I 

119TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 175 

To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act with respect to aliens 

associated with criminal gangs, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 3, 2025 

Mr. MCCLINTOCK (for himself, Mr. WEBER of Texas, Ms. TENNEY, Mr. 

NEHLS, Ms. HAGEMAN, and Mr. OGLES) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act with respect 

to aliens associated with criminal gangs, 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 ‘‘Deport Alien Gang 

5 Members Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. GROUNDS OF INADMISSIBILITY AND DEPORT2 ABILITY FOR ALIEN GANG MEMBERS. 

3 (a) DEFINITION OF GANG MEMBER.—Section 101(a) 

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

5 1101(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(53) The term ‘criminal gang’ means an ongoing 

7 group, club, organization, or association of 5 or more per8 sons that has as 1 of its primary purposes the commission 

9 of 1 or more of the offenses described in this paragraph 

10 and the members of which engage, or have engaged within 

11 the past 5 years, in a continuing series of such offenses, 

12 or that has been designated as a criminal gang by the Sec13 retary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the At14 torney General, as meeting these criteria. The offenses de15 scribed, whether committed, in whole or in part, within 

16 or outside of the United States and regardless of whether 

17 the offenses occurred before, on, or after the date of the 

18 enactment of this paragraph, are the following: 

19 ‘‘(A) A Federal, State, local, or Tribal offense 

20 that is punishable by imprisonment for more than 1 

21 year and relates to a controlled substance (as so 

22 classified under the relevant Federal, State, local, or 

23 Tribal law), regardless of whether the substance is 

24 classified as a controlled substance under section 

25 102 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 

26 802). 


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1 ‘‘(B) A foreign offense that is punishable by im2 prisonment for more than 1 year and relates to a 

3 controlled substance as defined under section 102 of 

4 the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802). 

5 ‘‘(C) An offense that is punishable by imprison6 ment for more than 1 year and involves firearms or 

7 explosives (as defined under the relevant Federal, 

8 State, local, Tribal, or foreign law) or in violation of 

9 section 931 of title 18, United States Code (relating 

10 to purchase, ownership, or possession of body armor 

11 by violent felons). 

12 ‘‘(D) An offense under section 274 (relating to 

13 bringing in and harboring certain aliens), section 

14 277 (relating to aiding or assisting certain aliens to 

15 enter the United States), or section 278 (relating to 

16 importation of alien for immoral purpose). 

17 ‘‘(E) A crime of violence (as defined in section 

18 16(a) of title 18, United States Code). 

19 ‘‘(F) A crime involving obstruction of justice, 

20 tampering with or retaliating against a witness, vic21 tim, or informant, or burglary (as such terms are 

22 defined under the relevant Federal, State, local, 

23 Tribal, or foreign law). 

24 ‘‘(G) Any conduct punishable under sections 

25 1028, 1028A, and 1029 of title 18, United States 


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1 Code (relating to fraud, aggravated identity theft or 

2 fraud and related activity in connection with identi3 fication documents or access devices), sections 1581 

4 through 1594 of such title (relating to peonage, slav5 ery, and trafficking in persons), section 1951 of 

6 such title (relating to interference with commerce by 

7 threats or violence), section 1952 of such title (relat8 ing to interstate and foreign travel or transportation 

9 in aid of racketeering enterprises), section 1956 of 

10 such title (relating to the laundering of monetary in11 struments), section 1957 of such title (relating to 

12 engaging in monetary transactions in property de13 rived from specified unlawful activity), or sections 

14 2312 through 2315 of such title (relating to inter15 state transportation of stolen motor vehicles or sto16 len property). 

17 ‘‘(H) A conspiracy to commit an offense de18 scribed in subparagraphs (A) through (G).’’. 

