I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2374 

To reform the process for enforcing the immigration laws of the United 

States, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 29, 2023 

Mr. GARCI ́A of Illinois (for himself, Mr. CASAR, Ms. PRESSLEY, Mr. 

ESPAILLAT, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Ms. NORTON, 

Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Ms. GARCIA of Texas, Ms. CLARKE of New York, 

Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. OMAR, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. CA ́RDENAS, Mr. 

POCAN, Ms. TLAIB, Mr. VARGAS, Mr. BOWMAN, Ms. BUSH, Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia, Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Ms. CHU, Mr. 

GRIJALVA, Ms. BARRAGA ́N, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. MENG, Mr. 

GOMEZ, Mrs. RAMIREZ, Ms. WILSON of Florida, and Mr. FROST) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To reform the process for enforcing the immigration laws 

of the United States, 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 ‘‘New Way Forward 

5 Act’’. 


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1 TITLE I—END MANDATORY DE2 TENTION AND REQUIRE 

3 PROBABLE CAUSE FOR AR4 REST 

5 SEC. 101. PHASE-OUT OF PRIVATE FOR-PROFIT DETENTION 

6 FACILITIES AND USE OF JAILS. 

7 (a) SECURE DETENTION FACILITIES.—Beginning on 

8 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

9 Homeland Security may not enter into, or extend, any con10 tract with any public or private for-profit entity that owns 

11 or operates a detention facility for use of that facility to 

12 detain aliens in the custody of the Department of Home13 land Security, and shall terminate any such contract not 

14 later than the date that is 3 years after the date of the 

15 enactment of this Act. Beginning on the date that is 3 

16 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, any facil17 ity at which aliens in the custody of the Department of 

18 Homeland Security are detained shall be owned and oper19 ated by the Department of Homeland Security. 

20 (b) NON-SECURE DETENTION PROGRAMS.—Begin21 ning on the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec22 retary of Homeland Security may not enter into, or ex23 tend, any contract with any public or private for-profit en24 tity that owns or operates a program or facility that pro25 vides for non-residential detention-related activities for 


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1 aliens who are subject to monitoring by the Department 

2 of Homeland Security, and shall terminate any such con3 tract not later than the date that is 3 years after the date 

4 of the enactment of this Act. Beginning on the date that 

5 is 3 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

6 any such program or facility shall be owned and operated 

7 by a nonprofit organization or by the Department of 

8 Homeland Security. 

9 (c) PUBLICATION OF PLAN.—Not later than 60 days 

10 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

11 shall develop, and make publicly available, a plan and 

12 timeline for the implementation of this section. 

13 SEC. 102. PROCEDURES FOR DETAINING ALIENS. 

14 (a) CUSTODY AND BOND DETERMINATIONS.—Sec15 tion 236 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

16 1226) is amended— 

17 (1) by striking subsections (a) through (c) and 

18 inserting the following: 

19 ‘‘(a) ARREST, DETENTION, AND RELEASE.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—On a warrant issued by an 

21 immigration judge, or pursuant to section 287(a)(2), 

22 the Secretary of Homeland Security may arrest an 

23 alien and, in accordance with this section, may, 

24 pending a decision on whether the alien is to be re25 moved from the United States— 


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1 ‘‘(A) detain the alien; or 

2 ‘‘(B) release the alien— 

3 ‘‘(i) on bond; 

4 ‘‘(ii) subject to conditions; or 

5 ‘‘(iii) on the alien’s own recognizance. 

6 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—This section shall not apply 

7 to an unaccompanied alien child (as defined in sec8 tion 462(g)(2) of the Homeland Security Act of 

9 2002 (6 U.S.C. 279(g)(2))). Such an alien shall be 

10 transferred to the custody of the Secretary of Health 

11 and Human Services pursuant to section 235(b)(3) 

12 of the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Pro13 tection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (8 U.S.C. 

14 1232(b)(3)). 

