[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 239 (Thursday, December 14, 2023)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 86541-86543]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-27630]




                        Presidential Documents 



Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 239 / Thursday, December 14, 2023 / 
Presidential Documents

___________________________________________________________________

Title 3--
The President

[[Page 86541]]

                Proclamation 10685 of December 11, 2023

                
Suspension of Entry as Immigrants and 
                Nonimmigrants of Persons Enabling Corruption

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                On June 3, 2021, through National Security Study 
                Memorandum 1 (NSSM-1), I established the fight against 
                global corruption as a core national security interest, 
                stating that corruption threatens United States 
                national security, economic equity, global anti-poverty 
                and development efforts, and democracy itself. By 
                effectively preventing and countering corruption and 
                demonstrating the advantages of transparent and 
                accountable governance, we can secure a critical 
                advantage for the United States and other democracies.

                On December 6, 2021, pursuant to NSSM-1, my 
                Administration issued the first United States Strategy 
                on Countering Corruption (Strategy), which recognizes 
                the strategic impact of corruption and directs the 
                modernization of our efforts to prevent and combat it. 
                The Strategy also seeks to deepen global partnerships 
                and commitment to eliminate safe havens for corrupt 
                actors and their criminal proceeds, including in the 
                United States.

                The Strategy reflects the idea that corruption, 
                including kleptocracy, cannot thrive without a 
                supportive network of actors who enable and often 
                benefit from such conduct. Activity by these 
                ``enablers''--who are often professional service 
                providers--often occurs through opaque legal structures 
                and financial mechanisms. This activity can take many 
                forms, such as supporting corrupt actors in the 
                performance of, benefitting from, evading 
                responsibility for, or laundering the proceeds of 
                corruption.

                Collaboration between corrupt public officials and 
                their enablers is pernicious and facilitates the spread 
                of corruption across borders and across sectors. The 
                United States therefore needs to invoke all available 
                legal, policy, diplomatic, economic, and financial 
                tools to deter those who perpetuate corruption, whether 
                they are public officials or private individuals. These 
                tools include authorities to counter money laundering 
                and terrorist financing, as well as targeted financial 
                sanctions--such as those specified in Executive Order 
                13818 of December 20, 2017 (Blocking the Property of 
                Persons Involved in Serious Human Rights Abuse or 
                Corruption)--which can prevent the flow of corrupt 
                proceeds through United States and international 
                financial systems.

                Other existing authorities, including Presidential 
                Proclamation 7750 of January 12, 2004 (To Suspend Entry 
                as Immigrants or Nonimmigrants of Persons Engaged in or 
                Benefiting From Corruption), and the provision commonly 
                included at section 7031(c) of the annual Department of 
                State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs 
                Appropriations Act (e.g., Public Law 117-328), have 
                allowed the United States Government to deny safe haven 
                to certain corrupt actors by restricting their entry 
                into the United States. However, additional authority 
                is needed to fully address the supporting networks of 
                enablers of corruption, including those who may seek 
                entry into the United States.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of 
                the United States of America, by the authority vested 
                in me by the Constitution and the

[[Page 86542]]

                laws of the United States, including sections 212(f) 
                and 215(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 
                U.S.C. 1182(f) and 1185(a), and section 301 of title 3, 
                United States Code, hereby find that the unrestricted 
                immigrant and nonimmigrant entry into the United States 
                of persons described in section 1 of this proclamation, 
                except as provided for in section 4 of this 
                proclamation, would be detrimental to the interests of 
                the United States, and that their entry should be 
                subject to certain restrictions, limitations, and 
                exceptions. I therefore hereby proclaim the following:

                Section 1. Suspension and Limitation on Entry. The 
                entry into the United States, as immigrants or 
                nonimmigrants, of the following persons is hereby 
                suspended:

                    (a) Persons who have enabled, facilitated, or 
                otherwise been involved in significant corruption, 
                including through the laundering of its proceeds or 
                obstruction of judicial or investigative processes, 
                among other acts; and
                    (b) The immediate family members of the persons 
                described in subsection (a) of this section.

                Sec. 2. Authority of the Secretary of State to Identify 
                Covered Individuals. Persons covered by section 1 of 
                this proclamation shall be identified by the Secretary 
                of State, or the Secretary's designee, in the 
                Secretary's sole discretion, pursuant to such 
                procedures as the Secretary may establish.

                Sec. 3. Implementation of Suspension and Limitation on 
                Entry. The Secretary of State shall implement this 
                proclamation as it applies to visas pursuant to such 
                procedures as the Secretary of State, in consultation 
                with the Secretary of Homeland Security, may establish. 
                The Secretary of Homeland Security shall implement this 
                proclamation as it applies to the entry of noncitizens 
                pursuant to such procedures as the Secretary of 
                Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary 
                of State, may establish.

                Sec. 4. Scope of Suspension and Limitation on Entry. 
                Section 1 of this proclamation shall not apply to:

                    (a) any lawful permanent resident of the United 
                States;
                    (b) any individual who has been granted asylum by 
                the United States, any refugee who has already been 
                admitted to the United States, or any individual 
                granted withholding of removal or protection under the 
                Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or 
                Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and nothing in this 
                proclamation shall be construed to affect any 
                individual's eligibility for asylum, refugee status, 
                withholding of removal, or protection under the 
                Convention Against Torture, consistent with the laws 
                and regulations of the United States; and
                    (c) any person otherwise covered by section 1 of 
                this proclamation, upon determination by the Secretary 
                of State that the person's entry would not be contrary 
                to the interests of the United States, including when 
                the Secretary of State so determines, based on a 
                recommendation of the Attorney General, that the 
                person's entry would further important United States 
                law enforcement objectives. In exercising this 
                responsibility, the Secretary of State shall consult 
                the Secretary of Homeland Security on matters related 
                to admissibility or inadmissibility within the 
                authority of the Secretary of Homeland Security.

                Sec. 5. Termination. This proclamation shall remain in 
                effect until terminated by the President. The Secretary 
                of State shall, as circumstances warrant, recommend 
                whether the President should continue, modify, or 
                terminate this proclamation.

                Sec. 6. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this 
                proclamation shall be construed to impair or otherwise 
                affect:

(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or 
the head thereof; or

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget 
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

                    (b) This proclamation shall be implemented 
                consistent with applicable law and subject to the 
                availability of appropriations.

[[Page 86543]]

                    (c) Nothing in this proclamation shall be construed 
                to derogate from United States Government obligations 
                under applicable international agreements, or to 
                suspend entry based solely on a noncitizen's ideology, 
                opinions, or beliefs. Nothing in this proclamation 
                shall be construed to limit the authority of the United 
                States to admit or to suspend the admission or entry of 
                particular individuals into the United States under the 
                Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.) 
                or under any other provision of United States law.
                    (d) This proclamation is not intended to, and does 
                not, create any right or benefit, substantive or 
                procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any 
                party against the United States, its departments, 
                agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or 
                agents, or any other person.

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                eleventh day of December, in the year of our Lord two 
                thousand twenty-three, and of the Independence of the 
                United States of America the two hundred and forty-
                eighth.
                <GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT>
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 2023-27630
Filed 12-13-23; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F4-P