19 (b) INADMISSIBILITY.—Section 212(a)(2) of such Act 

20 (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(2)) is amended by adding at the end 

21 the following: 

22 ‘‘(J) ALIENS ASSOCIATED WITH CRIMINAL

23 GANGS.—Any alien is inadmissible who a con24 sular officer, an immigration officer, the SecVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:17 Feb 01, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H175.IH H175

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1 retary of Homeland Security, or the Attorney 

2 General knows, or has reason to believe— 

3 ‘‘(i) is, or has been, a member of a 

4 criminal gang; 

5 ‘‘(ii) has promoted, conspired with, 

6 aided, or participated in the activities of a 

7 criminal gang, whether within or outside of 

8 the United States; or 

9 ‘‘(iii) seeks to enter the United States, 

10 or has entered the United States, in fur11 therance of the activities of a criminal 

12 gang, whether those activities take place 

13 within or outside of the United States.’’. 

14 (c) DEPORTABILITY.—Section 237(a)(2) of the Im15 migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1227(a)(2)) is 

16 amended by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(G) ALIENS ASSOCIATED WITH CRIMINAL

18 GANGS.—Any alien is deportable who— 

19 ‘‘(i) is or has been a member of a 

20 criminal gang; or 

21 ‘‘(ii) has promoted, conspired with, 

22 aided, or participated in the activities of a 

23 criminal gang, whether within or outside of 

24 the United States.’’. 

25 (d) DESIGNATION.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 2 of title II of the 

2 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182) is 

3 amended by inserting after section 219 the fol4 lowing: 

‘‘Sec. 220. Designation of criminal gang. 

5 ‘‘(a) DESIGNATION.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland 

7 Security, in consultation with the Attorney General, 

8 may designate a group, club, organization, or asso9 ciation of 5 or more persons as a criminal gang if 

10 the Secretary finds that their conduct is described in 

11 section 101(a)(53). 

12 ‘‘(2) PROCEDURE.— 

13 ‘‘(A) NOTIFICATION.—7 days before mak14 ing a designation under this subsection, the 

15 Secretary shall, by classified communication, 

16 notify the Speaker and minority leader of the 

17 House of Representatives, the president pro 

18 tempore, majority leader, and minority leader of 

19 the Senate, and the members of the relevant 

20 committees of the House of Representatives and 

21 the Senate, in writing, of the intent to des22 ignate a group, club, organization, or associa23 tion of 5 or more persons under this subsection 

24 and the factual basis therefor. 


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1 ‘‘(B) PUBLICATION IN THE FEDERAL REG2 ISTER.—The Secretary shall publish the des3 ignation in the Federal Register 7 days after 

4 providing the notification under subparagraph 

5 (A). 

6 ‘‘(3) RECORD.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In making a designa8 tion under this subsection, the Secretary shall 

9 create an administrative record. 

10 ‘‘(B) CLASSIFIED INFORMATION.—The 

11 Secretary may consider classified information in 

12 making a designation under this subsection. 

13 Classified information shall not be subject to 

14 disclosure for such time as it remains classified, 

15 except that such information may be disclosed 

16 to a court ex parte and in camera for purposes 

17 of judicial review under subsection (c). 

18 ‘‘(4) PERIOD OF DESIGNATION.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A designation under 

20 this subsection shall be effective for all purposes 

21 until revoked under paragraph (5) or (6) or set 

22 aside pursuant to subsection (c). 

23 ‘‘(B) REVIEW OF DESIGNATION UPON PE24 TITION.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary 

2 shall review the designation of a criminal 

3 gang under the procedures set forth in 

4 clauses (iii) and (iv) if the designated 

5 group, club, organization, or association of 

6 5 or more persons files a petition for rev7 ocation within the petition period described 

8 in clause (ii). 

9 ‘‘(ii) PETITION PERIOD.—For pur10 poses of clause (i)— 

11 ‘‘(I) if the designated group, 

12 club, organization, or association of 5 

13 or more persons has not previously 

14 filed a petition for revocation under 

15 this subparagraph, the petition period 

16 begins 2 years after the date on which 

17 the designation was made; or 

18 ‘‘(II) if the designated group, 

19 club, organization, or association of 5 

20 or more persons has previously filed a 

21 petition for revocation under this sub22 paragraph, the petition period begins 

23 2 years after the date of the deter24 mination made under clause (iv) on 

25 that petition. 


