II 

Calendar No. 397 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4361 

Making emergency supplemental appropriations for border security and combatting fentanyl for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2024, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 16, 2024 

Mr. MURPHY introduced the following bill; which was read the first time 

MAY 20, 2024 

Read the second time and placed on the calendar 

A BILL 

Making emergency supplemental appropriations for border 

security and combatting fentanyl for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2024, 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 ‘‘Border Act of 2024’’. 

5 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

6 The table of contents of this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short Title. 


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Sec. 2. Table of Contents. 

Sec. 3. References. 

DIVISION A—BORDER SECURITY AND COMBATTING FENTANYL 

SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2024 

DIVISION B—BORDER ACT 

1 SEC. 3. REFERENCES. 

2 Except as expressly provided otherwise, any reference 

3 to ‘‘this Act’’ contained in any division of this Act shall 

4 be treated as referring only to the provisions of that divi5 sion. 


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1 DIVISION A—BORDER SECURITY AND 

2 COMBATTING FENTANYL SUPPLE3 MENTAL APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2024 

4 The following sums are appropriated, out of any 

5 money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for the 

6 fiscal year ending September 30, 2024, and for other pur7 poses, namely: 

8 TITLE I 

9 DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE 

10 EXECUTIVE OFFICE FOR IMMIGRATION REVIEW

11 For an additional amount for ‘‘Executive Office for 

12 Immigration Review’’, $440,000,000, to remain available 

13 until September 30, 2026: Provided, That of the total 

14 amounts provided under this heading in this Act, 

15 $404,000,000 shall be for Immigration Judge Teams, in16 cluding appropriate attorneys, law clerks, paralegals, court 

17 administrators, and other support staff, as well as nec18 essary court and adjudicatory costs, and $36,000,000 

19 shall be for representation for certain incompetent adults 

20 pursuant to section 240(e) of the Immigration and Na21 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1229a(e)): Provided further, That 

22 not more than 3 percent of the funds available for rep23 resentation for certain incompetent adults in the preceding 

24 proviso shall be available for necessary administrative ex25 penses: Provided further, That with the exception of immiVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:05 May 21, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4361.PCS S4361

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1 gration judges appointed pursuant to section 1003.10 of 

2 title 8, Code of Federal Regulations, amounts provided 

3 under this heading in this Act for Immigration Judge 

4 Teams may not be used to increase the number of perma5 nent positions: Provided further, That the Executive Office 

6 for Immigration Review shall submit a spending plan to 

7 the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Rep8 resentatives and the Senate within 45 days after the date 

9 of enactment of this Act: Provided further, That such 

10 amount is designated by the Congress as being for an 

11 emergency requirement pursuant to section 

12 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency 

13 Deficit Control Act of 1985. 

14 LEGAL ACTIVITIES

15 SALARIES AND EXPENSES, GENERAL LEGAL ACTIVITIES

16 For an additional amount for ‘‘Salaries and Ex17 penses, General Legal Activities’’, $11,800,000, to remain 

18 available until September 30, 2026, for necessary expenses 

19 of the Criminal Division associated with the Joint Task 

20 Force Alpha’s efforts to combat human trafficking and 

21 smuggling in the Western Hemisphere: Provided, That 

22 such amount is designated by the Congress as being for 

23 an emergency requirement pursuant to section 

24 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency 

25 Deficit Control Act of 1985. 


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1 UNITED STATES MARSHALS SERVICE

2 FEDERAL PRISONER DETENTION

3 For an additional amount for ‘‘United States Mar4 shals Service—Federal Prisoner Detention’’, 

5 $210,000,000, to remain available until expended, for de6 tention costs due to enforcement activities along the south7 ern and northern borders: Provided, That such amount is 

8 designated by the Congress as being for an emergency re9 quirement pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Bal10 anced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985. 

11 FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION

12 SALARIES AND EXPENSES

13 For an additional amount for ‘‘Federal Bureau of In14 vestigation—Salaries and Expenses’’, $204,000,000, to 

15 remain available until September 30, 2026, for expenses 

16 related to the analysis of DNA samples, including those 

17 samples collected from migrants detained by the United 

18 States Border Patrol: Provided, That such amount is des19 ignated by the Congress as being for an emergency re20 quirement pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Bal21 anced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985. 

22 DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION

23 SALARIES AND EXPENSES

24 For an additional amount for ‘‘Drug Enforcement 

25 Administration—Salaries and Expenses’’, $23,200,000, to 


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1 remain available until September 30, 2026, to enhance 

2 laboratory analysis of illicit fentanyl samples to trace illicit 

3 fentanyl supplies back to manufacturers, to support Oper4 ation Overdrive, and to bolster criminal drug network tar5 geting efforts through data system improvements: Pro6 vided, That such amount is designated by the Congress 

7 as being for an emergency requirement pursuant to sec8 tion 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget and Emer9 gency Deficit Control Act of 1985. 


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1 TITLE II 

2 DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY 

3 DEPARTMENTAL MANAGEMENT, INTEL4 LIGENCE, SITUATIONAL AWARENESS, AND 

5 OVERSIGHT 

6 OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY AND EXECUTIVE

7 MANAGEMENT

8 OPERATIONS AND SUPPORT

9 For an additional amount for ‘‘Office of the Secretary 

10 and Executive Management—Operations and Support’’, 

11 $33,000,000, to remain available until September 30, 

12 2026, of which $30,000,000 shall be for necessary ex13 penses relating to monitoring, recording, analyzing, public 

14 reporting on, and projecting migration flows and the im15 pacts policy changes and funding have on flows and re16 lated resource requirements for border security, immigra17 tion enforcement, and immigration services and of which 

18 $3,000,000 shall be for the Office of the Immigration De19 tention Ombudsman for reporting and oversight relating 

20 to expanded detention capacity: Provided, That such 

21 amount is designated by the Congress as being for an 

22 emergency requirement pursuant to section 

23 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency 

24 Deficit Control Act of 1985. 


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1 SECURITY, ENFORCEMENT, AND 

2 INVESTIGATIONS 

3 U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION

4 OPERATIONS AND SUPPORT

5 (INCLUDING TRANSFER OF FUNDS)

6 For an additional amount for ‘‘U.S. Customs and 

7 Border Protection—Operations and Support’’, 

8 $4,001,239,000, to remain available until September 30, 

9 2026: Provided, That of the total amount provided under 

10 this heading in this Act, $2,091,363,000 shall be for oper11 ational requirements relating to migration surges along 

12 the southwest border, counter-fentanyl activities, nec13 essary expenses at ports of entry, reimbursement to the 

14 Department of Defense for border operations support, and 

15 other related expenses; $1,134,876,000 shall be for the 

16 hiring of U.S. Customs and Border Protection personnel; 

17 $25,000,000 shall be for familial DNA testing; and 

18 $750,000,000 shall be transferred to ‘‘Federal Emergency 

19 Management Agency—Federal Assistance’’ to support 

20 sheltering and related activities provided by non-Federal 

21 entities through the Shelter and Services Program: Pro22 vided further, That such amount is designated by the Con23 gress as being for an emergency requirement pursuant to 

24 section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget and 

25 Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985. 


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1 PROCUREMENT, CONSTRUCTION, AND IMPROVEMENTS

2 For an additional amount for ‘‘U.S. Customs and 

3 Border Protection—Procurement, Construction, and Im4 provements’’, $2,334,000,000, to remain available until 

5 September 30, 2027: Provided, That of the total amount 

6 provided under this heading in this Act, $2,000,000,000 

7 shall be for acquisition and deployment of non-intrusive 

8 inspection technology, $260,000,000 shall be for acquisi9 tion and deployment of border security technology, and 

10 $74,000,000 shall be for acquisition and deployment of air 

11 assets: Provided further, That such amount is designated 

12 by the Congress as being for an emergency requirement 

13 pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budg14 et and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985. 

15 U.S. IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT

16 OPERATIONS AND SUPPORT

17 For an additional amount for ‘‘U.S. Immigration and 

18 Customs Enforcement—Operations and Support’’, 

19 $6,043,876,000, to remain available until September 30, 

20 2026: Provided, That of the total amount provided under 

21 this heading in this Act, $1,671,614,000 shall be for in22 creased custodial detention capacity, $2,465,643,000 shall 

23 be for increased removal flights and related activities, in24 cluding short-term staging facilities, $415,752,000 shall 

25 be for hiring U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement 


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1 personnel, $203,765,000 shall be for counter fentanyl in2 vestigations and enforcement, and $1,287,102,000 shall 

3 be for increased enrollment capabilities and related activi4 ties within the Alternatives to Detention program: Pro5 vided further, That such amount is designated by the Con6 gress as being for an emergency requirement pursuant to 

7 section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget and 

8 Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985. 

9 PROTECTION, PREPAREDNESS, RESPONSE, AND 

10 RECOVERY 

11 FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY

12 FEDERAL ASSISTANCE

13 For an additional amount for ‘‘Federal Emergency 

14 Management Agency—Federal Assistance’’, 

15 $100,000,000, to remain available until September 30, 

16 2025, for Operation Stonegarden: Provided, That not less 

17 than 25 percent of the total amount provided under this 

18 heading in this Act shall be for States other than those 

19 located along the southwest border: Provided further, That 

20 such amount is designated by the Congress as being for 

21 an emergency requirement pursuant to section 

22 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency 

23 Deficit Control Act of 1985. 


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1 RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, TRAINING, AND 

2 SERVICES 

3 U.S. CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION SERVICES

4 OPERATIONS AND SUPPORT

5 For an additional amount for ‘‘U.S. Citizenship and 

6 Immigration Services—Operations and Support’’, 

7 $3,995,842,000, to remain available until September 30, 

8 2026: Provided, That of the total amount provided under 

9 this heading in this Act, $3,383,262,000 shall be for hir10 ing and associated costs, $112,580,000 shall be for non11 personnel operations, including transcription services, and 

12 $500,000,000 shall be for facilities: Provided further, That 

13 such amounts shall be in addition to any other amounts 

14 made available for such purposes, and shall not be con15 strued to require any reduction of any fee described in 

16 section 286(m) of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

17 (8 U.S.C. 1356(m)): Provided further, That such amount 

18 is designated by the Congress as being for an emergency 

19 requirement pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the 

20 Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 

21 1985. 

22 FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT TRAINING CENTERS

23 OPERATIONS AND SUPPORT

24 For an additional amount for ‘‘Federal Law Enforce25 ment Training Centers—Operations and Support’’, 


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1 $50,703,000, to remain available until September 30, 

2 2026: Provided, That of the total amount provided under 

3 this heading in this Act, $49,603,000 shall be for training4 related expenses, to include instructors, tuition, and over5 head costs associated with the delivery of basic law en6 forcement training and $1,100,000 shall be for the nec7 essary mission support activities and facility maintenance 

8 required for law enforcement training: Provided further, 

9 That such amount is designated by the Congress as being 

10 for an emergency requirement pursuant to section 

11 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency 

12 Deficit Control Act of 1985. 

13 GENERAL PROVISIONS—THIS TITLE 

14 SEC. 201. (a) The Secretary shall, by March 1, 2025, 

15 and quarterly thereafter, provide to the Committees on 

16 Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the 

17 Senate a report describing changes in performance metrics 

18 and operational capabilities relating to border security, im19 migration enforcement, and immigration services, and the 

20 relationship of those changes to actual and projected en21 counters on the southwest border. 

22 (b) The report required by subsection (a) shall also 

23 include an analytic assessment of how policy changes and 

24 resources provided in this title of this Act impact effi25 ciencies and resource needs for— 


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1 (1) other programs within the Department; and 

2 (2) other Federal Departments and agencies. 

3 SEC. 202. (a) Amounts made available in this Act 

4 under the heading ‘‘U.S. Customs and Border Protec5 tion—Procurement, Construction, and Improvements’’ for 

6 acquisition and deployment of border security technology 

7 shall be available only as follows: 

8 (1) $170,000,000 for the procurement and de9 ployment of autonomous surveillance towers systems 

10 in locations that are not currently covered by such 

11 systems or technology, as defined in subsection (d); 

12 (2) $47,500,000 for the procurement and de13 ployment of mobile surveillance capabilities, includ14 ing mobile video surveillance systems and for obso15 lete mobile surveillance equipment replacement, 

16 counter-UAS, and small unmanned aerial systems; 

17 (3) $25,000,000 for subterranean detection ca18 pabilities; 

19 (4) $7,500,000 for seamless integrated commu20 nications to extend connectivity for Border Patrol 

21 agents; and 

22 (5) $10,000,000 for the acquisition of data 

23 from long duration unmanned surface vehicles in 

24 support of maritime border security. 


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1 (b) None of the funds available under subsection 

2 (a)(1) shall be used for the procurement or deployment 

3 of border security technology that is not autonomous. 

4 (c) For the purposes of this section, ‘‘autonomous’’ 

5 and ‘‘autonomous surveillance tower systems’’ are defined 

6 as integrated software and/or hardware systems that uti7 lize sensors, onboard computing, and artificial intelligence 

8 to identify items of interest that would otherwise be manu9 ally identified by personnel. 

10 (d) Not later than 90 days after the date of enact11 ment of this Act, and monthly thereafter, U.S. Customs 

12 and Border Protection shall provide to the Committees on 

13 Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the 

14 Senate an expenditure plan for the use of the funds avail15 able under subsection (a)(1) and such expenditure plan 

16 shall include the following: 

17 (1) the number and type of systems that will be 

18 procured; 

19 (2) the U.S. Border Patrol sectors where each 

20 system will be deployed; 

21 (3) a timeline for system deployments, including 

22 a timeline for securing necessary approvals and land 

23 rights; 

24 (4) estimated annual sustainment costs for the 

25 systems; and 


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1 (5) other supporting information. 

2 SEC. 203. (a) Amounts made available in this Act 

3 under the heading ‘‘U.S. Customs and Border Protec4 tion—Procurement, Construction, and Improvements’’ for 

5 acquisition and deployment of non-intrusive inspection 

6 technology shall be available only through an open com7 petition occurring after the date of enactment of this Act 

8 to acquire innovative technologies that improve perform9 ance, including through the integration of artificial intel10 ligence and machine learning capabilities. 

11 (b) Beginning on March 1, 2025, the Commissioner 

12 of U.S. Customs and Border Protection shall provide to 

13 the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Rep14 resentatives and the Senate a quarterly update on the im15 pacts of deployments of additional non-intrusive inspection 

16 technology on key performance metrics and operational ca17 pabilities and such expenditure plan shall include the fol18 lowing: 

19 (1) the percentage of passenger and cargo vehi20 cles scanned; 

21 (2) the percentage of seizures of narcotics, cur22 rency, weapons, and ammunition, and other illicit 

23 items at inbound and outbound operations at ports 

24 of entry, checkpoints, and other locations as applica25 ble; and 


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1 (3) the impact on U.S. Customs and Border 

2 Protection workforce requirements resulting from 

3 the deployment of additional non-intrusive inspection 

4 technology. 

5 SEC. 204. (a) Not later than 30 days after the date 

6 of enactment of this Act, the Under Secretary for Manage7 ment at the Department of Homeland Security shall pro8 vide to the Committees on Appropriations of the House 

9 of Representatives and the Senate an expenditure and hir10 ing plan for amounts made available in this title of this 

11 Act. 

12 (b) The plan required in subsection (a) shall not 

13 apply to funds made available in this Act under the head14 ing ‘‘Federal Emergency Management Agency—Federal 

15 Assistance’’ or to funds transferred by this Act to such 

16 heading. 

17 (c) The plan required in subsection (a) shall be up18 dated and submitted to the Committees on Appropriations 

19 of the House of Representatives and the Senate every 30 

20 days and no later than the 5th day of each month to re21 flect changes to the plan and expenditures of funds until 

22 all funds made available in this title of this Act are ex23 pended or have expired. 


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1 (d) None of the funds made available in this title of 

2 this Act may be obligated prior to the submission of such 

3 plan. 

4 SEC. 205. The remaining unobligated balances, as of 

5 the date of enactment of this Act, from amounts made 

6 available under the heading ‘‘U.S. Customs and Border 

7 Protection—Procurement, Construction, and Improve8 ments’’ in division D of the Consolidated Appropriations 

9 Act, 2020 (Public Law 116–93) and described in section 

10 209(a)(1) of such division of that Act and division F of 

11 the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Public Law 

12 116–260) and described in section 210 of such division 

13 of that Act are hereby rescinded, and an amount of addi14 tional new budget authority equivalent to the amount re15 scinded pursuant to this section is hereby appropriated, 

16 for an additional amount for fiscal year 2024, to remain 

17 available until September 30, 2028, and shall be available 

18 for the same purposes and under the same authorities and 

19 conditions for which such amounts were originally pro20 vided in such Acts: Provided, That none of the funds allo21 cated for pedestrian physical barriers pursuant to this sec22 tion may be made available for any purpose other than 

23 the construction of steel bollard pedestrian barrier built 

24 at least 18 to 30 feet in effective height and augmented 

25 with anti-climb and anti-dig features: Provided further, 


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1 That for purposes of this section, the term ‘‘effective 

2 height’’ refers to the height above the level of the adjacent 

3 terrain features: Provided further, That none of the funds 

4 allocated for pedestrian physical barriers pursuant to this 

5 section may be made available for any purpose other than 

6 construction of pedestrian barriers consistent with the de7 scription in the first proviso at locations identified in the 

8 Border Security Improvement Plan submitted to Congress 

9 on August 1, 2020: Provided further, That the Commis10 sioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection may 

11 reprioritize the construction of physical barriers outlined 

12 in the Border Security Improvement Plan and, with prior 

13 approval of the Committees on Appropriations of the 

14 House of Representatives and the Senate, add additional 

15 miles of pedestrian physical barriers where no such bar16 riers exist, prioritized by operational requirements devel17 oped in coordination with U.S. Border Patrol leadership: 

18 Provided further, That within 180 days of the date of en19 actment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit a report 

20 to the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Rep21 resentatives and the Senate detailing how the funds will 

22 be used, by sector, to include the number of miles to be 

23 built: Provided further, That none of the funds made avail24 able pursuant to this section shall be available for obligaVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:05 May 21, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00018 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4361.PCS S4361

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1 tion until the Secretary submits the report detailed in the 

2 preceding proviso. 

3 SEC. 206. (a) Not later than 60 days after the date 

4 of the enactment of this Act and monthly thereafter, the 

5 Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement 

6 (in this section, referred to as the ‘‘Director’’) shall pro7 vide to the Committees on Appropriations of the House 

8 of Representatives and the Senate data detailing the num9 ber of weekly removal flights conducted by U.S. Immigra10 tion and Customs Enforcement, the cost per flight, the 

11 number of individuals by nationality on each flight, the 

12 average length of time by nationality between when the 

13 individual was removed and when the individual’s final 

14 order of removal was issued, and the number of empty 

15 seats on each flight. 

16 (b) The Director shall also provide to the Committees 

17 on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the 

18 Senate data detailing the number of voluntary repatri19 ations coordinated by U.S. Immigration and Customs En20 forcement, the costs associated with each repatriation, the 

21 number of individuals by nationality, the average length 

22 of time by nationality between when the individual was 

23 removed and when the individual’s final order of removal 

24 was issued, and the number of individuals that have opted 

25 into this program still awaiting repatriation. 


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1 SEC. 207. (a) Not later than 30 days after the date 

2 of enactment of this Act and weekly thereafter, the Direc3 tor of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (in 

4 this section referred to as the ‘‘Director’’) shall provide 

5 to the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Rep6 resentatives and the Senate a plan to increase custodial 

7 detention capacity using the funds provided for such pur8 pose in this title of this Act, until such funds are ex9 pended. 

10 (b) The plan required by subsection (a) shall also in11 clude data on all detention capacity to which U.S. Immi12 gration and Customs Enforcement has access but cannot 

13 use, the reason that the capacity cannot be used, and a 

14 course of action for mitigating utilization issues. 

15 (c) The Director shall provide notice to the Commit16 tees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives 

17 and the Senate in the plan required by subsection (a) of 

18 any planned facility acquisitions, cost data, utilization 

19 rates, increase of average daily population, and notice of 

20 any termination or reduction of a contract for detention 

21 space, whether such actions are funded by this Act or any 

22 other Act for this or prior fiscal years. 

23 (d) The Director shall notify the Committees on Ap24 propriations of the House of Representatives and the Sen25 ate not less than 30 days prior to the planned date of 


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1 a contract termination or implementation of a reduction 

2 in detention capacity. 

3 SEC. 208. None of the funds provided in this title 

4 of this Act for ‘‘U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforce5 ment—Operations Support’’ may be used for community6 based residential facilities. 

7 SEC. 209. (a) Prior to the Secretary of Homeland Se8 curity (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) re9 questing assistance from the Department of Defense for 

10 border security operations, the Secretary shall ensure that 

11 an alternatives analysis and cost-benefit analysis is con12 ducted that includes data on the cost effectiveness of ob13 taining such assistance from the Department of Defense 

14 in lieu of other options. 

15 (b) The Secretary shall submit to the Committees on 

16 Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the 

17 Senate, a report detailing the types of support sought by 

18 the Secretary in any request for assistance from the De19 partment of Defense for border security operations and 

20 the operational impact of such request on Department of 

21 Homeland Security operations within 30 days of the date 

22 of enactment of this Act and quarterly thereafter. 

23 (c) The Secretary shall include with the data re24 quested in subsection (b) the results of the alternatives 


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1 analysis and cost-benefit analysis required under sub2 section (a). 

3 SEC. 210. Eligibility for funding made available by 

4 this title of this Act for transfer from ‘‘U.S. Customs and 

5 Border Protection—Operations and Support’’ to ‘‘Federal 

6 Emergency Management Agency—Federal Assistance’’ 

7 for the Shelter and Services Program shall not be limited 

8 to entities that previously received or applied for funding 

9 for the Shelter and Services Program or the Emergency 

10 Food and Shelter-Humanitarian program. 

11 SEC. 211. Of the total amount provided under the 

12 heading ‘‘U.S. Customs and Border Protection—Oper13 ations and Support’’ in this title of this Act for transfer 

14 to ‘‘Federal Emergency Management Agency—Federal 

15 Assistance’’ for the Shelter and Services Program— 

16 (1) not more than $500,000,000 shall be avail17 able for transfer immediately upon enactment of this 

18 Act; 

19 (2) an additional $188,000,000 shall be avail20 able for transfer upon submission of a written cer21 tification by the Secretary of Homeland Security, to 

22 the Committees on Appropriations of the House of 

23 Representatives and the Senate, that U.S. Immigra24 tion and Customs Enforcement has— 


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1 (A) the ability to detain 46,500 individuals 

2 and has increased the total number of Enforce3 ment and Removal Operations deportation offi4 cers by 200 above the current on board levels 

5 as of the date of enactment of this Act; 

6 (B) increased the total number of U.S. 

7 Customs and Border Protection officers by 200 

8 above the current on board levels as of the date 

9 of enactment of this Act; and 

10 (C) increased the total number of U.S. 

11 Citizenship and Immigration Services asylum 

12 officers by 800 above the current on board lev13 els as of the date of enactment of this Act; and 

14 (3) an additional $62,000,000 shall be available 

15 for transfer upon submission of a written certifi16 cation by the Secretary of Homeland Security, to the 

17 Committees on Appropriations of the House of Rep18 resentatives and the Senate, that U.S. Immigration 

19 and Customs Enforcement has— 

20 (A) conducted a total of 1,500 removal 

21 flights since the date of enactment of this Act; 

22 and 

23 (B) ensured that at least 75 percent of 

24 Border Patrol agents assigned to duty along the 

25 southwest land border have been trained on the 


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1 procedures included in sections 235B and 244B 

2 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. 


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1 TITLE III 

2 DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN 

3 SERVICES 

4 ADMINISTRATION FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES

5 REFUGEE AND ENTRANT ASSISTANCE

6 For an additional amount for ‘‘Refugee and Entrant 

7 Assistance’’, $350,000,000, to remain available until ex8 pended, for carrying out section 235(c)(5)(B) of the Wil9 liam Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthor10 ization Act of 2008 (8 U.S.C. 1232(c)(5)(B)): Provided, 

11 That for the purposes of carrying out such section the Sec12 retary of Health and Human Services may use amounts 

13 made available under this heading in this Act to award 

14 grants to, or enter into contracts with, public, private, or 

15 nonprofit organizations, including States: Provided fur16 ther, That such amount is designated by the Congress as 

17 being for an emergency requirement pursuant to section 

18 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency 

19 Deficit Control Act of 1985. 


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1 TITLE IV 

2 DEPARTMENT OF STATE AND RELATED 

3 AGENCY 

4 BILATERAL ECONOMIC ASSISTANCE 

5 FUNDS APPROPRIATED TO THE PRESIDENT

6 INTERNATIONAL DISASTER ASSISTANCE

7 For an additional amount for ‘‘International Disaster 

8 Assistance’’, $850,000,000, to remain available until ex9 pended, to address humanitarian needs in the Western 

10 Hemisphere: Provided, That such amount is designated by 

11 the Congress as being for an emergency requirement pur12 suant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget 

13 and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985. 

14 ECONOMIC SUPPORT FUND

15 For an additional amount for ‘‘Economic Support 

16 Fund’’, $415,000,000, to remain available until Sep17 tember 30, 2026: Provided, That of the total amount made 

18 available under this heading in this Act, $230,000,000 

19 shall be made available to increase foreign country capac20 ity to accept and integrate returned and removed individ21 uals, which shall be administered in consultation with the 

22 Secretary of Homeland Security, including to address 

23 partner government requests that enable the achievement 

24 of such objectives, as appropriate: Provided further, That 

25 of the total amount made available under this heading in 


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1 this Act, $185,000,000 shall be made available to reduce 

2 irregular migration within the Western Hemisphere: Pro3 vided further, That prior to the obligation of funds made 

4 available pursuant to the preceding proviso that are made 

5 available to support the repatriation operations of a for6 eign government, the Secretary of State shall submit to 

7 the appropriate congressional committees a monitoring 

8 and oversight plan for the use of such funds, and such 

9 funds shall be subject to prior consultation with such com10 mittees and the regular notification procedures of the 

11 Committees on Appropriations: Provided further, That the 

12 Secretary of State shall submit to such committees the 

13 text of any agreements or awards related to such oper14 ations, which may include documents submitted in classi15 fied form, as appropriate, including any agreement with 

16 a foreign government, nongovernment entity, or inter17 national organization, as applicable, not later than 5 days 

18 after the effective date of such document: Provided further, 

19 That funds appropriated under this heading in this Act 

20 may be made available as contributions: Provided further, 

21 That funds appropriated under this heading in this Act 

22 shall not be used to support the refoulement of migrants 

23 or refugees: Provided further, That such amount is des24 ignated by the Congress as being for an emergency reVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:05 May 21, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4361.PCS S4361

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1 quirement pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Bal2 anced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985. 

3 INTERNATIONAL SECURITY ASSISTANCE 

4 DEPARTMENT OF STATE

5 INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS CONTROL AND LAW

6 ENFORCEMENT

7 For an additional amount for ‘‘International Nar8 cotics Control and Law Enforcement’’, $25,000,000, to re9 main available until September 30, 2025, to counter the 

10 flow of fentanyl, fentanyl precursors, and other synthetic 

11 drugs into the United States, following consultation with 

12 the Committees on Appropriations: Provided, That such 

13 amount is designated by the Congress as being for an 

14 emergency requirement pursuant to section 

15 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency 

16 Deficit Control Act of 1985.. 


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1 TITLE V 

2 GENERAL PROVISIONS—THIS ACT 

3 SEC. 501. Each amount appropriated or made avail4 able by this Act is in addition to amounts otherwise appro5 priated for the fiscal year involved. 

6 SEC. 502. No part of any appropriation contained in 

7 this Act shall remain available for obligation beyond the 

8 current fiscal year unless expressly so provided herein. 

9 SEC. 503. Unless otherwise provided for by this Act, 

10 the additional amounts appropriated by this Act to appro11 priations accounts shall be available under the authorities 

12 and conditions applicable to such appropriations accounts 

13 for fiscal year 2024. 

14 SEC. 504. Each amount designated in this Act by the 

15 Congress as being for an emergency requirement pursuant 

16 to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget and 

17 Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 shall be available 

18 (or repurposed or rescinded, if applicable) only if the 

19 President subsequently so designates all such amounts 

20 and transmits such designations to the Congress. 

21 SEC. 505. Any amount appropriated by this Act, des22 ignated by the Congress as an emergency requirement 

23 pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budg24 et and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, and subse25 quently so designated by the President, and transferred 


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1 pursuant to transfer authorities provided by this Act shall 

2 retain such designation. 

3 This division may be cited as the ‘‘Border Security 

4 and Combatting Fentanyl Supplemental Appropriations 

5 Act, 2024’’. 


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1 DIVISION B—BORDER ACT 

2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This division may be cited as the 

4 ‘‘Border Act’’. 

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

6 this division is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

TITLE I—CAPACITY BUILDING 

Subtitle A—Hiring, Training, and Systems Modernization 

CHAPTER 1—HIRING AUTHORITIES

Sec. 101. USCIS direct hire authority. 

Sec. 102. ICE direct hire authority. 

Sec. 103. Reemployment of civilian retirees to meet exceptional employment 

needs. 

Sec. 104. Establishment of special pay rate for asylum officers. 

CHAPTER 2—HIRING WAIVERS

Sec. 111. Hiring flexibility. 

Sec. 112. Supplemental Commissioner authority and definitions. 

CHAPTER 3—ALTERNATIVES TO DETENTION IMPROVEMENTS AND TRAINING

FOR U.S. BORDER PATROL

Sec. 121. Alternatives to detention improvements. 

Sec. 122. Training for U.S. Border Patrol. 

CHAPTER 4—MODERNIZING NOTICES TO APPEAR

Sec. 131. Electronic notices to appear. 

Sec. 132. Authority to prepare and issue notices to appear. 

Subtitle B—Asylum Processing at the Border 

Sec. 141. Provisional noncustodial removal proceedings. 

Sec. 142. Protection merits removal proceedings. 

Sec. 143. Voluntary departure after noncustodial processing; withdrawal of application for admission. 

Sec. 144. Voluntary repatriation. 

Sec. 145. Immigration Examinations Fee Account. 

Sec. 146. Border reforms. 

Sec. 147. Protection Appellate Board. 

TITLE II—ASYLUM PROCESSING ENHANCEMENTS 

Sec. 201. Combined screenings. 


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Sec. 202. Credible fear standard and asylum bars at screening interview. 

Sec. 203. Internal relocation. 

Sec. 204. Asylum officer clarification. 

TITLE III—SECURING AMERICA 

Subtitle A—Border Emergency Authority 

Sec. 301. Border emergency authority. 

Subtitle B—Fulfilling Promises to Afghan Allies 

Sec. 311. Definitions. 

Sec. 312. Support for Afghan allies outside the United States. 

Sec. 313. Conditional permanent resident status for eligible individuals. 

Sec. 314. Refugee processes for certain at-risk Afghan allies. 

Sec. 315. Improving efficiency and oversight of refugee and special immigrant 

processing. 

Sec. 316. Support for certain vulnerable Afghans relating to employment by or 

on behalf of the United States. 

Sec. 317. Support for allies seeking resettlement in the United States. 

Sec. 318. Reporting. 

TITLE IV—PROMOTING LEGAL IMMIGRATION 

Sec. 401. Employment authorization for fiance ́s, fiance ́es, spouses, and children 

of United States citizens and specialty workers. 

Sec. 402. Additional visas. 

Sec. 403. Children of long-term visa holders. 

Sec. 404. Military naturalization modernization. 

Sec. 405. Temporary family visits. 

TITLE V—SELF-SUFFICIENCY AND DUE PROCESS 

Subtitle A—Work Authorizations 

Sec. 501. Work authorization. 

Sec. 502. Employment eligibility. 

Subtitle B—Protecting Due Process 

Sec. 511. Access to counsel. 

Sec. 512. Counsel for certain unaccompanied alien children. 

Sec. 513. Counsel for certain incompetent individuals. 

Sec. 514. Conforming amendment. 

TITLE VI—ACCOUNTABILITY AND METRICS 

Sec. 601. Employment authorization compliance. 

Sec. 602. Legal access in custodial settings. 

Sec. 603. Credible fear and protection determinations. 

Sec. 604. Publication of operational statistics by U.S. Customs and Border 

Protection. 

Sec. 605. Utilization of parole authorities. 

Sec. 606. Accountability in provisional removal proceedings. 

Sec. 607. Accountability in voluntary repatriation, withdrawal, and departure. 


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Sec. 608. GAO analysis of immigration judge and asylum officer decision-making regarding asylum, withholding of removal, and protection 

under the Convention Against Torture. 

Sec. 609. Report on counsel for unaccompanied alien children. 

Sec. 610. Recalcitrant countries. 

TITLE VII—OTHER MATTERS 

Sec. 701. Severability. 

TITLE VIII—BUDGETARY EFFECTS 

Sec. 801. Budgetary effects. 

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this division: 

3 (1) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON4 GRESS.—Except as otherwise explicitly provided, the 

5 term ‘‘appropriate committees of Congress’’ 

6 means— 

7 (A) the Committee on Appropriations of 

8 the Senate; 

9 (B) the Committee on the Judiciary of the 

10 Senate; 

11 (C) the Committee on Homeland Security 

12 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; 

13 (D) the Committee on Appropriations of 

14 the House of Representatives; 

15 (E) the Committee on the Judiciary of the 

16 House of Representatives; and 

17 (F) the Committee on Homeland Security 

18 of the House of Representatives. 

19 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

20 the Secretary of Homeland Security. 


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1 TITLE I—CAPACITY BUILDING 

2 Subtitle A—Hiring, Training, and 

3 Systems Modernization 

4 CHAPTER 1—HIRING AUTHORITIES 

5 SEC. 101. USCIS DIRECT HIRE AUTHORITY. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may appoint, with7 out regard to the provisions of sections 3309 through 

8 3319 of title 5, United States Code, candidates needed for 

9 positions within the Refugee, Asylum and International 

10 Operations Directorate, the Field Operations Directorate, 

11 and the Service Center Operations Directorate of U.S. 

12 Citizenship and Immigration Services for which— 

13 (1) public notice has been given; 

14 (2) the Secretary has determined that a critical 

15 hiring need exists; and 

16 (3) the Secretary has consulted with the Direc17 tor of the Office of Personnel Management regard18 ing— 

19 (A) the positions for which the Secretary 

20 plans to recruit; 

21 (B) the quantity of candidates Secretary is 

22 seeking; and 

23 (C) the assessment and selection policies 

24 the Secretary plans to utilize. 


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1 (b) DEFINITION OF CRITICAL HIRING NEED.—In 

2 this section, the term ‘‘critical hiring need’’ means per3 sonnel necessary for the implementation of this division 

4 and associated work. 

5 (c) REPORTING.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

6 of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for the 

7 following 4 years, the Secretary, in consultation with the 

8 Director of the Office of Personnel Management, shall 

9 submit to Congress a report that includes— 

10 (1) demographic data, including veteran status, 

11 regarding individuals hired pursuant to the authority 

12 under subsection (a); 

13 (2) salary information of individuals hired pur14 suant to such authority; and 

15 (3) how the Department of Homeland Security 

16 exercised such authority consistently with merit sys17 tem principles. 

18 (d) SUNSET.—The authority to make an appointment 

19 under this section shall terminate on the date that is 5 

20 years after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

21 SEC. 102. ICE DIRECT HIRE AUTHORITY. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may appoint, with23 out regard to the provisions of sections 3309 through 

24 3319 of title 5, United States Code, candidates needed for 

25 positions within Enforcement and Removal Operations of 


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1 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement as a deporta2 tion officer or with duties exclusively relating to the En3 forcement and Removal, Custody Operations, Alternatives 

4 to Detention, or Transportation and Removal program for 

5 which— 

6 (1) public notice has been given; 

7 (2) the Secretary has determined that a critical 

8 hiring need exists; and 

9 (3) the Secretary has consulted with the Direc10 tor of the Office of Personnel Management regard11 ing— 

12 (A) the positions for which the Secretary 

13 plans to recruit; 

14 (B) the quantity of candidates the Sec15 retary is seeking; and 

16 (C) the assessment and selection policies 

17 the Secretary plans to utilize. 

18 (b) DEFINITION OF CRITICAL HIRING NEED.—In 

19 this section, the term ‘‘critical hiring need’’ means per20 sonnel necessary for the implementation of this division 

21 and associated work. 

22 (c) REPORTING.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

23 of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for 

24 the following 4 years, the Secretary, in consultation with 


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1 the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, shall 

2 submit to Congress a report that includes— 

3 (1) demographic data, including veteran status, 

4 regarding individuals hired pursuant to the authority 

5 under subsection (a); 

6 (2) salary information of individuals hired pur7 suant to such authority; and 

8 (3) how the Department of Homeland Security 

9 exercised such authority consistently with merit sys10 tem principles. 

