II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 884 

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

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

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 22, 2021 

Mr. LEE (for himself, Mrs. BLACKBURN, Mr. TUBERVILLE, and Ms. ERNST) 

introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 

Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To close loopholes in the immigration laws that serve as 

incentives to aliens to attempt to enter the United States 

unlawfully, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

5 ‘‘Stopping Border Surges Act’’. 

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

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—UNACCOMPANIED ALIEN CHILDREN 

Sec. 101. Repatriation of unaccompanied alien children. 


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Sec. 102. Clarification of standards for family detention. 

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

with either parent. 

TITLE II—ASYLUM REFORM 

Sec. 201. Credible fear interviews. 

Sec. 202. Jurisdiction of asylum applications. 

Sec. 203. Recording expedited removal and credible fear interviews. 

Sec. 204. Safe third country. 

Sec. 205. Renunciation of asylum status pursuant to return to home country. 

Sec. 206. Notice concerning frivolous asylum applications. 

Sec. 207. Anti-fraud investigative work product. 

Sec. 208. Clarification of asylum eligibility. 

Sec. 209. Application timing. 

Sec. 210. Clarification of burden of proof. 

Sec. 211. Additional exception. 

Sec. 212. Clarification regarding employment eligibility. 

Sec. 213. Penalties for asylum fraud. 

Sec. 214. Statute of limitations for asylum fraud. 

Sec. 215. Technical amendments. 

1 TITLE I—UNACCOMPANIED 

2 ALIEN CHILDREN 

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

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

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

8 (1) in subsection (a)— 

9 (A) in paragraph (2)— 

10 (i) by amending the heading to read 

11 as follows: ‘‘RULES FOR UNACCOMPANIED

12 ALIEN CHILDREN.—’’; 

13 (ii) in subparagraph (A)— 

14 (I) in the matter preceding clause 

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


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1 habitual resident of a country that is 

2 contiguous with the United States’’; 

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

4 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

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

6 and’’ and inserting a period; and 

7 (IV) by striking clause (iii); 

8 (iii) in subparagraph (B)— 

9 (I) in the matter preceding clause 

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

11 seq.) may—’’ and inserting ‘‘(8 

12 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.)—’’; 

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

15 the following: ‘‘may’’; and 

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

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

19 (iv) in subparagraph (C)— 

20 (I) by amending the heading to 

21 read as follows: ‘‘AGREEMENTS WITH

22 FOREIGN COUNTRIES.—’’; and 

23 (II) in the matter preceding 

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

25 of State shall negotiate agreements 


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1 between the United States and coun2 tries contiguous to the United States’’ 

3 and inserting ‘‘The Secretary of State 

4 may negotiate agreements between the 

5 United States and any foreign country 

6 that the Secretary determines appro7 priate’’; 

8 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (3) 

9 through (5) as paragraphs (4) through (6), re10 spectively, and inserting after paragraph (2) the 

11 following: 

12 ‘‘(3) SPECIAL RULES FOR INTERVIEWING UNAC13 COMPANIED ALIEN CHILDREN.—An unaccompanied 

14 alien child shall be interviewed by an immigration 

15 officer with specialized training in interviewing child 

16 trafficking victims.’’; and 

17 (C) in paragraph (6)(D) (as so redesig18 nated)— 

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

20 by striking ‘‘, except for an unaccompanied 

21 alien child from a contiguous country sub22 ject to exceptions under subsection (a)(2),’’ 

23 and inserting ‘‘who does not meet the cri24 teria listed in paragraph (2)(A)’’; and 


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1 (ii) in clause (i), by inserting before 

2 the semicolon at the end the following: ‘‘, 

3 which shall include a hearing before an im4 migration judge not later than 14 days 

5 after being screened under paragraph (4)’’; 

6 (2) in subsection (b)— 

7 (A) in paragraph (2)— 

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

9 before the semicolon the following: ‘‘be10 lieved not to meet the criteria listed in sub11 section (a)(2)(A)’’; and 

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

13 before the period the following: ‘‘and does 

14 not meet the criteria listed in subsection 

15 (a)(2)(A)’’; and 

16 (B) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘an un17 accompanied alien child in custody shall’’ and 

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

19 unaccompanied alien child in custody— 

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

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

22 shall transfer the custody of such child to the 

23 Secretary of Health and Human Services not 

24 later than 30 days after determining that such 


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1 child is an unaccompanied alien child who does 

2 not meet such criteria; or 

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

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

5 transfer the custody of such child to the Sec6 retary of Health and Human Services after de7 termining that such child is an unaccompanied 

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

9 (3) in subsection (c)— 

10 (A) in paragraph (3), by inserting at the 

11 end the following: 

12 ‘‘(D) INFORMATION ABOUT INDIVIDUALS

13 WITH WHOM CHILDREN ARE PLACED.— 

14 ‘‘(i) INFORMATION TO BE PROVIDED

15 TO HOMELAND SECURITY.—Before placing 

16 a child with an individual, the Secretary of 

17 Health and Human Services shall provide 

18 to the Secretary of Homeland Security, re19 garding the individual with whom the child 

20 will be placed, the following information: 

21 ‘‘(I) The name of the individual. 