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1 ‘‘(iii) PROCEDURES.—Any group, 

2 club, organization, or association of 5 or 

3 more persons that submits a petition for 

4 revocation under this subparagraph of its 

5 designation as a criminal gang must pro6 vide evidence in that petition that it is not 

7 described in section 101(a)(53). 

8 ‘‘(iv) DETERMINATION.— 

9 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Not later 

10 than 30 days after receiving a petition 

11 for revocation submitted under this 

12 subparagraph, the Secretary shall 

13 make a determination as to such rev14 ocation. 

15 ‘‘(II) CLASSIFIED INFORMA16 TION.—The Secretary may consider 

17 classified information in making a de18 termination in response to a petition 

19 for revocation. Classified information 

20 shall not be subject to disclosure for 

21 such time as it remains classified, ex22 cept that such information may be 

23 disclosed to a court ex parte and in 

24 camera for purposes of judicial review 

25 under subsection (c). 


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1 ‘‘(III) PUBLICATION OF DETER2 MINATION.—A determination made by 

3 the Secretary under this clause shall 

4 be published in the Federal Register. 

5 ‘‘(IV) PROCEDURES.—Any rev6 ocation by the Secretary shall be 

7 made in accordance with paragraph 

8 (6). 

9 ‘‘(C) OTHER REVIEW OF DESIGNATION.— 

10 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—If in a 5-year pe11 riod no review has taken place under sub12 paragraph (B), the Secretary shall review 

13 the designation of the criminal gang in 

14 order to determine whether such designa15 tion should be revoked pursuant to para16 graph (6). 

17 ‘‘(ii) PROCEDURES.—If a review does 

18 not take place pursuant to subparagraph 

19 (B) in response to a petition for revocation 

20 that is filed in accordance with that sub21 paragraph, then the review shall be con22 ducted pursuant to procedures established 

23 by the Secretary. The results of such re24 view and the applicable procedures shall 

25 not be reviewable in any court. 


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1 ‘‘(iii) PUBLICATION OF RESULTS OF

2 REVIEW.—The Secretary shall publish any 

3 determination made pursuant to this sub4 paragraph in the Federal Register. 

5 ‘‘(5) REVOCATION BY ACT OF CONGRESS.—The 

6 Congress, by an Act of Congress, may block or re7 voke a designation made under paragraph (1). 

8 ‘‘(6) REVOCATION BASED ON CHANGE IN CIR9 CUMSTANCES.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may re11 voke a designation made under paragraph (1) 

12 at any time, and shall revoke a designation 

13 upon completion of a review conducted pursu14 ant to subparagraphs (B) and (C) of paragraph 

15 (4) if the Secretary finds that— 

16 ‘‘(i) the group, club, organization, or 

17 association of 5 or more persons that has 

18 been designated as a criminal gang is no 

19 longer described in section 101(a)(53); or 

20 ‘‘(ii) the national security or the law 

21 enforcement interests of the United States 

22 warrants a revocation. 

23 ‘‘(B) PROCEDURE.—The procedural re24 quirements of paragraphs (2) and (3) shall 

25 apply to a revocation under this paragraph. Any 


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1 revocation shall take effect on the date specified 

2 in the revocation or upon publication in the 

3 Federal Register if no effective date is specified. 

4 ‘‘(7) EFFECT OF REVOCATION.—The revocation 

5 of a designation under paragraph (5) or (6) shall 

6 not affect any action or proceeding based on conduct 

7 committed prior to the effective date of such revoca8 tion. 

9 ‘‘(8) USE OF DESIGNATION IN TRIAL OR HEAR10 ING.—If a designation under this subsection has be11 come effective under paragraph (2) an alien in a re12 moval proceeding shall not be permitted to raise any 

13 question concerning the validity of the issuance of 

14 such designation as a defense or an objection. 

15 ‘‘(b) AMENDMENTS TO A DESIGNATION.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may amend 

17 a designation under this subsection if the Secretary 

18 finds that the group, club, organization, or associa19 tion of 5 or more persons has changed its name, 

20 adopted a new alias, dissolved and then reconsti21 tuted itself under a different name or names, or 

22 merged with another group, club, organization, or 

23 association of 5 or more persons. 