11 (d) SUNSET.—The authority to make an appointment 

12 under this section shall terminate on the date that is 5 

13 years after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

14 SEC. 103. REEMPLOYMENT OF CIVILIAN RETIREES TO 

15 MEET EXCEPTIONAL EMPLOYMENT NEEDS. 

16 (a) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary, after consultation 

17 with the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, 

18 may waive, with respect to any position in U.S. Immigra19 tion and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Customs and Border 

20 Protection, or U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, 

21 the application of section 8344 or 8468 of title 5, United 

22 States Code, on a case-by-case basis, for employment of 

23 an annuitant in a position necessary to implement this di24 vision and associated work, for which there is exceptional 


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1 difficulty in recruiting or retaining a qualified employee, 

2 or when a temporary emergency hiring need exists. 

3 (b) PROCEDURES.—The Secretary, after consultation 

4 with the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, 

5 shall prescribe procedures for the exercise of the authority 

6 under subsection (a), including procedures for a delegation 

7 of authority. 

8 (c) ANNUITANTS NOT TREATED AS EMPLOYEES FOR

9 PURPOSES OF RETIREMENT BENEFITS.—An employee for 

10 whom a waiver under this section is in effect shall not 

11 be considered an employee for purposes of subchapter III 

12 of chapter 83 or chapter 84 of title 5, United States Code. 

13 SEC. 104. ESTABLISHMENT OF SPECIAL PAY RATE FOR ASY14 LUM OFFICERS. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter III of chapter 53 of 

16 title 5, United States Code, is amended by inserting after 

17 section 5332 the following: 

18 ‘‘§ 5332a. Special base rates of pay for asylum officers 

19 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

20 ‘‘(1) the term ‘asylum officer’ has the meaning 

21 given such term in section 235(b)(1) of the Immi22 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1225(b)(1)); 

23 ‘‘(2) the term ‘General Schedule base rate’ 

24 means an annual rate of basic pay established under 

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1 based comparability payment under section 5304 or 

2 5304a or a special rate supplement under section 

3 5305; and 

4 ‘‘(3) the term ‘special base rate’ means an an5 nual rate of basic pay payable to an asylum officer, 

6 before any additions or reductions, that replaces the 

7 General Schedule base rate otherwise applicable to 

8 the asylum officer and that is administered in the 

9 same manner as a General Schedule base rate. 

10 ‘‘(b) SPECIAL BASE RATES OF PAY.— 

11 ‘‘(1) ENTITLEMENT TO SPECIAL RATE.—Not12 withstanding section 5332, an asylum officer is enti13 tled to a special base rate at grades 1 through 15, 

14 which shall— 

15 ‘‘(A) replace the otherwise applicable Gen16 eral Schedule base rate for the asylum officer; 

17 ‘‘(B) be basic pay for all purposes, includ18 ing the purpose of computing a locality-based 

19 comparability payment under section 5304 or 

20 5304a; and 

21 ‘‘(C) be computed as described in para22 graph (2) and adjusted at the time of adjust23 ments in the General Schedule. 

24 ‘‘(2) COMPUTATION.—The special base rate for 

25 an asylum officer shall be derived by increasing the 


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1 otherwise applicable General Schedule base rate for 

2 the asylum officer by 15 percent for the grade of the 

3 asylum officer and rounding the result to the nearest 

4 whole dollar.’’. 

5 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

6 for subchapter III of chapter 53 of title 5, United States 

7 Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to 

8 section 5332 the following: 

‘‘5332a. Special base rates of pay for asylum officers.’’. 

9 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

10 this section shall take effect on the first day of the first 

11 applicable pay period beginning 30 days after the date of 

12 the enactment of this Act. 

13 CHAPTER 2—HIRING WAIVERS 

14 SEC. 111. HIRING FLEXIBILITY. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3 of the Anti-Border Cor16 ruption Act of 2010 (6 U.S.C. 221) is amended by striking 

17 subsection (b) and inserting the following new subsections: 

18 ‘‘(b) WAIVER AUTHORITY.—The Commissioner of 

19 U.S. Customs and Border Protection may waive the appli20 cation of subsection (a)(1) in the following circumstances: 

21 ‘‘(1) In the case of a current, full-time law en22 forcement officer employed by a State or local law 

23 enforcement agency, if such officer— 


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1 ‘‘(A) has served as a law enforcement offi2 cer for not fewer than three years with no 

3 break in service; 

4 ‘‘(B) is authorized by law to engage in or 

5 supervise the prevention, detection, investiga6 tion, or prosecution of, or the incarceration of 

7 any person for, any violation of law, and has 

8 statutory powers for arrest or apprehension; 

9 ‘‘(C) is not currently under investigation, 

10 does not have disciplinary, misconduct, or de11 rogatory records, has not been found to have 

12 engaged in a criminal offense or misconduct, 

13 has not resigned from a law enforcement officer 

14 position under investigation or in lieu of termi15 nation, and has not been dismissed from a law 

16 enforcement officer position; and 

17 ‘‘(D) has, within the past ten years, suc18 cessfully completed a polygraph examination as 

19 a condition of employment with such officer’s 

20 current law enforcement agency. 

21 ‘‘(2) In the case of a current, full-time Federal 

22 law enforcement officer, if such officer— 

23 ‘‘(A) has served as a law enforcement offi24 cer for not fewer than three years with no 

25 break in service; 


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1 ‘‘(B) has authority to make arrests, con2 duct investigations, conduct searches, make sei3 zures, carry firearms, and serve orders, war4 rants, and other processes; 

5 ‘‘(C) is not currently under investigation, 

6 does not have disciplinary, misconduct, or de7 rogatory records, has not been found to have 

8 engaged in a criminal offense or misconduct, 

9 has not resigned from a law enforcement officer 

10 position under investigation or in lieu of termi11 nation, and has not been dismissed from a law 

12 enforcement officer position; and 

13 ‘‘(D) holds a current background investiga14 tion, in accordance with current standards re15 quired for access to Top Secret or Top Secret/ 

16 Sensitive Compartmented Information. 

17 ‘‘(3) In the case of an individual who is a mem18 ber of the Armed Forces (or a reserve component 

19 thereof) or a veteran, if such individual— 

20 ‘‘(A) has served in the Armed Forces for 

21 not fewer than three years; 

22 ‘‘(B) holds, or has held within the past five 

23 years, Top Secret or Top Secret/Sensitive Com24 partmented Information clearance; 


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1 ‘‘(C) holds, or has undergone within the 

2 past five years, a current background investiga3 tion in accordance with current standards re4 quired for access to Top Secret or Top Secret/ 

5 Sensitive Compartmented Information; 

6 ‘‘(D) received, or is eligible to receive, an 

7 honorable discharge from service in the Armed 

8 Forces, has not engaged in a criminal offense, 

9 has not committed a military offense under the 

10 Uniform Code of Military Justice, and does not 

11 have disciplinary, misconduct, or derogatory 

12 records; and 

13 ‘‘(E) was not granted any waivers to ob14 tain the clearance referred to subparagraph 

15 (B). 

16 ‘‘(c) TERMINATION OF WAIVER AUTHORITY.—The 

17 authority to issue a waiver under subsection (b) shall ter18 minate on September 30, 2027.’’. 

19 (b) REINSTATEMENT.—Upon termination of the 

20 waiver authority under subsection (b) of section 3 of the 

21 Anti-Border Corruption Act of 2010 (6 U.S.C. 221), as 

22 amended by subsection (a), the text of section 3(b) of the 

23 Anti-Border Corruption Act of 2010 (6 U.S.C. 221(b)) 

24 shall be reinstated as it appeared on the day before the 

25 date of the enactment of this Act. 


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1 SEC. 112. SUPPLEMENTAL COMMISSIONER AUTHORITY AND 

2 DEFINITIONS. 

3 (a) SUPPLEMENTAL COMMISSIONER AUTHORITY.— 

4 Section 4 of the Anti-Border Corruption Act of 2010 

5 (Public Law 111–376) is amended to read as follows: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 4. SUPPLEMENTAL COMMISSIONER AUTHORITY. 

7 ‘‘(a) NON-EXEMPTION.—An individual who receives a 

8 waiver under subsection (b) of section 3 is not exempt 

9 from other hiring requirements relating to suitability for 

10 employment and eligibility to hold a national security des11 ignated position, as determined by the Commissioner of 

12 U.S. Customs and Border Protection. 

13 ‘‘(b) BACKGROUND INVESTIGATIONS.—Any indi14 vidual who receives a waiver under subsection (b) of sec15 tion 3 who holds a background investigation in accordance 

16 with current standards required for access to Top Secret 

17 or Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information shall 

18 be subject to an appropriate background investigation. 

19 ‘‘(c) ADMINISTRATION OF POLYGRAPH EXAMINA20 TION.—The Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border 

21 Protection is authorized to administer a polygraph exam22 ination to an applicant or employee who is eligible for or 

23 receives a waiver under subsection (b) of section 3 if infor24 mation is discovered prior to the completion of a back25 ground investigation that results in a determination that 

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1 termination regarding suitability for employment or con2 tinued employment, as the case may be.’’. 

3 (b) REPORT.—The Anti-Border Corruption Act of 

4 2010 (Public Law 111–376; 124 Stat. 4104) is amended 

5 by adding at the end the following new section: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 5. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 

7 ‘‘(a) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than one year 

8 after the date of the enactment of this section, and annu9 ally thereafter for three years, the Commissioner of U.S. 

10 Customs and Border Protection shall submit a report to 

11 Congress that includes, with respect to the reporting pe12 riod— 

13 ‘‘(1) the number of waivers granted and denied 

14 under section 3(b); 

15 ‘‘(2) the reasons for any denials of such waiver; 

16 ‘‘(3) the percentage of applicants who were 

17 hired after receiving a waiver; 

18 ‘‘(4) the number of instances that a polygraph 

19 was administered to an applicant who initially re20 ceived a waiver and the results of such polygraph; 

21 ‘‘(5) an assessment of the current impact of the 

22 polygraph waiver program on filling law enforcement 

23 positions at U.S. Customs and Border Protection; 


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1 ‘‘(6) additional authorities needed by U.S. Cus2 toms and Border Protection to better utilize the 

3 polygraph waiver program for its intended goals; and 

4 ‘‘(7) any disciplinary actions taken against law 

5 enforcement officers hired under the waiver author6 ity authorized under section 3(b). 

7 ‘‘(b) ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.—The first report 

8 submitted under subsection (a) shall include— 

9 ‘‘(1) an analysis of other methods of employ10 ment suitability tests that detect deception and could 

11 be used in conjunction with traditional background 

12 investigations to evaluate potential employees for 

13 suitability; and 

14 ‘‘(2) a recommendation regarding whether a 

15 test referred to in paragraph (1) should be adopted 

16 by U.S. Customs and Border Protection when the 

17 polygraph examination requirement is waived pursu18 ant to section 3(b).’’. 

19 (c) GAO REPORT.—The Anti-Border Corruption Act 

20 of 2010 (Public Law 111–376; 124 Stat. 4104), as 

21 amended by subsection (b) of this section, is further 

22 amended by adding at the end the following new section: 

23 ‘‘SEC. 6. GAO REPORT. 

24 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than five years after 

25 the date of the enactment of this section, and every five 


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1 years thereafter, the Comptroller General of the United 

2 States shall— 

3 ‘‘(1) conduct a review of the disciplinary, mis4 conduct, or derogatory records of all individuals 

5 hired using the waiver authority under subsection 

6 (b) of section 3— 

7 ‘‘(A) to determine the rates of disciplinary 

8 actions taken against individuals hired using 

9 such waiver authority, as compared to individ10 uals hired after passing the polygraph as re11 quired under subsection (a) of that section; and 

12 ‘‘(B) to address any other issue relating to 

13 discipline by U.S. Customs and Border Protec14 tion; and 

15 ‘‘(2) submit to the Committee on Homeland Se16 curity and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and 

17 the Committee on Homeland Security of the House 

18 of Representatives a report that appropriately pro19 tects sensitive information and describes the results 

20 of the review conducted under paragraph (1). 

21 ‘‘(b) SUNSET.—The requirement under this section 

22 shall terminate on the date on which the third report re23 quired by subsection (a) is submitted.’’. 

24 (d) DEFINITIONS.—The Anti-Border Corruption Act 

25 of 2010 (Public Law 111–376; 124 Stat. 4104), as 


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1 amended by subsection (c) of this section, is further 

2 amended by adding at the end the following new section: 

3 ‘‘SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS. 

4 ‘‘In this Act: 

5 ‘‘(1) CRIMINAL OFFENSE.—The term ‘criminal 

6 offense’ means— 

7 ‘‘(A) any felony punishable by a term of 

8 imprisonment of more than one year; and 

9 ‘‘(B) any other crime for which an essen10 tial element involves fraud, deceit, or misrepre11 sentation to obtain an advantage or to dis12 advantage another. 

13 ‘‘(2) FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER.— 

14 The term ‘Federal law enforcement officer’ means a 

15 ‘law enforcement officer’, as defined in section 

16 8331(20) or 8401(17) of title 5, United States Code. 

17 ‘‘(3) MILITARY OFFENSE.—The term ‘military 

18 offense’ means— 

19 ‘‘(A) an offense for which— 

20 ‘‘(i) a member of the Armed Forces 

21 may be discharged or separated from serv22 ice in the Armed Forces; or 

23 ‘‘(ii) a punitive discharge is, or would 

24 be, authorized for the same or a closely re25 lated offense under the Manual for CourtsVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:05 May 21, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00048 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4361.PCS S4361

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1 Martial, as pursuant to Army Regulation 

2 635–200 chapter 14–12; and 

3 ‘‘(B) an action for which a member of the 

4 Armed Forces received a demotion in military 

5 rank as punishment for a crime or wrongdoing, 

6 imposed by a court martial or other authority. 

7 ‘‘(4) VETERAN.—The term ‘veteran’ has the 

8 meaning given such term in section 101(2) of title 

9 38, United States Code.’’. 

10 CHAPTER 3—ALTERNATIVES TO DETEN11 TION IMPROVEMENTS AND TRAINING 

12 FOR U.S. BORDER PATROL 

13 SEC. 121. ALTERNATIVES TO DETENTION IMPROVEMENTS. 

14 (a) CERTIFICATION.—Not later than 90 days after 

15 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of U.S. 

16 Immigration and Customs Enforcement shall certify to the 

17 appropriate committees of Congress that— 

18 (1) with respect to the alternatives to detention 

19 programs, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforce20 ment’s processes that condition the release of aliens 

21 under any type of supervision, consistent and stand22 ard policies are in place across all U.S. Immigration 

23 and Customs Enforcement field offices; 


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1 (2) the U.S. Immigration and Customs En2 forcement’s alternatives to detention programs use 

3 escalation and de-escalation techniques; and 

4 (3) reports on the use of, and policies with re5 spect to, such escalation and de-escalation tech6 niques are provided to the public appropriately pro7 tecting sensitive information. 

8 (b) ANNUAL POLICY REVIEW.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not less frequently than an10 nually, the Director shall conduct a review of U.S. 

11 Immigration and Customs Enforcement policies with 

12 respect to the alternatives to detention programs so 

13 as to ensure standardization and evidence-based de14 cision making. 

15 (2) SUBMISSION OF POLICY REVIEWS.—Not 

16 later than 14 days after the completion of each re17 view required by paragraph (1), the Director shall 

18 submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a 

19 report on the results of the review. 

20 (c) INDEPENDENT VERIFICATION AND VALIDA21 TION.—Not less frequently than every 5 years, the Direc22 tor shall ensure that an independent verification and vali23 dation of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement 

24 policies with respect to the alternatives to detention pro25 grams is conducted. 


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1 SEC. 122. TRAINING FOR U.S. BORDER PATROL. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commissioner of U.S. Cus3 toms and Border Protection shall require all U.S. Border 

4 Patrol agents and other employees or contracted employ5 ees designated by the Commissioner to participate in an6 nual continuing training to maintain and update their un7 derstanding of— 

8 (1) Department of Homeland Security policies, 

9 procedures, and guidelines; 

10 (2) the fundamentals of law (including the 

11 Fourth Amendment to the Constitution of the 

12 United States), ethics, and professional conduct; 

13 (3) applicable Federal law and regulations; 

14 (4) applicable migration trends that the Com15 missioner determines are relevant; 

16 (5) best practices for coordinating with commu17 nity stakeholders; 

18 (6) de-escalation training; and 

19 (7) any other information the Commissioner de20 termines to be relevant to active duty agents. 

21 (b) TRAINING SUBJECTS.—Continuing training 

22 under this section shall include training regarding— 

23 (1) the non-lethal use of force policies available 

24 to U.S. Border Patrol agents and de-escalation 

25 strategies and methods; 


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1 (2) identifying, screening, and responding to 

2 vulnerable populations, such as children, persons 

3 with diminished mental capacity, victims of human 

4 trafficking, pregnant mothers, victims of gender5 based violence, victims of torture or abuse, and the 

6 acutely ill; 

7 (3) trends in transnational criminal organiza8 tion activities that impact border security and mi9 gration; 

10 (4) policies, strategies, and programs— 

11 (A) to protect due process, the civil, 

12 human, and privacy rights of individuals, and 

13 the private property rights of land owners; 

14 (B) to reduce the number of migrant and 

15 agent deaths; and 

16 (C) to improve the safety of agents on pa17 trol; 

18 (5) personal resilience; 

19 (6) anti-corruption and officer ethics training; 

20 (7) current migration trends, including updated 

21 cultural and societal issues of countries that are a 

22 significant source of migrants who are— 

23 (A) arriving to seek humanitarian protec24 tion; or 


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1 (B) encountered at a United States inter2 national boundary while attempting to enter 

3 without inspection; 

4 (8) the impact of border security operations on 

5 natural resources and the environment, including 

6 strategies to limit the impact of border security op7 erations on natural resources and the environment; 

8 (9) relevant cultural, societal, racial, and reli9 gious training, including cross-cultural communica10 tion skills; 

11 (10) training required under the Prison Rape 

12 Elimination Act of 2003 (42 U.S.C. 15601 et seq.); 

13 (11) risk management and safety training that 

14 includes agency protocols for ensuring public safety, 

15 personal safety, and the safety of persons in the cus16 tody of the Department of Homeland Security; and 

17 (12) any other training that meets the require18 ments to maintain and update the subjects identified 

19 in subsection (a). 

20 (c) COURSE REQUIREMENTS.—Courses offered under 

21 this section— 

22 (1) shall be administered by U.S. Customs and 

23 Border Protection; and 

24 (2) shall be approved in advance by the Com25 missioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection to 


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1 ensure that such courses satisfy the requirements for 

2 training under this section. 

3 (d) ASSESSMENT.—Not later than 2 years after the 

4 date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 

5 of the United States shall submit to the Committee on 

6 Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Sen7 ate and the Committee on Homeland Security of the 

8 House of Representatives a report that assesses the train9 ing and education provided pursuant to this section, in10 cluding continuing education. 

11 CHAPTER 4—MODERNIZING NOTICES TO 

12 APPEAR 

13 SEC. 131. ELECTRONIC NOTICES TO APPEAR. 

14 Section 239 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

15 (8 U.S.C. 1229) is amended— 

16 (1) in subsection (a)— 

17 (A) in paragraph (1), in the matter pre18 ceding subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘or, if 

19 elected by the alien in writing, by email or other 

20 electronic means to the extent feasible, if the 

21 alien, or the alien’s counsel of record, volun22 tarily elects such service or otherwise accepts 

23 service electronically’’ after ‘‘mail’’; and 

24 (B) in paragraph (2)(A), in the matter 

25 preceding clause (i), by inserting ‘‘or, if elected 


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1 by the alien in writing, by email or other elec2 tronic means to the extent feasible, if the alien, 

3 or the alien’s counsel of record, voluntarily 

4 elects such service or otherwise accepts service 

5 electronically’’ after ‘‘mail’’; and 

6 (2) in subsection (c)— 

7 (A) by inserting ‘‘the alien, or to the 

8 alien’s counsel of record, at’’ after ‘‘delivery 

9 to’’; and 

10 (B) by inserting ‘‘, or to the email address 

11 or other electronic address at which the alien 

12 elected to receive notice under paragraph (1) or 

13 (2) of subsection (a)’’ before the period at the 

14 end. 

15 SEC. 132. AUTHORITY TO PREPARE AND ISSUE NOTICES TO 

16 APPEAR. 

17 Section 239(a) of the Immigration and Nationality 

18 Act (8 U.S.C. 1229(a)) is amended by adding at the end 

19 the following: 

20 ‘‘(4) AUTHORITY FOR CERTAIN PERSONNEL TO

21 SERVE NOTICES TO APPEAR.—Any mission support 

22 personnel within U.S. Customs and Border Protec23 tion or U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement 

24 who are subject to the oversight of an immigration 

25 officer with authority to issue a notice to appear, 


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1 and who has received the necessary training to issue 

2 such a notice, shall be authorized to prepare a notice 

3 to appear under this section for review and issuance 

4 by the immigration officer.’’. 

5 Subtitle B—Asylum Processing at 

6 the Border 

7 SEC. 141. PROVISIONAL NONCUSTODIAL REMOVAL PRO8 CEEDINGS. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 4 of title II of the Immi10 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1221 et seq.) is 

11 amended by inserting after section 235A the following: 

12 ‘‘SEC. 235B. PROVISIONAL NONCUSTODIAL REMOVAL PRO13 CEEDINGS. 

14 ‘‘(a) GENERAL RULES.— 

15 ‘‘(1) CIRCUMSTANCES WARRANTING NONCUSTO16 DIAL PROCEEDINGS.—The Secretary, based upon 

17 operational circumstances, may refer an alien appli18 cant for admission for proceedings described in this 

19 section if the alien— 

20 ‘‘(A) indicates an intention to apply for a 

21 protection determination; or 

22 ‘‘(B) expresses a credible fear of persecu23 tion (as defined in section 235(b)(1)(B)(v)) or 

24 torture. 


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1 ‘‘(2) RELEASE FROM CUSTODY.—Aliens re2 ferred for proceedings under this section shall be re3 leased from physical custody and processed in ac4 cordance with the procedures described in this sec5 tion. 

6 ‘‘(3) ALTERNATIVES TO DETENTION.—An adult 

7 alien, including a head of household, who has been 

8 referred for a proceeding under this section shall be 

9 supervised under the Alternatives to Detention pro10 gram of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforce11 ment immediately upon release from physical cus12 tody and continuing for the duration of such pro13 ceeding. 

14 ‘‘(4) FAMILY UNITY.—The Secretary shall en15 sure, to the greatest extent practicable, that the re16 ferral of a family unit for proceedings under this 

17 section includes all members of such family unit who 

18 are traveling together. 

19 ‘‘(5) EXCEPTIONS.— 

20 ‘‘(A) UNACCOMPANIED ALIEN CHIL21 DREN.—The provisions under this section may 

22 not be applied to unaccompanied alien children 

23 (as defined in section 462(g) of the Homeland 

24 Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 279(g))). 

25 ‘‘(B) APPLICABILITY LIMITATION.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary 

2 shall only refer for proceedings under this 

3 section an alien described in clause (ii). 

4 ‘‘(ii) ALIEN DESCRIBED.— An alien 

5 described in this clause is an alien who— 

6 ‘‘(I) has not affirmatively shown, 

7 to the satisfaction of an immigration 

8 officer, that the alien has been phys9 ically present in the United States for 

10 more than the 14-day period imme11 diately prior to the date on which the 

12 alien was encountered by U.S. Cus13 toms and Border Protection; and 

14 ‘‘(II) was encountered within 100 

15 air miles of the international land bor16 ders of the United States. 

17 ‘‘(6) TIMING.—The provisional noncustodial re18 moval proceedings described in this section shall 

19 conclude, to the maximum extent practicable, not 

20 later than 90 days after the date the alien is in21 spected and determined inadmissible. 

22 ‘‘(b) PROCEDURES FOR PROVISIONAL NONCUSTO23 DIAL REMOVAL PROCEEDINGS.— 

24 ‘‘(1) COMMENCEMENT.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Provisional noncusto2 dial removal proceedings shall commence under 

3 this section with respect to an alien immediately 

4 after the Secretary properly serves a notice of 

5 removal proceedings on the alien. 

6 ‘‘(B) 90-DAY TIMEFRAME.—The 90-day 

7 period under subsection (a)(6) with respect to 

8 an alien shall commence upon an inspection and 

9 inadmissibility determination of the alien. 

10 ‘‘(2) SERVICE AND NOTICE OF INTERVIEW RE11 QUIREMENTS.—In provisional noncustodial removal 

12 proceedings conducted under this section, the Sec13 retary shall— 

14 ‘‘(A) serve notice to the alien or, if per15 sonal service is not practicable, to the alien’s 

16 counsel of record; 

17 ‘‘(B) ensure that such notice, to the max18 imum extent practicable, is in the alien’s native 

19 language or in a language the alien under20 stands; and 

21 ‘‘(C) include in such notice— 

22 ‘‘(i) the nature of the proceedings 

23 against the alien; 

24 ‘‘(ii) the legal authority under which 

25 such proceedings will be conducted; and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) the charges against the alien 

2 and the statutory provisions the alien is al3 leged to have violated; 

4 ‘‘(D) inform the alien of his or her obliga5 tion— 

6 ‘‘(i) to immediately provide (or have 

7 provided) to the Secretary, in writing, the 

8 mailing address, contact information, email 

9 address or other electronic address, and 

10 telephone number (if any), at which the 

11 alien may be contacted respecting the pro12 ceeding under this section; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) to provide to the Secretary, in 

14 writing, any change of the alien’s mailing 

15 address or telephone number shortly after 

16 any such change; 

17 ‘‘(E) include in such notice— 

18 ‘‘(i) the time and place at which the 

19 proceeding under this section will be held, 

20 which shall be communicated, to the extent 

21 practicable, before or during the alien’s re22 lease from physical custody; or 

23 ‘‘(ii) immediately after release, the 

24 time and place of such proceeding, which 

25 shall be provided not later than 10 days 


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1 before the scheduled protection determina2 tion interview and shall be considered 

3 proper service of the commencement of 

4 proceedings; and 

5 ‘‘(F) inform the alien of— 

6 ‘‘(i) the consequences to which the 

7 alien would be subject pursuant to section 

8 240(b)(5) if the alien fails to appear at 

9 such proceeding, absent exceptional cir10 cumstances; 

11 ‘‘(ii) the alien’s right to be rep12 resented, at no expense to the Federal 

13 Government, by any counsel or accredited 

14 representative selected by the alien who is 

15 authorized to represent an alien in such a 

16 proceeding; and 

17 ‘‘(G) the information described in section 

18 235(b)(1)(B)(iv)(II). 

19 ‘‘(3) PROTECTION DETERMINATION.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—To the maximum ex21 tent practicable, within 90 days after the date 

22 on which an alien is referred for proceedings 

23 under this section, an asylum officer shall con24 duct a protection determination of such alien in 


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1 person or through a technology appropriate for 

2 protection determinations. 

3 ‘‘(B) ACCESS TO COUNSEL.—In any pro4 ceeding under this section or section 240D be5 fore U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services 

6 and in any appeal of the result of such a pro7 ceeding, an alien shall have the privilege of 

8 being represented, at no expense to the Federal 

9 Government, by counsel authorized to represent 

10 an alien in such a proceeding. 

11 ‘‘(C) PROCEDURES AND EVIDENCE.—The 

12 asylum officer may receive into evidence any 

13 oral or written statement that is material and 

14 relevant to any matter in the protection deter15 mination. The testimony of the alien shall be 

16 under oath or affirmation administered by the 

17 asylum officer. 

18 ‘‘(D) INTERPRETERS.—Whenever nec19 essary, the asylum officer shall procure the as20 sistance of an interpreter, to the maximum ex21 tent practicable, in the alien’s native language 

22 or in a language the alien understands, during 

23 any protection determination. 

24 ‘‘(E) LOCATION.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Any protection de2 termination authorized under this section 

3 shall occur in— 

4 ‘‘(I) a U.S. Citizenship and Im5 migration Services office; 

6 ‘‘(II) a facility managed, leased, 

7 or operated by U.S. Citizenship and 

8 Immigration Services; 

9 ‘‘(III) any other location des10 ignated by the Director of U.S. Citi11 zenship and Immigration Services; or 

12 ‘‘(IV) any other federally owned 

13 or federally leased building that— 

14 ‘‘(aa) the Director has au15 thorized or entered into a memo16 randum of agreement to be used 

17 for such purpose; and 

18 ‘‘(bb) meets the special rules 

19 under clause (ii) and the min20 imum requirements under clause 

21 (iii). 

22 ‘‘(ii) SPECIAL RULES.— 

23 ‘‘(I) LOCATION.—A protection 

24 determination may not be conducted 

25 in a facility that is managed, leased, 


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1 owned, or operated by U.S. Immigra2 tion and Customs Enforcement or 

3 U.S. Customs and Border Protection. 

4 ‘‘(II) REASONABLE TIME.—The 

5 Secretary shall ensure that a protec6 tion determination is conducted dur7 ing a reasonable time of the day. 

8 ‘‘(III) GEOGRAPHICAL LIMITA9 TION.—The Secretary shall ensure 

10 that each protection determination for 

11 an alien is scheduled at a facility that 

12 is a reasonable distance from the cur13 rent residence of such alien. 

14 ‘‘(IV) PROTECTION FOR CHIL15 DREN.—In the case of a family unit, 

16 the Secretary shall ensure that the 

17 best interests of the child or children 

18 are considered when conducting a pro19 tection determination of the child’s 

20 family unit. 

21 ‘‘(iii) MINIMUM LOCATION REQUIRE22 MENT.—Each facility that the Director au23 thorizes to be used to conduct protection 

24 determinations shall— 


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1 ‘‘(I) have adequate security 

2 measures to protect Federal employ3 ees, aliens, and beneficiaries for bene4 fits; and 

5 ‘‘(II) ensure the best interests of 

6 the child or children are prioritized 

7 pursuant to clause (ii)(IV) if such 

8 children are present at the protection 

9 determination. 

10 ‘‘(F) WRITTEN RECORD.—The asylum offi11 cer shall prepare a written record of each pro12 tection determination, which— 

13 ‘‘(i) shall be provided to the alien, or 

14 to the alien’s counsel of record, upon a de15 cision; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) shall include— 

17 ‘‘(I) a summary of the material 

18 facts stated by the alien; 

19 ‘‘(II) any additional facts relied 

20 upon by the asylum officer; 

21 ‘‘(III) the asylum officer’s anal22 ysis of why, in the light of the facts 

23 referred to in subclauses (I) and (II), 

24 the alien has or has not established a 


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1 positive or negative outcome from the 

2 protection determination; and 

3 ‘‘(IV) a copy of the asylum offi4 cer’s interview notes. 

5 ‘‘(G) RESCHEDULING.— 

6 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary 

7 shall promulgate regulations that permit 

8 an alien to reschedule a protection deter9 mination in the event of exceptional cir10 cumstances. 

11 ‘‘(ii) TOLLING OF TIME LIMITA12 TION.—If an interview is rescheduled at 

13 the request of an alien, the period between 

14 the date on which the protection deter15 mination was originally scheduled and the 

16 date of the rescheduled interview shall not 

17 count toward the 90-day period referred to 

18 in subsection (a)(6). 

19 ‘‘(H) WITHDRAWAL OF APPLICATION, VOL20 UNTARY DEPARTURE, AND VOLUNTARY REPA21 TRIATION.— 

22 ‘‘(i) VOLUNTARY DEPARTURE.—The 

23 Secretary may permit an alien to volun24 tarily depart in accordance with section 

25 240E. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) WITHDRAWAL OF APPLICA2 TION.—The Secretary may permit an alien, 

3 at any time before the protection merits 

4 interview, to withdraw his or her applica5 tion and depart immediately from the 

6 United States in accordance with section 

7 240F. 

8 ‘‘(iii) VOLUNTARY REPATRIATION.— 

9 The Secretary may permit an alien to vol10 untarily repatriate in accordance with sec11 tion 240G. 

12 ‘‘(I) CONVERSION TO REMOVAL PRO13 CEEDINGS UNDER SECTION 240.—The asylum 

14 officer or immigration officer may refer or place 

15 an alien into removal proceedings under section 

16 240 by issuing a notice to appear for the pur17 pose of initiating such proceedings if either 

18 such officer determines that— 

19 ‘‘(i) such proceedings are required in 

20 order to permit the alien to seek an immi21 gration benefit for which the alien is le22 gally entitled to apply; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) such application requires such 

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1 ceedings under section 240 that are not 

2 available to such alien under this section. 

3 ‘‘(J) PROTECTION OF INFORMATION.— 

4 ‘‘(i) SENSITIVE OR LAW ENFORCE5 MENT INFORMATION.—Nothing in this sec6 tion may be construed to compel any em7 ployee of the Department of Homeland Se8 curity to disclose any information that is 

9 otherwise protected from disclosure by law. 

10 ‘‘(ii) PROTECTION OF CERTAIN INFOR11 MATION.—Before providing the record de12 scribed in subparagraph (F) to the alien or 

13 to the alien’s counsel of record, the Direc14 tor shall protect any information that is 

15 prohibited by law from being disclosed. 

16 ‘‘(c) PROTECTION DETERMINATION.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IDENTITY VERIFICATION.—The Secretary 

18 may not conduct the protection determination with 

19 respect to an alien until the identity of the alien has 

20 been checked against all appropriate records and 

21 databases maintained by the Attorney General, the 

22 Secretary of State, or the Secretary. 

23 ‘‘(2) IN GENERAL.— 

24 ‘‘(A) ELIGIBILITY.—Upon the establishing 

25 the identity of an alien pursuant to paragraph 


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1 (1), the asylum officer shall conduct a protec2 tion determination in a location selected in ac3 cordance with this section. 

4 ‘‘(B) OUTCOME.— 

5 ‘‘(i) POSITIVE PROTECTION DETER6 MINATION OUTCOME.—If the protection de7 termination conducted pursuant to sub8 paragraph (A) results in a positive protec9 tion determination outcome, the alien shall 

10 be referred to protection merits removal 

11 proceedings in accordance with the proce12 dures described in paragraph (4). 

13 ‘‘(ii) NEGATIVE PROTECTION DETER14 MINATION OUTCOME.—If such protection 

15 determination results in a negative protec16 tion determination outcome, the alien shall 

17 be subject to the process described in sub18 section (d). 

19 ‘‘(3) RECORD.— 

20 ‘‘(A) USE OF RECORD.—In each protection 

21 determination, or any review of such determina22 tion, the record of the alien’s protection deter23 mination required under subsection (b)(3)(F) 

24 shall constitute the underlying application for 

25 the alien’s application for asylum, withholding 


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1 of removal under section 241(b)(3), or protec2 tion under the Convention Against Torture for 

3 purposes of the protection merits interview. 

4 ‘‘(B) DATE OF FILING.—The date on 

5 which the Secretary issues a notification of a 

6 positive protection determination pursuant to 

7 paragraph (2)(B)(i) shall be considered, for all 

8 purposes, the date of filing and the date of re9 ceipt of the alien’s application for asylum, with10 holding of removal under section 241(b)(3), or 

11 protection under the Convention Against Tor12 ture, as applicable. 

13 ‘‘(4) REFERRAL FOR PROTECTION MERITS RE14 MOVAL PROCEEDINGS.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If the alien receives a 

16 positive protection determination— 

17 ‘‘(i) the alien shall be issued employ18 ment authorization pursuant to section 

19 235C; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) subject to paragraph (5), the 

21 asylum officer shall refer the alien for pro22 tection merits removal proceedings de23 scribed in section 240D. 


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1 ‘‘(B) NOTIFICATIONS.—As soon as prac2 ticable after a positive protection determination, 

3 the Secretary shall— 

4 ‘‘(i) issue a written notification to the 

5 alien of the outcome of such determination; 

6 ‘‘(ii) include all of the information de7 scribed in subsection (b)(2); and 

8 ‘‘(iii) ensure that such notification 

9 and information concerning the procedures 

10 under section 240D, shall be made, at a 

11 minimum, not later than 30 days before 

12 the date on which the required protection 

13 merits interview under section 240D oc14 curs. 

15 ‘‘(5) AUTHORITY TO GRANT RELIEF OR PRO16 TECTION.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If an alien dem18 onstrates, by clear and convincing evidence, 

19 that the alien is eligible for asylum, withholding 

20 of removal under section 241(b)(3), or protec21 tion under the Convention Against Torture dur22 ing the protection determination, the asylum of23 ficer, subject to the procedures under subpara24 graph (B), may grant an application for such 

25 relief or protection submitted by such alien 


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1 without referring the alien to protection merits 

2 removal proceedings under section 240D. 