22 ‘‘(II) The social security number 

23 of the individual, if available. 

24 ‘‘(III) The date of birth of the in25 dividual. 


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1 ‘‘(IV) The location of the individ2 ual’s residence where the child will be 

3 placed. 

4 ‘‘(V) The immigration status of 

5 the individual, if known. 

6 ‘‘(VI) Contact information for 

7 the individual. 

8 ‘‘(ii) SPECIAL RULE.—In the case of a 

9 child who was apprehended on or after the 

10 effective date of this clause, and before the 

11 date of the enactment of this subpara12 graph, who the Secretary of Health and 

13 Human Services placed with an individual, 

14 the Secretary shall provide the information 

15 listed in clause (i) to the Secretary of 

16 Homeland Security not later than 90 days 

17 after such date of enactment.’’; and 

18 (B) in paragraph (5)— 

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

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

21 expense to the Government)’’; and 

22 (ii) by striking ‘‘have counsel to rep23 resent them’’ and inserting ‘‘have access to 

24 counsel to represent them’’. 


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

2 this section shall apply to any unaccompanied alien child 

3 apprehended on or after the date of enactment. 

4 SEC. 102. CLARIFICATION OF STANDARDS FOR FAMILY DE5 TENTION. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 235 of the William Wil7 berforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization 

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

9 the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(j) CONSTRUCTION.— 

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

12 provision of law, judicial determination, consent de13 cree, or settlement agreement, the detention of any 

14 alien child who is not an unaccompanied alien child 

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

16 241 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

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

18 presumption that an alien child who is not an unac19 companied alien child should not be detained, and all 

20 such determinations shall be in the discretion of the 

21 Secretary of Homeland Security. 

22 ‘‘(2) RELEASE OF MINORS OTHER THAN UNAC23 COMPANIED ALIENS.—In no circumstances shall an 

24 alien minor who is not an unaccompanied alien child 

25 be released by the Secretary of Homeland Security 


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1 other than to a parent or legal guardian, who is law2 fully present in the United States. 

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

4 Homeland Security shall— 

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

6 alien, during the period during which the 

7 charges described in clause (i) are pending, 

8 who— 

9 ‘‘(i) is charged only with a mis10 demeanor offense under section 275(a) of 

11 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

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

13 ‘‘(ii) entered the United States with 

14 the alien’s child who has not attained 18 

15 years of age; and 

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

17 child.’’. 

18 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con19 gress that the amendments in this section to section 235 

20 of the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection 

21 Reauthorization Act of 2008 (8 U.S.C. 1232) are intended 

22 to satisfy the requirements of the Settlement Agreement 

23 in Flores v. Meese, No. 85–4544 (C.D. Cal) as approved 

24 by the court on January 28, 1997, with respect to its in25 terpretation in Flores v. Johnson, 212 F. Supp. 3d 864 


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1 (C.D. Cal. 2015), that the agreement applies to accom2 panied minors. 

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

4 subsection (a) shall take effect on the date of the enact5 ment of this Act and shall apply to all actions that occur 

6 before, on, or after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

7 (d) PREEMPTION OF STATE LICENSING REQUIRE8 MENTS.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, ju9 dicial determination, consent decree, or settlement agree10 ment, no State may require that an immigration detention 

11 facility used to detain children who have not attained 18 

12 years of age, or families consisting of one or more of such 

13 children and the parents or legal guardians of such chil14 dren, that is located in that State, be licensed by the State 

15 or any political subdivision thereof. 

16 SEC. 103. SPECIAL IMMIGRANT JUVENILE STATUS FOR IM17 MIGRANTS UNABLE TO REUNITE WITH EI18 THER PARENT. 

19 Section 101(a)(27)(J) of the Immigration and Na20 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(27)(J)) is amended— 

21 (1) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘, and whose reuni22 fication with 1 or both of the immigrant’s parents 

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

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

25 (2) in clause (iii)— 


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1 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub2 clause (I); 

3 (B) by inserting ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub4 clause (II); and 

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

6 ‘‘(III) an alien may not be grant7 ed special immigrant juvenile status 

8 under this subparagraph if his or her 

9 reunification with any one parent or 

10 legal guardian is not precluded by 

11 abuse, neglect, abandonment, or any 

12 similar cause under State law;’’. 