24 ‘‘(2) PROCEDURE.—Amendments made to a 

25 designation in accordance with paragraph (1) shall 


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1 be effective upon publication in the Federal Register. 

2 Paragraphs (2), (4), (5), (6), (7), and (8) of sub3 section (a) shall also apply to an amended designa4 tion. 

5 ‘‘(3) ADMINISTRATIVE RECORD.—The adminis6 trative record shall be corrected to include the 

7 amendments as well as any additional relevant infor8 mation that supports those amendments. 

9 ‘‘(4) CLASSIFIED INFORMATION.—The Sec10 retary may consider classified information in amend11 ing a designation in accordance with this subsection. 

12 Classified information shall not be subject to disclo13 sure for such time as it remains classified, except 

14 that such information may be disclosed to a court ex 

15 parte and in camera for purposes of judicial review 

16 under subsection (c) of this section. 

17 ‘‘(c) JUDICIAL REVIEW OF DESIGNATION.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days 

19 after publication in the Federal Register of a des20 ignation, an amended designation, or a determina21 tion in response to a petition for revocation, the des22 ignated group, club, organization, or association of 5 

23 or more persons may seek judicial review in the 

24 United States Court of Appeals for the District of 

25 Columbia Circuit. 


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1 ‘‘(2) BASIS OF REVIEW.—Review under this 

2 subsection shall be based solely upon the administra3 tive record, except that the Government may submit, 

4 for ex parte and in camera review, classified infor5 mation used in making the designation, amended 

6 designation, or determination in response to a peti7 tion for revocation. 

8 ‘‘(3) SCOPE OF REVIEW.—The Court shall hold 

9 unlawful and set aside a designation, amended des10 ignation, or determination in response to a petition 

11 for revocation the court finds to be— 

12 ‘‘(A) arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of dis13 cretion, or otherwise not in accordance with 

14 law; 

15 ‘‘(B) contrary to constitutional right, 

16 power, privilege, or immunity; 

17 ‘‘(C) in excess of statutory jurisdiction, au18 thority, or limitation, or short of statutory 

19 right; 

20 ‘‘(D) lacking substantial support in the ad21 ministrative record taken as a whole or in clas22 sified information submitted to the court under 

23 paragraph (2); or 

24 ‘‘(E) not in accord with the procedures re25 quired by law. 


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1 ‘‘(4) JUDICIAL REVIEW INVOKED.—The pend2 ency of an action for judicial review of a designation, 

3 amended designation, or determination in response 

4 to a petition for revocation shall not affect the appli5 cation of this section, unless the court issues a final 

6 order setting aside the designation, amended des7 ignation, or determination in response to a petition 

8 for revocation. 

9 ‘‘(5) EXPEDITED REVIEW.—It shall be the duty 

10 of the Court to advance on the docket and expedite 

11 to the greatest possible extent the disposition of any 

12 case considered under this subsection. 

13 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section— 

14 ‘‘(1) the term ‘classified information’ has the 

15 meaning given that term in section 1(a) of the Clas16 sified Information Procedures Act (18 U.S.C. App.); 

17 ‘‘(2) the term ‘national security’ means the na18 tional defense, foreign relations, or economic inter19 ests of the United States; 

20 ‘‘(3) the term ‘relevant committees’ means the 

21 Committees on the Judiciary of the Senate and of 

22 the House of Representatives; and 

23 ‘‘(4) the term ‘Secretary’ means the Secretary 

24 of Homeland Security, in consultation with the At25 torney General.’’. 


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1 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of con2 tents for such Act is amended by inserting after the 

3 item relating to section 219 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 220. Designation.’’. 

4 (e) MANDATORY DETENTION OF CRIMINAL GANG

5 MEMBERS.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 236(c)(1) of the Im7 migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1226(c)(1)) 

8 is amended— 

9 (A) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘or’’ 

10 at the end; 

11 (B) in subparagraph (D), by inserting 

12 ‘‘or’’ at the end; and 

13 (C) by inserting after subparagraph (D) 

14 the following: 

15 ‘‘(E) is inadmissible under section 

16 212(a)(2)(J) or deportable under section 

17 217(a)(2)(G),’’. 