3 ‘‘(B) SUPERVISORY REVIEW.— 

4 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—An application 

5 granted by an asylum officer under sub6 paragraph (A) shall be reviewed by a su7 pervisory asylum officer to determine 

8 whether such grant is warranted. 

9 ‘‘(ii) LIMITATION.—A decision by an 

10 asylum officer to grant an application 

11 under subparagraph (A) shall not be final, 

12 and the alien shall not be notified of such 

13 decision, unless a supervisory asylum offi14 cer first determines, based on the review 

15 conducted pursuant to clause (i), that such 

16 a grant is warranted. 

17 ‘‘(iii) EFFECT OF APPROVAL.—If the 

18 supervisor determines that granting an 

19 alien’s application for relief or protection is 

20 warranted— 

21 ‘‘(I) such application shall be ap22 proved; and 

23 ‘‘(II) the alien shall receive writ24 ten notification of such decision as 

25 soon as practicable. 


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1 ‘‘(iv) EFFECT OF NON-APPROVAL.—If 

2 the supervisor determines that the grant is 

3 not warranted, the alien shall be referred 

4 for protection merits removal proceedings 

5 under section 240D. 

6 ‘‘(C) SPECIAL RULES.—Notwithstanding 

7 any other provision of law— 

8 ‘‘(i) if an alien’s application for asy9 lum is approved pursuant to subparagraph 

10 (B)(iii), the asylum officer may not issue 

11 an order of removal; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) if an alien’s application for with13 holding of removal under section 241(b)(3) 

14 or for withholding or deferral of removal 

15 under the Convention Against Torture is 

16 approved pursuant to subparagraph 

17 (B)(iii), the asylum officer shall issue a 

18 corresponding order of removal. 

19 ‘‘(D) BIANNUAL REPORT.—The Director 

20 shall submit a biannual report to the relevant 

21 committees of Congress that includes, for the 

22 relevant period— 

23 ‘‘(i) the number of cases described in 

24 subparagraph (A) that were referred to a 


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1 supervisor pursuant to subparagraph (B), 

2 disaggregated by asylum office; 

3 ‘‘(ii) the number of cases described in 

4 clause (i) that were approved subsequent 

5 to the referral to a supervisor pursuant to 

6 subparagraph (B); 

7 ‘‘(iii) the number of cases described in 

8 clause (i) that were not approved subse9 quent to the referral to a supervisor pursu10 ant to subparagraph (B); 

11 ‘‘(iv) a summary of the benefits for 

12 which any aliens described in subpara13 graph (A) were considered amenable and 

14 whose cases were referred to a supervisor 

15 pursuant to subparagraph (B), 

16 disaggregated by case outcome referred to 

17 in clauses (ii) and (iii); 

18 ‘‘(v) a description of any anomalous 

19 case outcomes for aliens described in sub20 paragraph (A) whose cases were referred 

21 to a supervisor pursuant subparagraph 

22 (B); and 

23 ‘‘(vi) a description of any actions 

24 taken to remedy the anomalous case out25 comes referred to in clause (v). 


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1 ‘‘(E) PROTECTION OF PERSONALLY IDEN2 TIFIABLE INFORMATION.—In preparing each re3 port pursuant to subparagraph (D), the Direc4 tor shall— 

5 ‘‘(i) protect any personally identifiable 

6 information associated with aliens de7 scribed in subparagraph (A); and 

8 ‘‘(ii) comply with all applicable pri9 vacy laws. 

10 ‘‘(6) EMPLOYMENT AUTHORIZATION.—An alien 

11 whose application for relief or protection has been 

12 approved by a supervisor pursuant to paragraph 

13 (5)(B) shall be issued employment authorization 

14 under section 235C. 

15 ‘‘(d) NEGATIVE PROTECTION DETERMINATION.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If an alien receives a nega17 tive protection determination, the asylum officer 

18 shall— 

19 ‘‘(A) provide such alien with written notifi20 cation of such determination; and 

21 ‘‘(B) subject to paragraph (2), order the 

22 alien removed from the United States without 

23 hearing or review. 

24 ‘‘(2) OPPORTUNITY TO REQUEST RECONSIDER25 ATION OR APPEAL.—The Secretary shall notify any 


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1 alien described in paragraph (1) immediately after 

2 receiving notification of a negative protection deter3 mination under this subsection that he or she— 

4 ‘‘(A) may request reconsideration of such 

5 determination in accordance with paragraph 

6 (3); and 

7 ‘‘(B) may request administrative review of 

8 such protection determination decision in ac9 cordance with paragraph (4). 

10 ‘‘(3) REQUEST FOR RECONSIDERATION.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any alien with respect 

12 to whom a negative protection determination 

13 has been made may submit a request for recon14 sideration to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration 

15 Services not later than 5 days after such deter16 mination. 

17 ‘‘(B) DECISION.—The Director, or des18 ignee, in the Director’s unreviewable discretion, 

19 may grant or deny a request for reconsideration 

20 made pursuant to subparagraph (A), which de21 cision shall not be subject to review. 

22 ‘‘(4) ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW.— 

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

24 subparagraph (B), the administrative review of 

25 a protection determination with respect to an 


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1 alien under this subsection shall be based on 

2 the record before the asylum officer at the time 

3 at which such protection determination was 

4 made. 

5 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—An alien referred to in 

6 subparagraph (A), or the alien’s counsel of 

7 record, may submit such additional evidence or 

8 testimony in accordance with such policies and 

9 procedures as the Secretary may prescribe. 

10 ‘‘(C) REVIEW.—Each review described in 

11 subparagraph (A) shall be conducted by the 

12 Protection Appellate Board. 

13 ‘‘(D) STANDARD OF REVIEW.—In accord14 ance with the procedures prescribed by the Sec15 retary, the Protection Appellate Board, upon 

16 the request of an alien, or the alien’s counsel of 

17 record, shall conduct a de novo review of the 

18 record of the protection determination carried 

19 out pursuant to this section with respect to the 

20 alien. 

21 ‘‘(E) DETERMINATION.— 

22 ‘‘(i) TIMING.—The Protection Appel23 late Board shall complete a review under 

24 this paragraph, to the maximum extent 

25 practicable, not later than 72 hours after 


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1 receiving a request from an alien pursuant 

2 to subparagraph (D). 

3 ‘‘(ii) EFFECT OF POSITIVE DETER4 MINATION.—If, after conducting a review 

5 under this paragraph, the Protection Ap6 pellate Board determines that an alien has 

7 a positive protection determination, the 

8 alien shall be referred for protection merits 

9 removal proceedings under section 240D. 

10 ‘‘(iii) EFFECT OF NEGATIVE DETER11 MINATION.—If, after conducting a review 

12 under this paragraph, the Protection Ap13 pellate Board determines that an alien has 

14 a negative protection determination, the 

15 alien shall be ordered removed from the 

16 United States without additional review. 

17 ‘‘(5) JURISDICTIONAL MATTERS.—In any action 

18 brought against an alien under section 275(a) or 

19 276, the court shall not have jurisdiction to hear any 

20 claim attacking the validity of an order of removal 

21 entered pursuant to subsection (c)(5)(C)(ii). 

22 ‘‘(e) SERVICE OF PROTECTION DETERMINATION DE23 CISION.— 

24 ‘‘(1) PROTECTION DETERMINATION DECI25 SION.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Upon reaching a deci2 sion regarding a protection determination, the 

3 Secretary shall— 

4 ‘‘(i) immediately notify the alien, and 

5 the alien’s counsel of record, if applicable, 

6 that a determination decision has been 

7 made; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) schedule the service of the pro9 tection determination decision, which shall 

10 take place, to the maximum extent prac11 ticable, not later than 5 days after such 

12 notification. 

13 ‘‘(B) SPECIAL RULES.— 

14 ‘‘(i) LOCATION.—Each service of a 

15 protection determination decision sched16 uled pursuant to subparagraph (A)(ii) may 

17 occur at— 

18 ‘‘(I) a U.S. Immigration and 

19 Customs Enforcement facility; 

20 ‘‘(II) an Immigration Court; or 

21 ‘‘(III) any other federally owned 

22 or federally leased building that— 

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1 randum of agreement to be used 

2 for such purpose; and 

3 ‘‘(bb) meets the minimum 

4 requirements under this subpara5 graph. 

6 ‘‘(ii) MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS.—In 

7 conducting each service of a protection de8 termination decision, the Director shall en9 sure compliance with the requirements set 

10 forth in clauses (ii)(II), (ii)(III), (ii)(IV), 

11 and (iii) of subsection (b)(3)(E). 

12 ‘‘(2) PROCEDURES FOR SERVICE OF PROTEC13 TION DETERMINATION DECISIONS.— 

14 ‘‘(A) WRITTEN DECISION.—The Secretary 

15 shall ensure that each alien and the alien’s 

16 counsel of record, if applicable, attending a de17 termination decision receives a written decision 

18 that includes, at a minimum, the articulated 

19 basis for the denial of the protection benefit 

20 sought by the alien. 

21 ‘‘(B) LANGUAGE ACCESS.—The Secretary 

22 shall ensure that each written decision required 

23 under subparagraph (A) is delivered to the alien 

24 in— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the alien’s native language, to the 

2 maximum extent practicable; or 

3 ‘‘(ii) another language the alien un4 derstands. 

5 ‘‘(C) ACCESS TO COUNSEL.—An alien who 

6 has obtained the services of counsel shall be 

7 represented by such counsel, at no expense to 

8 the Federal Government, at the service of the 

9 protection determination. Nothing in this sub10 paragraph may be construed to create a sub11 stantive due process right or to unreasonably 

12 delay the scheduling of the service of the pro13 tection determination. 

14 ‘‘(D) ASYLUM OFFICER.—A protection de15 termination decision may only be served by an 

16 asylum officer. 

17 ‘‘(E) PROTECTIONS FOR ASYLUM OFFICER

18 DECISIONS BASED ON THE MERITS OF THE

19 CASE.—The Secretary may not impose restric20 tions on an asylum officer’s ability to grant or 

21 deny relief sought by an alien in a protection 

22 determination or protection merits interview 

23 based on a numerical limitation. 

24 ‘‘(3) NEGATIVE PROTECTION DETERMINA25 TION.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) ADVISEMENT OF RIGHTS AND OPPOR2 TUNITIES.—If an alien receives a negative pro3 tection determination decision, the asylum offi4 cer shall— 

5 ‘‘(i) advise the alien if an alternative 

6 option of return is available to the alien, 

7 including— 

8 ‘‘(I) voluntary departure; 

9 ‘‘(II) withdrawal of the alien’s 

10 application for admission; or 

11 ‘‘(III) voluntary repatriation; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) provide written or verbal infor13 mation to the alien regarding the process, 

14 procedures, and timelines for appealing 

15 such denial, to the maximum extent prac16 ticable, in the alien’s native language, or in 

17 a language the alien understands. 

18 ‘‘(4) PROTECTION FOR CHILDREN.—In the case 

19 of a family unit, the Secretary shall ensure that the 

20 best interests of the child or children are considered 

21 when conducting a protection determination of the 

22 child’s family unit. 

23 ‘‘(5) FINAL ORDER OF REMOVAL.—If an alien 

24 receives a negative protection determination decision, 


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1 an alien shall be removed in accordance with section 

2 241 upon a final order of removal. 

3 ‘‘(f) FAILURE TO CONDUCT PROTECTION DETER4 MINATION.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary fails to 

6 conduct a protection determination for an alien dur7 ing the 90-day period set forth in subsection 

8 (b)(3)(A), such alien shall be referred for protection 

9 merits removal proceedings in accordance with 

10 240D. 

11 ‘‘(2) NOTICE OF PROTECTION MERITS INTER12 VIEW.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If an alien is referred 

14 for protection merits removal proceedings pur15 suant to paragraph (1), the Secretary shall 

16 properly file with U.S. Citizenship and Immi17 gration Services and serve upon the alien, or 

18 the alien’s counsel of record, a notice of a pro19 tection merits interview, in accordance with 

20 subsection (b)(2). 

21 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—Each notice of protec22 tion merits interview served pursuant to sub23 paragraph (A)— 

24 ‘‘(i) shall include each element de25 scribed in subsection (b)(2); and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) shall— 

2 ‘‘(I) inform the alien that an ap3 plication for protection relief shall be 

4 submitted to the Secretary not later 

5 than 30 days before the date on which 

6 the alien’s protection merits interview 

7 is scheduled; 

8 ‘‘(II) inform the alien that he or 

9 she shall receive employment author10 ization, pursuant to section 235C, not 

11 later than 30 days after filing the ap12 plication required under subclause (I); 

13 ‘‘(III) inform the alien that he or 

14 she may submit evidence into the 

15 record not later than 30 days before 

16 the date on which the alien’s protec17 tion merits interview is scheduled; 

18 ‘‘(IV) describe— 

19 ‘‘(aa) the penalties resulting 

20 from the alien’s failure to file the 

21 application required under sub22 clause (I); and 

23 ‘‘(bb) the terms and condi24 tions for redressing such failure 

25 to file; and 


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1 ‘‘(V) describe the penalties re2 sulting from the alien’s failure to ap3 pear for a scheduled protection merits 

4 interview. 

5 ‘‘(3) DATE OF FILING.—The date on which an 

6 application for protection relief is received by the 

7 Secretary shall be considered the date of filing and 

8 receipt for all purposes. 

9 ‘‘(4) EFFECT OF FAILURE TO FILE.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Failure to timely file 

11 an application for protection relief under this 

12 subsection will result in an order of removal, 

13 absent exceptional circumstances. 

14 ‘‘(B) OPPORTUNITY FOR REDRESS.— 

15 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary 

16 shall promulgate regulations authorizing a 

17 15-day opportunity for redress to file an 

18 application for protection relief if there are 

19 exceptional circumstances regarding the 

20 alien’s failure to timely file an application 

21 for protection relief. 

22 ‘‘(ii) CONTENTS.—Each application 

23 submitted pursuant to clause (i) shall— 

24 ‘‘(I) describe the basis for such 

25 request; 


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1 ‘‘(II) include supporting evidence; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(III) identify the exceptional 

4 circumstances that led to the alien’s 

5 failure to file the application for pro6 tection relief in a timely manner. 

7 ‘‘(C) DECISION .—In evaluating a request 

8 for redress submitted pursuant to subparagraph 

9 (B)(i), the Director, or designee— 

10 ‘‘(i) shall determine whether such re11 quest rises to the level of exceptional cir12 cumstances; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) may schedule a protection deter14 mination interview. 

15 ‘‘(5) EMPLOYMENT AUTHORIZATION.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Employment author17 ization shall be provided to aliens described in 

18 this subsection in accordance with section 

19 235C. 

20 ‘‘(B) REVOCATION.—The Secretary may 

21 revoke the employment authorization provided 

22 to any alien processed under this section or sec23 tion 240D if such alien— 


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1 ‘‘(i) has obtained authorization for 

2 employment pursuant to the procedures 

3 described in section 235C; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) absent exceptional circumstances, 

5 subsequently fails to appear for a protec6 tion determination under subsection (b)(3) 

7 or a protection merits interview under 

8 240D(c)(3). 

9 ‘‘(g) FAILURE TO APPEAR.— 

10 ‘‘(1) PROTECTION MERITS INTERVIEW.—The 

11 provisions of section 240(b)(5) shall apply to pro12 ceedings under this section. 

13 ‘‘(2) OPPORTUNITY TO REDRESS.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 15 

15 days after the date on which an alien fails to 

16 appear for a scheduled protection determination 

17 or protection merits interview, the alien may 

18 submit a written request for a rescheduled pro19 tection determination or protection merits inter20 view. 

21 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—Each request submitted 

22 pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall— 

23 ‘‘(i) describe the basis for such re24 quest; 

25 ‘‘(ii) include supporting evidence; and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) identify the exceptional cir2 cumstances that led to the alien’s failure to 

3 appear. 

4 ‘‘(C) DECISION.—In evaluating a request 

5 submitted pursuant to subparagraph (A), the 

6 Director, or designee shall determine whether 

7 the evidence included in such request rises to 

8 the level of exceptional circumstances. Such de9 cision shall not be reviewable. 

10 ‘‘(h) RULEMAKING.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may promul12 gate such regulations as are necessary to implement 

13 this section in compliance with the requirements of 

14 section 553 of title 5, United States Code. 

15 ‘‘(2) INITIAL IMPLEMENTATION.—Until the 

16 date that is 180 days after the date of the enact17 ment of this section, the Secretary may issue any in18 terim final rules necessary to implement this section 

19 without having to satisfy the requirements of section 

20 553(b)(B) of title 5, United States Code, provided 

21 that any such interim final rules shall include a 30- 

22 day post promulgation notice and comment period 

23 prior to finalization in the Federal Register. 

24 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENT.—All regulations promul25 gated to implement this section beginning on the 


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1 date that is 180 days after the date of the enact2 ment of this section, shall be issued pursuant to the 

3 requirements set forth in section 553 of title 5, 

4 United States Code. 

5 ‘‘(i) SAVINGS PROVISIONS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) EXPEDITED REMOVAL.—Nothing in this 

7 section may be construed to expand or restrict the 

8 Secretary’s discretion to carry out expedited remov9 als pursuant to section 235 to the extent authorized 

10 by law. The Secretary shall not refer or place an 

11 alien in proceedings under section 235 if the alien 

12 has already been placed in or referred to proceedings 

13 under this section or section 240D. 

14 ‘‘(2) DETENTION.—Nothing in this section may 

15 be construed to affect the authority of the Secretary 

16 to detain an alien released pursuant to this section 

17 if otherwise authorized by law. 

18 ‘‘(3) SETTLEMENT AGREEMENTS.—Nothing in 

19 this section may be construed— 

20 ‘‘(A) to expand or restrict any settlement 

21 agreement in effect as of the date of the enact22 ment of this section; or 

23 ‘‘(B) to abrogate any provision of the stip24 ulated settlement agreement in Reno v. Flores, 

25 as filed in the United States District Court for 


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1 the Central District of California on January 

2 17, 1997 (CV–85–4544–RJK), including all 

3 subsequent court decisions, orders, agreements, 

4 and stipulations. 

5 ‘‘(4) IMPACT ON OTHER REMOVAL PRO6 CEEDINGS.—The provisions of this section may not 

7 be interpreted to apply to any other form of removal 

8 proceedings. 

9 ‘‘(5) SPECIAL RULE.—For aliens who are na10 tives or citizens of Cuba released pursuant to this 

11 section and who are otherwise eligible for adjust12 ment of status under the first section of Public Law 

13 89–732 (8 U.S.C. 1255 note) (commonly known as 

14 the ‘Cuban Adjustment Act’), the requirement that 

15 an alien has been inspected and admitted or paroled 

16 into the United States shall not apply. Aliens who 

17 are natives or citizens of Cuba or Haiti and have 

18 been released pursuant to section 240 (8 U.S.C. 

19 1229) shall be considered to be individuals described 

20 in section 501(e)(1) of the Refugee Education As21 sistance Act of 1980 (8 U.S.C. 1522 note). 

22 ‘‘(6) REVIEW OF PROTECTION DETERMINA23 TIONS.—Except for reviews of constitutional claims, 

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1 tion determination issued by U.S. Citizenship and 

2 Immigration Services under this section. 

3 ‘‘(7) FINAL REMOVAL ORDERS.—No court shall 

4 have jurisdiction to review a final order of removal 

5 issued under this section. 

6 ‘‘(j) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Notwithstanding any other 

7 provision of this Act, judicial review of any decision or ac8 tion in this section shall be governed only by the United 

9 States District Court for the District of Columbia, which 

10 shall have sole and original jurisdiction to hear challenges, 

11 whether constitutional or otherwise, to the validity of this 

12 section or any written policy directive, written policy 

13 guideline, written procedure, or the implementation there14 of, issued by or under the authority of the Secretary to 

15 implement this section. 

16 ‘‘(k) REPORTS ON ASYLUM OFFICER GRANT

17 RATES.— 

18 ‘‘(1) PUBLICATION OF ANNUAL REPORT.—Not 

19 later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of 

20 the Border Act, and annually thereafter, the Direc21 tor of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services 

22 shall publish a report, on a publicly accessible 

23 website of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Serv24 ices, which includes, for the reporting period— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the number of protection determina2 tions that were approved or denied; and 

3 ‘‘(B) a description of any anomalous inci4 dents identified by the Director, including any 

5 action taken by the Director to address such an 

6 incident. 

7 ‘‘(2) SEMIANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not less frequently 

9 than twice each year, the Director of U.S. Citi10 zenship and Immigration Services shall submit 

11 a report to the relevant committees of Congress 

12 that includes, for the preceding reporting pe13 riod, and aggregated for the applicable calendar 

14 year— 

15 ‘‘(i) the number of cases in which a 

16 protection determination or protection mer17 its interview has been completed; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) for each asylum office or duty 

19 station to which more than 20 asylum offi20 cers are assigned— 

21 ‘‘(I) the median percentage of 

22 positive determinations and protection 

23 merits interviews in the cases de24 scribed in clause (i); 


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1 ‘‘(II) the mean percentage of 

2 negative determinations and protec3 tion merits interviews in such cases; 

4 and 

5 ‘‘(III) the number of cases de6 scribed in subsection (c)(5) in which 

7 an alien was referred to a supervisor 

8 after demonstrating, by clear and con9 vincing evidence, eligibility for asylum, 

10 withholding of removal, or protection 

11 under the Convention Against Tor12 ture, disaggregated by benefit type; 

13 ‘‘(IV) the number of cases de14 scribed in clause (i) that were ap15 proved by a supervisor; and 

16 ‘‘(V) the number of cases de17 scribed in clause (i) that were not ap18 proved by a supervisor. 

19 ‘‘(B) PRESENTATION OF DATA.—The in20 formation described in subparagraph (A) shall 

21 be provided in the format of aggregate totals by 

22 office or duty station. 

23 ‘‘(l) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

24 ‘‘(1) APPLICATION FOR PROTECTION RELIEF.— 

25 The term ‘application for protection relief’ means 


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1 any request, application or petition authorized by 

2 the Secretary for asylum, withholding of removal, or 

3 protection under the Convention Against Torture. 

4 ‘‘(2) ASYLUM OFFICER.—The term ‘asylum offi5 cer’ has the meaning given such term in section 

6 235(b)(1)(E). 

7 ‘‘(3) CONVENTION AGAINST TORTURE.—The 

8 term ‘Convention Against Torture’ means the 

9 United Nations Convention against Torture and 

10 Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or 

11 Punishment, done at New York December 10, 1984, 

12 including any implementing regulations. 

13 ‘‘(4) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘Director’ means 

14 the Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration 

15 Services. 

16 ‘‘(5) EXCEPTIONAL CIRCUMSTANCES.—The 

17 term ‘exceptional circumstances’ has the meaning 

18 given such term in section 240(e)(1). 

19 ‘‘(6) FINAL ORDER OF REMOVAL.—The term 

20 ‘final order of removal’ means an order of removal 

21 made by an asylum officer at the conclusion of a 

22 protection determination, and any appeal of such 

23 order, as applicable. 

24 ‘‘(7) PROTECTION APPELLATE BOARD.—The 

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1 tion Appellate Board established under section 463 

2 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002. 

3 ‘‘(8) PROTECTION DETERMINATION DECI4 SION.—The term ‘protection determination decision’ 

5 means the service of a negative or positive protection 

6 determination outcome. 

7 ‘‘(9) RELEVANT COMMITTEES OF CONGRESS.— 

8 The term ‘relevant committees of Congress’ means— 

9 ‘‘(A) the Committee on Homeland Security 

10 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; 

11 ‘‘(B) the Committee on the Judiciary of 

12 the Senate; 

13 ‘‘(C) the Committee on Appropriations of 

14 the Senate; 

15 ‘‘(D) the Committee on Homeland Security 

16 of the House of Representatives; 

17 ‘‘(E) the Committee on the Judiciary of 

18 the House of Representatives; 

19 ‘‘(F) the Committee on Appropriations of 

20 the House of Representatives; and 

21 ‘‘(G) the Committee on Oversight and Ac22 countability of the House of Representatives. 

23 ‘‘(10) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ 

24 means the Secretary of Homeland Security.’’. 


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1 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

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

3 note) is amended by inserting after the item relating to 

4 section 235A the following: 

‘‘Sec. 235B. Provisional noncustodial removal proceedings.’’. 

5 SEC. 142. PROTECTION MERITS REMOVAL PROCEEDINGS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 4 of title II of the Immi7 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1221 et seq.) is 

8 amended by inserting after section 240C the following: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 240D. PROTECTION MERITS REMOVAL PROCEEDINGS. 

10 ‘‘(a) COMMENCEMENT OF PROCEEDINGS.—Removal 

11 proceedings under this section shall commence imme12 diately after the Secretary properly serves notice on an 

13 alien who was— 

14 ‘‘(1) processed under section 235B and referred 

15 under subsection (c)(4) of that section after having 

16 been issued a notice of a positive protection deter17 mination under such subsection; or 

18 ‘‘(2) referred under section 235B(f). 

19 ‘‘(b) DURATION OF PROCEEDINGS.—To the max20 imum extent practicable, proceedings under this section 

21 shall conclude not later than 90 days after the date on 

22 which such proceedings commence. 

23 ‘‘(c) PROCEDURES.— 

24 ‘‘(1) SERVICE AND NOTICE REQUIREMENTS.— 

25 Upon the commencement of proceedings under this 


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1 section, the Secretary shall provide notice of removal 

2 proceedings to the alien, or if personal service is not 

3 practicable, to the alien’s counsel of record. Such no4 tice shall be provided, to the maximum extent prac5 ticable, in the alien’s native language, or in a lan6 guage the alien understands, and shall specify or 

7 provide— 

8 ‘‘(A) the nature of the proceedings against 

9 the alien; 

10 ‘‘(B) the legal authority under which such 

11 proceedings will be conducted; 

12 ‘‘(C) the charges against the alien and the 

13 statutory provisions alleged to have been vio14 lated by the alien; 

15 ‘‘(D) that the alien shall— 

16 ‘‘(i) immediately provide (or have pro17 vided) to the Secretary, in writing, the 

18 mailing address, contact information, email 

19 address or other electronic address, and 

20 telephone number (if any) at which the 

21 alien may be contacted respecting the pro22 ceeding under this section; and 

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1 dress or telephone number after any such 

2 change; 

3 ‘‘(E)(i) the time and place at which the 

4 proceeding under this section will be held, 

5 which information shall be communicated, to 

6 the extent practicable, before or during the 

7 alien’s release from physical custody; or 

8 ‘‘(ii) immediately after release, the time 

9 and place of such proceeding shall be provided 

10 to the alien, or to the alien’s counsel of record, 

11 not later than 10 days before the scheduled pro12 tection determination interview, which shall be 

13 considered proper service of the commencement 

14 of proceedings; 

15 ‘‘(F) the consequences for the alien’s fail16 ure to appear at such proceeding pursuant to 

17 section 240(b)(5)(A), absent exceptional cir18 cumstances; 

19 ‘‘(G) the alien’s right to be represented, at 

20 no expense to the Federal Government, by any 

21 counsel, or an accredited representative, se22 lected by the alien who is authorized to practice 

23 in such a proceeding; and 

24 ‘‘(H) information described in section 

25 235(b)(1)(B)(iv)(II). 


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1 ‘‘(2) ALTERNATIVES TO DETENTION.—An adult 

2 alien, including a head of household, who has been 

3 referred for proceedings under this section, shall be 

4 supervised under the Alternatives to Detention pro5 gram of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforce6 ment for the duration of such proceedings. 

7 ‘‘(3) PROTECTION MERITS INTERVIEW.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An asylum officer 

9 shall conduct a protection merits interview of 

10 each alien processed under this section. 

11 ‘‘(B) ACCESS TO COUNSEL.—Section 

12 235B(b)(3)(B) shall apply to proceedings under 

13 this section. 

14 ‘‘(C) PROCEDURES AND EVIDENCE.—The 

15 asylum officer may receive into evidence any 

16 oral or written statement that is material and 

17 relevant to any matter in the protection merits 

18 interview. The testimony of the alien shall be 

19 under oath or affirmation, which shall be ad20 ministered by the asylum officer. 

21 ‘‘(D) TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENTS.—Any 

22 foreign language document offered by a party 

23 in proceedings under this section shall be ac24 companied by an English language translation 

25 and a certification signed by the translator, 


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1 which shall be printed legibly or typed. Such 

2 certification shall include a statement that the 

3 translator is competent to translate the docu4 ment, and that the translation is true and accu5 rate to the best of the translator’s abilities. 

6 ‘‘(E) INTERPRETERS.—An interpreter may 

7 be provided to the alien for the proceedings 

8 under this section, in accordance with section 

9 235B(b)(3)(D). 

10 ‘‘(F) LOCATION.—The location for the pro11 tection merits interview described in this section 

12 shall be determined in accordance with the 

13 terms and conditions described in section 

14 235B(b)(3)(E). 

15 ‘‘(G) WRITTEN RECORD.—The asylum offi16 cer shall prepare a written record of each pro17 tection merits interview, which shall be provided 

18 to the alien or the alien’s counsel, that in19 cludes— 

20 ‘‘(i) a summary of the material facts 

21 stated by the alien; 

22 ‘‘(ii) any additional facts relied upon 

23 by the asylum officer; 

24 ‘‘(iii) the asylum officer’s analysis of 

25 why, in light of the facts referred to in 


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1 clauses (i) and (ii), the alien has or has 

2 not established eligibility for asylum under 

3 section 208, withholding of removal under 

4 section 241(b)(3), or protection under the 

5 Convention Against Torture; and 

6 ‘‘(iv) a copy of the asylum officer’s 

7 interview notes. 

8 ‘‘(H) PROTECTION OF CERTAIN INFORMA9 TION.—Before providing the record described in 

10 subparagraph (G) to the alien or the alien’s 

11 counsel of record, the Director shall protect any 

12 information the disclosure of which is prohib13 ited by law. 

14 ‘‘(I) RULEMAKING.—The Secretary shall 

15 promulgate regulations that permit an alien to 

16 request a rescheduled interview due to excep17 tional circumstances. 

18 ‘‘(J) WITHDRAWAL OF APPLICATION, VOL19 UNTARY DEPARTURE, AND VOLUNTARY REPA20 TRIATION.— 

21 ‘‘(i) VOLUNTARY DEPARTURE.—The 

22 Secretary may permit an alien to volun23 tarily depart in accordance with section 

24 240E. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) WITHDRAWAL OF APPLICA2 TION.—The Secretary may permit an alien, 

3 at any time before the protection merits 

4 interview, to withdraw his or her applica5 tion and depart immediately from the 

6 United States in accordance with section 

7 240F. 

8 ‘‘(iii) VOLUNTARY REPATRIATION.— 

9 The Secretary may permit an alien to vol10 untarily repatriate in accordance with sec11 tion 240G. 

12 ‘‘(4) SPECIAL RULE RELATING TO ONE-YEAR

13 BAR.—An alien subject to proceedings under this 

14 section shall not be subject to the one-year bar 

15 under section 208(a)(2)(B). 

16 ‘‘(5) TIMING OF PROTECTION MERITS INTER17 VIEW.—A protection merits interview may not be 

18 conducted on a date that is earlier than 30 days 

19 after the date on which notice is served under para20 graph (1). 

21 ‘‘(d) PROTECTION MERITS DETERMINATION.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—After conducting an alien’s 

23 protection merits interview, the asylum officer shall 

24 make a determination on the merits of the alien’s 

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1 holding of removal under section 241(b)(3), or pro2 tection under the Convention Against Torture. 

3 ‘‘(2) POSITIVE PROTECTION MERITS DETER4 MINATION.—In the case of an alien who the asylum 

5 officer determines meets the criteria for a positive 

6 protection merits determination, the asylum officer 

7 shall approve the alien’s application for asylum 

8 under section 208, withholding of removal under sec9 tion 241(b)(3), or protection under the Convention 

10 Against Torture. 

11 ‘‘(3) NEGATIVE PROTECTION MERITS DETER12 MINATION.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of an alien 

14 who the asylum officer determines does not 

15 meet the criteria for a positive protection merits 

16 determination— 

17 ‘‘(i) the asylum officer shall deny the 

18 alien’s application for asylum under section 

19 208, withholding of removal under section 

20 241(b)(3), or protection under the Conven21 tion Against Torture; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) the Secretary shall— 

23 ‘‘(I) provide the alien with writ24 ten notice of the decision; and 


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1 ‘‘(II) subject to subparagraph 

2 (B) and subsection (e), order the re3 moval of the alien from the United 

4 States. 

5 ‘‘(B) REQUEST FOR RECONSIDERATION.— 

6 Any alien with respect to whom a negative pro7 tection merits determination has been made 

8 may submit a request for reconsideration to 

9 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services not 

10 later than 5 days after such determination, in 

11 accordance with the procedures set forth in sec12 tion 235B(d)(3). 

13 ‘‘(e) APPEALS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An alien with respect to 

15 whom a negative protection merits determination 

16 has been made may submit to the Protection Appel17 late Board a written petition for review of such de18 termination, together with additional evidence sup19 porting the alien’s claim, as applicable, not later 

20 than 7 days after the date on which a request for 

21 reconsideration under subsection (d)(3)(B) has been 

22 denied. 

23 ‘‘(2) SWORN STATEMENT.—A petition for re24 view submitted under this subsection shall include a 

25 sworn statement by the alien. 


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1 ‘‘(3) RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE DIRECTOR.— 

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—After the filing of a 

3 petition for review by an alien, the Director 

4 shall— 

5 ‘‘(i) refer the alien’s petition for re6 view to the Protection Appellate Board; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(ii) before the date on which the 

9 Protection Appellate Board commences re10 view, subject to subparagraph (B), provide 

11 a full record of the alien’s protection mer12 its interview, including a transcript of such 

13 interview— 

14 ‘‘(I) to the Protection Appellate 

15 Board; and 

16 ‘‘(II) to the alien, or the alien’s 

17 counsel of record. 

18 ‘‘(B) PROTECTION OF CERTAIN INFORMA19 TION.—Before providing the record described in 

20 subparagraph (A)(ii)(II) to the alien or the 

21 alien’s counsel of record, the Director shall pro22 tect any information the disclosure of which is 

23 prohibited by law. 

24 ‘‘(4) STANDARD OF REVIEW.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In reviewing a protec2 tion merits determination under this subsection, 

3 the Protection Appellate Board shall— 

4 ‘‘(i) with respect to questions of fact, 

5 determine whether the decision reached by 

6 the asylum officer with initial jurisdiction 

7 regarding the alien’s eligibility for relief or 

8 protection was clear error; and 

9 ‘‘(ii) with respect to questions of law, 

10 discretion, and judgement, make a de novo 

11 determination with respect to the alien’s 

12 eligibility for relief or protection. 

13 ‘‘(B) in making a determination under 

14 clause (i) or (ii) of subparagraph (A), take into 

15 account the credibility of the statements made 

16 by the alien in support of the alien’s claim and 

17 such other facts as are known to the Protection 

18 Appellate Board. 

19 ‘‘(5) COMPLETION.—To the maximum extent 

20 practicable, not later than 7 days after the date on 

21 which an alien files a petition for review with the 

22 Protection Appellate Board, the Protection Appellate 

23 Board shall conclude the review. 

24 ‘‘(6) OPPORTUNITY TO SUPPLEMENT.—The 

25 Protection Appellate Board shall establish a process 


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1 by which an alien, or the alien’s counsel of record, 

2 may supplement the record for purposes of a review 

3 under this subsection not less than 30 days before 

4 the Protection Appellate Board commences the re5 view. 

6 ‘‘(7) RESULT OF REVIEW.— 

7 ‘‘(A) VACATUR OF ORDER OF REMOVAL.— 

8 In the case of a determination by the Protection 

9 Appellate Board that the application of an alien 

10 for asylum warrants approval, the Protection 

11 Appellate Board shall vacate the order of re12 moval issued by the asylum officer and grant 

13 such application. 

14 ‘‘(B) WITHHOLDING OF REMOVAL AND

15 CONVENTION AGAINST TORTURE ORDER OF RE16 MOVAL.—In the case of a determination by the 

17 Protection Appellate Board that the application 

18 of an alien for withholding of removal under 

19 section 241(b)(3) or protection under the Con20 vention Against Torture warrants approval, the 

21 Protection Appellate Board— 

22 ‘‘(i) shall not vacate the order of re23 moval issued by the asylum officer; and 

24 ‘‘(ii) shall grant the application for 

25 withholding of removal under section 


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1 241(b)(3) or protection under the Conven2 tion Against Torture, as applicable. 

3 ‘‘(C) AFFIRMATION OF ORDER OF RE4 MOVAL.—In the case of a determination by the 

5 Protection Appellate Board that the petition for 

6 review of a protection merits interview does not 

7 warrant approval, the Protection Appellate 

8 Board shall affirm the denial of such applica9 tion and the order of removal shall become 

10 final. 