13 TITLE II—ASYLUM REFORM 

14 SEC. 201. CREDIBLE FEAR INTERVIEWS. 

15 Section 235(b)(1)(B)(v) of the Immigration and Na16 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1225(b)(1)(B)(v)) is amended by 

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

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

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

20 could establish eligibility for asylum under section 208, 

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

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

23 claim are true.’’. 


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1 SEC. 202. JURISDICTION OF ASYLUM APPLICATIONS. 

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

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

4 (C). 

5 SEC. 203. RECORDING EXPEDITED REMOVAL AND CRED6 IBLE FEAR INTERVIEWS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland Secu8 rity shall establish quality assurance procedures and take 

9 steps to effectively ensure that questions by employees of 

10 the Department of Homeland Security exercising expe11 dited removal authority under section 235(b) of the Immi12 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1225(b)) are asked 

13 in a uniform manner, to the extent possible, and that both 

14 these questions and the answers provided in response to 

15 them are recorded in a uniform fashion. 

16 (b) CREDIBLE FEAR INTERVIEW CHECKLISTS.—The 

17 Secretary of Homeland Security shall provide a checklist 

18 of standard questions and concepts to be addressed in all 

19 interviews under section 235(b) to immigration officers ex20 ercising decision-making authority in such interviews. 

21 Such checklists shall be routinely updated to include rel22 evant changes to law and procedures and shall, at a min23 imum, require that all immigration officers utilizing such 

24 checklists provide concise justifications of their decision 

25 regardless of whether credible fear was or was not estab26 lished. 


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1 (c) FACTORS RELATING TO SWORN STATEMENTS.— 

2 Where practicable, any sworn or signed written statement 

3 taken of an alien as part of the record of a proceeding 

4 under section 235(b)(1)(A) of the Immigration and Na5 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1225(b)(1)(A)) shall be accom6 panied by a recording of the interview which served as the 

7 basis for that sworn statement. 

8 (d) INTERPRETERS.—The Secretary shall ensure that 

9 a competent interpreter, not affiliated with the govern10 ment of the country from which the alien may claim asy11 lum, is used when the interviewing officer does not speak 

12 a language understood by the alien. 

13 (e) RECORDINGS IN IMMIGRATION PROCEEDINGS.— 

14 There shall be an audio or audio visual recording of inter15 views of aliens subject to expedited removal. The recording 

16 shall be included in the record of proceeding and shall be 

17 considered as evidence in any further proceedings involv18 ing the alien. 

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

20 section shall be construed to create any right, benefit, 

21 trust, or responsibility, whether substantive or procedural, 

22 enforceable in law or equity by a party against the United 

23 States, its departments, agencies, instrumentalities, enti24 ties, officers, employees, or agents, or any person, nor does 


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1 this section create any right of review in any administra2 tive, judicial, or other proceeding. 

3 SEC. 204. SAFE THIRD COUNTRY. 

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

6 (1) by striking ‘‘if the Attorney General deter7 mines’’ and inserting ‘‘if the Attorney General or the 

8 Secretary of Homeland Security determines—’’; 

9 (2) by striking ‘‘that the alien may be removed’’ 

10 and inserting: 

11 ‘‘(i) that the alien may be removed’’; 

12 (3) by striking ‘‘removed, pursuant to a bilat13 eral or multilateral agreement, to’’ and inserting 

14 ‘‘removed to’’; 

15 (4) by inserting ‘‘, on a case by case basis,’’ be16 fore ‘‘finds that’’; 

17 (5) by striking the period at the end and insert18 ing ‘‘; or’’; and 

19 (6) by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(ii) that the alien entered, attempted to enter, 

21 or arrived in the United States after transiting 

22 through at least one country outside the alien’s 

23 country of citizenship, nationality, or last lawful ha24 bitual residence en route to the United States, un25 less— 


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

2 applied for protection from persecution or tor3 ture in at least one country outside the alien’s 

4 country of citizenship, nationality, or last lawful 

5 habitual residence through which the alien 

6 transited en route to the United States, and the 

7 alien received a final judgement denying the 

8 alien protection in each country; 

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

10 was a victim of a severe form of trafficking in 

11 which a commercial sex act was induced by 

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

13 induced to perform such act was under the age 

14 of 18 years; or in which the trafficking included 

15 the recruitment, harboring, transportation, pro16 vision, or obtaining of a person for labor or 