18 (2) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than March 1 

19 of each year (beginning 1 year after the date of the 

20 enactment of this Act), the Secretary of Homeland 

21 Security, after consultation with the appropriate 

22 Federal agencies, shall submit a report to the Com23 mittees on the Judiciary of the House of Represent24 atives and of the Senate on the number of aliens deVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:17 Feb 01, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H175.IH H175

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1 tained under the amendments made by paragraph 

2 (1). 

3 (f) CLAIMS BASED ON GANG AFFILIATION.— 

4 (1) INAPPLICABILITY OF RESTRICTION ON RE5 MOVAL TO CERTAIN COUNTRIES.—Section 

6 241(b)(3)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality 

7 Act (8 U.S.C. 1251(b)(3)(B)) is amended, in the 

8 matter preceding clause (i), by inserting ‘‘who is de9 scribed in section 212(a)(2)(J)(i) or section 

10 237(a)(2)(G)(i) or who is’’ after ‘‘to an alien’’. 

11 (2) INELIGIBILITY FOR ASYLUM.—Section 

12 208(b)(2)(A) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1158(b)(2)(A)) 

13 (as amended by section 201 of this Act) is further 

14 amended— 

15 (A) in clause (v), by striking ‘‘or’’ at the 

16 end; 

17 (B) by redesignating clause (vi) as clause 

18 (vii); and 

19 (C) by inserting after clause (v) the fol20 lowing: 

21 ‘‘(vi) the alien is described in section 

22 212(a)(2)(J)(i) or section 237(a)(2)(G)(i); 

23 or’’. 

24 (g) TEMPORARY PROTECTED STATUS.—Section 244 

25 of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1254a) is amended— 


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1 (1) by striking ‘‘Attorney General’’ each place 

2 it appears and inserting ‘‘Secretary of Homeland Se3 curity’’; 

4 (2) in subparagraph (c)(2)(B)— 

5 (A) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘or’’ at the 

6 end; 

7 (B) in clause (ii), by striking the period 

8 and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

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

10 ‘‘(iii) the alien is, or at any time has 

11 been, described in section 212(a)(2)(J) or 

12 section 237(a)(2)(G).’’; and 

13 (3) in subsection (d)— 

14 (A) by striking paragraph (3); and 

15 (B) in paragraph (4), by adding at the end 

16 the following: ‘‘The Secretary of Homeland Se17 curity may detain an alien provided temporary 

18 protected status under this section whenever 

19 appropriate under any other provision of law.’’. 

20 (h) SPECIAL IMMIGRANT JUVENILE VISAS.—Section 

21 101(a)(27)(J)(iii) of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

22 (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(27)(J)(iii)) is amended— 

23 (1) in subclause (I), by striking ‘‘and’’; 

24 (2) in subclause (II), by adding ‘‘and’’ at the 

25 end; and 


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

2 ‘‘(III) no alien who is, or at any 

3 time has been, described in section 

4 212(a)(2)(J) or section 237(a)(2)(G) 

5 shall be eligible for any immigration 

6 benefit under this subparagraph;’’. 

7 (i) PAROLE.—An alien described in section 

8 212(a)(2)(J) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as 

9 added by subsection (b), shall not be eligible for parole 

10 under section 212(d)(5)(A) of such Act unless— 

11 (1) the alien is assisting or has assisted the 

12 United States Government in a law enforcement 

13 matter, including a criminal investigation; and 

14 (2) the alien’s presence in the United States is 

15 required by the Government with respect to such as16 sistance. 

17 (j) INELIGIBILITY FOR OTHER RELIEF.—An alien 

18 described in section 212(a)(2)(J) or 237(a)(2)(G) of the 

19 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(2)(J) 

20 or 1227(a)(2)(G)) shall be ineligible for any other relief 

21 under the immigration laws, including under section 2242 

22 of the Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency Supple23 mental Appropriations Act, 1999 (and any regulations 

24 issued pursuant to such section). 


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1 (k) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

2 this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment 

3 of this Act and shall apply to acts that occur before, on, 

4 or after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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