11 ‘‘(D) NOTIFICATION.—Upon making a de12 termination with respect to a review under this 

13 subsection, the Protection Appellate Board shall 

14 expeditiously provide notice of the determina15 tion to the alien and, as applicable, to the 

16 alien’s counsel of record. 

17 ‘‘(8) MOTION TO REOPEN OR MOTION TO RE18 CONSIDER.— 

19 ‘‘(A) MOTION TO REOPEN.—A motion to 

20 reopen a review conducted by the Protection 

21 Appellate Board shall state new facts and shall 

22 be supported by documentary evidence. The re23 submission of previously provided evidence or 

24 reassertion of previously stated facts shall not 

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1 tion to reopen under this subparagraph. An 

2 alien with a pending motion to reopen may be 

3 removed if the alien’s order of removal is final, 

4 pending a decision on a motion to reopen. 

5 ‘‘(B) MOTION TO RECONSIDER.— 

6 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A motion to re7 consider a decision of the Protection Ap8 pellate Board— 

9 ‘‘(I) shall establish that— 

10 ‘‘(aa) the Protection Appel11 late Board based its decision on 

12 an incorrect application of law or 

13 policy; and 

14 ‘‘(bb) the decision was incor15 rect based on the evidence in the 

16 record of proceedings at the time 

17 of the decision; and 

18 ‘‘(II) shall be filed not later than 

19 30 days after the date on which the 

20 decision was issued. 

21 ‘‘(ii) LIMITATION.—The Protection 

22 Appellate Board shall not consider new 

23 facts or evidence submitted in support of a 

24 motion to reconsider. 

25 ‘‘(f) ORDER OF REMOVAL.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary— 

2 ‘‘(A) shall have exclusive and final jurisdic3 tion over the denial of an application for relief 

4 or protection under this section; and 

5 ‘‘(B) may remove an alien to a country 

6 where the alien is a subject, national, or citizen, 

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

8 the country of the alien’s last habitual resi9 dence, or in accordance with the processes es10 tablished under section 241, unless removing 

11 the alien to such country would be prejudicial 

12 to the interests of the United States. 

13 ‘‘(2) DETENTION; REMOVAL.—The terms and 

14 conditions under section 241 shall apply to the de15 tention and removal of aliens ordered removed from 

16 the United States under this section. 

17 ‘‘(g) LIMITATION ON JUDICIAL REVIEW.— 

18 ‘‘(1) DENIALS OF PROTECTION.—Except for re19 view of constitutional claims, no court shall have ju20 risdiction to review a decision issued by U.S. Citi21 zenship and Immigration Services under this section 

22 denying an alien’s application for asylum under sec23 tion 208, withholding of removal under section 

24 241(b)(3), or protection under the Convention 

25 Against Torture. 


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1 ‘‘(2) FINAL REMOVAL ORDERS.—No court shall 

2 have jurisdiction to review a final order of removal 

3 issued under this section. 

4 ‘‘(h) RULEMAKING.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may promul6 gate such regulations as are necessary to implement 

7 this section in compliance with the requirements of 

8 section 553 of title 5, United States Code. 

9 ‘‘(2) INITIAL IMPLEMENTATION.—Until the 

10 date that is 180 days after the date of the enact11 ment of this section, the Secretary may issue any in12 terim final rules necessary to implement this section 

13 without having to satisfy the requirements of section 

14 553(b)(B) of title 5, United States Code, provided 

15 that any such interim final rules shall include a 30- 

16 day post promulgation notice and comment period 

17 prior to finalization in the Federal Register. 

18 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENT.—All regulations promul19 gated to implement this section beginning on the 

20 date that is 180 days after the date of the enact21 ment of this section, shall be issued pursuant to the 

22 requirements set forth in section 553 of title 5, 

23 United States Code. 

24 ‘‘(i) SAVINGS PROVISIONS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) DETENTION.—Nothing in this section may 

2 be construed to affect the authority of the Secretary 

3 to detain an alien who is processed, including for re4 lease, under this section if otherwise authorized by 

5 law. 

6 ‘‘(2) SETTLEMENT AGREEMENTS.—Nothing in 

7 this section may be construed— 

8 ‘‘(A) to expand or restrict any settlement 

9 agreement in effect on the date of the enact10 ment of this section; or 

11 ‘‘(B) to abrogate any provision of the stip12 ulated settlement agreement in Reno v. Flores, 

13 as filed in the United States District Court for 

14 the Central District of California on January 

15 17, 1997 (CV–85–4544–RJK), including all 

16 subsequent court decisions, orders, agreements, 

17 and stipulations. 

18 ‘‘(3) IMPACT ON OTHER REMOVAL PRO19 CEEDINGS.—The provisions of this section may not 

20 be interpreted to apply to any other form of removal 

21 proceedings. 

22 ‘‘(4) CONVERSION TO REMOVAL PROCEEDINGS

23 UNDER SECTION 240.—The asylum officer or immi24 gration officer may refer or place an alien into re25 moval proceedings under section 240 by issuing a 


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1 notice to appear for the purpose of initiating such 

2 proceedings if either such officer determines that— 

3 ‘‘(A) such proceedings are required in 

4 order to permit the alien to seek an immigra5 tion benefit for which the alien is legally enti6 tled to apply; and 

7 ‘‘(B) such application requires such alien 

8 to be placed in, or referred to proceedings 

9 under section 240 that are not available to such 

10 alien under this section. 

11 ‘‘(j) FAMILY UNITY.—In the case of an alien with 

12 a minor child in the United States who has been ordered 

13 removed pursuant to this section, the Secretary shall en14 sure that such alien is removed with the minor child, if 

15 the alien elects. 

16 ‘‘(k) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Notwithstanding any other 

17 provision of this Act, judicial review of any decision or ac18 tion in this section shall be governed only by the United 

19 States District Court for the District of Columbia, which 

20 shall have sole and original jurisdiction to hear challenges, 

21 whether constitutional or otherwise, to the validity of this 

22 section or any written policy directive, written policy 

23 guideline, written procedure, or the implementation there24 of, issued by or under the authority of the Secretary to 

25 implement this section. 


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1 ‘‘(l) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

2 ‘‘(1) ASYLUM OFFICER.—The term ‘asylum offi3 cer’ has the meaning given such term in section 

4 235(b)(1)(E). 

5 ‘‘(2) CONVENTION AGAINST TORTURE.—The 

6 term ‘Convention Against Torture’ means the 

7 United Nations Convention against Torture and 

8 Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or 

9 Punishment, done at New York December 10, 1984, 

10 including any implementing regulations. 

11 ‘‘(3) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘Director’ means 

12 the Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration 

13 Services. 

14 ‘‘(4) EXCEPTIONAL CIRCUMSTANCES.—The 

15 term ‘exceptional circumstances’ has the meaning 

16 given such term in section 240(e)(1). 

17 ‘‘(5) FINAL ORDER OF REMOVAL.—The term 

18 ‘final order of removal’ means an order of removal 

19 made by an asylum officer at the conclusion of a 

20 protection determination, and any appeal of such 

21 order, as applicable. 

22 ‘‘(6) PROTECTION APPELLATE BOARD.—The 

23 term ‘Protection Appellate Board’ means the Protec24 tion Appellate Board established under section 463 

25 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002. 


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1 ‘‘(7) PROTECTION DETERMINATION DECI2 SION.—The term ‘protection determination decision’ 

3 means the service of a negative or positive protection 

4 determination outcome. 

5 ‘‘(8) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means 

6 the Secretary of Homeland Security.’’. 

7 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

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

9 et seq.) is amended by inserting after the item relating 

10 to section 240C the following: 

‘‘Sec. 240D. Protection merits removal proceedings.’’. 

11 SEC. 143. VOLUNTARY DEPARTURE AFTER NONCUSTODIAL 

12 PROCESSING; WITHDRAWAL OF APPLICATION 

13 FOR ADMISSION. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 4 of title II of the Immi15 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1221 et seq.), as 

16 amended by section 142(a), is further amended by insert17 ing after section 240D the following: 

18 ‘‘SEC. 240E. VOLUNTARY DEPARTURE AFTER NONCUSTO19 DIAL PROCESSING. 

20 ‘‘(a) CONDITIONS.— 

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

22 Security (referred to in this section as the ‘Sec23 retary’) may permit an alien to voluntarily depart 

24 the United States under this subsection, at the 

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1 ceedings under section 235B or 240D or before the 

2 completion of such proceedings, if such alien is not 

3 deportable under paragraph (2)(A)(iii) or (4)(B) of 

4 section 237(a). 

5 ‘‘(2) PERIOD OF VALIDITY.—Permission to de6 part voluntarily under this subsection shall be valid 

7 for a period not to exceed 120 days. 

8 ‘‘(3) DEPARTURE BOND.—The Secretary may 

9 require an alien permitted to depart voluntarily 

10 under this subsection to post a voluntary departure 

11 bond, which shall be surrendered upon proof that 

12 the alien has departed the United States within the 

13 time specified in such bond. 

14 ‘‘(b) AT CONCLUSION OF PROCEEDINGS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may permit 

16 an alien to voluntarily depart the United States 

17 under this subsection, at the alien’s own expense, if, 

18 at the conclusion of a proceeding under section 

19 240D, the asylum officer— 

20 ‘‘(A) enters an order granting voluntary 

21 departure instead of removal; and 

22 ‘‘(B) determines that the alien— 

23 ‘‘(i) has been physically present in the 

24 United States for not less than 60 days 

25 immediately preceding the date on which 


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1 proper notice was served in accordance 

2 with section 235B(e)(2); 

3 ‘‘(ii) is, and has been, a person of 

4 good moral character for at least 5 years 

5 immediately preceding the alien’s applica6 tion for voluntary departure; 

7 ‘‘(iii) is not deportable under para8 graph (2)(A)(iii) or (4) of section 237(a); 

9 and 

10 ‘‘(iv) has established, by clear and 

11 convincing evidence, that he or she has the 

12 means to depart the United States and in13 tends to do so. 

14 ‘‘(2) DEPARTURE BOND.—The Secretary shall 

15 require any alien permitted to voluntarily depart 

16 under this subsection to post a voluntary departure 

17 bond, in an amount necessary to ensure that such 

18 alien will depart, which shall be surrendered upon 

19 proof that the alien has departed the United States 

20 within the time specified in such bond. 

21 ‘‘(c) INELIGIBLE ALIENS.—The Secretary shall not 

22 permit an alien to voluntarily depart under this section 

23 if such alien was previously permitted to voluntarily depart 

24 after having been found inadmissible under section 

25 212(a)(6)(A). 


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1 ‘‘(d) CIVIL PENALTY FOR FAILURE TO DEPART.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

3 an alien who was permitted to voluntarily depart the 

4 United States under this section and fails to volun5 tarily depart within the period specified by the Sec6 retary— 

7 ‘‘(A) shall be subject to a civil penalty of 

8 not less than $1,000 and not more than 

9 $5,000; and 

10 ‘‘(B) shall be ineligible, during the 10-year 

11 period beginning on the last day such alien was 

12 permitted to voluntarily depart, to receive any 

13 further relief under this section and sections 

14 240A, 245, 248, and 249. 

15 ‘‘(2) SPECIAL RULE.—The restrictions on relief 

16 under paragraph (1) shall not apply to individuals 

17 identified in section 240B(d)(2). 

18 ‘‘(3) NOTICE.—The order permitting an alien 

19 to voluntarily depart shall describe the penalties 

20 under this subsection. 

21 ‘‘(e) ADDITIONAL CONDITIONS.—The Secretary may 

22 prescribe regulations that limit eligibility for voluntary de23 parture under this section for any class of aliens. No court 

24 may review any regulation issued under this subsection. 


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1 ‘‘(f) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—No court has jurisdiction 

2 over an appeal from the denial of a request for an order 

3 of voluntary departure under subsection (b). No court may 

4 order a stay of an alien’s removal pending consideration 

5 of any claim with respect to voluntary departure. 

6 ‘‘(g) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec7 tion may be construed to affect any voluntary departure 

8 relief in any other section of this Act. 

9 ‘‘SEC. 240F. WITHDRAWAL OF APPLICATION FOR ADMIS10 SION. 

11 ‘‘(a) WITHDRAWAL AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary of 

12 Homeland Security (referred to in this section as the ‘Sec13 retary’), in the discretion of the Secretary, may permit any 

14 alien for admission to withdraw his or her application— 

15 ‘‘(1) instead of being placed into removal pro16 ceedings under section 235B or 240D; or 

17 ‘‘(2) at any time before the alien’s protection 

18 merits interview occurs under section 240D. 

19 ‘‘(b) CONDITIONS.—An alien’s decision to withdraw 

20 his or her application for admission under subsection (a) 

21 shall be made voluntarily. Permission to withdraw an ap22 plication for admission may not be granted unless the 

23 alien intends and is able to depart the United States with24 in a period determined by the Secretary. 


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1 ‘‘(c) CONSEQUENCE FOR FAILURE TO DEPART.—An 

2 alien who is permitted to withdraw his or her application 

3 for admission under this section and fails to voluntarily 

4 depart the United States within the period specified by 

5 the Secretary pursuant to subsection (b) shall be ineligible, 

6 during the 5-year period beginning on the last day of such 

7 period, to receive any further relief under this section and 

8 section 240A. 

9 ‘‘(d) FAMILY UNITY.—In the case of an alien with 

10 a minor child in the United States who has been ordered 

11 removed after withdrawing an application under this sec12 tion, the Secretary shall ensure that such alien is removed 

13 with the minor child, if the alien elects. 

14 ‘‘(e) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec15 tion may be construed to affect any withdrawal require16 ments in any other section of this Act.’’. 

17 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

18 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 

19 et seq.), as amended by section 142(b), is further amended 

20 by inserting after the item relating to section 240D the 

21 following: 

‘‘Sec. 240E. Voluntary departure after noncustodial processing. 

‘‘Sec. 240F. Withdrawal of application for admission.’’. 

22 SEC. 144. VOLUNTARY REPATRIATION. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 4 of title II of the Immi24 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1221 et seq.), as 


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1 amended by section 143(a), is further amended by insert2 ing after section 240F, the following: 

3 ‘‘SEC. 240G. VOLUNTARY REPATRIATION. 

4 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Homeland 

5 Security (referred to in this section as the ‘Secretary’) 

6 shall establish a voluntary repatriation program in accord7 ance with the terms and conditions of this section. 

8 ‘‘(b) VOLUNTARY REPATRIATION IN LIEU OF PRO9 CEEDINGS.—Under the voluntary repatriation program es10 tablished under subsection (a), the Secretary may permit 

11 an alien to elect, at any time during proceedings under 

12 section 235B or before the alien’s protection merits deter13 mination under section 240D(d), voluntary repatriation in 

14 lieu of continued proceedings under section 235B or 

15 240D. 

16 ‘‘(c) PERIOD OF VALIDITY.—An alien who elects vol17 untary repatriation shall depart the United States within 

18 a period determined by the Secretary, which may not ex19 ceed 120 days. 

20 ‘‘(d) PROCEDURES.—Consistent with subsection (b), 

21 the Secretary may permit an alien to elect voluntary repa22 triation if the asylum officer— 

23 ‘‘(1) enters an order granting voluntary repatri24 ation instead of an order of removal; and 

25 ‘‘(2) determines that the alien— 


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1 ‘‘(A) has been physically present in the 

2 United States immediately preceding the date 

3 on which the alien elects voluntary repatriation; 

4 ‘‘(B) is, and has been, a person of good 

5 moral character for the entire period the alien 

6 is physically present in the United States; 

7 ‘‘(C) is not described in paragraph 

8 (2)(A)(iii) or (4) of section 237(a); 

9 ‘‘(D) meets the applicable income require10 ments, as determined by the Secretary; and 

11 ‘‘(E) has not previously elected voluntary 

12 repatriation. 

13 ‘‘(e) MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) NOTICE.—The notices required to be pro15 vided to an alien under sections 235B(b)(2) and 

16 240D(c)(1) shall include information on the vol17 untary repatriation program. 

18 ‘‘(2) VERBAL REQUIREMENTS.—The asylum of19 ficer shall verbally provide the alien with information 

20 about the opportunity to elect voluntary repatri21 ation— 

22 ‘‘(A) at the beginning of a protection de23 termination under section 235B(c)(2); and 

24 ‘‘(B) at the beginning of the protection 

25 merits interview under section 240D(b)(3). 


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1 ‘‘(3) WRITTEN REQUEST.—An alien subject to 

2 section 235B or 240D— 

3 ‘‘(A) may elect voluntary repatriation at 

4 any time during proceedings under 235B or be5 fore the protection merits determination under 

6 section 240D(d); and 

7 ‘‘(B) may only elect voluntary repatri8 ation— 

9 ‘‘(i) knowingly and voluntarily; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) in a written format, to the max11 imum extent practicable, in the alien’s na12 tive language or in a language the alien 

13 understands, or in an alternative record if 

14 the alien is unable to write. 

15 ‘‘(f) REPATRIATION.—The Secretary is authorized to 

16 provide transportation to aliens, including on commercial 

17 flights, if such aliens elect voluntary repatriation. 

18 ‘‘(g) REINTEGRATION.—Upon election of voluntary 

19 repatriation, the Secretary shall advise the alien of any 

20 applicable reintegration or reception program available in 

21 the alien’s country of nationality. 

22 ‘‘(h) FAMILY UNITY.—In the case of an alien with 

23 a minor child in the United States who has been permitted 

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1 retary shall ensure that such alien is repatriated with the 

2 minor child, if the alien elects. 

3 ‘‘(i) IMMIGRATION CONSEQUENCES.— 

4 ‘‘(1) ELECTION TIMING.—In the case of an 

5 alien who elects voluntary repatriation at any time 

6 during proceeding under section 235B or before the 

7 protection merits interview, a final order of removal 

8 shall not be entered against the alien. 

9 ‘‘(2) FAILURE TO TIMELY DEPART.—In the 

10 case of an alien who elects voluntary repatriation 

11 and fails to depart the United States before the end 

12 of the period of validity under subsection (c)— 

13 ‘‘(A) the alien shall be subject to a civil 

14 penalty in an amount equal to the cost of the 

15 commercial flight or the ticket, or tickets, to the 

16 country of nationality; 

17 ‘‘(B) during the 10-year period beginning 

18 on the date on which the period of validity 

19 under subsection (c) ends, the alien shall be in20 eligible for relief under— 

21 ‘‘(i) this section; 

22 ‘‘(ii) section 240A; and 

23 ‘‘(iii) section 240E; and 

24 ‘‘(C) a final order of removal shall be en25 tered against the alien. 


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1 ‘‘(3) EXCEPTIONS.—Paragraph (2) shall not 

2 apply to a child of an adult alien who elected vol3 untary repatriation. 

4 ‘‘(j) CLERICAL MATTERS.— 

5 ‘‘(1) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

6 this section may be construed to affect any voluntary 

7 departure under any other section of this Act. 

8 ‘‘(2) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in this section 

9 may be construed to supersede the requirements of 

10 section 241(b)(3). 

11 ‘‘(3) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—No court shall have 

12 jurisdiction of the Secretary’s decision, in the Sec13 retary’s sole discretion, to permit an alien to elect 

14 voluntary repatriation. No court may order a stay of 

15 an alien’s removal pending consideration of any 

16 claim with respect to voluntary repatriation. 

17 ‘‘(4) APPROPRIATIONS.—There are authorized 

18 to be appropriated to the Secretary such sums as 

19 necessary to carry out this section. 

20 ‘‘(k) VOLUNTARY REPATRIATION DEFINED.—The 

21 term ‘voluntary repatriation’ means the free and voluntary 

22 return of an alien to the alien’s country of nationality (or 

23 in the case of an alien having no nationality, the country 

24 of the alien’s last habitual residence) in a safe and dig25 nified manner, consistent with the obligations of the 


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1 United States under the Convention Relating to the Sta2 tus of Refugees, done at Geneva July 28, 1952 (as made 

3 applicable by the1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of 

4 Refugees, done at New York January 31, 1967 (19 UST 

5 6223)).’’. 

6 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

7 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 

8 et seq.), as amended by section 143(b), is further amended 

9 by inserting after the item relating to section 240F the 

10 following: 

‘‘Sec. 240G. Voluntary repatriation.’’. 

11 SEC. 145. IMMIGRATION EXAMINATIONS FEE ACCOUNT. 

12 Section 286 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

13 (8 U.S.C. 1356) is amended— 

14 (1) in subsection (m), by striking ‘‘collected.’’ 

15 and inserting ‘‘collected: Provided further, That such 

16 fees may not be set to recover any costs associated 

17 with the implementation of sections 235B and 

18 240D, are appropriated by Congress, and are not 

19 subject to the fees collected.’’; and 

20 (2) in subsection (n), by adding at the end the 

21 following: ‘‘Funds deposited in the ‘Immigration Ex22 aminations Fee Account’ shall not be used to reim23 burse any appropriation for expenses associated with 

24 the implementation of sections 235B and 240D.’’. 


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1 SEC. 146. BORDER REFORMS. 

2 (a) SPECIAL RULES FOR CONTIGUOUS CONTINENTAL

3 LAND BORDERS.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 4 of title II of the 

5 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1221 et 

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

7 ‘‘SEC. 244A. SPECIAL RULES FOR CONTIGUOUS CONTI8 NENTAL LAND BORDERS. 

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—An alien described in section 235 

10 or 235B who arrives by land from a contiguous conti11 nental land border (whether or not at a designated port 

12 of arrival), absent unusual circumstances, shall be prompt13 ly subjected to the mandatory provisions of such sections 

14 unless the Secretary of Homeland Security (referred to in 

15 this section as the ‘Secretary’) determines, on a case-by16 case basis, that there is— 

17 ‘‘(1) an exigent medical circumstance involving 

18 the alien that requires the alien’s physical presence 

19 in the United States; 

20 ‘‘(2) a significant law enforcement or intel21 ligence purpose warranting the alien’s presence in 

22 the United States; 

23 ‘‘(3) an urgent humanitarian reason directly 

24 pertaining to the individual alien, according to spe25 cific criteria determined by the Secretary; 


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1 ‘‘(4) a Tribal religious ceremony, cultural ex2 change, celebration, subsistence use, or other cul3 turally important purpose warranting the alien’s 

4 presence in the United States on Tribal land located 

5 at or near an international land border; 

6 ‘‘(5) an accompanying alien whose presence in 

7 the United States is necessary for the alien who 

8 meets the criteria described in any of the paragraphs 

9 (1) through (4) to further the purposes of such pro10 visions; or 

11 ‘‘(6) an alien who, while in the United States, 

12 had an emergent personal or bona fide reason to 

13 travel temporarily abroad and received approval for 

14 Advance Parole from the Secretary. 

15 ‘‘(b) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 

16 section may be construed— 

17 ‘‘(1) to preclude the execution of section 

18 235(a)(4) or 241(a)(5); 

19 ‘‘(2) to expand or restrict the authority to grant 

20 parole under section 212(d)(5), including for aliens 

21 arriving at a port of entry by air or sea, other than 

22 an alien arriving by land at a contiguous continental 

23 land border for whom a special rule described in 

24 subsection (a) applies; or 


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1 ‘‘(3) to refer to or place an alien in removal 

2 proceedings pursuant to section 240, or in any other 

3 proceedings, if such referral is not otherwise author4 ized under this Act. 

5 ‘‘(c) TRANSITION RULES.— 

6 ‘‘(1) MANDATORY PROCESSING.—Beginning on 

7 the date that is 90 days after the date of the enact8 ment of this section, the Secretary shall require any 

9 alien described in subsection (a) who does not meet 

10 any of the criteria described in paragraphs (1) 

11 through (6) of that subsection to be processed in ac12 cordance with section 235 or 235B, as applicable, 

13 unless such alien is subject to removal proceedings 

14 under subsection (b)(3). 

15 ‘‘(2) PRE-CERTIFICATION REFERRALS AND

16 PLACEMENTS.—Before the Comptroller General of 

17 the United States has certified that sections 235B 

18 and 240D are fully operational pursuant to section 

19 146(d) of the Border Act, the Secretary shall refer 

20 or place aliens described in subsection (a) in pro21 ceedings under section 240 based upon operational 

22 considerations regarding the capacity of the Sec23 retary to process aliens under section 235 or section 

24 235B, as applicable. 


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1 ‘‘(3) POST-CERTIFICATION REFERRALS AND

2 PLACEMENTS.—After the Comptroller General 

3 makes the certification referred to in paragraph (2), 

4 the Secretary may only refer aliens described in sub5 section (a) to, or place such aliens in, proceedings 

6 under section 235(b) or 235B, as applicable, unless 

7 such alien is subject to removal proceedings under 

8 subsection (b)(3).’’. 

9 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of con10 tents of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

11 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.) is amended by inserting after 

12 the item relating to section 244 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 244A. Special rules for contiguous continental land borders.’’. 

13 (b) MODIFICATION OF AUTHORITY TO ARREST, DE14 TAIN, AND RELEASE ALIENS.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 236(a)(2) of the Im16 migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1226(a)(2)) 

17 is amended— 

18 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

19 (A), by striking ‘‘on’’; 

20 (B) in subparagraph (A), by inserting 

21 ‘‘on’’ before ‘‘bond’’; and 

22 (C) by amending subparagraph (B) to read 

23 as follows: 

24 ‘‘(B)(i) in the case of an alien encountered 

25 in the interior, on conditional parole; or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) in the case of an alien encountered at 

2 the border— 

3 ‘‘(I) pursuant to the procedures under 

4 235B; or 

5 ‘‘(II) on the alien’s own recognizance 

6 with placement into removal proceedings 

7 under 240; and’’. 

8 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

9 by paragraph (1) shall take effect immediately after 

10 the Comptroller General of the United States cer11 tifies, in accordance with subsection (d), that sec12 tions 235B and 240D of the Immigration and Na13 tionality Act, as added by sections 141 and 142, are 

14 fully operational. 

15 (c) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 236 of the Immigra17 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1226) is amend18 ed by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(f) SEMIANNUAL REPORT.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

21 after the date on which the Comptroller General 

22 makes the certification described in section 146(d) 

23 of the Border Act, and every 180 days thereafter, 

24 the Secretary of Homeland Security shall publish, on 

25 a publicly accessible internet website in a 


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1 downloadable and searchable format, a report that 

2 describes each use of the authority of the Secretary 

3 under subsection (a)(2)(B)(ii)(II). 

4 ‘‘(2) ELEMENTS.—Each report required by 

5 paragraph (1) shall include, for the applicable 180- 

6 day reporting period— 

7 ‘‘(A) the number of aliens released pursu8 ant to the authority of the Secretary of Home9 land Security under subsection (a)(2)(B)(ii)(II); 

10 ‘‘(B) with respect to each such release— 

11 ‘‘(i) the rationale; 

12 ‘‘(ii) the Border Patrol sector in 

13 which the release occurred; and 

14 ‘‘(iii) the number of days between the 

15 scheduled date of the protection determina16 tion and the date of release from physical 

17 custody. 

18 ‘‘(3) PRIVACY PROTECTION.—Each report pub19 lished under paragraph (1)— 

20 ‘‘(A) shall comply with all applicable Fed21 eral privacy laws; and 

22 ‘‘(B) shall not disclose any information 

23 contained in, or pertaining to, a protection de24 termination.’’. 


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1 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 

2 by paragraph (1) shall take effect immediately after 

3 the Comptroller General of the United States cer4 tifies, in accordance with subsection (d), that sec5 tions 235B and 240D of the Immigration and Na6 tionality Act, as added by sections 141 and 142, are 

7 fully operational. 

8 (d) CERTIFICATION PROCESS.— 

9 (1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

10 (A) FULLY OPERATIONAL.—The term 

11 ‘‘fully operational’’ means the Secretary has the 

12 necessary resources, capabilities, and personnel 

13 to process all arriving aliens referred to in sec14 tions 235B and 240D of the Immigration and 

15 Nationality Act, as added by sections 141 and 

16 142, within the timeframes required by such 

17 sections. 

18 (B) REQUIRED PARTIES.—The term ‘‘re19 quired parties’’ means— 

20 (i) the President; 

21 (ii) the Secretary; 

22 (iii) the Attorney General; 

23 (iv) the Director of the Office of Man24 agement and Budget; 


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1 (v) the Committee on Homeland Secu2 rity and Governmental Affairs of the Sen3 ate; 

4 (vi) the Committee on the Judiciary of 

5 the Senate; 

6 (vii) the Committee on Appropriations 

7 of the Senate; 

8 (viii) the Committee on Homeland Se9 curity of the House of Representatives; 

10 (ix) the Committee on the Judiciary 

11 of the House of Representatives; and 

12 (x) the Committee on Appropriations 

13 of the House of Representatives. 

14 (2) REVIEW.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 

16 days after the date of the enactment of this 

17 Act, the Comptroller General of the United 

18 States shall review the implementation of sec19 tions 235B and 240D of the Immigration and 

20 Nationality Act, as added by sections 141 and 

21 142, to determine whether such sections are 

22 fully operational. 

23 (B) REVIEW ELEMENTS.—In completing 

24 the review required under subparagraph (A), 

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1 parison to the available resources, capabilities, 

2 and personnel on the date of the enactment of 

3 this Act, whether there are sufficient— 

4 (i) properly trained personnel, includ5 ing support personnel; 

6 (ii) real property assets and other re7 quired capabilities; 

8 (iii) information technology infrastruc9 ture; 

10 (iv) field manuals and guidance, regu11 lations, and policies; 

12 (v) other investments that the Comp13 troller General considers necessary; and 

14 (vi) asylum officers to effectively proc15 ess all aliens who are considered amenable 

16 for processing under section 235(b), sec17 tion 235B, section 240, and section 240D 

18 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. 

19 (3) CERTIFICATION OF FULL IMPLEMENTA20 TION.—If the Comptroller General determines, after 

21 completing the review required under paragraph (2), 

22 that sections 235B and 240D of the Immigration 

23 and Nationality Act are fully operational, the Comp24 troller General shall immediately submit to the re25 quired parties a certification of such determination. 


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1 (4) NONCERTIFICATION AND SUBSEQUENT RE2 VIEWS.—If the Comptroller General determines, 

3 after completing the review required under para4 graph (2), that such sections 235B and 240D are 

5 not fully operational, the Comptroller General 

6 shall— 

7 (A) notify the required parties of such de8 termination, including the reasons for such de9 termination; 

10 (B) conduct a subsequent review in accord11 ance with paragraph (2)(A) not later than 180 

12 days after each previous review that concluded 

13 that such sections 235B and 240D were not 

14 fully operational; and 

15 (C) conduct a subsequent review not later 

16 than 90 days after each time Congress appro17 priates additional funding to fully implement 

18 such sections 235B and 240D. 

19 (5) DETERMINATION OF THE SECRETARY.—Not 

20 later than 7 days after receiving a certification de21 scribed in paragraph (3), the Secretary shall confirm 

22 or reject the certification of the Comptroller General. 

23 (6) EFFECT OF REJECTION.— 

24 (A) NOTIFICATION.—If the Secretary re25 jects a certification of the of the Comptroller 


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1 General pursuant to paragraph (A), the Sec2 retary shall immediately— 

3 (i) notify the President, the Comp4 troller General, and the congressional com5 mittees listed in paragraph (1) of such re6 jection; and 

7 (ii) provide such entities with a ra8 tionale for such rejection. 

9 (B) SUBSEQUENT REVIEWS.—If the Comp10 troller General receives a notification of rejec11 tion from the Secretary pursuant to subpara12 graph (A), the Comptroller General shall con13 duct a subsequent review in accordance with 

14 paragraph (4)(B). 

15 SEC. 147. PROTECTION APPELLATE BOARD. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle E of title IV of the 

17 Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 271 et seq.) 

18 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘SEC. 463. PROTECTION APPELLATE BOARD. 

20 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall estab21 lish within the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services 

22 an appellate authority to conduct administrative appellate 

23 reviews of protection merits determinations made under 

24 section 240D of the Immigration and Nationality Act in 


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1 which the alien is denied relief or protection, to be known 

2 as the ‘Protection Appellate Board’. 

3 ‘‘(b) COMPOSITION.—Each panel of the Protection 

4 Appellate Board shall be composed of 3 U.S. Citizenship 

5 and Immigration Services asylum officers (as defined in 

6 section 235(b)(1)(E) of the Immigration and Nationality 

7 Act (8 U.S.C. 1225(b)(1)(E))), assigned to the panel at 

8 random, who— 

9 ‘‘(1) possess the necessary experience adjudi10 cating asylum claims; and 

11 ‘‘(2) are from diverse geographic regions. 

12 ‘‘(c) DUTIES OF ASYLUM OFFICERS.—In conducting 

13 a review under section 240D(e) of the Immigration and 

14 Nationality Act, each asylum officer assigned to a panel 

15 of the Protection Appellate Board shall independently re16 view the file of the alien concerned, including— 

17 ‘‘(1) the record of the alien’s protection deter18 mination (as defined in section 101(a) of the Immi19 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a))), as 

20 applicable; 

21 ‘‘(2) the alien’s application for a protection 

22 merits interview (as defined in section 240D(l) of 

23 that Act); 

24 ‘‘(3) a transcript of the alien’s protection merits 

25 interview; 


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1 ‘‘(4) the final record of the alien’s protection 

2 merits interview; 

3 ‘‘(5) a sworn statement from the alien identi4 fying new evidence or alleged error and any accom5 panying information the alien or the alien’s legal 

6 representative considers important; and 

7 ‘‘(6) any additional materials, information, or 

8 facts inserted into the record. 

9 ‘‘(d) DECISIONS.—Any final determination made by 

10 a panel of the Protection Appellate Board shall be by ma11 jority decision, independently submitted by each member 

12 of the panel. 

13 ‘‘(e) EXCLUSIVE JURISDICTION.—The Protection Ap14 pellate Board shall have exclusive jurisdiction to review 

15 appeals of negative protections merits determinations. 

16 ‘‘(f) PROTECTIONS FOR DECISIONS BASED ON MER17 ITS OF CASE.—The Director of U.S. Citizenship and Im18 migration Services may not impose restrictions on an asy19 lum officer’s ability to grant or deny relief or protection 

20 based on a numerical limitation. 

21 ‘‘(g) REPORTS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

23 the date of the enactment of this section, and annu24 ally thereafter, the Secretary— 


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1 ‘‘(A) shall submit a report to the appro2 priate committees of the Congress that in3 cludes, for the preceding year— 

4 ‘‘(i) the number of petitions for review 

5 submitted by aliens under section 240D(e) 

6 of the Immigration and Nationality Act; 

7 ‘‘(ii) the number of appeals considered 

8 by the Protection Appellate Board under 

9 such section that resulted in a grant of re10 lief or protection; 

11 ‘‘(iii) the number of appeals consid12 ered by the Protection Appellate Board 

13 under such section that resulted in a denial 

14 of relief or protection; 

15 ‘‘(iv) the geographic regions in which 

16 the members of the Protection Appellate 

17 Board held their primary duty station; 

18 ‘‘(v) the tenure of service of the mem19 bers of the Protection Appellate Board; 

20 ‘‘(vi) a description of any anomalous 

21 case outcome identified by the Secretary 

22 and the resolution of any such case out23 come; 

24 ‘‘(vii) the number of unanimous deci25 sions by the Protection Appellate Board; 


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1 ‘‘(viii) an identification of the number 

2 of cases the Protection Appellate Board 

3 was unable to complete in the timelines 

4 specified under section 240D(e) of the Im5 migration and Nationality Act; and 

6 ‘‘(ix) a description of any steps taken 

7 to remediate any backlog identified under 

8 clause (viii), as applicable; and 

9 ‘‘(B) in submitting each such report, shall 

10 protect all personally identifiable information of 

11 Federal employees and aliens who are subject to 

12 the reporting under this subsection. 

13 ‘‘(2) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CONGRESS

14 DEFINED.—In this subsection, the term ‘appropriate 

15 committees of Congress’ means— 

16 ‘‘(A) the Committee on Appropriations of 

17 the Senate; 

18 ‘‘(B) the Committee on the Judiciary of 

19 the Senate; 

20 ‘‘(C) the Committee on Homeland Security 

21 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; 

22 ‘‘(D) the Committee on Appropriations of 

23 the House of Representatives; 

24 ‘‘(E) the Committee on the Judiciary of 

25 the House of Representatives; and 


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1 ‘‘(F) the Committee on Homeland Security 

2 of the House of Representatives.’’. 

3 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

4 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 101 et 

5 seq.) is amended by inserting after the item relating to 

6 section 462 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 463. Protection Appellate Board.’’. 