17 services through the use of force, fraud, or coer18 cion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary 

19 servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery, 

20 and was unable to apply for protection from 

21 persecution in all countries that alien transited 

22 en route to the United States as a result of 

23 such severe form of trafficking; or 

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

25 alien transited en route to the United States 


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

2 the 1951 United Nations Convention relating to 

3 the Status of Refugees, the 1967 Protocol Re4 lating to the Status of Refugees, or the United 

5 Nations Convention against Torture and Other 

6 Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or 

7 Punishment.’’. 

8 SEC. 205. RENUNCIATION OF ASYLUM STATUS PURSUANT 

9 TO RETURN TO HOME COUNTRY. 

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

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

12 adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

13 ‘‘(4) RENUNCIATION OF STATUS PURSUANT TO

14 RETURN TO HOME COUNTRY.— 

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

16 subparagraph (B), any alien who is granted 

17 asylum status under this Act, who, absent 

18 changed country conditions, subsequently re19 turns to the country of such alien’s nationality 

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

21 returns to any country in which such alien last 

22 habitually resided, and who applied for such 

23 status because of persecution or a well-founded 

24 fear of persecution in that country on account 

25 of race, religion, nationality, membership in a 


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1 particular social group, or political opinion, 

2 shall have his or her status terminated. 

3 ‘‘(B) WAIVER.—The Secretary has discre4 tion to waive subparagraph (A) if it is estab5 lished to the satisfaction of the Secretary that 

6 the alien had a compelling reason for the re7 turn. The waiver may be sought prior to depar8 ture from the United States or upon return.’’. 

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

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

11 1158(c)(3)) is amended by inserting after ‘‘paragraph 

12 (2)’’ the following: ‘‘or (4)’’. 

13 SEC. 206. NOTICE CONCERNING FRIVOLOUS ASYLUM AP14 PLICATIONS. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 208(d)(4) of the Immi16 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1158(d)(4)) is 

17 amended— 

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

19 by inserting ‘‘the Secretary of Homeland Security 

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

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

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

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

24 inserting a semicolon; 


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

2 and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

4 ‘‘(C) ensure that a written warning ap5 pears on the asylum application advising the 

6 alien of the consequences of filing a frivolous 

7 application and serving as notice to the alien of 

8 the consequence of filing a frivolous applica9 tion.’’. 

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

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

12 1158(d)(6)) is amended by striking ‘‘If the’’ and all that 

13 follows and inserting: 

14 ‘‘(A) If the Secretary of Homeland Secu15 rity or the Attorney General determines that an 

16 alien has knowingly made a frivolous applica17 tion for asylum and the alien has received the 

18 notice under paragraph (4)(C), the alien shall 

19 be permanently ineligible for any benefits under 

20 this chapter, effective as the date of the final 

21 determination of such an application. 

22 ‘‘(B) An application is frivolous if the Sec23 retary of Homeland Security or the Attorney 

24 General determines, consistent with subpara25 graph (C), that— 


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1 ‘‘(i) it is so insufficient in substance 

2 that it is clear that the applicant know3 ingly filed the application solely or in part 

4 to delay removal from the United States, 

5 to seek employment authorization as an 

6 applicant for asylum pursuant to regula7 tions issued pursuant to paragraph (2), or 

8 to seek issuance of a Notice to Appear in 

9 order to pursue Cancellation of Removal 

10 under section 240A(b); or 

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

12 knowingly fabricated. 

13 ‘‘(C) In determining that an application is 

14 frivolous, the Secretary or the Attorney Gen15 eral, must be satisfied that the applicant, dur16 ing the course of the proceedings, has had suffi17 cient opportunity to clarify any discrepancies or 

18 implausible aspects of the claim. 

19 ‘‘(D) For purposes of this section, a find20 ing that an alien filed a frivolous asylum appli21 cation shall not preclude the alien from seeking 

22 withholding of removal under section 241(b)(3) 

23 or protection pursuant to the Convention 

24 Against Torture.’’. 


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1 SEC. 207. ANTI-FRAUD INVESTIGATIVE WORK PRODUCT. 

2 (a) ASYLUM CREDIBILITY DETERMINATIONS.—Sec3 tion 208(b)(1)(B)(iii) of the Immigration and Nationality 

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

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

6 statements made to, and investigative reports prepared by, 

7 immigration authorities and other government officials’’. 

