I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2537 

To defer removal of certain nationals of Iraq for a 24-month period, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 7, 2019 

Mr. LEVIN of Michigan (for himself, Mr. HARDER of California, Mr. 

CA ́RDENAS, Mr. VARGAS, Mrs. DAVIS of California, Ms. NORTON, Mr. 

JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. BERGMAN, Mr. HUIZENGA, 

Mr. MOOLENAAR, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. UPTON, Mr. WALBERG, Ms. 

SLOTKIN, Ms. STEVENS, Mrs. DINGELL, Ms. TLAIB, Mrs. LAWRENCE, 

Mr. FORTENBERRY, Mr. GREEN of Texas, and Mr. AMASH) introduced 

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To defer removal of certain nationals of Iraq for a 24- 

month period, 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 ‘‘Deferred Removal for 

5 Iraqi Nationals Including Minorities Act of 2019’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) There are over 1,000 Iraqi nationals living 

2 in the United States who have been ordered re3 moved. Over the past three decades, Iraq has gen4 erally declined permission for repatriation of its na5 tionals, so that many Iraqis who were ordered re6 moved could not be repatriated. As a result, the re7 moval orders for many Iraqis are years or decades 

8 old, and are not based on current country condi9 tions. 

10 (2) Conditions in Iraq have worsened dramati11 cally since these removal orders were entered. Re12 moval orders entered years or decades ago do not re13 liably indicate whether an Iraqi is currently remov14 able based on current country conditions and cur15 rent law. Iraq’s humanitarian, security, and refugee 

16 crisis has resulted in extraordinary conditions that 

17 today prevent many Iraqi nationals from safely re18 turning to Iraq. Many Iraqis with removal orders 

19 will face persecution, torture, or death if removed. 

20 They are therefore now eligible for immigration re21 lief that was unavailable when they were originally 

22 ordered removed. 

23 (3) The U.S. State Department currently warns 

24 against any travel to Iraq due to ‘‘terrorism, kidnap25 ping, and armed conflict’’. 


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1 (4) The most recent State Department report 

2 on human rights practices in Iraq warns of ‘‘unlaw3 ful or arbitrary killings by some members of the 

4 Iraq Security Forces (in this Act referred to as 

5 ‘ISF’), particularly Iran-aligned elements of the 

6 Popular Mobilization Forces (in this Act referred to 

7 as ‘PMF’); forced disappearances; torture; arbitrary 

8 detention; harsh and life-threatening prison and de9 tention center conditions; arbitrary or unlawful in10 terference with privacy; restrictions on free expres11 sion, the press, and the internet, including censor12 ship, site blocking, and criminal libel; legal restric13 tions on freedom of movement of women; widespread 

14 official corruption; unlawful recruitment or use of 

15 child soldiers by Iran-aligned elements of the PMF 

16 that operate outside government control; trafficking 

17 in persons; criminalization of lesbian, gay, bisexual, 

18 transgender, and intersex (in this Act referred to as 

19 ‘LGBTI’) status or conduct; violence targeting 

20 LGBTI persons; threats of violence against inter21 nally displaced persons (in this Act referred to as 

22 ‘IDPs’) and returnee populations perceived to have 

23 been affiliated with ISIS; and restrictions on worker 

24 rights, including restrictions on formation of inde25 pendent unions and reports of child labor’’. 


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1 (5) Iraqis who are removed to Iraq are also at 

2 particular risk if they are perceived as American or 

3 affiliated with the United States, which is the case 

4 for the vast majority of Iraqis facing removal, since 

5 most have lived in the United States for many years. 

6 Iraqis who have family or employment ties in the 

7 United States face heightened risks within Iraq on 

8 the basis of their perceived loyalty to the United 

9 States. For more than a decade, groups hostile to 

10 the United States have persecuted and tortured ex11 tended family on account of a single family mem12 ber’s affiliation with the United States through em13 ployment or family ties. In 2007, Congress specifi14 cally created a refugee program for Iraqis affiliated 

15 with the United States because of the dangers facing 

16 Iraqis who have allied themselves with the United 

17 States. 

18 (6) Noncitizens previously ordered removed 

19 have a right to seek immigration relief based on cur20 rent country conditions. 

21 (7) In the summer of 2017, U.S. Immigration 

22 and Customs Enforcement sought to remove many 

23 Iraqi nationals, eventually detaining over 300. As a 

24 result of litigation, most of those detained Iraqis 

25 were able to seek immigration relief based on curVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:38 May 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 \\ALPHA3\E\BILLS\H2537.IH H2537

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1 rent country conditions. Once they were able to ac2 cess the immigration court system, a large majority 

3 won motions to reopen their cases so that their eligi4 bility for relief can be determined based on current 

5 country conditions. While most of the cases remain 

6 in process, many of these Iraqis have won merits re7 lief, including withholding or deferral of removal 

8 under the Immigration and Nationality Act or Con9 vention Against Torture, asylum, reinstatement of 

10 their status as lawful permanent residents, and nat11 uralization. 