7 TITLE II—ASYLUM PROCESSING 

8 ENHANCEMENTS 

9 SEC. 201. COMBINED SCREENINGS. 

10 Section 101(a) of the Immigration and Nationality 

11 Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)) is amended by adding at the end 

12 the following: 

13 ‘‘(53) The term ‘protection determination’ means— 

14 ‘‘(A) a screening conducted pursuant to section 

15 235(b)(1)(B)(v); or 

16 ‘‘(B) a screening to determine whether an alien 

17 is eligible for— 

18 ‘‘(i) withholding of removal under section 

19 241(b)(3); or 

20 ‘‘(ii) protection under the Convention 

21 against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or 

22 Degrading Treatment or Punishment, done at 

23 New York December 10, 1984, which includes 

24 the regulations implementing any law enacted 

25 pursuant to Article 3 of such convention. 


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1 ‘‘(54) The term ‘protection merits interview’ means 

2 an interview to determine whether an alien— 

3 ‘‘(A) meets the definition of refugee under 

4 paragraph (42), in accordance with the terms and 

5 conditions under section 208; 

6 ‘‘(B) is eligible for withholding of removal 

7 under section 241(b)(3); or 

8 ‘‘(C) is eligible for protection under the Conven9 tion against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or 

10 Degrading Treatment or Punishment, done at New 

11 York December 10, 1984, which includes the regula12 tions implementing any law enacted pursuant to Ar13 ticle 3 of such convention.’’. 

14 SEC. 202. CREDIBLE FEAR STANDARD AND ASYLUM BARS 

15 AT SCREENING INTERVIEW. 

16 Section 235(b)(1)(B) of the Immigration and Nation17 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1225(b)(1)(B)) is amended— 

18 (1) in clause (v), by striking ‘‘significant possi19 bility’’ and inserting ‘‘reasonable possibility’’; and 

20 (2) by adding at the end, the following: 

21 ‘‘(vi) ASYLUM EXCEPTIONS.—An asy22 lum officer, during the credible fear screen23 ing of an alien— 

24 ‘‘(I) shall determine whether any 

25 of the asylum exceptions under section 


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1 208(b)(2) disqualify the alien from re2 ceiving asylum; and 

3 ‘‘(II) may determine that the 

4 alien does not meet the definition of 

5 credible fear of persecution under 

6 clause (v) if any such exceptions 

7 apply, including whether any such ex8 emptions to such disqualifying excep9 tions may apply.’’. 

10 SEC. 203. INTERNAL RELOCATION. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 208(b)(2)(A) of the Im12 migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1158(b)(2)(A)) 

13 is amended— 

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

15 (2) in clause (vi), by striking the period at the 

16 end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

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

18 ‘‘(vii) there are reasonable grounds for 

19 concluding that the alien could avoid perse20 cution by relocating to— 

21 ‘‘(I) another location in the 

22 alien’s country of nationality; or 

23 ‘‘(II) in the case of an alien hav24 ing no nationality, another location in 


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1 the alien’s country of last habitual 

2 residence.’’. 

3 (b) INAPPLICABILITY.—Section 244(c)(2)(B)(ii) of 

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

5 1254a(c)(2)(B)(ii)) is amended by inserting ‘‘clauses (i) 

6 through (vi) of’’ after ‘‘described in’’. 

7 SEC. 204. ASYLUM OFFICER CLARIFICATION. 

8 Section 235(b)(1)(E) of the Immigration and Nation9 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1225(b)(1)(E)) is amended— 

10 (1) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘comparable to’’ 

11 and all that follows and inserting ‘‘, including non12 adversarial techniques;’’; 

13 (2) in clause (ii), by striking the period at the 

14 end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

16 ‘‘(iii)(I) is an employee of U.S. Citi17 zenship and Immigration Services; and 

18 ‘‘(II) is not a law enforcement offi19 cer.’’. 

20 TITLE III—SECURING AMERICA 

21 Subtitle A—Border Emergency 

22 Authority 

23 SEC. 301. BORDER EMERGENCY AUTHORITY. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 4 of title II of the Immi25 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1221 et seq.), as 


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1 amended by section 146(a), is further amended by adding 

2 at the end the following: 

3 ‘‘SEC. 244B. BORDER EMERGENCY AUTHORITY. 

4 ‘‘(a) USE OF AUTHORITY.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In order to respond to ex6 traordinary migration circumstances, there shall be 

7 available to the Secretary, notwithstanding any other 

8 provision of law, a border emergency authority. 

9 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTIONS.—The border emergency au10 thority shall not be activated with respect to any of 

11 the following: 

12 ‘‘(A) A citizen or national of the United 

13 States. 

14 ‘‘(B) An alien who is lawfully admitted for 

15 permanent residence. 

16 ‘‘(C) An unaccompanied alien child. 

17 ‘‘(D) An alien who an immigration officer 

18 determines, with the approval of a supervisory 

19 immigration officer, should be excepted from 

20 the border emergency authority based on the to21 tality of the circumstances, including consider22 ation of significant law enforcement, officer and 

23 public safety, humanitarian, and public health 

24 interests, or an alien who an immigration offi25 cer determines, in consultation with U.S. ImmiVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:05 May 21, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00146 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4361.PCS S4361

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1 gration and Customs Enforcement, should be 

2 excepted from the border emergency authority 

3 due to operational considerations. 

4 ‘‘(E) An alien who is determined to be a 

5 victim of a severe form of trafficking in persons 

6 (as defined in section 103 of the Trafficking 

7 Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 

8 7102)). 

9 ‘‘(F) An alien who has a valid visa or other 

10 lawful permission to enter the United States, 

11 including— 

12 ‘‘(i) a member of the Armed Forces of 

13 the United States and associated per14 sonnel, United States Government employ15 ees or contractors on orders abroad, or 

16 United States Government employees or 

17 contractors, and an accompanying family 

18 member who is on orders or is a member 

19 of the alien’s household, subject to re20 quired assurances; 

21 ‘‘(ii) an alien who holds a valid travel 

22 document upon arrival at a port of entry; 

23 ‘‘(iii) an alien from a visa waiver pro24 gram country under section 217 who is not 


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1 otherwise subject to travel restrictions and 

2 who arrives at a port of entry; or 

3 ‘‘(iv) an alien who presents at a port 

4 of entry pursuant to a process approved by 

5 the Secretary to allow for safe and orderly 

6 entry into the United States. 

7 ‘‘(3) APPLICABILITY.—The border emergency 

8 authority shall only be activated as to aliens who are 

9 not subject to an exception under paragraph (2), 

10 and who are, after the authority is activated, within 

11 100 miles of the United States southwest land bor12 der and within the 14-day period after entry. 

13 ‘‘(b) BORDER EMERGENCY AUTHORITY DE14 SCRIBED.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Whenever the border emer16 gency authority is activated, the Secretary shall have 

17 the authority, in the Secretary’s sole and 

18 unreviewable discretion, to summarily remove from 

19 and prohibit, in whole or in part, entry into the 

20 United States of any alien identified in subsection 

21 (a)(3) who is subject to such authority in accordance 

22 with this subsection. 

23 ‘‘(2) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.— 

24 ‘‘(A) SUMMARY REMOVAL.—Notwith25 standing any other provision of this Act, subject 


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1 to subparagraph (B), the Secretary shall issue 

2 a summary removal order and summarily re3 move an alien to the country of which the alien 

4 is a subject, national, or citizen (or, in the case 

5 of an alien having no nationality, the country of 

6 the alien’s last habitual residence), or in accord7 ance with the processes established under sec8 tion 241, unless the summary removal of the 

9 alien to such country would be prejudicial to 

10 the interests of the United States. 

11 ‘‘(B) WITHHOLDING AND CONVENTION

12 AGAINST TORTURE INTERVIEWS.— 

13 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In the case of an 

14 alien subject to the border emergency au15 thority who manifests a fear of persecution 

16 or torture with respect to a proposed coun17 try of summary removal, an asylum officer 

18 (as defined in section 235(b)(1)(E)) shall 

19 conduct an interview, during which the 

20 asylum officer shall determine that, if such 

21 alien demonstrates during the interview 

22 that the alien has a reasonable possibility 

23 of persecution or torture, such alien shall 

24 be referred to or placed in proceedings 


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1 under section 240 or 240D, as appro2 priate. 

3 ‘‘(ii) SOLE MECHANISM TO REQUEST

4 PROTECTION.—An interview under this 

5 subparagraph conducted by an asylum offi6 cer shall be the sole mechanism by which 

7 an alien described in clause (i) may make 

8 a claim for protection under— 

9 ‘‘(I) section 241(b)(3); and 

10 ‘‘(II) the Convention Against 

11 Torture. 

12 ‘‘(iii) ALIEN REFERRED FOR ADDI13 TIONAL PROCEEDINGS.—In the case of an 

14 alien interviewed under clause (i) who dem15 onstrates that the alien is eligible to apply 

16 for protection under section 241(b)(3) or 

17 the Convention Against Torture, the 

18 alien— 

19 ‘‘(I) shall not be summarily re20 moved; and 

21 ‘‘(II) shall instead be processed 

22 under section 240 or 240D, as appro23 priate. 

24 ‘‘(iv) ADDITIONAL REVIEW.— 


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1 ‘‘(I) OPPORTUNITY FOR SEC2 ONDARY REVIEW.—A supervisory asy3 lum officer shall review any case in 

4 which the asylum officer who inter5 viewed the alien under the procedures 

6 in clause (iii) finds that the alien is 

7 not eligible for protection under sec8 tion 241(b)(3) or the Convention 

9 Against Torture. 

10 ‘‘(II) VACATUR.—If, in con11 ducting such a secondary review, the 

12 supervisory asylum officer determines 

13 that the alien demonstrates eligibility 

14 for such protection— 

15 ‘‘(aa) the supervisory asylum 

16 officer shall vacate the previous 

17 negative determination; and 

18 ‘‘(bb) the alien shall instead 

19 be processed under section 240 

20 or 240D. 

21 ‘‘(III) SUMMARY REMOVAL.—If 

22 an alien does not seek such a sec23 ondary review, or if the supervisory 

24 asylum officer finds that such alien is 

25 not eligible for such protection, the 


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1 supervisory asylum officer shall order 

2 the alien summarily removed without 

3 further review. 

4 ‘‘(3) ACTIVATIONS OF AUTHORITY.— 

5 ‘‘(A) DISCRETIONARY ACTIVATION.—The 

6 Secretary may activate the border emergency 

7 authority if, during a period of 7 consecutive 

8 calendar days, there is an average of 4,000 or 

9 more aliens who are encountered each day. 

10 ‘‘(B) MANDATORY ACTIVATION.—The Sec11 retary shall activate the border emergency au12 thority if— 

13 ‘‘(i) during a period of 7 consecutive 

14 calendar days, there is an average of 5,000 

15 or more aliens who are encountered each 

16 day; or 

17 ‘‘(ii) on any 1 calendar day, a com18 bined total of 8,500 or more aliens are en19 countered. 

20 ‘‘(C) CALCULATION OF ACTIVATION.— 

21 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of 

22 subparagraphs (A) and (B), the average 

23 for the applicable 7-day period shall be cal24 culated using— 

25 ‘‘(I) the sum of— 


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1 ‘‘(aa) the number of encoun2 ters that occur between the 

3 southwest land border ports of 

4 entry of the United States; 

5 ‘‘(bb) the number of encoun6 ters that occur between the ports 

7 of entry along the southern 

8 coastal borders; and 

9 ‘‘(cc) the number of inad10 missible aliens encountered at a 

11 southwest land border port of 

12 entry as described in subsection 

13 (a)(2)(F)(iv); divided by 

14 ‘‘(II) 7. 

15 ‘‘(ii) LIMITATION.—Aliens described 

16 in subsection (a)(2)(C) from noncontiguous 

17 countries shall not be included in calcu18 lating the sum of aliens encountered. 

19 ‘‘(4) LIMITATIONS.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of para21 graph (3), the Secretary shall not activate the 

22 border emergency authority— 

23 ‘‘(i) during the first calendar year 

24 after the effective date, for more than 270 

25 calendar days; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) during the second calendar year 

2 after the effective date, for more than 225 

3 days; and 

4 ‘‘(iii) during the third calendar year, 

5 for more than 180 calendar days. 

6 ‘‘(B) IMPLEMENTATION.—When the au7 thority is activated, the Secretary shall imple8 ment the authority within 24 hours of such ac9 tivation. 

10 ‘‘(5) SUSPENSIONS OF AUTHORITY.—The Sec11 retary shall suspend activation of the border emer12 gency authority, and the procedures under sub13 sections (a), (b), (c), and (d), not later than 14 cal14 endar days after the date on which the following oc15 curs, as applicable: 

16 ‘‘(A) In the case of an activation under 

17 subparagraph (A) of paragraph (3), there is 

18 during a period of 7 consecutive calendar days 

19 an average of less than 75 percent of the en20 counter level used for activation. 

21 ‘‘(B) In the case of an activation under 

22 clause (i) or (ii) of paragraph (3)(B), there is 

23 during a period of 7 consecutive calendar days 

24 an average of less than 75 percent of the en25 counter level described in such clause (i). 


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1 ‘‘(6) WAIVERS OF ACTIVATION OF AUTHOR2 ITY.— 

3 ‘‘(A) FIRST CALENDAR YEAR.—Notwith4 standing paragraph (3), beginning the first cal5 endar year after the effective date, the Sec6 retary shall only have the authority to activate 

7 the border emergency authority for 270 cal8 endar days during the calendar year, provided 

9 that— 

10 ‘‘(i) for the first 90 calendar days in 

11 which any of the requirements of para12 graph (3) have been satisfied, the Sec13 retary shall be required to activate such 

14 authority; 

15 ‘‘(ii) for the remaining 180 days that 

16 the authority is available in the calendar 

17 year, the Secretary may, in the sole, 

18 unreviewable, and exclusive discretion of 

19 the Secretary, determine whether to acti20 vate the requirements of the border emer21 gency authority under paragraph (3)(B) 

22 until the number of days that the authority 

23 has not been activated is equal to the num24 ber of days left in the calendar year; and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) when the number of calendar 

2 days remaining in the calendar year is 

3 equal to the number of days that the au4 thority has not been activated, the Sec5 retary shall be required to activate the bor6 der emergency authority for the remainder 

7 of the calendar year on days during which 

8 the requirements of paragraph (3)(B) have 

9 been satisfied. 

10 ‘‘(B) SECOND CALENDAR YEAR.—Notwith11 standing paragraph (3), beginning the second 

12 calendar year after the effective date, the Sec13 retary shall only have the authority to activate 

14 the border emergency authority for 225 cal15 endar days during the calendar year, provided 

16 that— 

17 ‘‘(i) during the first 75 calendar days 

18 during which any of the requirements of 

19 paragraph (3) have been satisfied, the Sec20 retary shall be required to activate the au21 thority; 

22 ‘‘(ii) for the remaining 150 days that 

23 the authority is available in the calendar 

24 year, the Secretary may, in the sole, 

25 unreviewable, and exclusive discretion of 


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1 the Secretary, determine whether to acti2 vate the requirements of the border emer3 gency authority under paragraph (3)(B) 

4 until the number of days that the authority 

5 has not been activated is equal to the num6 ber of days left in the calendar year; and 

7 ‘‘(iii) when the number of calendar 

8 days remaining in the calendar year is 

9 equal to the number of days that the au10 thority has not been activated, the Sec11 retary shall be required to activate the bor12 der emergency authority for the remainder 

13 of the calendar year on days during which 

14 the requirements of paragraph (3)(B) have 

15 been satisfied. 

16 ‘‘(C) THIRD CALENDAR YEAR.—Notwith17 standing paragraph (3), beginning the third cal18 endar year after the effective date, the Sec19 retary shall only have the authority to activate 

20 the border emergency authority for 180 cal21 endar days during the calendar year, provided 

22 that— 

23 ‘‘(i) during the first 60 calendar days 

24 during which any of the requirements of 

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1 retary shall be required to activate the au2 thority; 

3 ‘‘(ii) for the remaining 120 days that 

4 the authority is available in each calendar 

5 year, the Secretary may, in the sole, 

6 unreviewable, and exclusive discretion of 

7 the Secretary, determine whether to acti8 vate the requirements of the border emer9 gency authority under paragraph (3)(B) 

10 until the number of days that the authority 

11 has not been activated is equal to the num12 ber of days left in the calendar year; and 

13 ‘‘(iii) when the number of calendar 

14 days remaining in the calendar year is 

15 equal to the number of days that the au16 thority has not been activated, the Sec17 retary shall be required to activate the bor18 der emergency authority for the remainder 

19 of the calendar year on days during which 

20 the requirements of paragraph (3)(B) have 

21 been satisfied. 

22 ‘‘(7) EMERGENCY SUSPENSION OF AUTHOR23 ITY.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If the President finds 

25 that it is in the national interest to temporarily 


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1 suspend the border emergency authority, the 

2 President may direct the Secretary to suspend 

3 use of the border emergency authority on an 

4 emergency basis. 

5 ‘‘(B) DURATION.—In the case of a direc6 tion from the President under subparagraph 

7 (A), the Secretary shall suspend the border 

8 emergency authority for not more than 45 cal9 endar days within a calendar year, notwith10 standing any limitations on the use of the au11 thority described in this subsection. 

12 ‘‘(c) CONTINUED ACCESS TO SOUTHWEST LAND

13 BORDER PORTS OF ENTRY.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—During any activation of 

15 the border emergency authority under subsection 

16 (b), the Secretary shall maintain the capacity to 

17 process, and continue processing, under section 235 

18 or 235B a minimum of 1,400 inadmissible aliens 

19 each calendar day cumulatively across all southwest 

20 land border ports of entry in a safe and orderly 

21 process developed by the Secretary. 

22 ‘‘(2) SPECIAL RULES.— 

23 ‘‘(A) UNACCOMPANIED ALIEN CHILDREN

24 EXCEPTION.—For the purpose of calculating 

25 the number under paragraph (1), the Secretary 


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1 shall count all unaccompanied alien children, 

2 who are nationals of contiguous countries, proc3 essed at southwest land border ports of entry, 

4 but shall not count such children who are na5 tionals of noncontiguous countries. 

6 ‘‘(B) TRANSITION RULES.—The provisions 

7 of section 244A(c) shall apply to this section. 

8 ‘‘(d) BAR TO ADMISSION.—Any alien who, during a 

9 period of 365 days, has 2 or more summary removals pur10 suant to the border emergency authority, shall be inadmis11 sible for a period of 1 year beginning on the date of the 

12 alien’s most recent summary removal. 

13 ‘‘(e) SAVINGS PROVISIONS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) UNACCOMPANIED ALIEN CHILDREN.— 

15 Nothing in this section may be construed to interfere 

16 with the processing of unaccompanied alien children 

17 and such children are not subject to this section. 

18 ‘‘(2) SETTLEMENT AGREEMENTS.—Nothing in 

19 this section may be construed to interfere with any 

20 rights or responsibilities established through a settle21 ment agreement in effect before the date of the en22 actment of this section. 

23 ‘‘(3) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—For purposes 

24 of the Convention Relating to the Status of Refu25 gees, done at Geneva July 28, 1952 (as made appliVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:05 May 21, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00160 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4361.PCS S4361

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1 cable by the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of 

2 Refugees, done at New York January 31, 1967 (19 

3 UST 6223)), the Convention Against Torture, and 

4 any other applicable treaty, as applied to this sec5 tion, the interview under this section shall occur only 

6 in the context of the border emergency authority. 

7 ‘‘(f) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Judicial review of any deci8 sion or action applying the border emergency authority 

9 shall be governed only by this subsection as follows: 

10 ‘‘(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of 

11 law, except as provided in paragraph (2), no court 

12 or judge shall have jurisdiction to review any cause 

13 or claim by an individual alien arising from the deci14 sion to enter a summary removal order against such 

15 alien under this section, or removing such alien pur16 suant to such summary removal order. 

17 ‘‘(2) The United States District Court for the 

18 District of Columbia shall have sole and original ju19 risdiction to hear challenges, whether constitutional 

20 or otherwise, to the validity of this section or any 

21 written policy directive, written policy guideline, 

22 written procedure, or the implementation thereof, 

23 issued by or under the authority of the Secretary to 

24 implement this section. 

25 ‘‘(g) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—This section shall take ef2 fect on the day after the date of the enactment of 

3 this section. 

4 ‘‘(2) 7-DAY PERIOD.—The initial activation of 

5 the authority under subparagraph (A) or (B)(i) of 

6 subsection (b)(3) shall take into account the average 

7 number of encounters during the preceding 7 con8 secutive calendar days, as described in such subpara9 graphs, which may include the 6 consecutive cal10 endar days immediately preceding the date of the 

11 enactment of this section. 

12 ‘‘(h) RULEMAKING.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may promul14 gate such regulations as are necessary to implement 

15 this section in compliance with the requirements of 

16 section 553 of title 5, United States Code. 

17 ‘‘(2) INITIAL IMPLEMENTATION.—Until the 

18 date that is 180 days after the date of the enact19 ment of this section, the Secretary may issue any in20 terim final rules necessary to implement this section 

21 without having to satisfy the requirements of section 

22 553(b)(B) of title 5, United States Code, provided 

23 that any such interim final rules shall include a 30- 

24 day post promulgation notice and comment period 

25 prior to finalization in the Federal Register. 


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1 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENT.—All regulations promul2 gated to implement this section beginning on the 

3 date that is 180 days after the date of the enact4 ment of this section shall be issued pursuant to the 

5 requirements set forth in section 553 of title 5, 

6 United States Code. 

7 ‘‘(i) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

8 ‘‘(1) BORDER EMERGENCY AUTHORITY.—The 

9 term ‘border emergency authority’ means all au10 thorities and procedures under this section. 

11 ‘‘(2) CONVENTION AGAINST TORTURE.—The 

12 term ‘Convention Against Torture’ means the Con13 vention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman 

14 or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, done at 

15 New York December 10, 1984, and includes the reg16 ulations implementing any law enacted pursuant to 

17 Article 3 of the Convention against Torture and 

18 Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or 

19 Punishment, done at New York December 10, 1984. 

20 ‘‘(3) ENCOUNTER.—With respect to an alien, 

21 the term ‘encounter’ means an alien who— 

22 ‘‘(A) is physically apprehended by U.S. 

23 Customs and Border Protection personnel— 

24 ‘‘(i) within 100 miles of the southwest 

25 land border of the United States during 


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1 the 14-day period immediately after entry 

2 between ports of entry; or 

3 ‘‘(ii) at the southern coastal borders 

4 during the 14-day period immediately after 

5 entry between ports of entry; or 

6 ‘‘(B) is seeking admission at a southwest 

7 land border port of entry and is determined to 

8 be inadmissible, including an alien who utilizes 

9 a process approved by the Secretary to allow for 

10 safe and orderly entry into the United States. 

11 ‘‘(4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means 

12 the Secretary of Homeland Security. 

13 ‘‘(5) SOUTHERN COASTAL BORDERS.—The term 

14 ‘southern coastal borders’ means all maritime bor15 ders in California, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, 

16 Alabama, and Florida. 

17 ‘‘(6) UNACCOMPANIED ALIEN CHILD.—The 

18 term ‘unaccompanied alien child’ has the meaning 

19 given such term in section 462(g)(2) of the Home20 land Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 279(g)(2)). 

21 ‘‘(j) SUNSET.—This section— 

22 ‘‘(1) shall take effect on the date of the enact23 ment of this section; and 

24 ‘‘(2) shall be repealed effective as of the date 

25 that is 3 years after such date of enactment.’’. 


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1 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

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

3 et seq.), as amended by section 146(b), is further amended 

4 by inserting after the item relating to section 244A the 

5 following: 

‘‘Sec. 244B Border emergency authority.’’. 

6 Subtitle B—Fulfilling Promises to 

7 Afghan Allies 

8 SEC. 311. DEFINITIONS. 

9 In this subtitle: 

10 (1) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON11 GRESS.—The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Con12 gress’’ means— 

13 (A) the Committee on the Judiciary of the 

14 Senate; 

15 (B) the Committee on Foreign Relations of 

16 the Senate; 

17 (C) the Committee on Armed Services of 

18 the Senate; 

19 (D) the Committee on Appropriations of 

20 the Senate; 

21 (E) the Committee on Homeland Security 

22 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; 

23 (F) the Committee on the Judiciary of the 

24 House of Representatives; 


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1 (G) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 

2 the House of Representatives; 

3 (H) the Committee on Armed Services of 

4 the House of Representatives; 

5 (I) the Committee on Appropriations of the 

6 House of Representatives; and 

7 (J) the Committee on Homeland Security 

8 of the House of Representatives. 

9 (2) IMMIGRATION LAWS.—The term ‘‘immigra10 tion laws’’ has the meaning given such term in sec11 tion 101(a)(17) of the Immigration and Nationality 

12 Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(17)). 

13 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

14 the Secretary of Homeland Security. 

15 (4) SPECIAL IMMIGRANT STATUS.—The term 

16 ‘‘special immigrant status’’ means special immigrant 

17 status provided under— 

18 (A) the Afghan Allies Protection Act of 

19 2009 (8 U.S.C. 1101 note; Public Law 111–8); 

20 (B) section 1059 of the National Defense 

21 Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2006 (8 

22 U.S.C. 1101 note; Public Law 109–163); or 

23 (C) subparagraph (N) of section 

24 101(a)(27) of the Immigration and Nationality 


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1 Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(27)), as added by sec2 tion 316(a). 

3 (5) SPECIFIED APPLICATION.—The term ‘‘spec4 ified application’’ means— 

5 (A) a pending, documentarily complete ap6 plication for special immigrant status; and 

7 (B) a case in processing in the United 

8 States Refugee Admissions Program for an in9 dividual who has received a Priority 1 or Pri10 ority 2 referral to such program. 

11 (6) UNITED STATES REFUGEE ADMISSIONS

12 PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘United States Refugee Ad13 missions Program’’ means the program to resettle 

14 refugees in the United States pursuant to the au15 thorities provided in sections 101(a)(42), 207, and 

16 412 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

17 U.S.C. 1101(a)(42), 1157, and 1522). 

18 SEC. 312. SUPPORT FOR AFGHAN ALLIES OUTSIDE THE 

19 UNITED STATES. 

20 (a) RESPONSE TO CONGRESSIONAL INQUIRIES.—The 

21 Secretary of State shall respond to inquiries by Members 

22 of Congress regarding the status of a specified application 

23 submitted by, or on behalf of, a national of Afghanistan, 

24 including any information that has been provided to the 


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1 applicant, in accordance with section 222(f) of the Immi2 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1202(f)). 

3 (b) OFFICE IN LIEU OF EMBASSY.—During the pe4 riod in which there is no operational United States em5 bassy in Afghanistan, the Secretary of State shall des6 ignate an appropriate office within the Department of 

7 State— 

8 (1) to review specified applications submitted by 

9 nationals of Afghanistan residing in Afghanistan, in10 cluding by conducting any required interviews; 

11 (2) to issue visas or other travel documents to 

12 such nationals, in accordance with the immigration 

13 laws; 

14 (3) to provide services to such nationals, to the 

15 greatest extent practicable, that would normally be 

16 provided by an embassy; and 

17 (4) to carry out any other function the Sec18 retary of State considers necessary. 

19 SEC. 313. CONDITIONAL PERMANENT RESIDENT STATUS 

20 FOR ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUALS. 

21 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

22 (1) CONDITIONAL PERMANENT RESIDENT STA23 TUS.—The term ‘‘conditional permanent resident 

24 status’’ means conditional permanent resident status 

25 under section 216 and 216A of the Immigration and 


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1 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1186a, 1186b), subject to 

2 the provisions of this section. 

3 (2) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘‘eligible 

4 individual’’ means an alien who— 

5 (A) is present in the United States; 

6 (B) is a citizen or national of Afghanistan 

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

8 is a person who last habitually resided in Af9 ghanistan; 

10 (C) has not been granted permanent resi11 dent status; 

12 (D)(i) was inspected and admitted to the 

13 United States on or before the date of the en14 actment of this Act; or 

15 (ii) was paroled into the United States 

16 during the period beginning on July 30, 2021, 

17 and ending on the date of the enactment of this 

18 Act, provided that such parole has not been ter19 minated by the Secretary upon written notice; 

20 and 

21 (E) is admissible to the United States as 

22 an immigrant under the immigration laws, in23 cluding eligibility for waivers of grounds of in24 admissibility to the extent provided by the imVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:05 May 21, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00169 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4361.PCS S4361

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1 migration laws and subject to the terms of sub2 section (c) of this section. 

3 (b) CONDITIONAL PERMANENT RESIDENT STATUS

4 FOR ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUALS.— 

5 (1) ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS TO CONDITIONAL

6 PERMANENT RESIDENT STATUS.—Beginning on the 

7 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

8 may— 

9 (A) adjust the status of each eligible indi10 vidual to that of an alien lawfully admitted for 

11 permanent residence status, subject to the pro12 cedures established by the Secretary to deter13 mine eligibility for conditional permanent resi14 dent status; and 

15 (B) create for each eligible individual a 

16 record of admission to such status as of the 

17 date on which the eligible individual was ini18 tially inspected and admitted or paroled into 

19 the United States, or July 30, 2021, whichever 

20 is later, 

21 unless the Secretary determines, on a case-by22 case basis, that such individual is subject to any 

23 ground of inadmissibility under section 212 (other 

24 than subsection (a)(4)) of the Immigration and Na25 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182) and is not eligible for 


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1 a waiver of such grounds of inadmissibility as pro2 vided by this subtitle or by the immigration laws. 

3 (2) CONDITIONAL BASIS.—An individual who 

4 obtains lawful permanent resident status under this 

5 section shall be considered, at the time of obtaining 

6 the status of an alien lawfully admitted for perma7 nent residence, to have obtained such status on a 

8 conditional basis subject to the provisions of this 

9 section. 

10 (c) CONDITIONAL PERMANENT RESIDENT STATUS

11 DESCRIBED.— 

12 (1) ASSESSMENT.— 

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—Before granting condi14 tional permanent resident status to an eligible 

15 individual under subsection (b)(1), the Sec16 retary shall conduct an assessment with respect 

17 to the eligible individual, which shall be equiva18 lent in rigor to the assessment conducted with 

19 respect to refugees admitted to the United 

20 States through the United States Refugee Ad21 missions Program, for the purpose of deter22 mining whether the eligible individual is subject 

23 to any ground of inadmissibility under section 

24 212 (other than subsection (a)(4)) of the Immi25 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182). 


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1 (B) CONSULTATION.—In conducting an as2 sessment under subparagraph (A), the Sec3 retary may consult with the head of any other 

4 relevant agency and review the holdings of any 

5 such agency. 

6 (2) REMOVAL OF CONDITIONS.— 

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not earlier than the 

8 date described in subparagraph (B), the Sec9 retary may remove the conditional basis of the 

10 status of an individual granted conditional per11 manent resident status under this section un12 less the Secretary determines, on a case-by-case 

13 basis, that such individual is subject to any 

14 ground of inadmissibility under paragraph (2) 

15 or (3) of section 212(a) of the Immigration and 

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

17 eligible for a waiver of such grounds of inadmis18 sibility as provided by this subtitle or by the im19 migration laws. 

20 (B) DATE DESCRIBED.—The date de21 scribed in this subparagraph is the earlier of— 

22 (i) the date that is 4 years after the 

23 date on which the individual was admitted 

24 or paroled into the United States; or 

25 (ii) July 1, 2027. 


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1 (C) WAIVER.— 

2 (i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided 

3 in clause (ii), with respect to an eligible in4 dividual, the Secretary may waive the ap5 plication of the grounds of inadmissibility 

6 under 212(a) of the Immigration and Na7 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)) for hu8 manitarian purposes or to ensure family 

9 unity. 

10 (ii) EXCEPTIONS.—The Secretary may 

11 not waive under clause (i) the application 

12 of subparagraphs (C) through (E) and (G) 

13 through (H) of paragraph (2), or para14 graph (3), of section 212(a) of the Immi15 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

16 1182(a)). 

17 (iii) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Noth18 ing in this subparagraph may be construed 

19 to expand or limit any other waiver author20 ity applicable under the immigration laws 

21 to an applicant for adjustment of status. 

22 (D) TIMELINE.—Not later than 180 days 

23 after the date described in subparagraph (B), 

24 the Secretary shall endeavor to remove condi25 tions as to all individuals granted conditional 


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1 permanent resident status under this section 

2 who are eligible for removal of conditions. 

3 (3) TREATMENT OF CONDITIONAL BASIS OF

4 STATUS PERIOD FOR PURPOSES OF NATURALIZA5 TION.—An individual in conditional permanent resi6 dent status under this section, or who otherwise 

7 meets the requirements under (a)(1) of this section, 

8 shall be considered— 

9 (A) to have been admitted to the United 

10 States as an alien lawfully admitted for perma11 nent residence; and 

12 (B) to be present in the United States as 

13 an alien lawfully admitted to the United States 

14 for permanent residence, provided that, no alien 

15 shall be naturalized unless the alien’s conditions 

16 have been removed under this section. 

17 (d) TERMINATION OF CONDITIONAL PERMANENT

18 RESIDENT STATUS.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Conditional permanent resi20 dent status shall terminate on, as applicable— 

21 (A) the date on which the Secretary re22 moves the conditions pursuant to subsection 

23 (c)(2), on which date the alien shall be lawfully 

24 admitted for permanent residence without con25 ditions; 


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1 (B) the date on which the Secretary deter2 mines that the alien was not an eligible indi3 vidual under subsection (a)(2) as of the date 

4 that such conditional permanent resident status 

5 was granted, on which date of the Secretary’s 

6 determination the alien shall no longer be an 

7 alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence; 

8 or 

9 (C) the date on which the Secretary deter10 mines pursuant to subsection (c)(2) that the 

11 alien is not eligible for removal of conditions, on 

12 which date the alien shall no longer be an alien 

13 lawfully admitted for permanent residence. 

14 (2) NOTIFICATION.—If the Secretary termi15 nates status under this subsection, the Secretary 

16 shall so notify the individual in writing and state the 

17 reasons for the termination. 

18 (e) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec19 tion shall be construed to limit the authority of the Sec20 retary at any time to place in removal proceedings under 

21 section 240 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

22 U.S.C. 1229a) any alien who has conditional permanent 

23 resident status under this section, if the alien is deportable 

24 under section 237 of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1227) under a 


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1 ground of deportability applicable to an alien who has been 

2 lawfully admitted for permanent residence. 

3 (f) PAROLE EXPIRATION TOLLED.—The expiration 

4 date of a period of parole shall not apply to an individual 

5 under consideration for conditional permanent resident 

6 status under this section, until such time as the Secretary 

7 has determined whether to issue conditional permanent 

8 resident status. 

9 (g) PERIODIC NONADVERSARIAL MEETINGS.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

11 after the date on which an individual is conferred 

12 conditional permanent resident status under this 

13 section, and periodically thereafter, the Office of 

14 Refugee Resettlement shall make available opportu15 nities for the individual to participate in a nonadver16 sarial meeting, during which an official of the Office 

17 of Refugee Resettlement (or an agency funded by 

18 the Office) shall— 

19 (A) on request by the individual, assist the 

20 individual in a referral or application for appli21 cable benefits administered by the Department 

22 of Health and Human Services and completing 

23 any applicable paperwork; and 


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1 (B) answer any questions regarding eligi2 bility for other benefits administered by the 

3 United States Government. 

4 (2) NOTIFICATION OF REQUIREMENTS.—Not 

5 later than 7 days before the date on which a meeting 

6 under paragraph (1) is scheduled to occur, the Sec7 retary of Health and Human Services shall provide 

8 notice to the individual that includes the date of the 

9 scheduled meeting and a description of the process 

10 for rescheduling the meeting. 

11 (3) CONDUCT OF MEETING.—The Secretary of 

12 Health and Human Services shall implement prac13 tices to ensure that— 

14 (A) meetings under paragraph (1) are con15 ducted in a nonadversarial manner; and 

16 (B) interpretation and translation services 

17 are provided to individuals granted conditional 

18 permanent resident status under this section 

19 who have limited English proficiency. 

20 (4) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

21 this subsection shall be construed— 

22 (A) to prevent an individual from electing 

23 to have counsel present during a meeting under 

24 paragraph (1); or 


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1 (B) in the event that an individual declines 

2 to participate in such a meeting, to affect the 

3 individual’s conditional permanent resident sta4 tus under this section or eligibility to have con5 ditions removed in accordance with this section. 

6 (h) CONSIDERATION.—Except with respect to an ap7 plication for naturalization and the benefits described in 

8 subsection (p), an individual in conditional permanent 

9 resident status under this section shall be considered to 

10 be an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence for 

11 purposes of the adjudication of an application or petition 

12 for a benefit or the receipt of a benefit. 

13 (i) NOTIFICATION OF REQUIREMENTS.—Not later 

14 than 90 days after the date on which the status of an 

15 individual is adjusted to that of conditional permanent 

16 resident status under this section, the Secretary shall pro17 vide notice to such individual with respect to the provisions 

18 of this section, including subsection (c)(1) (relating to the 

19 conduct of assessments) and subsection (g) (relating to 

20 periodic nonadversarial meetings). 