8 (b) RELIEF FOR REMOVAL CREDIBILITY DETER9 MINATIONS.—Section 240(c)(4)(C) of the Immigration 

10 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1229a(c)(4)(C)) is amended 

11 by inserting after ‘‘all relevant factors’’ the following: ‘‘, 

12 including statements made to, and investigative reports 

13 prepared by, immigration authorities and other govern14 ment officials’’. 

15 SEC. 208. CLARIFICATION OF ASYLUM ELIGIBILITY. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 208(b)(1)(A) of the Im17 migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1158(b)(1)(A)) 

18 is amended by inserting after ‘‘section 101(a)(42)(A)’’ the 

19 following: ‘‘and is eligible to apply for asylum under sub20 section (a)’’. 

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

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

23 is amended— 

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

25 States (whether or not at a designated port of ar26 rival and including an alien who is brought to the 


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1 United States after having been interdicted in inter2 national or United States waters),’’; and 

3 (2) by inserting after ‘‘United States’’ the fol4 lowing: ‘‘and has arrived in the United States at a 

5 port of entry,’’. 

6 SEC. 209. APPLICATION TIMING. 

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

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

10 SEC. 210. CLARIFICATION OF BURDEN OF PROOF. 

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

13 striking ‘‘at least one’’ and inserting ‘‘the’’. 

14 SEC. 211. ADDITIONAL EXCEPTION. 

15 Section 208(b)(2)(A) of the Immigration and Nation16 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1158(b)(2)(A)) is amended— 

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

18 (2) in clause (vi), by striking the period and in19 serting ‘‘; or’’; and 

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

21 ‘‘(vii) there are reasonable grounds for 

22 concluding the alien could avoid persecu23 tion by relocating to another part of the 

24 alien’s country of nationality or, if stateVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 Apr 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00021 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S884.IS S884

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1 less, another part of the alien’s country of 

2 last habitual residence.’’. 

3 SEC. 212. CLARIFICATION REGARDING EMPLOYMENT ELI4 GIBILITY. 

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

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

7 (1) by striking ‘‘180 days’’ and inserting ‘‘1 

8 year’’; and 

9 (2) by inserting ‘‘and the authorization shall ex10 pire 6 months after the date of issuance’’ before the 

11 period at the end. 

12 SEC. 213. PENALTIES FOR ASYLUM FRAUD. 

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

14 amended by inserting at the end of the paragraph— 

15 ‘‘(d) Whoever, in any matter before the Secretary of 

16 Homeland Security or the Attorney General pertaining to 

17 asylum under section 208 of the Immigration and Nation18 ality Act or withholding of removal under section 

19 241(b)(3) of such Act, knowingly and willfully— 

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

21 fraudulent statement or representation; or 

22 ‘‘(2) makes or uses any false writings or docu23 ment knowing the same to contain any materially 

24 false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or entry, 


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1 shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 

2 10 years, or both.’’. 

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

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

5 amended— 

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

7 and section 1546,’’; and 

8 (2) by striking ‘‘offense.’’ and inserting ‘‘of9 fense or within 10 years after the fraud is discov10 ered.’’. 

11 SEC. 215. TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS. 

12 Section 208 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

13 (8 U.S.C. 1158) is amended— 

14 (1) in subsection (a)— 

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

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

17 ‘‘Attorney General’’; and 

18 (B) in paragraph (3), by inserting ‘‘Sec19 retary of Homeland Security or the’’ before 

20 ‘‘Attorney General’’; 

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

22 of Homeland Security or the’’ before ‘‘Attorney Gen23 eral’’ each place such term appears; 

24 (3) in subsection (c)— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
24 

•S 884 IS

1 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘Attor2 ney General’’ each place such term appears and 

3 inserting ‘‘Secretary of Homeland Security’’; 

4 (B) in paragraph (2), in the matter pre5 ceding subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘Sec6 retary of Homeland Security or the’’ before 

7 ‘‘Attorney General’’; and 

8 (C) in paragraph (3), by inserting ‘‘Sec9 retary of Homeland Security or the’’ before 

10 ‘‘Attorney General’’; and 

11 (4) in subsection (d)— 

12 (A) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘Sec13 retary of Homeland Security or the’’ before 

14 ‘‘Attorney General’’ each place such term ap15 pears; 

16 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘Attor17 ney General’’ and inserting ‘‘Secretary of 

18 Homeland Security’’; and 

19 (C) in paragraph (5)— 

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

21 ‘‘Attorney General’’ and inserting ‘‘Sec22 retary of Homeland Security’’; and 


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25 

•S 884 IS

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

2 ‘‘Secretary of Homeland Security or the’’ 

3 before ‘‘Attorney General’’. 

Æ 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS