II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2954 

To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to alter the definition of 

‘‘conviction’’, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 7, 2021 

Mr. PADILLA (for himself, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. BOOKER, Ms. WARREN, Mr. 

SANDERS, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. 

WHITEHOUSE, and Ms. BALDWIN) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to alter 

the definition of ‘‘conviction’’, 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 ‘‘Fair Adjudications for 

5 Immigrants Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. EXPUNGEMENT AND SENTENCING. 

7 (a) DEFINITION OF CONVICTION.— 


ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 2954 IS

1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 101(a)(48) of the 

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

3 1101(a)(48)) is amended to read as follows: 

4 ‘‘(48)(A) The term ‘conviction’ means a formal judg5 ment of guilt entered by a court. 

6 ‘‘(B) The following may not be considered a convic7 tion for purposes of this Act: 

8 ‘‘(i) An adjudication or judgment of guilt that 

9 has been dismissed, expunged, deferred, annulled, in10 validated, withheld, vacated, or pardoned federally or 

11 by a State or locality, including by the President of 

12 the United States or by a person or agency author13 ized by State law to grant such pardon. 

14 ‘‘(ii) Any adjudication in which the court has 

15 issued— 

16 ‘‘(I) a judicial recommendation against re17 moval; 

18 ‘‘(II) an order of probation without entry 

19 of judgment; or 

20 ‘‘(III) any similar disposition. 

21 ‘‘(iii) A judgment that is on appeal or is within 

22 the time to file direct appeal. 

23 ‘‘(C)(i) Unless otherwise provided, with respect to an 

24 offense, any reference to a term of imprisonment or a senVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:51 Oct 09, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2954.IS S2954

ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 2954 IS

1 tence is considered to include only the period of incarcer2 ation ordered by a court. 

3 ‘‘(ii) Any such reference shall be considered to ex4 clude any portion of a sentence of which the imposition 

5 or execution was suspended.’’. 

6 (2) RETROACTIVE APPLICABILITY.—The 

7 amendment made by this subsection shall apply with 

8 respect to any conviction, adjudication, or judgment 

9 entered before, on, or after the date of the enact10 ment of this Act. 

11 (b) JUDICIAL RECOMMENDATION AGAINST RE12 MOVAL.—The grounds of inadmissibility and deportability 

13 under sections 212(a)(2) and 237(a)(2) of the Immigra14 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(2) and 

15 1227(a)(2)) shall not apply to an alien with a criminal 

16 conviction if, after having provided notice and an oppor17 tunity to respond to the prosecuting authorities, the sen18 tencing court issues a recommendation to the Secretary 

19 that the alien not be removed on the basis of the convic20 tion. 

Æ 


ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with BILLS