21 (j) APPLICATION FOR NATURALIZATION.—The Sec22 retary shall establish procedures whereby an individual 

23 who would otherwise be eligible to apply for naturalization 

24 but for having conditional permanent resident status, may 


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1 be considered for naturalization coincident with removal 

2 of conditions under subsection (c)(2). 

3 (k) ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS DATE.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—An alien described in para5 graph (2) shall be regarded as lawfully admitted for 

6 permanent residence as of the date the alien was ini7 tially inspected and admitted or paroled into the 

8 United States, or July 30, 2021, whichever is later. 

9 (2) ALIEN DESCRIBED.—An alien described in 

10 this paragraph is an alien who— 

11 (A) is described in subparagraphs (A), (B), 

12 and (D) of subsection (a)(2), and whose status 

13 was adjusted to that of an alien lawfully admit14 ted for permanent residence on or after July 

15 30, 2021, but on or before the date of the en16 actment of this Act; or 

17 (B) is an eligible individual whose status is 

18 then adjusted to that of an alien lawfully admit19 ted for permanent residence after the date of 

20 the enactment of this Act under any provision 

21 of the immigration laws other than this section. 

22 (l) PARENTS AND LEGAL GUARDIANS OF UNACCOM23 PANIED CHILDREN.—A parent or legal guardian of an eli24 gible individual shall be eligible to obtain status as an alien 


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1 lawfully admitted for permanent residence on a conditional 

2 basis if— 

3 (1) the eligible individual— 

4 (A) was under 18 years of age on the date 

5 on which the eligible individual was granted 

6 conditional permanent resident status under 

7 this section; and 

8 (B) was not accompanied by at least one 

9 parent or guardian on the date the eligible indi10 vidual was admitted or paroled into the United 

11 States; and 

12 (2) such parent or legal guardian was admitted 

13 or paroled into the United States after the date re14 ferred to in paragraph (1)(B). 

15 (m) GUIDANCE.— 

16 (1) INTERIM GUIDANCE.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 

18 days after the date of the enactment of this 

19 Act, the Secretary shall issue guidance imple20 menting this section. 

21 (B) PUBLICATION.—Notwithstanding sec22 tion 553 of title 5, United States Code, guid23 ance issued pursuant to subparagraph (A)— 


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1 (i) may be published on the internet 

2 website of the Department of Homeland 

3 Security; and 

4 (ii) shall be effective on an interim 

5 basis immediately upon such publication 

6 but may be subject to change and revision 

7 after notice and an opportunity for public 

8 comment. 

9 (2) FINAL GUIDANCE.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 

11 days after the date of issuance of guidance 

12 under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall final13 ize the guidance implementing this section. 

14 (B) EXEMPTION FROM THE ADMINISTRA15 TIVE PROCEDURE ACT.—Chapter 5 of title 5, 

16 United States Code (commonly known as the 

17 ‘‘Administrative Procedure Act’’), or any other 

18 law relating to rulemaking or information col19 lection, shall not apply to the guidance issued 

20 under this paragraph. 

21 (n) ASYLUM CLAIMS.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—With respect to the adju23 dication of an application for asylum submitted by 

24 an eligible individual, section 2502(c) of the Extend25 ing Government Funding and Delivering Emergency 


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1 Assistance Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 note; Public Law 

2 117–43) shall not apply. 

3 (2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 

4 section may be construed to prohibit an eligible indi5 vidual from seeking or receiving asylum under sec6 tion 208 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

7 U.S.C. 1158). 

8 (o) PROHIBITION ON FEES.—The Secretary may not 

9 charge a fee to any eligible individual in connection with 

10 the initial issuance under this section of— 

11 (1) a document evidencing status as an alien 

12 lawfully admitted for permanent residence or condi13 tional permanent resident status; or 

14 (2) an employment authorization document. 

15 (p) ELIGIBILITY FOR BENEFITS.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

17 provision of law— 

18 (A) an individual described in subsection 

19 (a) of section 2502 of the Afghanistan Supple20 mental Appropriations Act, 2022 (8 U.S.C. 

21 1101 note; Public Law 117–43) shall retain his 

22 or her eligibility for the benefits and services 

23 described in subsection (b) of such section if the 

24 individual has a pending application, or is 


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1 granted adjustment of status, under this sec2 tion; and 

3 (B) such benefits and services shall remain 

4 available to the individual to the same extent 

5 and for the same periods of time as such bene6 fits and services are otherwise available to refu7 gees who acquire such status. 

8 (2) EXCEPTION FROM 5-YEAR LIMITED ELIGI9 BILITY FOR MEANS-TESTED PUBLIC BENEFITS.— 

10 Section 403(b)(1) of the Personal Responsibility and 

11 Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8 

12 U.S.C. 1613(b)(1)) is amended by adding at the end 

13 the following: 

14 ‘‘(F) An alien whose status is adjusted 

15 under section 313 of the Border Act to that of 

16 an alien lawfully admitted for permanent resi17 dence or to that of an alien lawfully admitted 

18 for permanent residence on a conditional 

19 basis.’’. 

20 (q) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec21 tion may be construed to preclude an eligible individual 

22 from applying for or receiving any immigration benefit to 

23 which the individual is otherwise entitled. 

24 (r) EXEMPTION FROM NUMERICAL LIMITATIONS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Aliens granted conditional 

2 permanent resident status or lawful permanent resi3 dent status under this section shall not be subject to 

4 the numerical limitations under sections 201, 202, 

5 and 203 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

6 U.S.C. 1151, 1152, and 1153). 

7 (2) SPOUSE AND CHILDREN BENEFICIARIES.— 

8 A spouse or child who is the beneficiary of an immi9 grant petition under section 204 of the Immigration 

10 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1154) filed by an 

11 alien who has been granted conditional permanent 

12 resident status or lawful permanent resident status 

13 under this section, seeking classification of the 

14 spouse or child under section 203(a)(2)(A) of that 

15 Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(a)(2)(A)) shall not be subject to 

16 the numerical limitations under sections 201, 202, 

17 and 203 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

18 U.S.C. 1151, 1152, and 1153). 

19 (s) EFFECT ON OTHER APPLICATIONS.—Notwith20 standing any other provision of law, in the interest of effi21 ciency, the Secretary may pause consideration of any ap22 plication or request for an immigration benefit pending 

23 adjudication so as to prioritize an application for adjust24 ment of status to an alien lawfully admitted for permanent 

25 residence under this section. 


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1 (t) AUTHORIZATION FOR APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

2 is authorized to be appropriated to the Attorney General, 

3 the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Sec4 retary, and the Secretary of State such sums as are nec5 essary to carry out this section. 

6 SEC. 314. REFUGEE PROCESSES FOR CERTAIN AT-RISK AF7 GHAN ALLIES. 

8 (a) DEFINITION OF AFGHAN ALLY.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—In this section, the term 

10 ‘‘Afghan ally’’ means an alien who is a citizen or na11 tional of Afghanistan, or in the case of an alien hav12 ing no nationality, an alien who last habitually re13 sided in Afghanistan, who— 

14 (A) was— 

15 (i) a member of— 

16 (I) the special operations forces 

17 of the Afghanistan National Defense 

18 and Security Forces; 

19 (II) the Afghanistan National 

20 Army Special Operations Command; 

21 (III) the Afghan Air Force; or 

22 (IV) the Special Mission Wing of 

23 Afghanistan; 


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1 (ii) a female member of any other en2 tity of the Afghanistan National Defense 

3 and Security Forces, including— 

4 (I) a cadet or instructor at the 

5 Afghanistan National Defense Univer6 sity; and 

7 (II) a civilian employee of the 

8 Ministry of Defense or the Ministry of 

9 Interior Affairs; 

10 (iii) an individual associated with 

11 former Afghan military and police human 

12 intelligence activities, including operators 

13 and Department of Defense sources; 

14 (iv) an individual associated with 

15 former Afghan military counterintelligence, 

16 counterterrorism, or counternarcotics; 

17 (v) an individual associated with the 

18 former Afghan Ministry of Defense, Min19 istry of Interior Affairs, or court system, 

20 and who was involved in the investigation, 

21 prosecution or detention of combatants or 

22 members of the Taliban or criminal net23 works affiliated with the Taliban; or 

24 (vi) a senior military officer, senior 

25 enlisted personnel, or civilian official who 


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1 served on the staff of the former Ministry 

2 of Defense or the former Ministry of Inte3 rior Affairs of Afghanistan; or 

4 (B) provided service to an entity or organi5 zation described in subparagraph (A) for not 

6 less than 1 year during the period beginning on 

7 December 22, 2001, and ending on September 

8 1, 2021, and did so in support of the United 

9 States mission in Afghanistan. 

10 (2) INCLUSIONS.—For purposes of this section, 

11 the Afghanistan National Defense and Security 

12 Forces includes members of the security forces 

13 under the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of 

14 Interior Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Afghani15 stan, including the Afghanistan National Army, the 

16 Afghan Air Force, the Afghanistan National Police, 

17 and any other entity designated by the Secretary of 

18 Defense as part of the Afghanistan National De19 fense and Security Forces during the relevant period 

20 of service of the applicant concerned. 

21 (b) REFUGEE STATUS FOR AFGHAN ALLIES.— 

22 (1) DESIGNATION AS REFUGEES OF SPECIAL

23 HUMANITARIAN CONCERN.—Afghan allies shall be 

24 considered refugees of special humanitarian concern 

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1 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1157), until the later of 10 years 

2 after the date of enactment of this Act or upon de3 termination by the Secretary of State, in consulta4 tion with the Secretary of Defense and the Sec5 retary, that such designation is no longer in the in6 terest of the United States. 

7 (2) THIRD COUNTRY PRESENCE NOT RE8 QUIRED.—Notwithstanding section 101(a)(42) of the 

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

10 1101(a)(42)), the Secretary of State and the Sec11 retary shall, to the greatest extent possible, conduct 

12 remote refugee processing for an Afghan ally located 

13 in Afghanistan. 

14 (c) AFGHAN ALLIES REFERRAL PROGRAM.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

16 after the date of the enactment of this Act— 

17 (A) the Secretary of Defense, in consulta18 tion with the Secretary of State, shall establish 

19 a process by which an individual may apply to 

20 the Secretary of Defense for classification as an 

21 Afghan ally and request a referral to the United 

22 States Refugee Admissions Program; and 

23 (B) the head of any appropriate depart24 ment or agency that conducted operations in 

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1 cember 22, 2001, and ending on September 1, 

2 2021, in consultation with the Secretary of 

3 State, may establish a process by which an indi4 vidual may apply to the head of the appropriate 

5 department or agency for classification as an 

6 Afghan ally and request a referral to the United 

7 States Refugee Admissions Program. 

8 (2) APPLICATION SYSTEM.— 

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—The process established 

10 under paragraph (1) shall— 

11 (i) include the development and main12 tenance of a secure online portal through 

13 which applicants may provide information 

14 verifying their status as Afghan allies and 

15 upload supporting documentation; and 

16 (ii) allow— 

17 (I) an applicant to submit his or 

18 her own application; 

19 (II) a designee of an applicant to 

20 submit an application on behalf of the 

21 applicant; and 

22 (III) in the case of an applicant 

23 who is outside the United States, the 

24 submission of an application regard25 less of where the applicant is located. 


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1 (B) USE BY OTHER AGENCIES.—The Sec2 retary of Defense may enter into arrangements 

3 with the head of any other appropriate depart4 ment or agency so as to allow the application 

5 system established under subparagraph (A) to 

6 be used by such department or agency. 

7 (3) REVIEW PROCESS.—As soon as practicable 

8 after receiving a request for classification and refer9 ral described in paragraph (1), the head of the ap10 propriate department or agency shall— 

11 (A) review— 

12 (i) the service record of the applicant, 

13 if available; 

14 (ii) if the applicant provides a service 

15 record or other supporting documentation, 

16 any information that helps verify the serv17 ice record concerned, including information 

18 or an attestation provided by any current 

19 or former official of the department or 

20 agency who has personal knowledge of the 

21 eligibility of the applicant for such classi22 fication and referral; and 

23 (iii) the data holdings of the depart24 ment or agency and other cooperating 

25 interagency partners, including biographic 


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1 and biometric records, iris scans, finger2 prints, voice biometric information, hand 

3 geometry biometrics, other identifiable in4 formation, and any other information re5 lated to the applicant, including relevant 

6 derogatory information; and 

7 (B)(i) in a case in which the head of the 

8 department or agency determines that the ap9 plicant is an Afghan ally without significant de10 rogatory information, refer the Afghan ally to 

11 the United States Refugee Admissions Program 

12 as a refugee; and 

13 (ii) include with such referral— 

14 (I) any service record concerned, 

15 if available; 

16 (II) if the applicant provides a 

17 service record, any information that 

18 helps verify the service record con19 cerned; and 

20 (III) any biometrics for the appli21 cant. 

22 (4) REVIEW PROCESS FOR DENIAL OF REQUEST

23 FOR REFERRAL.— 

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1 propriate department or agency denies a re2 quest for classification and referral based on a 

3 determination that the applicant is not an Af4 ghan ally or based on derogatory information— 

5 (i) the head of the department or 

6 agency shall provide the applicant with a 

7 written notice of the denial that provides, 

8 to the maximum extent practicable, a de9 scription of the basis for the denial, includ10 ing the facts and inferences, or evidentiary 

11 gaps, underlying the individual determina12 tion; and 

13 (ii) the applicant shall be provided an 

14 opportunity to submit not more than 1 

15 written appeal to the head of the depart16 ment or agency for each such denial. 

17 (B) DEADLINE FOR APPEAL.—An appeal 

18 under clause (ii) of subparagraph (A) shall be 

19 submitted— 

20 (i) not more than 120 days after the 

21 date on which the applicant concerned re22 ceives notice under clause (i) of that sub23 paragraph; or 


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1 (ii) on any date thereafter, at the dis2 cretion of the head of the appropriate de3 partment or agency. 

4 (C) REQUEST TO REOPEN.— 

5 (i) IN GENERAL.—An applicant who 

6 receives a denial under subparagraph (A) 

7 may submit a request to reopen a request 

8 for classification and referral under the 

9 process established under paragraph (1) so 

10 that the applicant may provide additional 

11 information, clarify existing information, 

12 or explain any unfavorable information. 

13 (ii) LIMITATION.—After considering 1 

14 such request to reopen from an applicant, 

15 the head of the appropriate department or 

16 agency may deny subsequent requests to 

17 reopen submitted by the same applicant. 

18 (5) FORM AND CONTENT OF REFERRAL.—To 

19 the extent practicable, the head of the appropriate 

20 department or agency shall ensure that referrals 

21 made under this subsection— 

22 (A) conform to requirements established by 

23 the Secretary of State for form and content; 

24 and 


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1 (B) are complete and include sufficient 

2 contact information, supporting documentation, 

3 and any other material the Secretary of State 

4 or the Secretary consider necessary or helpful 

5 in determining whether an applicant is entitled 

6 to refugee status. 

7 (6) TERMINATION.—The application process 

8 and referral system under this subsection shall ter9 minate upon the later of 1 year before the termi10 nation of the designation under subsection (b)(1) or 

11 on the date of a joint determination by the Secretary 

12 of State and the Secretary of Defense, in consulta13 tion with the Secretary, that such termination is in 

14 the national interest of the United States. 

15 (d) GENERAL PROVISIONS.— 

16 (1) PROHIBITION ON FEES.—The Secretary, 

17 the Secretary of Defense, or the Secretary of State 

18 may not charge any fee in connection with a request 

19 for a classification and referral as a refugee under 

20 this section. 

21 (2) DEFENSE PERSONNEL.—Any limitation in 

22 law with respect to the number of personnel within 

23 the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the military 

24 departments, or a Defense Agency (as defined in 

25 section 101(a) of title 10, United States Code) shall 


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1 not apply to personnel employed for the primary 

2 purpose of carrying out this section. 

3 (3) REPRESENTATION.—An alien applying for 

4 admission to the United States under this section 

5 may be represented during the application process, 

6 including at relevant interviews and examinations, 

7 by an attorney or other accredited representative. 

8 Such representation shall not be at the expense of 

9 the United States Government. 

10 (4) PROTECTION OF ALIENS.—The Secretary of 

11 State, in consultation with the head of any other ap12 propriate Federal agency, shall make a reasonable 

13 effort to provide an alien who has been classified as 

14 an Afghan ally and has been referred as a refugee 

15 under this section protection or to immediately re16 move such alien from Afghanistan, if possible. 

17 (5) OTHER ELIGIBILITY FOR IMMIGRANT STA18 TUS.—No alien shall be denied the opportunity to 

19 apply for admission under this section solely because 

20 the alien qualifies as an immediate relative or is eli21 gible for any other immigrant classification. 

22 (6) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

23 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 

24 as necessary for each of fiscal years 2024 through 

25 2034 to carry out this section. 


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1 (e) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec2 tion may be construed to inhibit the Secretary of State 

3 from accepting refugee referrals from any entity. 

4 SEC. 315. IMPROVING EFFICIENCY AND OVERSIGHT OF 

5 REFUGEE AND SPECIAL IMMIGRANT PROC6 ESSING. 

7 (a) ACCEPTANCE OF FINGERPRINT CARDS AND SUB8 MISSIONS OF BIOMETRICS.—In addition to the methods 

9 authorized under the heading relating to the Immigration 

10 and Naturalization Service under title I of the Depart11 ments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and 

12 Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 1998 (Public Law 

13 105–119, 111 Stat. 2448; 8 U.S.C. 1103 note), and other 

14 applicable law, and subject to such safeguards as the Sec15 retary, in consultation with the Secretary of State or the 

16 Secretary of Defense, as appropriate, shall prescribe to en17 sure the integrity of the biometric collection (which shall 

18 include verification of identity by comparison of such fin19 gerprints with fingerprints taken by or under the direct 

20 supervision of the Secretary prior to or at the time of the 

21 individual’s application for admission to the United 

22 States), the Secretary may, in the case of any application 

23 for any benefit under the Immigration and Nationality Act 

24 (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.), accept fingerprint cards or any 

25 other submission of biometrics— 


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1 (1) prepared by international or nongovern2 mental organizations under an appropriate agree3 ment with the Secretary or the Secretary of State; 

4 (2) prepared by employees or contractors of the 

5 Department of Homeland Security or the Depart6 ment of State; or 

7 (3) provided by an agency (as defined under 

8 section 3502 of title 44, United States Code). 

9 (b) STAFFING.— 

10 (1) VETTING.—The Secretary of State, the Sec11 retary, the Secretary of Defense, and any other 

12 agency authorized to carry out the vetting process 

13 under this subtitle, shall each ensure sufficient staff14 ing, and request the resources necessary, to effi15 ciently and adequately carry out the vetting of appli16 cants for— 

17 (A) referral to the United States Refugee 

18 Admissions Program, consistent with the deter19 minations established under section 207 of the 

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

21 1157); and 

22 (B) special immigrant status. 

23 (2) REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT.—The Secretary 

24 of Health and Human Services shall ensure suffi25 cient staffing to efficiently provide assistance under 


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1 chapter 2 of title IV of the Immigration and Nation2 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1521 et seq.) to refugees reset3 tled in the United States. 

4 (c) REMOTE PROCESSING.—Notwithstanding any 

5 other provision of law, the Secretary of State and the Sec6 retary shall employ remote processing capabilities for ref7 ugee processing under section 207 of the Immigration and 

8 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1157), including secure digital 

9 file transfers, videoconferencing and teleconferencing ca10 pabilities, remote review of applications, remote inter11 views, remote collection of signatures, waiver of the appli12 cant’s appearance or signature (other than a final appear13 ance and verification by the oath of the applicant prior 

14 to or at the time of the individual’s application for admis15 sion to the United States), waiver of signature for individ16 uals under 5 years old, and any other capability the Sec17 retary of State and the Secretary consider appropriate, se18 cure, and likely to reduce processing wait times at par19 ticular facilities. 

20 (d) MONTHLY ARRIVAL REPORTS.—With respect to 

21 monthly reports issued by the Secretary of State relating 

22 to United States Refugee Admissions Program arrivals, 

23 the Secretary of State shall report— 

24 (1) the number of monthly admissions of refu25 gees, disaggregated by priorities; and 


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1 (2) the number of Afghan allies admitted as 

2 refugees. 

3 (e) INTERAGENCY TASK FORCE ON AFGHAN ALLY

4 STRATEGY.— 

5 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 days 

6 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

7 President shall establish an Interagency Task Force 

8 on Afghan Ally Strategy (referred to in this section 

9 as the ‘‘Task Force’’)— 

10 (A) to develop and oversee the implementa11 tion of the strategy and contingency plan de12 scribed in subparagraph (A)(i) of paragraph 

13 (4); and 

14 (B) to submit the report, and provide a 

15 briefing on the report, as described in subpara16 graphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (4). 

17 (2) MEMBERSHIP.— 

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Task Force shall 

19 include— 

20 (i) 1 or more representatives from 

21 each relevant Federal agency, as des22 ignated by the head of the applicable rel23 evant Federal agency; and 

24 (ii) any other Federal Government of25 ficial designated by the President. 


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1 (B) RELEVANT FEDERAL AGENCY DE2 FINED.—In this paragraph, the term ‘‘relevant 

3 Federal agency’’ means— 

4 (i) the Department of State; 

5 (ii) the Department Homeland Secu6 rity; 

7 (iii) the Department of Defense; 

8 (iv) the Department of Health and 

9 Human Services; 

10 (v) the Federal Bureau of Investiga11 tion; and 

12 (vi) the Office of the Director of Na13 tional Intelligence. 

14 (3) CHAIR.—The Task Force shall be chaired 

15 by the Secretary of State. 

16 (4) DUTIES.— 

17 (A) REPORT.— 

18 (i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 

19 days after the date on which the Task 

20 Force is established, the Task Force, act21 ing through the chair of the Task Force, 

22 shall submit a report to the appropriate 

23 committees of Congress that includes— 

24 (I) a strategy for facilitating the 

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1 stan outside the United States who, 

2 during the period beginning on Octo3 ber 1, 2001, and ending on September 

4 1, 2021, directly and personally sup5 ported the United States mission in 

6 Afghanistan, as determined by the 

7 Secretary of State in consultation 

8 with the Secretary of Defense; and 

9 (II) a contingency plan for future 

10 emergency operations in foreign coun11 tries involving foreign nationals who 

12 have worked directly with the United 

13 States Government, including the 

14 Armed Forces of the United States 

15 and United States intelligence agen16 cies. 

17 (ii) ELEMENTS.—The report required 

18 under clause (i) shall include— 

19 (I) the total number of nationals 

20 of Afghanistan who have pending 

21 specified applications, disaggregated 

22 by— 

23 (aa) such nationals in Af24 ghanistan and such nationals in 

25 a third country; 


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1 (bb) type of specified appli2 cation; and 

3 (cc) applications that are 

4 documentarily complete and ap5 plications that are not 

6 documentarily complete; 

7 (II) an estimate of the number of 

8 nationals of Afghanistan who may be 

9 eligible for special immigrant status; 

10 (III) with respect to the strategy 

11 required under subparagraph 

12 (A)(i)(I)— 

13 (aa) the estimated number 

14 of nationals of Afghanistan de15 scribed in such subparagraph; 

16 (bb) a description of the 

17 process for safely resettling such 

18 nationals of Afghanistan; 

19 (cc) a plan for processing 

20 such nationals of Afghanistan for 

21 admission to the United States 

22 that— 

23 (AA) discusses the fea24 sibility of remote processing 

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1 ghanistan residing in Af2 ghanistan; 

3 (BB) includes any 

4 strategy for facilitating ref5 ugee and consular proc6 essing for such nationals of 

7 Afghanistan in third coun8 tries, and the timelines for 

9 such processing; 

10 (CC) includes a plan 

11 for conducting rigorous and 

12 efficient vetting of all such 

13 nationals of Afghanistan for 

14 processing; 

15 (DD) discusses the 

16 availability and capacity of 

17 sites in third countries to 

18 process applications and 

19 conduct any required vetting 

20 for such nationals of Af21 ghanistan, including the po22 tential to establish addi23 tional sites; and 

24 (EE) includes a plan 

25 for providing updates and 


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1 necessary information to af2 fected individuals and rel3 evant nongovernmental or4 ganizations; 

5 (dd) a description of consid6 erations, including resource con7 straints, security concerns, miss8 ing or inaccurate information, 

9 and diplomatic considerations, 

10 that limit the ability of the Sec11 retary of State or the Secretary 

12 to increase the number of such 

13 nationals of Afghanistan who can 

14 be safely processed or resettled; 

15 (ee) an identification of any 

16 resource or additional authority 

17 necessary to increase the number 

18 of such nationals of Afghanistan 

19 who can be processed or reset20 tled; 

21 (ff) an estimate of the cost 

22 to fully implement the strategy; 

23 and 

24 (gg) any other matter the 

25 Task Force considers relevant to 


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1 the implementation of the strat2 egy; 

3 (IV) with respect to the contin4 gency plan required by clause 

5 (i)(II)— 

6 (aa) a description of the 

7 standard practices for screening 

8 and vetting foreign nationals con9 sidered to be eligible for resettle10 ment in the United States, in11 cluding a strategy for vetting, 

12 and maintaining the records of, 

13 such foreign nationals who are 

14 unable to provide identification 

15 documents or biographic details 

16 due to emergency circumstances; 

17 (bb) a strategy for facili18 tating refugee or consular proc19 essing for such foreign nationals 

20 in third countries; 

21 (cc) clear guidance with re22 spect to which Federal agency 

23 has the authority and responsi24 bility to coordinate Federal reset25 tlement efforts; 


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1 (dd) a description of any re2 source or additional authority 

3 necessary to coordinate Federal 

4 resettlement efforts, including 

5 the need for a contingency fund; 

6 (ee) any other matter the 

7 Task Force considers relevant to 

8 the implementation of the contin9 gency plan; and 

10 (V) a strategy for the efficient 

11 processing of all Afghan special immi12 grant visa applications and appeals, 

13 including— 

14 (aa) a review of current 

15 staffing levels and needs across 

16 all interagency offices and offi17 cials engaged in the special immi18 grant visa process; 

19 (bb) an analysis of the ex20 pected Chief of Mission approvals 

21 and denials of applications in the 

22 pipeline in order to project the 

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1 plicants under this subtitle dur2 ing the several years after the 

3 date of the enactment of this 

4 Act; 

5 (cc) an assessment as to 

6 whether adequate guidelines exist 

7 for reconsidering or reopening 

8 applications for special immi9 grant visas in appropriate cir10 cumstances and consistent with 

11 applicable laws; and 

12 (dd) an assessment of the 

13 procedures throughout the special 

14 immigrant visa application proc15 ess, including at the Portsmouth 

16 Consular Center, and the effec17 tiveness of communication be18 tween the Portsmouth Consular 

19 Center and applicants, including 

20 an identification of any area in 

21 which improvements to the effi22 ciency of such procedures and 

23 communication may be made. 

24 (iii) FORM.—The report required 

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1 classified form but may include a classified 

2 annex. 

3 (B) BRIEFING.—Not later than 60 days 

4 after submitting the report required by clause 

5 (i), the Task Force shall brief the appropriate 

6 committees of Congress on the contents of the 

7 report. 

8 (5) TERMINATION.—The Task Force shall re9 main in effect until the later of— 

10 (A) the date on which the strategy re11 quired under paragraph (4)(A)(i)(I) has been 

12 fully implemented; 

13 (B) the date of a determination by the 

14 Secretary of State, in consultation with the Sec15 retary of Defense and the Secretary, that a task 

16 force is no longer necessary for the implementa17 tion of subparagraphs (A) and (B) of para18 graph (1); or 

19 (C) the date that is 10 years after the date 

20 of the enactment of this Act. 

21 (f) IMPROVING CONSULTATION WITH CONGRESS.— 

22 Section 207 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

23 U.S.C. 1157) is amended— 

24 (1) in subsection (a), by amending paragraph 

25 (4) to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(4)(A) In the determination made under this sub2 section for each fiscal year (beginning with fiscal year 

3 1992), the President shall enumerate, with the respective 

4 number of refugees so determined, the number of aliens 

5 who were granted asylum in the previous year. 

6 ‘‘(B) In making a determination under paragraph 

7 (1), the President shall consider the information in the 

8 most recently published projected global resettlement 

9 needs report published by the United Nations High Com10 missioner for Refugees.’’; 

11 (2) in subsection (e), by amending paragraph 

12 (2) to read as follows: 

13 ‘‘(2) A description of the number and allocation 

14 of the refugees to be admitted, including the ex15 pected allocation by region, and an analysis of the 

16 conditions within the countries from which they 

17 came.’’; and 

18 (3) by adding at the end the following— 

19 ‘‘(g) QUARTERLY REPORTS ON ADMISSIONS.—Not 

20 later than 30 days after the last day of each quarter begin21 ning the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2024, the President 

22 shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Security and 

23 Governmental Affairs, the Committee on the Judiciary, 

24 and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate 

25 and the Committee on Homeland Security, the Committee 


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1 on the Judiciary, and the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

2 of the House of Representatives a report that includes the 

3 following: 

4 ‘‘(1) REFUGEES ADMITTED.— 

5 ‘‘(A) The number of refugees admitted to 

6 the United States during the preceding quarter. 

7 ‘‘(B) The cumulative number of refugees 

8 admitted to the United States during the appli9 cable fiscal year, as of the last day of the pre10 ceding quarter. 

11 ‘‘(C) The number of refugees expected to 

12 be admitted to the United States during the re13 mainder of the applicable fiscal year. 

14 ‘‘(D) The number of refugees from each 

15 region admitted to the United States during the 

16 preceding quarter. 

17 ‘‘(2) ALIENS WITH PENDING SECURITY

18 CHECKS.—With respect only to aliens processed 

19 under section 101(a)(27)(N), subtitle C of title III 

20 of the Border Act, or section 602(b)(2)(A)(ii)(II) of 

21 the Afghan Allies Protection Act of 2009 (8 U.S.C. 

22 1101 note; Public Law 111–8)— 

23 ‘‘(A) the number of aliens, by nationality, 

24 security check, and responsible vetting agency, 

25 for whom a National Vetting Center or other 


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1 security check has been requested during the 

2 preceding quarter, and the number of aliens, by 

3 nationality, for whom the check was pending 

4 beyond 30 days; and 

5 ‘‘(B) the number of aliens, by nationality, 

6 security check, and responsible vetting agency, 

7 for whom a National Vetting Center or other 

8 security check has been pending for more than 

9 180 days. 

10 ‘‘(3) CIRCUIT RIDES.— 

11 ‘‘(A) For the preceding quarter— 

12 ‘‘(i) the number of Refugee Corps of13 ficers deployed on circuit rides and the 

14 overall number of Refugee Corps officers; 

15 ‘‘(ii) the number of individuals inter16 viewed— 

17 ‘‘(I) on each circuit ride; and 

18 ‘‘(II) at each circuit ride location; 

19 ‘‘(iii) the number of circuit rides; and 

20 ‘‘(iv) for each circuit ride, the dura21 tion of the circuit ride. 

22 ‘‘(B) For the subsequent 2 quarters, the 

23 number of circuit rides planned. 

24 ‘‘(4) PROCESSING.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) For refugees admitted to the United 

2 States during the preceding quarter, the aver3 age number of days between— 

4 ‘‘(i) the date on which an individual 

5 referred to the United States Government 

6 as a refugee applicant is interviewed by the 

7 Secretary of Homeland Security; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) the date on which such individual 

9 is admitted to the United States. 

10 ‘‘(B) For refugee applicants interviewed by 

11 the Secretary of Homeland Security in the pre12 ceding quarter, the approval, denial, rec13 ommended approval, recommended denial, and 

14 hold rates for the applications for admission of 

15 such individuals, disaggregated by nationality.’’. 

16 SEC. 316. SUPPORT FOR CERTAIN VULNERABLE AFGHANS 

17 RELATING TO EMPLOYMENT BY OR ON BE18 HALF OF THE UNITED STATES. 

19 (a) SPECIAL IMMIGRANT VISAS FOR CERTAIN REL20 ATIVES OF CERTAIN MEMBERS OF THE ARMED

21 FORCES.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 101(a)(27) of the 

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

24 1101(a)(27)) is amended— 


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1 (A) in subparagraph (L)(iii), by adding a 

2 semicolon at the end; 

3 (B) in subparagraph (M), by striking the 

4 period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

6 ‘‘(N) a citizen or national of Afghanistan 

7 who is the parent or brother or sister of— 

8 ‘‘(i) a member of the armed forces (as 

9 defined in section 101(a) of title 10, 

10 United States Code); or 

11 ‘‘(ii) a veteran (as defined in section 

12 101 of title 38, United States Code).’’. 

13 (2) NUMERICAL LIMITATIONS.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara15 graph (C), the total number of principal aliens 

16 who may be provided special immigrant visas 

17 under subparagraph (N) of section 101(a)(27) 

18 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

19 U.S.C. 1101(a)(27)), as added by paragraph 

20 (1), may not exceed 2,500 each fiscal year. 

21 (B) CARRYOVER.—If the numerical limita22 tion specified in subparagraph (A) is not 

23 reached during a given fiscal year, the numer24 ical limitation specified in such subparagraph 


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1 for the following fiscal year shall be increased 

2 by a number equal to the difference between— 

3 (i) the numerical limitation specified 

4 in subparagraph (A) for the given fiscal 

5 year; and 

6 (ii) the number of principal aliens pro7 vided special immigrant visas under sub8 paragraph (N) of section 101(a)(27) of the 

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

10 1101(a)(27)) during the given fiscal year. 

11 (C) MAXIMUM NUMBER OF VISAS.—The 

12 total number of aliens who may be provided 

13 special immigrant visas under subparagraph 

14 (N) of section 101(a)(27) of the Immigration 

15 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(27)) 

16 shall not exceed 10,000. 

17 (D) DURATION OF AUTHORITY.—The au18 thority to issue visas under subparagraph (N) 

19 of section 101(a)(27) of the Immigration and 

20 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(27)) shall— 

21 (i) commence on the date of the en22 actment of this Act; and 

23 (ii) terminate on the date on which all 

24 such visas are exhausted. 


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1 (b) CERTAIN AFGHANS INJURED OR KILLED IN THE

2 COURSE OF EMPLOYMENT.—Section 602(b) of the Af3 ghan Allies Protection Act of 2009 (8 U.S.C. 1101 note; 

4 Public Law 111–8) is amended— 

5 (1) in paragraph (2)(A)— 

6 (A) by amending clause (ii) to read as fol7 lows: 

8 ‘‘(ii)(I) was or is employed in Afghan9 istan on or after October 7, 2001, for not 

10 less than 1 year— 

11 ‘‘(aa) by, or on behalf of, the 

12 United States Government; or 

13 ‘‘(bb) by the International Secu14 rity Assistance Force (or any suc15 cessor name for such Force) in a ca16 pacity that required the alien— 

17 ‘‘(AA) while traveling off18 base with United States military 

19 personnel stationed at the Inter20 national Security Assistance 

21 Force (or any successor name for 

22 such Force), to serve as an inter23 preter or translator for such 

24 United States military personnel; 

25 or 


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1 ‘‘(BB) to perform activities 

2 for the United States military 

3 personnel stationed at Inter4 national Security Assistance 

5 Force (or any successor name for 

6 such Force); or 

7 ‘‘(II) in the case of an alien who was 

8 wounded or seriously injured in connection 

9 with employment described in subclause 

10 (I), was employed for any period until the 

11 date on which such wound or injury oc12 curred, if the wound or injury prevented 

13 the alien from continuing such employ14 ment;’’; and 

15 (B) in clause (iii), by striking ‘‘clause (ii)’’ 

16 and inserting ‘‘clause (ii)(I)’’; 

17 (2) in paragraph (13)(A)(i), by striking ‘‘sub18 clause (I) or (II)(bb) of paragraph (2)(A)(ii)’’ and 

19 inserting ‘‘item (aa) or (bb)(BB) of paragraph 

20 (2)(A)(ii)(I)’’; 

21 (3) in paragraph (14)(C), by striking ‘‘para22 graph (2)(A)(ii)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph 

23 (2)(A)(ii)(I)’’; and 

24 (4) in paragraph (15), by striking ‘‘paragraph 

25 (2)(A)(ii)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph (2)(A)(ii)(I)’’. 


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1 (c) EXTENSION OF SPECIAL IMMIGRANT VISA PRO2 GRAM UNDER AFGHAN ALLIES PROTECTION ACT OF

3 2009.—Section 602(b) of the Afghan Allies Protection Act 

4 of 2009 (8 U.S.C. 1101 note; Public Law 111–8) is 

5 amended— 

6 (1) in paragraph (3)(F)— 

7 (A) in the subparagraph heading, by strik8 ing ‘‘FISCAL YEARS 2015 THROUGH 2022’’ and 

9 inserting ‘‘FISCAL YEARS 2015 THROUGH 2029’’; 

10 and 

11 (B) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘December 

12 31, 2024’’ and inserting ‘‘December 31, 2029’’; 

13 and 

14 (C) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘December 

15 31, 2024’’ and inserting ‘‘December 31, 2029’’; 

16 and 

17 (2) in paragraph (13), in the matter preceding 

18 subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘January 31, 2024’’ 

19 and inserting ‘‘January 31, 2030’’. 

