on January 28, 1997, with re21 spect to its interpretation in Flores v. Johnson, 212 F. 

22 Supp. 3d 864 (C.D. Cal. 2015), that the agreement ap23 plies to accompanied minors. 

24 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

25 subsection (a)— 


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1 (1) shall take effect on the date of the enact2 ment of this Act; and 

3 (2) shall apply to all actions that occur before, 

4 on, or after such date of enactment. 

5 (d) PREEMPTION OF STATE LICENSING REQUIRE6 MENTS.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, ju7 dicial determination, consent decree, or settlement agree8 ment, no State may require that an immigration detention 

9 facility used to detain children who have not attained 18 

10 years of age, or families consisting of 1 or more of such 

11 children and the parents or legal guardians of such chil12 dren, that is located in such State, be licensed by the State 

13 or by any political subdivision of such State. 

14 SEC. 103. SPECIAL IMMIGRANT JUVENILE STATUS FOR IM15 MIGRANTS UNABLE TO REUNITE WITH EI16 THER PARENT. 

17 Section 101(a)(27)(J) of the Immigration and Na18 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(27)(J)) is amended— 

19 (1) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘, and whose reuni20 fication with 1 or both of the immigrant’s parents 

21 is not viable due to abuse, neglect, abandonment, or 

22 a similar basis found under State law’’; and 

23 (2) in clause (iii)— 

24 (A) in subclause (I), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

25 the end; 


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

2 the end; and 

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

4 ‘‘(III) an alien may not be grant5 ed special immigrant juvenile status 

6 under this subparagraph if his or her 

7 reunification with any parent or legal 

8 guardian is not precluded by abuse, 

9 neglect, abandonment, or any similar 

10 cause under State law;’’. 

11 TITLE II—ASYLUM REFORM 

12 SEC. 201. CLARIFICATION OF ASYLUM ELIGIBILITY. 

13 (a) PLACE OF ARRIVAL.—Section 208(a)(1) of the 

14 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1158(a)(1)) 

15 is amended— 

16 (1) by striking ‘‘or who arrives in the United 

17 States (whether or not at a designated port of ar18 rival and including an alien who is brought to the 

19 United States after having been interdicted in inter20 national or United States waters),’’; and 

21 (2) by inserting ‘‘and has arrived in the United 

22 States at a port of entry,’’ after ‘‘United States’’. 

23 (b) ELIGIBILITY.—Section 208(b)(1)(A) of such Act 

24 (8 U.S.C. 1158(b)(1)(A)) is amended by inserting ‘‘and 


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1 is eligible to apply for asylum under subsection (a)’’ after 

2 ‘‘section 101(a)(42)(A)’’. 

3 SEC. 202. SAFE THIRD COUNTRY. 

4 Section 208(a)(2)(A) of the Immigration and Nation5 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1158(a)(2)(A)) is amended— 

6 (1) by striking ‘‘if the Attorney General deter7 mines that the alien may be removed’’ and inserting 

8 the following: ‘‘if the Attorney General or the Sec9 retary of Homeland Security determines that— 

10 ‘‘(i) the alien may be removed’’; 

11 (2) by striking ‘‘removed, pursuant to a bilat12 eral or multilateral agreement, to’’ and inserting 

13 ‘‘removed to’’; 

14 (3) by inserting ‘‘, on a case by case basis,’’ be15 fore ‘‘finds that’’; 

16 (4) by striking the period at the end and insert17 ing ‘‘; or’’; and 

18 (5) by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(ii) the alien entered, attempted to enter, or 

20 arrived in the United States after transiting through 

21 at least one country outside the alien’s country of 

22 citizenship, nationality, or last lawful habitual resi23 dence en route to the United States, unless— 

24 ‘‘(I) the alien demonstrates that he or she 

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1 ture in at least one country outside the alien’s 

2 country of citizenship, nationality, or last lawful 

3 habitual residence through which the alien 

4 transited en route to the United States, and the 

5 alien received a final judgement denying the 

6 alien protection in each country; 

7 ‘‘(II) the alien demonstrates that he or she 

8 was a victim of a severe form of trafficking in 

9 which a commercial sex act was induced by 

10 force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person 

11 induced to perform such act was younger than 

12 18 years of age; or in which the trafficking in13 cluded the recruitment, harboring, transpor14 tation, provision, or obtaining of a person for 

15 labor or services through the use of force, 

16 fraud, or coercion for the purpose of subjection 

17 to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, 

18 or slavery, and was unable to apply for protec19 tion from persecution in all countries that alien 