12 (8) There are an estimated 1,000 Iraqis who 

13 have not yet been able to seek immigration relief 

14 based on current country conditions. Due to the 

15 complexity of the required legal filings and the back16 logs in the immigration courts it can take several 

17 years for an individual to seek to reopen their immi18 gration case and have their eligibility for immigra19 tion relief decided on the merits. 

20 (9) Without sufficient time to seek immigration 

21 relief based on current country conditions, Iraqis 

22 could be removed to persecution, torture, or death 

23 before they receive an individualized adjudication of 

24 their eligibility for relief in light of current law and 

25 current facts. 


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1 (10) Deferring removals 24 months would allow 

2 Iraqis who have not yet done so time to seek immi3 gration relief based on changed country conditions. 

4 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

5 It is the sense of the Congress that— 

6 (1) Iraqis should not be deported if they face 

7 persecution, torture, or death; 

8 (2) because of changing country conditions in 

9 Iraq and the age of the Iraqis’ removal orders, it 

10 would be both unfair and dangerous to deport Iraqis 

11 without ensuring that their cases will be individually 

12 considered based on current country conditions; and 

13 (3) the removal of Iraq nationals described in 

14 section 4 should be deferred for a period of 24 

15 months, at the end of which Congress should have 

16 the opportunity to reevaluate country conditions in 

17 Iraq. 

18 SEC. 4. DEFERRAL OF REMOVAL FOR NATIONALS OF IRAQ 

19 WITH REMOVAL ORDERS. 

20 (a) DEFERRAL OF REMOVAL.—Except as provided in 

21 subsection (b), an alien may not be removed for the 24- 

22 month period beginning on the date of enactment of this 

23 Act if the alien— 

24 (1) is a national of Iraq; 


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1 (2) has been ordered removed to Iraq at any 

2 time before the date of enactment of this Act; and 

3 (3) resided in the United States on or before 

4 January 1, 2014. 

5 (b) DEFERRAL NOT APPLICABLE TO CERTAIN

6 ALIENS.—Subsection (a) shall not apply to an alien if— 

7 (1) the Secretary of Homeland Security deter8 mines that the alien’s removal is necessary based 

9 upon credible facts that the alien is directly respon10 sible for specific and significant harm to the security 

11 of the United States; 

12 (2) the alien voluntarily returns to Iraq; or 

13 (3) the alien is subject to extradition. 

14 (c) EMPLOYMENT AUTHORIZATION.—Upon applica15 tion to the Secretary of Homeland Security, an alien 

16 whose removal is deferred pursuant to this Act— 

17 (1) shall be authorized to engage in employ18 ment during the 24-month period described in sub19 section (a); and 

20 (2) shall be issued an employment authorization 

21 document that remains valid during such period. 

22 (d) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Secretary of Homeland 

23 Security shall take the necessary steps to implement— 

24 (1) the deferral of removal authorized under 

25 this section; and 


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1 (2) the authorization of employment described 

2 in subsection (c). 

3 SEC. 5. NOTICE FOR CERTAIN ALIENS WITH REMOVAL OR4 DERS TO IRAQ. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after the 

6 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland 

7 Security shall provide notice of the provisions of this Act 

8 to each alien who— 

9 (1) is a national of Iraq; and 

10 (2) has a final order of removal. 

11 (b) CONTENTS OF NOTICE.—The notice required 

12 under subsection (a) shall include clear instructions ex13 plaining the requirements for an alien to file a motion to 

14 reopen a proceeding under section 240 of the Immigration 

15 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1229a) based on changed 

16 country conditions. 

17 SEC. 6. PROHIBITION ON DETENTION. 

18 The Secretary of Homeland Security may not detain 

19 an alien whose removal is deferred pursuant to this Act 

20 on the basis of the alien’s immigration status in the 

21 United States or as a result of a motion filed by the alien 

22 to reopen a proceeding under section 240 of the Immigra23 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1229a). 


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1 SEC. 7. JUDICIAL REVIEW. 

2 (a) REVIEW.—Notwithstanding any other provision 

3 of law, an individual or entity who has been harmed by 

4 a violation of this Act may file an action in an appropriate 

5 district court of the United States to seek declaratory or 

6 injunctive relief. 

7 (b) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this Act 

8 may be construed to preclude an action filed pursuant to 

9 subsection (a) from proceeding as a class action (as such 

10 term is defined in section 1711 of title 28, United States 

11 Code). 

Æ 


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