20 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF VIRTUAL INTERVIEWS.— 

21 Section 602(b)(4) of the Afghan Allies Protection Act of 

22 2009 ( 8 U.S.C. 1101 note; Public Law 111–8;) is amend23 ed by adding at the end the following: 

24 ‘‘(D) VIRTUAL INTERVIEWS.—Notwith25 standing section 222(e) of the Immigration and 


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1 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1202(e)), an applica2 tion for an immigrant visa under this section 

3 may be signed by the applicant through a vir4 tual video meeting before a consular officer and 

5 verified by the oath of the applicant adminis6 tered by the consular officer during a virtual 

7 video meeting.’’. 

8 (e) QUARTERLY REPORTS.—Paragraph (12) of sec9 tion 602(b) of the Afghan Allies Protection Act of 2009 

10 (8 U.S.C. 1101 note; Public Law 111–8) is amended is 

11 amended to read as follows: 

12 ‘‘(12) QUARTERLY REPORTS.— 

13 ‘‘(A) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later 

14 than 120 days after the date of enactment of 

15 the Border Act and every 90 days thereafter, 

16 the Secretary of State and the Secretary of 

17 Homeland Security, in consultation with the 

18 Secretary of Defense, shall submit to the appro19 priate committees of Congress a report that in20 cludes the following: 

21 ‘‘(i) For the preceding quarter— 

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1 essing for citizens and nationals of Af2 ghanistan; 

3 ‘‘(II) the number of new Afghan 

4 referrals to the United States Refugee 

5 Admissions Program, disaggregated 

6 by referring entity; 

7 ‘‘(III) the number of interviews 

8 of Afghans conducted by U.S. Citizen9 ship and Immigration Services, 

10 disaggregated by the country in which 

11 such interviews took place; 

12 ‘‘(IV) the number of approvals 

13 and the number of denials of refugee 

14 status requests for Afghans; 

15 ‘‘(V) the number of total admis16 sions to the United States of Afghan 

17 refugees; 

18 ‘‘(VI) number of such admis19 sions, disaggregated by whether the 

20 refugees come from within, or outside 

21 of, Afghanistan; 

22 ‘‘(VII) the average processing 

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1 ferral under section 314 of the Border 

2 Act; 

3 ‘‘(VIII) the number of such cases 

4 processed within such average proc5 essing time; and 

6 ‘‘(IX) the number of denials 

7 issued with respect to applications by 

8 citizens and nationals of Afghanistan 

9 for referrals under section 314 of the 

10 Border Act. 

11 ‘‘(ii) The number of applications by 

12 citizens and nationals of Afghanistan for 

13 refugee referrals pending as of the date of 

14 submission of the report. 

15 ‘‘(iii) A description of the efficiency 

16 improvements made in the process by 

17 which applications for special immigrant 

18 visas under this subsection are processed, 

19 including information described in clauses 

20 (iii) through (viii) of paragraph (11)(B). 

21 ‘‘(B) FORM OF REPORT.—Each report re22 quired by subparagraph (A) shall be submitted 

23 in unclassified form but may contain a classi24 fied annex. 


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1 ‘‘(C) PUBLIC POSTING.—The Secretary of 

2 State shall publish on the website of the De3 partment of State the unclassified portion of 

4 each report submitted under subparagraph 

5 (A).’’. 

6 (f) GENERAL PROVISIONS.— 

7 (1) PROHIBITION ON FEES.—The Secretary, 

8 the Secretary of Defense, or the Secretary of State 

9 may not charge any fee in connection with an appli10 cation for, or issuance of, a special immigrant visa 

11 or special immigrant status under— 

12 (A) section 602 of the Afghan Allies Pro13 tection Act of 2009 (8 U.S.C. 1101 note; Public 

14 Law 111–8); 

15 (B) section 1059 of the National Defense 

16 Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2006 (8 

17 U.S.C. 1101 note; Public Law 109–163); or 

18 (C) subparagraph (N) of section 

19 101(a)(27) of the Immigration and Nationality 

20 Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(27)), as added by sub21 section (a)(1). 

22 (2) DEFENSE PERSONNEL.—Any limitation in 

23 law with respect to the number of personnel within 

24 the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the military 

25 departments, or a Defense Agency (as defined in 


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1 section 101(a) of title 10, United States Code) shall 

2 not apply to personnel employed for the primary 

3 purpose of carrying out this section. 

4 (3) PROTECTION OF ALIENS.—The Secretary of 

5 State, in consultation with the head of any other ap6 propriate Federal agency, shall make a reasonable 

7 effort to provide an alien who is seeking status as 

8 a special immigrant under subparagraph (N) of sec9 tion 101(a)(27) of the Immigration and Nationality 

10 Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(27)), as added by subsection 

11 (a)(1), protection or to immediately remove such 

12 alien from Afghanistan, if possible. 

13 (4) RESETTLEMENT SUPPORT.—A citizen or 

14 national of Afghanistan who is admitted to the 

15 United States under this section or an amendment 

16 made by this section shall be eligible for resettlement 

17 assistance, entitlement programs, and other benefits 

18 available to refugees admitted under section 207 of 

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

20 1157) to the same extent, and for the same periods 

21 of time, as such refugees. 

22 SEC. 317. SUPPORT FOR ALLIES SEEKING RESETTLEMENT 

23 IN THE UNITED STATES. 

24 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, during 

25 the period beginning on the date of the enactment of this 


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1 Act and ending on the date that is 10 years thereafter, 

2 the Secretary and the Secretary of State may waive any 

3 fee or surcharge or exempt individuals from the payment 

4 of any fee or surcharge collected by the Department of 

5 Homeland Security and the Department of State, respec6 tively, in connection with a petition or application for, or 

7 issuance of, an immigrant visa to a national of Afghani8 stan under section 201(b)(2)(A)(i) or 203(a) of the Immi9 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1151(b)(2)(A)(i) 

10 and 1153(a)), respectively. 

11 SEC. 318. REPORTING. 

12 (a) QUARTERLY REPORTS.—Beginning on January 

13 1, 2028, not less frequently than quarterly, the Secretary 

14 shall submit to the Committee on the Judiciary of the Sen15 ate and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of 

16 Representatives a report that includes, for the preceding 

17 quarter— 

18 (1) the number of individuals granted condi19 tional permanent resident status under section 313, 

20 disaggregated by the number of such individuals for 

21 whom conditions have been removed; 

22 (2) the number of individuals granted condi23 tional permanent resident status under section 313 

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1 moval of conditions (and the reasons for such deter2 mination); and 

3 (3) the number of individuals granted condi4 tional permanent resident status under section 313 

5 for whom no such determination has been made 

6 (and the reasons for the lack of such determination). 

7 (b) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Not less frequently than an8 nually, the Secretary, in consultation with the Attorney 

9 General, shall submit to the appropriate committees of 

10 Congress a report that includes for the preceding year, 

11 with respect to individuals granted conditional permanent 

12 resident status under section 313— 

13 (1) the number of such individuals who are 

14 placed in removal proceedings under section 240 of 

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

16 1229a) charged with a ground of deportability under 

17 subsection (a)(2) of section 237 of that Act (8 

18 U.S.C. 1227), disaggregated by each applicable 

19 ground under that subsection; 

20 (2) the number of such individuals who are 

21 placed in removal proceedings under section 240 of 

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

23 1229a) charged with a ground of deportability under 

24 subsection (a)(3) of section 237 of that Act (8 


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1 U.S.C. 1227), disaggregated by each applicable 

2 ground under that subsection; 

3 (3) the number of final orders of removal issued 

4 pursuant to proceedings described in paragraphs (1) 

5 and (2), disaggregated by each applicable ground of 

6 deportability; 

7 (4) the number of such individuals for whom 

8 such proceedings are pending, disaggregated by each 

9 applicable ground of deportability; and 

10 (5) a review of the available options for removal 

11 from the United States, including any changes in 

12 the feasibility of such options during the preceding 

13 year. 

14 TITLE IV—PROMOTING LEGAL 

15 IMMIGRATION 

16 SEC. 401. EMPLOYMENT AUTHORIZATION FOR FIANCE ́ S, 

17 FIANCE ́ ES, SPOUSES, AND CHILDREN OF 

18 UNITED STATES CITIZENS AND SPECIALTY 

19 WORKERS. 

20 Section 214(c) of the Immigration and Nationality 

21 Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(c)) is amended by adding at the end 

22 the following: 

23 ‘‘(15) The Secretary of Homeland Security shall au24 thorize an alien fiance ́, fiance ́e, or spouse admitted pursu25 ant to clause (i) or (ii) of section 101(a)(15)(K), or any 


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1 child admitted pursuant to section 101(a)(15)(K)(iii) to 

2 engage in employment in the United States incident to 

3 such status and shall provide the alien with an ‘employ4 ment authorized’ endorsement during the period of au5 thorized admission. 

6 ‘‘(16) Upon the receipt of a completed petition de7 scribed in subparagraph (E) or (F) of section 204(a)(1) 

8 for a principal alien who has been admitted pursuant to 

9 section 101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b), the Secretary of Homeland 

10 Security shall authorize the alien spouse or child of such 

11 principal alien who has been admitted under section 

12 101(a)(15)(H) to accompany or follow to join a principal 

13 alien admitted under such section, to engage in employ14 ment in the United States incident to such status and 

15 shall provide the alien with an ‘employment authorized’ 

16 endorsement during the period of authorized admission.’’. 

17 SEC. 402. ADDITIONAL VISAS. 

18 Section 201 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

19 (8 U.S.C. 1151) is amended— 

20 (1) in subsection (c)— 

21 (A) by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(6)(A) For fiscal years 2025, 2026, 2027, 2028, and 

23 2029— 

24 ‘‘(i) 512,000 shall be substituted for 480,000 in 

25 paragraph (1)(A)(i); and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) 258,000 shall be substituted for 226,000 

2 in paragraph (1)(B)(i)(i) of that paragraph. 

3 ‘‘(B) The additional visas authorized under subpara4 graph (A)— 

5 ‘‘(i) shall be issued each fiscal year; 

6 ‘‘(ii) shall remain available in any fiscal year 

7 until issued; and 

8 ‘‘(iii) shall be allocated in accordance with this 

9 section and sections 202 and 203.’’; and 

10 (2) in subsection (d), by adding at the end the 

11 following: 

12 ‘‘(3)(A) For fiscal years 2025, 2026, 2027, 2028, and 

13 2029, 158,000 shall be substituted for 140,000 in para14 graph (1)(A). 

15 ‘‘(B) The additional visas authorized under subpara16 graph (A)— 

17 ‘‘(i) shall be issued each fiscal year; 

18 ‘‘(ii) shall remain available in any fiscal year 

19 until issued; and 

20 ‘‘(iii) shall be allocated in accordance with this 

21 section and sections 202 and 203.’’. 

22 SEC. 403. CHILDREN OF LONG-TERM VISA HOLDERS. 

23 (a) MAINTAINING FAMILY UNITY FOR CHILDREN OF

24 LONG-TERM H–1B NONIMMIGRANTS AFFECTED BY

25 DELAYS IN VISA AVAILABILITY.—Section 203(h) of the 


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1 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(h)) is 

2 amended by adding at the end the following: 

3 ‘‘(6) CHILD STATUS DETERMINATION FOR CER4 TAIN DEPENDENT CHILDREN OF H-1B NON5 IMMIGRANTS.— 

6 ‘‘(A) DETERMINATIVE FACTORS.—For 

7 purposes of subsection (d), the determination of 

8 whether an alien described in subparagraph (B) 

9 satisfies the age and marital status require10 ments set forth in section 101(b)(1) shall be 

11 made using the alien’s age and marital status 

12 on the date on which an initial petition as a 

13 nonimmigrant described in section 

14 101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b) was filed on behalf of the 

15 alien’s parent, if such petition was approved. 

16 ‘‘(B) ALIEN DESCRIBED.—An alien is de17 scribed in this subparagraph if such alien— 

18 ‘‘(i) maintained, for an aggregate pe19 riod of at least 8 years before reaching 21 

20 years of age, the status of a dependent 

21 child of a nonimmigrant described in sec22 tion 101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b) pursuant to a 

23 lawful admission; and 

24 ‘‘(ii)(I) sought to acquire the status of 

25 an alien lawfully admitted for permanent 


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1 residence during the 2-year period begin2 ning on the date on which an immigrant 

3 visa became available to such alien; or 

4 ‘‘(II) demonstrates, by clear and con5 vincing evidence, that the alien’s failure to 

6 seek such status during such 2-year period 

7 was due to extraordinary circumstances.’’. 

8 (b) NONIMMIGRANT DEPENDENT CHILDREN OF H9 1B NONIMMIGRANTS.—Section 214 of the Immigration 

10 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184) is amended by add11 ing at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(s) CHILD DERIVATIVE BENEFICIARIES OF H-1B

13 NONIMMIGRANTS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) AGE DETERMINATION.—In the case of an 

15 alien who maintained, for an aggregate period of at 

16 least 8 years before reaching 21 years of age, the 

17 status of a dependent child of a nonimmigrant de18 scribed in section 101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b) pursuant to a 

19 lawful admission, such alien’s age shall be deter20 mined based on the date on which an initial petition 

21 for classification under such section was filed on be22 half of the alien’s parent, if such petition is ap23 proved. 

24 ‘‘(2) LONG-TERM DEPENDENTS.—Notwith25 standing the alien’s actual age or marital status, an 


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1 alien who is determined to be a child under para2 graph (1) and is otherwise eligible may change sta3 tus to, or extend status as, a dependent child of a 

4 nonimmigrant described in section 

5 101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b) if the alien’s parent— 

6 ‘‘(A) maintains lawful status under such 

7 section; 

8 ‘‘(B) has an employment-based immigrant 

9 visa petition that has been approved pursuant 

10 to section 203(b); and 

11 ‘‘(C) has not yet had an opportunity to 

12 seek an immigrant visa or adjust status under 

13 section 245. 

14 ‘‘(3) EMPLOYMENT AUTHORIZATION.—An alien 

15 who is determined to be a child under paragraph (1) 

16 is authorized to engage in employment in the United 

17 States incident to the status of his or her non18 immigrant parent. 

19 ‘‘(4) SURVIVING RELATIVE CONSIDERATION.— 

20 Notwithstanding the death of the qualifying relative, 

21 an alien who is determined to be a child under para22 graph (1) is authorized to extend status as a de23 pendent child of a nonimmigrant described in section 

24 101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b).’’. 

25 (c) MOTION TO REOPEN OR RECONSIDER.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—A motion to reopen or re2 consider the denial of a petition under section 204 

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

4 1154) and a subsequent application for an immi5 grant visa or adjustment of status under section 245 

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

7 1255), may be granted if— 

8 (A) such petition or application would have 

9 been approved if— 

10 (i) section 203(h)(6) of the Immigra11 tion and Nationality Act, as added by sub12 section (a), had been in effect when the pe13 tition or application was adjudicated; and 

14 (ii) the person concerned remains eli15 gible for the requested benefit; 

16 (B) the individual seeking relief pursuant 

17 to such motion was in the United States at the 

18 time the underlying petition or application was 

19 filed; and 

20 (C) such motion is filed with the Secretary 

21 or the Attorney General not later than the date 

22 that is 2 years after the date of the enactment 

23 of this Act. 


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1 (2) PROTECTION FROM REMOVAL.—Notwith2 standing any other provision of the law, the Attor3 ney General and the Secretary— 

4 (A) may not initiate removal proceedings 

5 against or remove any alien who has a pending 

6 nonfrivolous motion under paragraph (1) or is 

7 seeking to file such a motion unless— 

8 (i) the alien is a danger to the com9 munity or a national security risk; or 

10 (ii) initiating a removal proceeding 

11 with respect to such alien is in the public 

12 interest; and 

13 (B) shall provide aliens with a reasonable 

14 opportunity to file such a motion. 

15 (3) EMPLOYMENT AUTHORIZATION.—An alien 

16 with a pending, nonfrivolous motion under this sub17 section shall be authorized to engage in employment 

18 through the date on which a final administrative de19 cision regarding such motion has been made. 

20 SEC. 404. MILITARY NATURALIZATION MODERNIZATION. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 2 of title III of the Immi22 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1421 et seq.) is 

23 amended— 

24 (1) by striking section 328 (8 U.S.C. 1439); 

25 and 


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1 (2) in section 329 (8 U.S.C. 1440)— 

2 (A) by amending the section heading to 

3 read as follows: ‘‘NATURALIZATION

4 THROUGH SERVICE IN THE SELECTED RE5 SERVE OR IN ACTIVE-DUTY STATUS.—’’; 

6 (B) in subsection (a)— 

7 (i) in the matter preceding paragraph 

8 (1), by striking ‘‘during either’’ and all 

9 that follows through ‘‘foreign force’’; 

10 (ii) in paragraph (1)— 

11 (I) by striking ‘‘America Samoa, 

12 or Swains Island’’ and inserting 

13 ‘‘American Samoa, Swains Island, or 

14 any of the freely associated States (as 

15 defined in section 611(b)(1)(C) of the 

16 Individuals with Disabilities Edu17 cation Act (20 U.S.C. 

18 1411(b)(1)(C)),’’; and 

19 (II) by striking ‘‘he’’ and insert20 ing ‘‘such person’’; and 

21 (iii) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘in 

22 an active-duty status, and whether separa23 tion from such service was under honorable 

24 conditions’’ and inserting ‘‘in accordance 

25 with subsection (b)(3)’’; and 


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1 (C) in subsection (b)— 

2 (i) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘he’’ 

3 and inserting ‘‘such person’’; and 

4 (ii) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘an 

5 active-duty status’’ and all that follows 

6 through ‘‘foreign force, and’’ and inserting 

7 ‘‘in an active status (as defined in section 

8 101(d) of title 10, United States Code), in 

9 the Selected Reserve of the Ready Reserve, 

10 or on active duty (as defined in such sec11 tion) and, if separated’’. 

12 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

13 for the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 

14 et seq.) is amended by striking the items relating to sec15 tions 328 and 329 and inserting the following: 

‘‘Sec. 329. Naturalization through service in the Selected Reserve or in activeduty status.’’. 

16 SEC. 405. TEMPORARY FAMILY VISITS. 

17 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF NEW NONIMMIGRANT VISA

18 SUBCATEGORY.—Section 101(a)(15)(B) of the Immigra19 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(B)) is 

20 amended by striking ‘‘temporarily for business or tempo21 rarily for pleasure;’’ and inserting ‘‘temporarily for— 

22 ‘‘(i) business; 

23 ‘‘(ii) pleasure; or 

24 ‘‘(iii) family purposes;’’. 


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1 (b) REQUIREMENTS APPLICABLE TO FAMILY PUR2 POSES VISAS.—Section 214 of the Immigration and Na3 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184), as amended by section 

4 403(b), is further amended by adding at the end the fol5 lowing: 

6 ‘‘(t) REQUIREMENTS APPLICABLE TO FAMILY PUR7 POSES VISAS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) DEFINED TERM.—In this subsection and 

9 in section 101(a)(15)(B)(iii), the term ‘family pur10 poses’ means any visit by a relative for a social, oc11 casional, major life, or religious event, or for any 

12 other purpose. 

13 ‘‘(2) FAMILY PURPOSES VISA.—Except as pro14 vided in paragraph (3), family travel for pleasure is 

15 authorized pursuant to the policies, terms, and con16 ditions in effect on the day before the date of the 

17 enactment of the Border Act. 

18 ‘‘(3) SPECIAL RULES FOR FAMILY PURPOSES

19 VISAS FOR ALIENS AWAITING IMMIGRANT VISAS.— 

20 ‘‘(A) NOTIFICATION OF APPROVED PETI21 TION.—A visa may not be issued to a relative 

22 under section 101(a)(15)(B)(iii) until after the 

23 consular officer is notified that the Secretary of 

24 Homeland Security has approved a petition 

25 filed in the United States by a family member 


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1 of the relative who is a United States citizen or 

2 lawful permanent resident. 

3 ‘‘(B) PETITION.—A petition referred to in 

4 subparagraph (A) shall— 

5 ‘‘(i) be in such form and contain such 

6 information as the Secretary may prescribe 

7 by regulation; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) shall include— 

9 ‘‘(I) a declaration of financial 

10 support, affirming that the petitioner 

11 will provide financial support to the 

12 relative for the duration of his or her 

13 temporary stay in the United States; 

14 ‘‘(II) evidence that the relative 

15 has— 

16 ‘‘(aa) obtained, for the dura17 tion of his or her stay in the 

18 United States, a short-term trav19 el medical insurance policy; or 

20 ‘‘(bb) an existing health in21 surance policy that provides cov22 erage for international medical 

23 expenses; and 


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1 ‘‘(III) a declaration from the rel2 ative, under penalty of perjury, af3 firming the relative’s— 

4 ‘‘(aa) intent to depart the 

5 United States at the conclusion 

6 of the relative’s period of author7 ized admission; and 

8 ‘‘(bb) awareness of the pen9 alties for overstaying such period 

10 of authorized admission. 

11 ‘‘(4) PETITIONER ELIGIBILITY.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Absent extraordinary 

13 circumstances, an individual may not petition 

14 for the admission of a relative as a non15 immigrant described in section 

16 101(a)(15)(B)(iii) if such individual previously 

17 petitioned for the admission of such a relative 

18 who— 

19 ‘‘(i) was admitted to the United 

20 States pursuant to a visa issued under 

21 such section as a result of such petition; 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(ii) overstayed his or her period of 

24 authorized admission. 

25 ‘‘(B) PREVIOUS PETITIONERS.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—An individual fil2 ing a declaration of financial support on 

3 behalf of a relative seeking admission as a 

4 nonimmigrant described in section 

5 101(a)(15)(B)(iii) who has previously pro6 vided a declaration of financial support for 

7 such a relative shall— 

8 ‘‘(I) certify to the Secretary of 

9 Homeland Security that the relative 

10 whose admission the individual pre11 viously supported did not overstay his 

12 or her period of authorized admission; 

13 or 

14 ‘‘(II) explain why the relative’s 

15 overstay was due to extraordinary cir16 cumstances beyond the control of the 

17 relative. 

18 ‘‘(ii) CRIMINAL PENALTY FOR FALSE

19 STATEMENT.—A certification under clause 

20 (i)(I) shall be subject to the requirements 

21 under section 1001 of title 18, United 

22 States Code. 

23 ‘‘(C) WAIVER.—The Secretary of Home24 land Security may waive the application of sec25 tion 212(a)(9)(B) in the case of a nonVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:05 May 21, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00238 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4361.PCS S4361

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1 immigrant described in section 

2 101(a)(15)(B)(iii) who overstayed his or her pe3 riod of authorized admission due to extraor4 dinary circumstances beyond the control of the 

5 nonimmigrant.’’. 

6 (c) RESTRICTION ON CHANGE OF STATUS.—Section 

7 248(a)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

8 U.S.C. 1258(a)(1)) is amended by inserting ‘‘(B)(iii),’’ 

9 after ‘‘subparagraph’’. 

10 (d) FAMILY PURPOSE VISA ELIGIBILITY WHILE

11 AWAITING IMMIGRANT VISA.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 

13 214(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

14 U.S.C. 1184(b)), a nonimmigrant described in sec15 tion 101(a)(15)(B)(iii) of such Act, as added by sub16 section (a), who has been classified as an immigrant 

17 under section 201 of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1151) and 

18 is awaiting the availability of an immigrant visa sub19 ject to the numerical limitations under section 203 

20 of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1153) may be admitted pursu21 ant to a family purposes visa, in accordance with 

22 section 214(t) of such Act, as added by subsection 

23 (b), if the individual is otherwise eligible for admis24 sion. 


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1 (2) LIMITATION.—An alien admitted under sec2 tion 101(a)(15)(B)(iii) of the Immigration and Na3 tionality Act, pursuant to section 214(t)(3) of such 

4 Act, as added by subsection (b), may not be consid5 ered to have been admitted to the United States for 

6 purposes of section 245(a) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 

7 1255(a)). 

8 (e) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec9 tion, or in the amendments made by this section, may be 

10 construed as— 

11 (1) limiting the authority of immigration offi12 cers to refuse to admit to the United States an ap13 plicant under section 101(a)(15)(B)(iii) of the Immi14 gration and Nationality Act, as added by subsection 

15 (a), who fails to meet 1 or more of the criteria under 

16 section 214(t) of such Act, as added by subsection 

17 (b), or who is inadmissible under section 212(a) of 

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

19 (2) precluding the use of section 

20 101(a)(15)(B)(ii) of the Immigration and Nation21 ality Act, as added by subsection (a), for family 

22 travel for pleasure in accordance with the policies 

23 and procedures in effect on the day before the date 

24 of the enactment of this Act. 


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1 TITLE V—SELF-SUFFICIENCY 

2 AND DUE PROCESS 

3 Subtitle A—Work Authorizations 

4 SEC. 501. WORK AUTHORIZATION. 

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

6 Act (8 U.S.C. 1158(d)(2)) is amended to read as follows: 

7 ‘‘(2) EMPLOYMENT ELIGIBILITY.—Except as 

8 provided in section 235C— 

9 ‘‘(A) an applicant for asylum is not enti10 tled to employment authorization, but such au11 thorization may be provided by the Secretary of 

12 Homeland Security by regulation; and 

13 ‘‘(B) an applicant who is not otherwise eli14 gible for employment authorization may not be 

15 granted employment authorization under this 

16 section before the date that is 180 days after 

17 the date on which the applicant files an applica18 tion for asylum.’’. 

19 SEC. 502. EMPLOYMENT ELIGIBILITY. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 4 of title II of the Immi21 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1221 et seq.), as 

22 amended by section 141(a), is further amended by adding 

23 at the end the following: 

24 ‘‘SEC. 235C. EMPLOYMENT ELIGIBILITY. 

25 ‘‘(a) EXPEDITED EMPLOYMENT ELIGIBILITY.— 


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

2 Security shall authorize employment for any alien 

3 who— 

4 ‘‘(A)(i) is processed under the procedures 

5 described in section 235(b)(1) and receives a 

6 positive protection determination pursuant to 

7 such procedures; or 

8 ‘‘(ii)(I) is processed under the procedures 

9 described in section 235B; and 

10 ‘‘(II)(aa) receives a positive protection de11 termination and is subsequently referred under 

12 section 235B(c)(2)(B)(i) for a protection merits 

13 interview; or 

14 ‘‘(bb) is referred under section 235B(f)(1) 

15 for a protection merits interview; and 

16 ‘‘(B) is released from the physical custody 

17 of the Secretary of Homeland Security. 

18 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION.—The Secretary of Home19 land Security shall grant employment authorization 

20 to— 

21 ‘‘(A) an alien described in paragraph 

22 (1)(A)(i) immediately upon such alien’s release 

23 from physical custody; 

24 ‘‘(B) an alien described in paragraph 

25 (1)(A)(ii)(II)(aa) at the time such alien receives 


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1 a positive protection determination or is re2 ferred for a protection merits interview; and 

3 ‘‘(C) an alien described in paragraph 

4 (1)(A)(ii)(II)(bb) on the date that is 30 days 

5 after the date on which such alien files an ap6 plication pursuant to section 235B(f). 

7 ‘‘(b) TERM.—Employment authorization under this 

8 section— 

9 ‘‘(1) shall be for an initial period of 2 years; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(2) shall be renewable, as applicable— 

12 ‘‘(A) for additional 2-year periods while 

13 the alien is in protection merits removal pro14 ceedings, including while the outcome of the 

15 protection merits interview is under administra16 tive or judicial review; or 

17 ‘‘(B) until the date on which— 

18 ‘‘(i) the alien receives a negative pro19 tection merits determination; or 

20 ‘‘(ii) the alien otherwise receives em21 ployment authorization under any other 

22 provision of this Act. 

23 ‘‘(c) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.— 

24 ‘‘(1) DETENTION.—Nothing in this section may 

25 be construed to expand or restrict the authority of 


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1 the Secretary of Homeland Security to detain or re2 lease from detention an alien, if such detention or 

3 release from detention is authorized by law. 

4 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION ON AUTHORITY.—The Sec5 retary of Homeland Security may not authorize for 

6 employment in the United States an alien being 

7 processed under section 235(b)(1) or 235B in any 

8 circumstance not explicitly described in this sec9 tion.’’. 

10 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con11 tents for the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

12 1101 et seq.) is amended by inserting after the item relat13 ing to section 235B, as added by section 141(b), the fol14 lowing: 

‘‘Sec. 235C. Employment eligibility.’’. 

15 Subtitle B—Protecting Due Process 

16 SEC. 511. ACCESS TO COUNSEL. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 235(b)(1)(B)(iv) of the 

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

19 1225(b)(1)(B)(iv)) is amended to read as follows: 

20 ‘‘(iv) INFORMATION ABOUT PROTEC21 TION DETERMINATIONS.— 

22 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—The Sec23 retary of Homeland Security shall 

24 provide an alien with information in 

25 plain language regarding protection 


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1 determinations conducted under this 

2 section, including the information de3 scribed in subclause (II)— 

4 ‘‘(aa) at the time of the ini5 tial processing of the alien; and 

6 ‘‘(bb) to the maximum ex7 tent practicable, in the alien’s na8 tive language or in a language 

9 the alien understands. 

10 ‘‘(II) INFORMATION DE11 SCRIBED.—The information described 

12 in this subclause is information relat13 ing to— 

14 ‘‘(aa) the rights and obliga15 tions of the alien during a protec16 tion determination; 

17 ‘‘(bb) the process by which a 

18 protection determination is con19 ducted; 

20 ‘‘(cc) the procedures to be 

21 followed by the alien in a protec22 tion determination; and 

23 ‘‘(dd) the possible con24 sequences of— 


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1 ‘‘(AA) not complying 

2 with the obligations referred 

3 to in item (aa); and 

4 ‘‘(BB) not cooperating 

5 with Federal authorities. 

6 ‘‘(III) ACCESSIBILITY.—An alien 

7 who has a limitation that renders the 

8 alien unable to read written materials 

9 provided under subclause (I) shall re10 ceive an interpretation of such mate11 rials in the alien’s native language, to 

12 the maximum extent practicable, or in 

13 a language and format the alien un14 derstands. 

15 ‘‘(IV) TIMING OF PROTECTION

16 DETERMINATION.— 

17 ‘‘(aa) IN GENERAL.—The 

18 protection determination of an 

19 alien shall not occur earlier than 

20 72 hours after the provision of 

21 the information described in sub22 clauses (I) and (II). 

23 ‘‘(bb) WAIVER.—An alien 

24 may— 


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1 ‘‘(AA) waive the 72- 

2 hour requirement under 

3 item (aa) only if the alien 

4 knowingly and voluntarily 

5 does so, only in a written 

6 format or in an alternative 

7 record if the alien is unable 

8 to write, and only after the 

9 alien receives the informa10 tion required to be provided 

11 under subclause (I); and 

12 ‘‘(BB) consult with an 

13 individual of the alien’s 

14 choosing in accordance with 

15 subclause (V) before waiving 

16 such requirement. 

17 ‘‘(V) CONSULTATION.— 

18 ‘‘(aa) IN GENERAL.—An 

19 alien who is eligible for a protec20 tion determination may consult 

21 with one or more individuals of 

22 the alien’s choosing before the 

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1 tions prescribed by the Secretary 

2 of Homeland Security. 

3 ‘‘(bb) LIMITATION.—Con4 sultation described in item (aa) 

5 shall be at no expense to the 

6 Federal Government. 

7 ‘‘(cc) PARTICIPATION IN

8 INTERVIEW.—An individual cho9 sen by the alien may participate 

10 in the protection determination of 

11 the alien conducted under this 

12 subparagraph. 

13 ‘‘(dd) ACCESS.—The Sec14 retary of Homeland Security 

15 shall ensure that a detained alien 

16 has effective access to the indi17 viduals chosen by the alien, which 

18 may include physical access, tele19 phonic access, and access by elec20 tronic communication. 

21 ‘‘(ee) INCLUSIONS.—Con22 sultations under this subclause 

23 may include— 

24 ‘‘(AA) consultation with 

25 an individual authorized by 


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1 the Department of Justice 

2 through the Recognition and 

3 Accreditation Program; and 

4 ‘‘(BB) consultation 

5 with an attorney licensed 

6 under applicable law. 

7 ‘‘(ff) RULES OF CONSTRUC8 TION.—Nothing in this subclause 

9 may be construed— 

10 ‘‘(AA) to require the 

11 Federal Government to pay 

12 for any consultation author13 ized under item (aa); 

14 ‘‘(BB) to invalidate or 

15 limit the remedies, rights, 

16 and procedures of any Fed17 eral law that provides pro18 tection for the rights of indi19 viduals with disabilities; or 

20 ‘‘(CC) to contravene or 

21 limit the obligations under 

22 the Vienna Convention on 

23 Consular Relations done at 

24 Vienna April 24, 1963.’’. 


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1 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 238(a)(2) 

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

3 1228(a)(2)) is amended by striking ‘‘make reasonable ef4 forts to ensure that the alien’s access to counsel’’ and in5 serting ‘‘ensure that the alien’s access to counsel, pursu6 ant to section 235(b)(1)(B)(iv),’’. 

7 SEC. 512. COUNSEL FOR CERTAIN UNACCOMPANIED ALIEN 

8 CHILDREN. 

9 Section 235(c)(5) of the William Wilberforce Traf10 ficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (8 

11 U.S.C. 1232(c)(5)) is amended to read as follows: 

12 ‘‘(5) ACCESS TO COUNSEL.— 

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

14 subparagraph (B), the Secretary of Health and 

15 Human Services shall ensure, to the greatest 

16 extent practicable and consistent with section 

17 292 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

18 U.S.C. 1362), that all unaccompanied alien 

19 children who are or have been in the custody of 

20 the Secretary of Health and Human Services or 

21 the Secretary of Homeland Security, and who 

22 are not described in subsection (a)(2)(A), have 

23 counsel to represent them in legal proceedings 

24 or matters and protect them from mistreat25 ment, exploitation, and trafficking. To the 


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1 greatest extent practicable, the Secretary of 

2 Health and Human Services shall make every 

3 effort to utilize the services of pro bono counsel 

4 who agree to provide representation to such 

5 children without charge. 

6 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN CHIL7 DREN.— 

8 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—An unaccom9 panied alien child who at 13 years of age 

10 or younger is referred to Health and 

11 Human Services or placed in removal pro12 ceedings pursuant to section 240 of the 

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

14 1229a), shall be represented by counsel 

15 subject to clause (v). 

16 ‘‘(ii) AGE DETERMINATIONS.—The 

17 Secretary of Health and Human Services 

18 shall ensure that age determinations of un19 accompanied alien children are conducted 

20 in accordance with the procedures devel21 oped pursuant to subsection (b)(4). 

22 ‘‘(iii) APPEALS.—The rights and 

23 privileges under this subparagraph— 

24 ‘‘(I) shall not attach to— 


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1 ‘‘(aa) an unaccompanied 

2 alien child after the date on 

3 which— 

4 ‘‘(AA) the removal pro5 ceedings of the child under 

6 section 240 of the Immigra7 tion and Nationality Act (8 

8 U.S.C. 1229a) terminate, 

9 without an application for 

10 relief pending; 

11 ‘‘(BB) an order of re12 moval with respect to the 

13 child becomes final; or 

14 ‘‘(CC) an immigration 

15 benefit is granted to the 

16 child; or 

17 ‘‘(bb) an appeal to a district 

18 court or court of appeals of the 

19 United States, unless certified by 

20 the Secretary as a case of ex21 traordinary importance; and 

22 ‘‘(II) shall attach to administra23 tive reviews and appeals. 

24 ‘‘(iv) IMPLEMENTATION.—Not later 

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1 ment of the Border Act, the Secretary of 

2 Health and Human Services shall imple3 ment this subparagraph. 

4 ‘‘(v) REMEDIES.— 

5 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—For the pop6 ulation described in clause (i) of this 

7 subparagraph and subsection (b)(1) of 

8 section 292 of the Immigration and 

9 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1362), de10 claratory judgment that the unaccom11 panied alien child has a right to be re12 ferred to counsel, including pro-bono 

13 counsel, or a continuance of immigra14 tion proceedings, shall be the exclusive 

15 remedies available, other than for 

16 those funds subject to appropriations. 

17 ‘‘(II) SETTLEMENTS.—Any set18 tlement under this subparagraph shall 

19 be subject to appropriations.’’. 

20 SEC. 513. COUNSEL FOR CERTAIN INCOMPETENT INDIVID21 UALS. 

22 Section 240 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

23 (8 U.S.C. 1158(a)) is amended— 

24 (1) by redesignating subsection (e) as sub25 section (f); and 


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1 (2) by inserting after subsection (d) the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(e) REPRESENTATION FOR CERTAIN INCOMPETENT

4 ALIENS.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The immigration judge is 

6 authorized to appoint legal counsel or a certified 

7 representative accredited through the Department of 

8 Justice to represent an alien in removal proceedings 

9 if— 

10 ‘‘(A) pro bono counsel is not available; and 

11 ‘‘(B) the alien— 

12 ‘‘(i) is unrepresented; 

13 ‘‘(ii) was found by an immigration 

14 judge to be incompetent to represent them15 selves; and 

16 ‘‘(iii) has been placed in or referred to 

17 removal proceedings pursuant to this sec18 tion. 

19 ‘‘(2) DETERMINATION ON COMPETENCE.— 

20 ‘‘(A) PRESUMPTION OF COMPETENCE.—An 

21 alien is presumed to be competent to participate 

22 in removal proceedings and has the duty to 

23 raise the issue of competency. If there are no 

24 indicia of incompetency in an alien’s case, no 


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1 further inquiry regarding competency is re2 quired. 

3 ‘‘(B) DECISION OF THE IMMIGRATION

4 JUDGE.— 

5 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—If there are indi6 cia of incompetency, the immigration judge 

7 shall consider whether there is good cause 

8 to believe that the alien lacks sufficient 

9 competency to proceed without additional 

10 safeguards. 

11 ‘‘(ii) INCOMPETENCY TEST.—The test 

12 for determining whether an alien is incom13 petent to participate in immigration pro14 ceedings, is not malingering, and con15 sequently lacks sufficient capacity to pro16 ceed, is whether the alien, not solely on ac17 count of illiteracy or language barriers— 

18 ‘‘(I) lacks a rational and factual 

19 understanding of the nature and ob20 ject of the proceedings; 

21 ‘‘(II) cannot consult with an 

22 available attorney or representative; 

23 and 


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1 ‘‘(III) does not have a reasonable 

2 opportunity to examine and present 

3 evidence and cross-examine witnesses. 

4 ‘‘(iii) NO APPEAL.—A decision of an 

5 immigration judge under this subpara6 graph may not be appealed administra7 tively and is not subject to judicial review. 

8 ‘‘(C) EFFECT OF FINDING OF INCOM9 PETENCE.—A finding by an immigration judge 

10 that an alien is incompetent to represent him11 self or herself in removal proceedings shall not 

12 prejudice the outcome of any proceeding under 

13 this section or any finding by the immigration 

14 judge with respect to whether the alien is inad15 missible under section 212 or removable under 

16 section 237. 

17 ‘‘(3) QUARTERLY REPORT.—Not later than 90 

18 days after the effective date of a final rule imple19 menting this subsection, and quarterly thereafter, 

20 the Director of the Executive Office for Immigration 

21 Review shall submit to the appropriate committees 

22 of Congress a report that includes— 

23 ‘‘(A)(i) the number of aliens in proceedings 

24 under this section who claimed during the re25 porting period to be incompetent to represent 


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1 themselves, disaggregated by immigration court 

2 and immigration judge; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) a description of each reason given for 

4 such claims, such as mental disease or mental 

5 defect; and 

6 ‘‘(B)(i) the number of aliens in proceedings 

7 under this section found during the reporting 

8 period by an immigration judge to be incom9 petent to represent themselves, disaggregated 

10 by immigration court and immigration judge; 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(ii) a description of each reason upon 

13 which such findings were based, such as mental 

14 disease or mental defect. 

15 ‘‘(4) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

16 this subsection may be construed— 

17 ‘‘(A) to require the Secretary of Homeland 

18 Security or the Attorney General to analyze 

19 whether an alien is incompetent to represent 

20 themselves, absent an indicia of incompetency; 

21 ‘‘(B) to establish a substantive due process 

22 right; 

23 ‘‘(C) to automatically equate a diagnosis of 

24 a mental illness to a lack of competency; 


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1 ‘‘(D) to limit the ability of the Attorney 

2 General or the immigration judge to prescribe 

3 safeguards to protect the rights and privileges 

4 of the alien; 

5 ‘‘(E) to limit any authorized representation 

6 program by a State, local, or Tribal govern7 ment; 

8 ‘‘(F) to provide any statutory right to rep9 resentation in any proceeding authorized under 

10 this Act, unless such right is already authorized 

11 by law; or 

12 ‘‘(G) to interfere with, create, or expand 

13 any right or responsibility established through a 

14 court order or settlement agreement in effect 

15 before the date of the enactment of the Border 

16 Act. 

17 ‘‘(5) RULEMAKING.—The Attorney General is 

18 authorized to prescribe regulations to carry out this 

19 subsection.’’. 

20 SEC. 514. CONFORMING AMENDMENT. 

21 Section 292 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

22 (8 U.S.C. 1362) is amended to read as follows: 

23 ‘‘SEC. 292. RIGHT TO COUNSEL. 

24 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In any removal proceeding be25 fore an immigration judge and in any appeal proceeding 


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1 before the Attorney General from an order issued through 

2 such removal proceeding, the person concerned shall have 

3 the privilege of being represented (at no expense to the 

4 Federal Government) by any counsel who is authorized to 

5 practice in such proceedings. 

6 ‘‘(b) EXCEPTIONS FOR CERTAIN POPULATIONS.— 

7 The Federal Government is authorized to provide counsel, 

8 at its own expense, in proceedings described in subsection 

9 (a) for— 

10 ‘‘(1) unaccompanied alien children described in 

11 paragraph (5) of section 235(c) of the William Wil12 berforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthoriza13 tion Act of 2008 (8 U.S.C. 1232(c)); and 

14 ‘‘(2) subject to appropriations, certain incom15 petent aliens described in section 240(e).’’. 

16 TITLE VI—ACCOUNTABILITY 

17 AND METRICS 

18 SEC. 601. EMPLOYMENT AUTHORIZATION COMPLIANCE. 

19 Not later than 1 year and 180 days after the date 

20 of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the 

21 Secretary shall submit a report to the appropriate commit22 tees of Congress and to the public that describes the ac23 tions taken by Secretary pursuant to section 235C of the 

24 Immigration and Nationality Act, as added by section 502, 

25 including— 


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1 (1) the number of employment authorization 

2 applications granted or denied pursuant to sub3 section (a)(1) of such section 235C, disaggregated 

4 by whether the alien concerned was processed under 

5 the procedures described in section 235(b)(1) or 

6 235B of such Act; 

7 (2) the ability of the Secretary to comply with 

8 the timelines for provision of work authorization pre9 scribed in subparagraphs (A) through (C) of section 

10 235C(a)(2) of such Act, including whether com11 plying with subparagraphs (A) and (B) of such sec12 tion 235C(a)(2) has caused delays in the processing 

13 of such aliens; 

14 (3) the number of employment authorizations 

15 revoked due to an alien’s failure to comply with the 

16 requirements under section 235B(f)(5)(B) of the 

17 Immigration and Nationality Act, as added by sec18 tion 141, or for any other reason, along with the ar19 ticulated basis; and 

20 (4) the average time for the revocation of an 

21 employment authorization if an alien is authorized to 

22 work under section 235C of the Immigration and 

23 Nationality Act and is subsequently ordered re24 moved. 


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1 SEC. 602. LEGAL ACCESS IN CUSTODIAL SETTINGS. 

2 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact3 ment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary 

4 shall submit a report to the appropriate committees of 

5 Congress and to the public regarding alien access to legal 

6 representation and consultation in custodial settings, in7 cluding— 

8 (1) the total number of aliens who secured or 

9 failed to secure legal representation pursuant to sec10 tion 235(b)(1)(B)(iv)(V) of the Immigration and 

11 Nationality Act, as added by section 511, before the 

12 protection determination under section 

13 235(b)(1)(B)(i) of such Act, including the disposi14 tion of such alien’s interview; 

15 (2) the total number of aliens who waived the 

16 72-hour period pursuant to section 

17 235(b)(1)(B)(iv)(IV)(bb) of such Act, including the 

18 disposition of the alien’s protection determination 

19 pursuant to section 235(b)(1)(B)(i) of such Act; 

20 (3) the total number of aliens who required a 

21 verbal interpretation of the information about 

22 screenings and interviews pursuant to section 

23 235(b)(1)(B)(iv) of such Act, disaggregated by the 

24 number of aliens who received or did not receive 

25 such an interpretation, respectively, pursuant to sec26 tion 235(b)(1)(B)(iv)(III) of such Act, including the 


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1 disposition of their respective protection determina2 tions pursuant to section 235(b)(1)(B)(i) of such 

3 Act; 

4 (4) the total number of aliens who received in5 formation, either verbally or in writing, in their na6 tive language; and 

7 (5) whether such policies and procedures with 

8 respect to access provided in section 

9 235(b)(1)(B)(iv) have been made available publicly. 

10 SEC. 603. CREDIBLE FEAR AND PROTECTION DETERMINA11 TIONS. 

12 Not later than 1 year and 60 days after the date of 

13 the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the 

14 Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services 

15 shall submit a report to the appropriate committees of 

16 Congress and to the public that sets forth— 

17 (1) the number of aliens who requested or re18 ceived a protection determination pursuant to sec19 tion 235(b)(1)(B) of the Immigration and Nation20 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1225(b)(1)(B)); 

21 (2) the number of aliens who requested or re22 ceived a protection determination pursuant to sec23 tion 235B(b) of such Act, as added by section 141; 

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1 ception under section 235(b)(1)(B)(vi) of such Act, 

2 disaggregated by specific asylum exception; 

3 (4) the number of aliens for whom an asylum 

4 officer determined that an alien may be eligible for 

5 a waiver under section 235(b)(1)(B)(vi) of such Act 

6 and did not apply such asylum exception to such 

7 alien; 

8 (5) the number of aliens described in paragraph 

9 (1) or (2) who— 

10 (A) received a positive screening or deter11 mination; or 

12 (B) received a negative screening or deter13 mination; 

14 (6) the number of aliens described in paragraph 

15 (5)(B) who requested reconsideration or appeal of a 

16 negative screening and the disposition of such re17 quests; 

18 (7) the number of aliens described in paragraph 

19 (6) who, upon reconsideration— 

20 (A) received a positive screening or deter21 mination, as applicable; or 

22 (B) received a negative screening or deter23 mination, as applicable; 


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1 (8) the number of aliens described in paragraph 

2 (5)(B) who appealed a decision subsequent to a re3 quest for reconsideration; 

4 (9) the number of aliens described in paragraph 

5 (5)(B) who, upon appeal of a decision, disaggregated 

6 by whether or not such alien requested reconsider7 ation of a negative screening— 

8 (A) received a positive screening or deter9 mination, as applicable; or 

10 (B) received negative screening or deter11 mination, as applicable; and 

12 (10) the number of aliens who withdraw their 

13 application for admission, including— 

14 (A) whether such alien could read or write; 

15 (B) whether the withdrawal occurred in 

16 the alien’s native language; 

17 (C) the age of such alien; and 

18 (D) the Federal agency or component that 

19 processed such withdrawal. 

20 SEC. 604. PUBLICATION OF OPERATIONAL STATISTICS BY 

21 U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Beginning in the second calendar 

23 month beginning after the date of the enactment of this 

24 Act, the Commissioner for U.S. Customs and Border Pro25 tection shall publish, not later than the seventh day of 


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1 each month, on a publicly available website of the Depart2 ment, information from the previous month relating to— 

3 (1) the number of alien encounters, 

4 disaggregated by— 

5 (A) whether such aliens are admissible or 

6 inadmissible, including the basis for such deter7 minations; 

8 (B) the U.S. Border Patrol sector and 

9 U.S. Customs and Border Protection field office 

10 that recorded the encounter; 

11 (C) any outcomes recorded in the terrorist 

12 screening database (as such term is defined in 

13 section 2101 of the Homeland Security Act of 

14 2002 (6 U.S.C. 621)), including— 

15 (i) whether the alien is found to be in16 admissible or removeable due to a specific 

17 ground relating to terrorism; 

18 (ii) the alien’s country of nationality, 

19 race or ethnic identification, and age; and 

20 (iii) whether the alien’s alleged ter21 rorism is related to domestic or inter22 national actors, if available; 

23 (D) aliens with active Federal or State 

24 warrants for arrest in the United States and 


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1 the nature of the crimes justifying such war2 rants; 

3 (E) the nationality of the alien; 

4 (F) whether the alien encountered is a sin5 gle adult, an individual in a family unit, an un6 accompanied child, or an accompanied child; 

7 (G) the average time the alien remained in 

8 custody, disaggregated by demographic infor9 mation; 

10 (H) the processing disposition of each alien 

11 described in this paragraph upon such alien’s 

12 release from the custody of U.S. Customs and 

13 Border Protection, disaggregated by nationality; 

14 (I) the number of aliens who are paroled 

15 pursuant to section 212(d)(5) of the Immigra16 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(d)(5)), 

17 disaggregated by geographic region or sector; 

18 (J) the recidivism rate of aliens described 

19 in this paragraph, including the definition of 

20 ‘‘recidivism’’ and notice of any changes to such 

21 definition; and 

22 (K) aliens who have a confirmed gang af23 filiation, including— 


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1 (i) whether such alien was determined 

2 to be inadmissible or removable due to 

3 such affiliation; 

4 (ii) the specific gang affiliation al5 leged; 

6 (iii) the basis of such allegation; and 

7 (iv) the Federal agency or component 

8 that made such allegation or determina9 tion; 

10 (2) seizures, disaggregated by the U.S. Border 

11 Patrol sector and U.S. Customs and Border Protec12 tion field office that recorded the encounter, of— 

13 (A) narcotics; 

14 (B) firearms, whether inbound or out15 bound, including whether such firearms were 

16 manufactured in the United States, if known; 

17 (C) monetary instruments, whether in18 bound and outbound; and 

19 (D) other specifically identified contra20 band; 

21 (3) with respect to border emergency authority 

22 described in section 244A of the Immigration and 

23 Nationality Act, as added by section 301— 

24 (A) the number of days such authority was 

25 in effect; 


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1 (B) the number of encounters (as defined 

2 in section 244A(i)(3)) of such Act, 

3 disaggregated by U.S. Border Patrol sector and 

4 U.S. Customs and Border Patrol field office; 

5 (C) the number of summary removals 

6 made under such authority; 

7 (D) the number of aliens who manifested 

8 a fear of persecution or torture and were 

9 screened for withholding of removal or for pro10 tection under the Convention Against Torture, 

11 and the disposition of each such screening, in12 cluding the processing disposition or outcome; 

13 (E) the number of aliens who were 

14 screened at a port of entry in a safe and orderly 

15 manner each day such authority was in effect, 

16 including the processing disposition or outcome; 

17 (F) whether such authority was exercised 

18 under subparagraph (A), (B)(i), or (B)(ii) of 

19 section 244A(b)(3) of such Act; 

20 (G) a public description of all the methods 

21 by which the Secretary determines if an alien 

22 may be screened in a safe and orderly manner; 

23 (H) the total number of languages that are 

24 available for such safe and orderly process; 


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1 (I) the number of aliens who were returned 

2 to a country that is not their country of nation3 ality; 

4 (J) the number of aliens who were re5 turned to any country without a humanitarian 

6 or protection determination during the use of 

7 such authority; 

8 (K) the number of United States citizens 

9 who were inadvertently detained, removed, or 

10 affected by such border emergency authority; 

11 (L) the number of individuals who have 

12 lawful permission to enter the United States 

13 and were inadvertently detained, removed, or 

14 affected by such border emergency authority; 

15 (M) a summary of the impact to lawful 

16 trade and travel during the use of such border 

17 emergency authority, disaggregated by port of 

18 entry; 

19 (N) the disaggregation of the information 

20 described in subparagraphs (C), (D), (E), (I), 

21 (J), (K), and (L) by the time the alien re22 mained in custody and by citizenship and family 

23 status, including— 

24 (i) single adults; 

25 (ii) aliens traveling in a family unit; 


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1 (iii) unaccompanied children; 

2 (iv) accompanied children; 

3 (4) information pertaining to agricultural in4 spections; 

5 (5) border rescues and mortality data; 

6 (6) information regarding trade and travel; and 

7 (7) with respect to aliens who were transferred 

8 from the physical custody of a State or Federal law 

9 enforcement agency or other State agency to the 

10 physical custody of a Federal agency or compo11 nent— 

12 (A) the specific States concerned; 

13 (B) whether such alien had initially been 

14 charged with a State crime before the State 

15 transferred such alien to such Federal agency 

16 or component; and 

17 (C) the underlying State crime with which 

18 the alien was charged. 

19 (b) TOTALS.—The information described in sub20 section (a) shall include the total amount of each element 

21 described in each such paragraph in the relevant unit of 

22 measurement for reporting month. 

23 (c) DEFINITIONS.—The monthly publication required 

24 under subsection (a) shall— 


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1 (1) include the definition of all terms used by 

2 the Commissioner; and 

3 (2) specifically note whether the definition of 

4 any term has been changed. 

5 (d) PROTECTION OF PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE IN6 FORMATION.—In preparing each publication pursuant to 

7 subsection (a), the Secretary shall— 

8 (1) protect any personally identifiable informa9 tion associated with aliens described in subsection 

10 (a); and 

11 (2) comply with all applicable privacy laws. 

12 SEC. 605. UTILIZATION OF PAROLE AUTHORITIES. 

13 Section 602(b) of the Illegal Immigration Reform and 

14 Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1182 

15 note) is amended to read as follows: 

16 ‘‘(b) ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days 

18 after the end of each fiscal year, the Secretary of 

19 Homeland Security shall submit a report to the 

20 Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate, the Com21 mittee on Homeland Security and Governmental Af22 fairs of the Senate, the Committee on the Judiciary 

23 of the House of Representatives, the Committee on 

24 Homeland Security of the House of Representatives, 

25 and the public that identifies the number of aliens 


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1 paroled into the United States pursuant to section 

2 212(d)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

3 U.S.C. 1182(d)(5)). 

4 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—Each report required under 

5 paragraph (1) shall include— 

6 ‘‘(A) the total number of aliens— 

7 ‘‘(i) who submitted applications for 

8 parole; 

9 ‘‘(ii) whose parole applications were 

10 approved; or 

11 ‘‘(iii) who were granted parole into 

12 the United States during the fiscal year 

13 immediately preceding the fiscal year dur14 ing which such report is submitted; 

15 ‘‘(B) the elements described in subpara16 graph (A), disaggregated by— 

17 ‘‘(i) citizenship or nationality; 

18 ‘‘(ii) demographic categories; 

19 ‘‘(iii) the component or subcomponent 

20 of the Department of Homeland Security 

21 that granted such parole; 

22 ‘‘(iv) the parole rationale or class of 

23 admission, if applicable; and 

24 ‘‘(v) the sector, field office, area of re25 sponsibility, or port of entry where such 


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1 parole was requested, approved, or grant2 ed; 

3 ‘‘(C) the number of aliens who requested 

4 re-parole, disaggregated by the elements de5 scribed in subparagraph (B), and the number of 

6 denials of re-parole requests; 

7 ‘‘(D) the number of aliens whose parole 

8 was terminated for failing to abide by the terms 

9 of parole, disaggregated by the elements de10 scribed in subparagraph (B); 

11 ‘‘(E) for any parole rationale or class of 

12 admission which requires sponsorship, the num13 ber of sponsor petitions which were— 

14 ‘‘(i) confirmed; 

15 ‘‘(ii) confirmed subsequent to a non16 confirmation; or 

17 ‘‘(iii) denied; 

18 ‘‘(F) for any parole rationale or class of 

19 admission in which a foreign government has 

20 agreed to accept returns of third country na21 tionals, the number of returns of such third 

22 country nationals such foreign government has 

23 accepted; 


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1 ‘‘(G) the number of aliens who filed for 

2 asylum after being paroled into the United 

3 States; and 

4 ‘‘(H) the number of aliens described in 

5 subparagraph (G) who were granted employ6 ment authorization based solely on a grant of 

7 parole. 

8 ‘‘(3) PROTECTION OF PERSONALLY IDENTIFI9 ABLE INFORMATION.—In preparing each report pur10 suant to paragraph (1), the Secretary shall— 

11 ‘‘(A) protect any personally identifiable in12 formation associated with aliens described in 

13 paragraph (1); and 

14 ‘‘(B) comply with all applicable privacy 

15 laws.’’. 

16 SEC. 606. ACCOUNTABILITY IN PROVISIONAL REMOVAL 

17 PROCEEDINGS. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year and 30 days 

19 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

20 shall submit a report to the appropriate committees of 

21 Congress and the public regarding the implementation of 

22 sections 235B and 240D of the Immigration and Nation23 ality Act, as added by sections 3141 and 3142 during the 

24 previous 12-month period. 


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1 (b) CONTENTS.—Each report required under sub2 section (a) shall include— 

3 (1) the number of aliens processed pursuant to 

4 section 235B(b) of the Immigration and Nationality 

5 Act, disaggregated by— 

6 (A) whether the alien was a single adult or 

7 a member of a family unit; 

8 (B) the number of aliens who— 

9 (i) were provided proper service and 

10 notice upon release from custody pursuant 

11 to section 235B(b)(2) of such Act; or 

12 (ii) were not given such proper service 

13 and notice; 

14 (C) the number of aliens who received a 

15 protection determination interview pursuant to 

16 section 235B(c) of such Act within the 90-day 

17 period required under section 235B(b)(3)(A) of 

18 such Act; 

19 (D) the number of aliens described in sub20 paragraph (C)— 

21 (i) who retained legal counsel; 

22 (ii) who received a positive protection 

23 determination; 

24 (iii) who received a negative protection 

25 determination; 


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1 (iv) for those aliens described in 

2 clause (iii), the number who— 

3 (I) requested reconsideration; 

4 (II) whether such reconsideration 

5 resulted in approval or denial; 

6 (III) whether an alien upon re7 ceiving a negative motion for reconsid8 eration filed an appeal; 

9 (IV) who appealed a negative de10 cision without filing for reconsider11 ation; 

12 (V) whether the appeal resulted 

13 in approval or denial, disaggregated 

14 by the elements in subclauses (III) 

15 and (IV); and 

16 (VI) whether the alien, upon re17 ceiving a negative decision as de18 scribed in subclauses (III) and (V), 

19 was removed from the United States 

20 upon receiving such negative decision; 

21 (v) who absconded during such pro22 ceedings; and 

23 (vi) who failed to receive proper serv24 ice; 


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1 (E) the number of aliens who were proc2 essed pursuant to section 235B(f) of such Act; 

3 and 

4 (F) the number of aliens described in sub5 paragraph (E) who submitted their application 

6 pursuant to section 235B(f)(2)(B)(i) of such 

7 Act; 

8 (2) the average time taken by the Department 

9 of Homeland Security— 

10 (A) to perform a protection determination 

11 interview pursuant to section 235B(b) of such 

12 Act; 

13 (B) to serve notice of a protection deter14 mination pursuant to section 235B(e) of such 

15 Act after a determination has been made pursu16 ant to section 235B(b) of such Act; 

17 (C) to provide an alien with a work author18 ization pursuant to section 235C of such Act, 

19 as added by section 501, disaggregated by the 

20 requirements under subparagraphs (A), (B), 

21 and (C) of section 235C(a)(2) of such Act; and 

22 (D) the utilization of the Alternatives to 

23 Detention program authorized under section 

24 235B(a)(3) of such Act, disaggregated by— 


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1 (i) types of alternatives to detention 

2 used to supervise the aliens after being re3 leased from physical custody; 

4 (ii) the level of compliance by the 

5 alien with the rules of the Alternatives to 

6 Detention program; and 

7 (iii) the total cost of each Alternatives 

8 to Detention type; 

9 (3) the number of aliens processed pursuant to 

10 section 240D(d) of such Act, disaggregated by— 

11 (A) whether the alien was a single adult or 

12 a member of a family unit; 

13 (B) the number of aliens who were pro14 vided proper service and notice of a protection 

15 determination pursuant to section 235B(e) of 

16 such Act; 

17 (C) the number of aliens who received a 

18 protection merits interview pursuant to section 

19 240D(c)(3) of such Act within the 90-day pe20 riod required under section 240D(b) of such 

21 Act; 

22 (D) the number of aliens who received a 

23 positive protection merits determination pursu24 ant to section 240D(d)(2) of such Act; 


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1 (E) the number of aliens who received a 

2 negative protection merits determination pursu3 ant to section 240D(d)(3) of such Act, 

4 disaggregated by the number of aliens who ap5 pealed the determination pursuant to section 

6 240D(e) of such Act and who received a result 

7 pursuant to section 240D(e)(7) of such Act; 

8 (F) the number of aliens who were proc9 essed pursuant to section 240D of such Act 

10 who retained legal counsel; 

11 (G) the number of aliens who appeared at 

12 such proceedings; and 

13 (H) the number of aliens who absconded 

14 during such proceedings; and 

15 (4) the average time taken by the Department 

16 of Homeland Security— 

17 (A) to perform a protection merits inter18 view pursuant to section 240D(d) of such Act; 

19 (B) to serve notice of a protection merits 

20 determination pursuant to section 240D(d) of 

21 such Act; and 

22 (C) the utilization of Alternatives to De23 tention program authorized under section 

24 240D(c)(2) of such Act, disaggregated by— 


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1 (i) types of alternatives to detention 

2 used to supervise the aliens after being re3 leased from physical custody; and 

4 (ii) the level of compliance by the 

5 aliens with rules of the Alternatives to De6 tention program. 

7 (c) PROTECTION OF PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE IN8 FORMATION.—In preparing each report pursuant to sub9 section (a), the Secretary shall— 

10 (1) protect any personally identifiable informa11 tion associated with aliens described in subsection 

12 (a); and 

13 (2) comply with all applicable privacy laws. 

14 SEC. 607. ACCOUNTABILITY IN VOLUNTARY REPATRIATION, 

15 WITHDRAWAL, AND DEPARTURE. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year and 30 days 

17 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

18 shall submit a report to the appropriate committees of 

19 Congress regarding the implementation of section 240G 

20 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as added by sec21 tion 144. 

22 (b) CONTENTS.—The report required under sub23 section (a) shall include the number of aliens who utilized 

24 the provisions of such section 240G, disaggregated by— 

25 (1) demographic information; 


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1 (2) the period in which the election took place; 

2 (3) the total costs of repatriation flight when 

3 compared to the cost to charter a private, commer4 cial flight for such return; 

5 (4) alien use of reintegration or reception pro6 grams in the alien’s country of nationality after re7 moval from the United States; 

8 (5) the number of aliens who failed to depart 

9 in compliance with section 240G(i)(2) of such Act; 

10 (6) the number of aliens to which a civil penalty 

11 and a period of ineligibility was applied; and 

12 (7) the number of aliens who did depart. 

13 SEC. 608. GAO ANALYSIS OF IMMIGRATION JUDGE AND ASY14 LUM OFFICER DECISION-MAKING REGARD15 ING ASYLUM, WITHHOLDING OF REMOVAL, 

16 AND PROTECTION UNDER THE CONVENTION 

17 AGAINST TORTURE. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after the 

19 Comptroller General of the United States submits the cer20 tification described in section 146(d)(3), the Comptroller 

21 General shall analyze the decision rates of immigration 

22 judges and asylum officers regarding aliens who have re23 ceived a positive protection determination and have been 

24 referred to proceedings under section 240 or 240D of the 


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1 Immigration and Nationality Act, as applicable, to deter2 mine— 

3 (1) whether the Executive Office for Immigra4 tion Review and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration 

5 Services have any differential in rate of decisions for 

6 cases involving asylum, withholding of removal, or 

7 protection under the Convention Against Torture 

8 and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment 

9 or Punishment, done at New York December 10, 

10 1984; and 

11 (2) the causes for any such differential, includ12 ing any policies, procedures, or other administrative 

13 measures. 

14 (b) RECOMMENDATIONS.—Upon completing the anal15 ysis required under subsection (a), the Comptroller Gen16 eral shall submit recommendations to the Director of the 

17 Executive Office for Immigration Review and the Director 

18 of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services regarding 

19 any administrative or procedural changes necessary to en20 sure uniformity in decision-making between those agen21 cies, which may not include quotas. 

22 SEC. 609. REPORT ON COUNSEL FOR UNACCOMPANIED 

23 ALIEN CHILDREN. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 days after the 

25 date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, 


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1 the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall submit 

2 a report to the appropriate committees of Congress with 

3 respect to unaccompanied alien children who received ap4 pointed counsel pursuant to section 235(c)(5)(B) of the 

5 William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reau6 thorization Act of 2008, as added by section 512, includ7 ing— 

8 (1) the number of unaccompanied alien children 

9 who obtained such counsel compared to the number 

10 of such children who did not obtain such counsel; 

11 (2) the sponsorship category of unaccompanied 

12 alien children who obtained counsel; 

13 (3) the age ranges of unaccompanied alien chil14 dren who obtained counsel; 

15 (4) the administrative appeals, if any, of unac16 companied alien children who obtained counsel; and 

17 (5) the case outcomes of unaccompanied alien 

18 children who obtained counsel. 

19 (b) PROTECTION OF PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE IN20 FORMATION.—In preparing each report pursuant to sub21 section (a), the Secretary of Health and Human Services 

22 shall— 

23 (1) protect any personally identifiable informa24 tion associated with aliens described in subsection 

25 (a); and 


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1 (2) comply with all applicable privacy laws. 

2 SEC. 610. RECALCITRANT COUNTRIES. 

3 Section 243(d) of the Immigration and Nationality 

4 Act (8 U.S.C. 1253(d)) is amended— 

5 (1) by striking ‘‘On being notified’’ and insert6 ing the following: 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—On being notified’’; and 

8 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(2) REPORT ON RECALCITRANT COUNTRIES.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 

11 days after the last day of each fiscal year, the 

12 Secretary of Homeland Security and the Sec13 retary of State shall jointly— 

14 ‘‘(i) prepare an unclassified annual re15 port, which may include a classified annex, 

16 that includes the information described in 

17 subparagraph (C); and 

18 ‘‘(ii) submit such report to Committee 

19 on Homeland Security and Governmental 

20 Affairs of the Senate; the Committee on 

21 the Judiciary of the Senate, the Committee 

22 on Foreign Relations of the Senate, the 

23 Committee on Homeland Security of the 

24 House of Representatives, the Committee 

25 on the Judiciary of the House of RepVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:05 May 21, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00284 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4361.PCS S4361

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1 resentatives, and the Committee on For2 eign Affairs of the House of Representa3 tives. 

4 ‘‘(B) BRIEFING.—Not later than 30 days 

5 after the date on which a report is submitted 

6 pursuant to subparagraph (A), designees of the 

7 Secretary of Homeland Security and of the Sec8 retary of State shall brief the committees re9 ferred to in subparagraph (A)(ii) regarding any 

10 measures taken to encourage countries to ac11 cept the return of their citizens, subjects, or na12 tionals, or aliens whose last habitual residence 

13 was within each such country, who have been 

14 ordered removed from the United States. 

15 ‘‘(C) CONTENTS.—Each report prepared 

16 pursuant to subparagraph (A)(i) shall include— 

17 ‘‘(i) a list of all countries that— 

18 ‘‘(I) deny the acceptance of their 

19 citizens, subjects, or nationals, or 

20 aliens whose last habitual residence 

21 was within such country, who have 

22 been ordered removed to such country 

23 from the United States; or 

24 ‘‘(II) unreasonably delay the ac25 ceptance of their citizens, subjects, or 


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1 nationals, or aliens whose last habit2 ual residence was within such country, 

3 who have been ordered removed to 

4 such country from the United States; 

5 ‘‘(ii) for each country described in 

6 clause (i)(II), the average length of delay 

7 of such citizens, subjects, nationals, or 

8 aliens acceptance into such country; 

9 ‘‘(iii) a list of the foreign countries 

10 that have placed unreasonable limitations 

11 upon the acceptance of their citizens, sub12 jects, or nationals, or aliens whose last ha13 bitual residence was within such country, 

14 who have been ordered removed to such 

15 country from the United States; 

16 ‘‘(iv) a description of the criteria used 

17 to determine that a country described 

18 under clause (iii) has placed such unrea19 sonable limitations; 

20 ‘‘(v) the number of aliens ordered re21 moved from the United States to a country 

22 described in clause (i) or (iii) whose re23 moval from the United States was pending 

24 as of the last day of the previous fiscal 

25 year, including— 


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1 ‘‘(I) the number of aliens who— 

2 ‘‘(aa) received a denial of a 

3 work authorization; and 

4 ‘‘(bb) are not eligible to re5 quest work authorization; 

6 ‘‘(vi) the number of aliens ordered re7 moved from the United States to a country 

8 described in clause (i) or (iii) whose re9 moval from the United States was pending 

10 as of the last day of the previous fiscal 

11 year and who are being detained, 

12 disaggregated by— 

13 ‘‘(I) the length of such detention; 

14 ‘‘(II) the aliens who requested a 

15 review of the significant likelihood of 

16 their removal in the reasonably fore17 seeable future; 

18 ‘‘(III) the aliens for whom the re19 quest for release under such review 

20 was denied; 

21 ‘‘(IV) the aliens who remain de22 tained on account of special cir23 cumstances despite no significant like24 lihood that such aliens will be re25 moved in the foreseeable future, 


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1 disaggregated by the specific cir2 cumstance; 

3 ‘‘(V) the aliens described in sub4 clause (IV) who are being detained 

5 based on a determination that they 

6 are specially dangerous; 

7 ‘‘(VI) the aliens described in sub8 clause (V) whose request to review the 

9 basis for their continued detention 

10 was denied; 

11 ‘‘(VII) demographic categories, 

12 including part of a family unit, single 

13 adults, and unaccompanied alien chil14 dren; 

15 ‘‘(vii) the number of aliens referred to 

16 in clauses (i) through (iii) who— 

17 ‘‘(I) have criminal convictions, 

18 disaggregated by National Crime In19 formation Center code, whether mis20 demeanors or felonies; 

21 ‘‘(II) are considered national se22 curity threats to the United States; 

23 ‘‘(III) are members of a criminal 

24 gang or another organized criminal 


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1 organization, if found to be inadmis2 sible or removable on such grounds; or 

3 ‘‘(IV) have been released from 

4 U.S. Immigration and Customs En5 forcement custody on an order of su6 pervision and the type of supervision 

7 and compliance with such supervision, 

8 if applicable; 

9 ‘‘(viii) a description of the actions 

10 taken by the Department of Homeland Se11 curity and the Department of State to en12 courage foreign nations to accept the re13 turn of their nationals; and 

14 ‘‘(ix) the total number of individuals 

15 that such jurisdiction has accepted who are 

16 not citizens, subjects, or nationals, or 

17 aliens who last habitually resided within 

18 such jurisdiction and have been removed 

19 from the United States, if any.’’. 

20 TITLE VII—OTHER MATTERS 

21 SEC. 701. SEVERABILITY. 

22 If any provision of this division, any amendment 

23 made by this division, or the application of any such provi24 sion or amendment to any person or circumstance is held 

25 to be unconstitutional, the remainder of this division, the 


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1 amendments made by this division, and the application of 

2 such provisions or amendments to any other person or cir3 cumstance shall not be affected. 

4 TITLE VIII—BUDGETARY 

5 EFFECTS 

6 SEC. 801. BUDGETARY EFFECTS. 

7 (a) STATUTORY PAYGO SCORECARDS.—The budg8 etary effects of this division shall not be entered on either 

9 PAYGO scorecard maintained pursuant to section 4(d) of 

10 the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010. 

11 (b) SENATE PAYGO SCORECARDS.—The budgetary 

12 effects of this division shall not be entered on any PAYGO 

13 scorecard maintained for purposes of section 4106 of H. 

14 Con. Res. 71 (115th Congress). 

15 (c) CLASSIFICATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS.— 

16 Notwithstanding Rule 3 of the Budget Scorekeeping 

17 Guidelines set forth in the joint explanatory statement of 

18 the committee of conference accompanying Conference Re19 port 105–217 and section 250(c)(8) of the Balanced 

20 Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, the 

21 budgetary effects of this division shall not be estimated— 

22 (1) for purposes of section 251 of such Act; 

23 (2) for purposes of an allocation to the Com24 mittee on Appropriations pursuant to section 302(a) 

25 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974; and 


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1 (3) for purposes of paragraph (4)(C) of section 

2 3 of the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 as 

3 being included in an appropriation Act. 


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Calendar No. 397 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4361 

A BILL 

Making emergency supplemental appropriations for 

other purposes. fiscal year ending September 30, 2024, and for border security and combatting fentanyl for the 

MAY 20, 2024 

Read the second time and placed on the calendar 


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