20 transited en route to the United States as a re21 sult of such severe form of trafficking; or 

22 ‘‘(III) the only countries through which the 

23 alien transited en route to the United States 

24 were, at the time of the transit, not parties to 

25 the 1951 United Nations Convention relating to 


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1 the Status of Refugees, the 1967 Protocol Re2 lating to the Status of Refugees, or the United 

3 Nations Convention against Torture and Other 

4 Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or 

5 Punishment.’’. 

6 SEC. 203. APPLICATION TIMING. 

7 Section 208(a)(2)(B) of the Immigration and Nation8 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1158(a)(2)(B)) is amended by striking 

9 ‘‘1 year’’ and inserting ‘‘6 months’’. 

10 SEC. 204. CLARIFICATION OF BURDEN OF PROOF. 

11 Section 208(b)(1)(B)(i) of the Immigration and Na12 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1158(b)(1)(B)(i)) is amended by 

13 striking ‘‘at least one central reason’’ and inserting ‘‘the 

14 central reason’’. 

15 SEC. 205. ANTI-FRAUD INVESTIGATIVE WORK PRODUCT. 

16 (a) ASYLUM CREDIBILITY DETERMINATIONS.—Sec17 tion 208(b)(1)(B)(iii) of the Immigration and Nationality 

18 Act (8 U.S.C. 1158(b)(1)(B)(iii)) is amended by inserting 

19 after ‘‘all relevant factors’’ the following: ‘‘, including 

20 statements made to, and investigative reports prepared by, 

21 immigration authorities and other government officials’’. 

22 (b) RELIEF FOR REMOVAL CREDIBILITY DETER23 MINATIONS.—Section 240(c)(4)(C) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 

24 1229a(c)(4)(C)) is amended by inserting ‘‘, including 

25 statements made to, and investigative reports prepared by, 


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1 immigration authorities and other government officials’’ 

2 after ‘‘all relevant factors’’. 

3 SEC. 206. ADDITIONAL EXCEPTION. 

4 Section 208(b)(2)(A) of the Immigration and Nation5 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1158(b)(2)(A)) is amended— 

6 (1) in clause (v), by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end; 

7 (2) in clause (vi), by striking the period and in8 serting ‘‘; or’’; and 

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

10 ‘‘(vii) there are reasonable grounds for 

11 concluding the alien could avoid persecu12 tion by relocating to another part of the 

13 alien’s country of nationality or, if state14 less, another part of the alien’s country of 

15 last habitual residence.’’. 

16 SEC. 207. JURISDICTION OF ASYLUM APPLICATIONS. 

17 Section 208(b)(3) of the Immigration and Nationality 

18 Act (8 U.S.C. 1158) is amended by striking subparagraph 

19 (C). 

20 SEC. 208. RENUNCIATION OF ASYLUM STATUS PURSUANT 

21 TO RETURN TO HOME COUNTRY. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 208(c) of the Immigration 

23 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1158(c)) is amended by 

24 adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(4) RENUNCIATION OF STATUS PURSUANT TO

2 RETURN TO HOME COUNTRY.— 

3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

4 subparagraph (B), any alien who is granted 

5 asylum status under this Act, who, absent 

6 changed country conditions, subsequently re7 turns to the country of such alien’s nationality 

8 or, in the case of an alien having no nationality, 

9 returns to any country in which such alien last 

10 habitually resided, and who applied for such 

11 status because of persecution or a well-founded 

12 fear of persecution in that country on account 

13 of race, religion, nationality, membership in a 

14 particular social group, or political opinion, 

15 shall have his or her status terminated. 

16 ‘‘(B) WAIVER.—The Secretary has discre17 tion to waive subparagraph (A) if it is estab18 lished to the satisfaction of the Secretary that 

19 the alien had a compelling reason for the re20 turn. The waiver may be sought prior to depar21 ture from the United States or upon return.’’. 

22 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 208(c)(3) 

23 of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1158(c)(3)) is amended by inserting 

24 ‘‘or (4)’’ after ‘‘paragraph (2)’’. 


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1 SEC. 209. CLARIFICATION REGARDING EMPLOYMENT ELI2 GIBILITY. 

3 Section 208(d)(2) of the Immigration and Nationality 

4 Act (8 U.S.C. 1158(d)(2)) is amended— 

5 (1) by striking ‘‘prior to 180 days’’ and insert6 ing ‘‘before the date that is 1 year’’; and 

7 (2) by inserting ‘‘and the authorization shall ex8 pire 6 months after the date on which it is granted’’ 

9 before the period at the end. 

10 SEC. 210. NOTICE CONCERNING FRIVOLOUS ASYLUM AP11 PLICATIONS. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 208(d)(4) of the Immi13 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1158(d)(4)) is 

14 amended— 

15 (1) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), 

16 by inserting ‘‘the Secretary of Homeland Security 

17 or’’ before ‘‘the Attorney General’’; 

18 (2) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘and of 

19 the consequences, under paragraph (6), of knowingly 

20 filing a frivolous application for asylum; and’’ and 

21 inserting a semicolon; 

22 (3) in subparagraph (B), by striking the period 

23 at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

24 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

25 ‘‘(C) ensure that a written warning ap26 pears on the asylum application advising the 


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1 alien of the consequences of filing a frivolous 

2 application and serving as notice to the alien of 

3 the consequence of filing a frivolous applica4 tion.’’. 

5 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 208(d)(6) 

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

7 1158(d)(6)) is amended to read as follows: 

8 ‘‘(6) FRIVOLOUS APPLICATIONS.— 

9 ‘‘(A) CONSEQUENCE.—If the Secretary of 

10 Homeland Security or the Attorney General de11 termines that an alien has knowingly made a 

12 frivolous application for asylum after receiving 

13 the written warning required under paragraph 

14 (4)(C), such alien shall be permanently ineli15 gible for any benefits under this chapter, effec16 tive as the date of the final determination of 

17 such an application. 

18 ‘‘(B) DETERMINATION.—An application 

19 shall be considered frivolous if the Secretary of 

20 Homeland Security or the Attorney General de21 termines, consistent with subparagraph (C), 

22 that— 

23 ‘‘(i) the application is so insufficient 

24 in substance that it is clear that the appli25 cant knowingly filed the application solely 


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1 or in part to delay removal from the 

2 United States, to seek employment author3 ization as an applicant for asylum pursu4 ant to regulations issued pursuant to para5 graph (2), or to seek issuance of a Notice 

6 to Appear in order to pursue Cancellation 

7 of Removal under section 240A(b); or 

8 ‘‘(ii) any of the material elements are 

9 knowingly fabricated. 

10 ‘‘(C) OPPORTUNITY TO CLARIFY CLAIM.— 

11 An application may not be considered frivolous 

12 under this paragraph unless the Secretary or 

13 the Attorney General are satisfied that the ap14 plicant, during the course of the proceedings, 

15 has had sufficient opportunity to clarify any 

16 discrepancies or implausible aspects of the ap17 plicant’s claim. 

18 ‘‘(D) WITHHOLDING OF REMOVAL.—A de19 termination under this paragraph that an alien 

20 filed a frivolous asylum application shall not 

21 preclude such alien from seeking withholding of 

22 removal under section 241(b)(3) or protection 

23 pursuant to the Convention Against Torture 

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1 ment or Punishment, done at New York De2 cember 10, 1984.’’. 

3 SEC. 211. CREDIBLE FEAR INTERVIEWS. 

4 Section 235(b)(1)(B)(v) of the Immigration and Na5 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1225(b)(1)(B)(v)) is amended by 

6 striking ‘‘claim’’ and all that follows, and inserting ‘‘claim, 

7 as determined pursuant to section 208(b)(1)(B)(iii), and 

8 such other facts as are known to the officer, that the alien 

9 could establish eligibility for asylum under section 208, 

10 and it is more probable than not that the statements made 

11 by, and on behalf of, the alien in support of the alien’s 

12 claim are true.’’. 

13 SEC. 212. RECORDING EXPEDITED REMOVAL AND CRED14 IBLE FEAR INTERVIEWS. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland Secu16 rity shall establish quality assurance procedures and take 

17 steps to effectively ensure that— 

18 (1) questions by employees of the Department 

19 of Homeland Security exercising expedited removal 

20 authority under section 235(b) of the Immigration 

21 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1225(b)) are asked in 

22 a uniform manner, to the extent possible; and 

23 (2) such questions and the answers provided in 

24 response to such questions are recorded in a uniform 

25 manner. 


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1 (b) CREDIBLE FEAR INTERVIEW CHECKLISTS.—The 

2 Secretary of Homeland Security shall— 

3 (1) provide a checklist of standard questions 

4 and concepts to be addressed in all interviews re5 quired under section 235(b) of the Immigration and 

6 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1225(b)) to immigration 

7 officers exercising decision-making authority in such 

8 interviews; 

9 (2) routinely update such checklist to include 

10 relevant changes to law and procedures; and 

11 (3) require all immigration officers utilizing 

12 such checklists to provide concise justifications of 

13 their decisions regardless of whether credible fear 

14 was or was not established by the alien. 

15 (c) FACTORS RELATING TO SWORN STATEMENTS.— 

16 To the extent practicable, any sworn or signed written 

17 statement taken from an alien as part of the record of 

18 a proceeding under section 235(b)(1)(A) of the Immigra19 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1225(b)(1)(A)) shall 

20 be accompanied by a recording of the interview which 

21 served as the basis for such sworn statement. 

22 (d) INTERPRETERS.—The Secretary of Homeland Se23 curity shall ensure the use of a competent interpreter who 

24 is not affiliated with the government of the country from 


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1 which the alien may claim asylum if the interviewing offi2 cer does not speak a language understood by the alien. 

3 (e) RECORDINGS IN IMMIGRATION PROCEEDINGS.— 

4 All interviews of aliens subject to expedited removal shall 

5 be recorded (either by audio or by audio visual). Such re6 cordings shall be included in the record of proceeding and 

7 shall be considered as evidence in any further proceedings 

8 involving such aliens. 

9 (f) NO PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.—Nothing in this 

10 section may be construed to create— 

11 (1) any right, benefit, trust, or responsibility, 

12 whether substantive or procedural, enforceable in 

13 law or equity by a party against the United States, 

14 its departments, agencies, instrumentalities, entities, 

15 officers, employees, or agents, or any person; or 

16 (2) any right of review in any administrative, 

17 judicial, or other proceeding. 

18 SEC. 213. PENALTIES FOR ASYLUM FRAUD. 

19 Section 1001 of title 18, United States Code, is 

20 amended by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(d) Any person who, in any matter before the Sec22 retary of Homeland Security or the Attorney General per23 taining to asylum under section 208 of the Immigration 

24 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1158) or withholding of reVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S685.IS S685

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1 moval under section 241(b)(3) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 

2 1231(b)(3)), knowingly and willfully— 

3 ‘‘(1) makes any materially false, fictitious, or 

4 fraudulent statement or representation; or 

5 ‘‘(2) makes or uses any false writings or docu6 ment knowing the same to contain any materially 

7 false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or entry, 

8 shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 

9 10 years, or both.’’. 

10 SEC. 214. STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS FOR ASYLUM FRAUD. 

11 Section 3291 of title 18, United States Code, is 

12 amended— 

13 (1) by striking ‘‘1544,’’ and inserting ‘‘1544, 

14 and section 1546,’’; and 

15 (2) by inserting ‘‘or within 10 years after the 

16 fraud is discovered’’ before the period at the end. 

17 SEC. 215. TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS. 

18 Section 208 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 

19 as amended by this title, is further amended— 

20 (1) in subsection (a)— 

21 (A) in paragraph (2)(D), by inserting 

22 ‘‘Secretary of Homeland Security or the’’ before 

23 ‘‘Attorney General’’; and 


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1 (B) in paragraph (3), by inserting ‘‘Sec2 retary of Homeland Security or the’’ before 

3 ‘‘Attorney General’’; 

4 (2) in subsection (b)(2), by inserting ‘‘Secretary 

5 of Homeland Security or the’’ before ‘‘Attorney Gen6 eral’’ each place such term appears; 

7 (3) in subsection (c)— 

8 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘Attor9 ney General’’ each place such term appears and 

10 inserting ‘‘Secretary of Homeland Security’’; 

11 (B) in paragraph (2), in the matter pre12 ceding subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘Sec13 retary of Homeland Security or the’’ before 

14 ‘‘Attorney General’’; and 

15 (C) in paragraph (3), by inserting ‘‘Sec16 retary of Homeland Security or the’’ before 

17 ‘‘Attorney General’’; and 

18 (4) in subsection (d)— 

19 (A) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘Sec20 retary of Homeland Security or the’’ before 

21 ‘‘Attorney General’’ each place such term ap22 pears; 

23 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘Attor24 ney General’’ and inserting ‘‘Secretary of 

25 Homeland Security’’; and 


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1 (C) in paragraph (5)— 

2 (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

3 ‘‘Attorney General’’ and inserting ‘‘Sec4 retary of Homeland Security’’; and 

5 (ii) in subparagraph (B), by inserting 

6 ‘‘Secretary of Homeland Security or the’’ 

7 before ‘‘Attorney General’’. 

Æ 


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