15 ‘‘(b) CUSTODY AND BOND DETERMINATIONS.— 

16 ‘‘(1) INITIAL DETERMINATION.—Not later than 

17 48 hours after taking an alien into custody, the Sec18 retary of Homeland Security shall make an initial 

19 custody determination with regard to that alien, and 

20 provide that determination in writing to the alien. If 

21 the Secretary determines that the release without 

22 conditions of an alien will not reasonably assure the 

23 appearance of the alien as required or will endanger 

24 the safety of any other person or the community, the 

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1 pose the least restrictive conditions, as described in 

2 paragraph (4). 

3 ‘‘(2) TIMING.—If an alien seeks to challenge 

4 the initial custody determination under paragraph 

5 (1), the alien shall be provided with the opportunity 

6 for a hearing before an immigration judge to deter7 mine whether the alien should be detained, which 

8 hearing shall occur not later than 72 hours after the 

9 initial custody determination, except that an immi10 gration judge may grant a reasonable continuance 

11 upon the alien’s request for additional time to pre12 pare for the hearing. 

13 ‘‘(3) PRESUMPTION OF RELEASE.—In a hearing 

14 under this subsection, there shall be a rebuttable 

15 presumption that the alien should be released. The 

16 Government shall have the duty of rebutting this 

17 presumption by clear and convincing evidence based 

18 on credible and individualized information that es19 tablishes that the use of alternatives to detention 

20 will not reasonably assure the appearance of the 

21 alien at removal proceedings, or that the alien is a 

22 threat to another person or the community. The fact 

23 that an alien has a prior conviction or a criminal 

24 charge pending against the alien may not be the sole 

25 factor to justify the continued detention of the alien. 


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1 ‘‘(4) LEAST RESTRICTIVE CONDITIONS RE2 QUIRED.—If an immigration judge determines pur3 suant to a hearing under this section that the re4 lease without conditions of an alien will not reason5 ably assure the appearance of the alien as required 

6 or will endanger the safety of any other person or 

7 the community, the immigration judge shall order 

8 the least restrictive conditions, or combination of 

9 conditions, that the judge determines will reasonably 

10 assure the appearance of the alien as required and 

11 the safety of any other person and the community, 

12 which may include secured or unsecured release on 

13 bond, or participation in a program described in 

14 subsection (i). Any conditions assigned to an alien 

15 pursuant to this paragraph shall be reviewed by the 

16 immigration judge on a monthly basis. 

17 ‘‘(5) BOND DETERMINATION.—In the case that 

18 an immigration judge makes a determination to re19 lease an alien on bond under subsection (a)(1)(B)(i), 

20 the immigration judge shall consider, for purposes of 

21 setting the amount of the bond, the alien’s financial 

22 resources and ability to pay the bond without impos23 ing financial hardship on the alien. 

24 ‘‘(6) SPECIAL RULE FOR VULNERABLE PER25 SONS AND PRIMARY CAREGIVERS.—In a case in 


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1 which an alien who is the subject of a custody deter2 mination under this subsection is a vulnerable per3 son or a primary caregiver, the alien may not be de4 tained unless the Government shows, in addition to 

5 the requirements under paragraph (3), that it is un6 reasonable or not practicable to place the individual 

7 in a community-based supervision program. 

8 ‘‘(7) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term 

9 ‘vulnerable person’ means an individual who— 

10 ‘‘(A) is under 21 years of age or over 60 

11 years of age; 

12 ‘‘(B) is pregnant; 

13 ‘‘(C) identifies as lesbian, gay, bisexual, 

14 transgender, or intersex; 

15 ‘‘(D) is victim or witness of a crime; 

16 ‘‘(E) has filed a nonfrivolous civil rights 

17 claim in Federal or State court; 

18 ‘‘(F) has a serious mental or physical ill19 ness or disability; 

20 ‘‘(G) has been determined by an asylum of21 ficer in an interview conducted under section 

22 235(b)(1)(B) to have a credible fear of persecu23 tion or a reasonable fear of persecution under 

24 section 208.31 or 241.8(e) of title 8, Code of 


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1 Federal Regulations (as in effect on the date of 

2 the enactment of the New Way Forward Act); 

3 ‘‘(H) has limited English language pro4 ficiency and is not provided access to appro5 priate and meaningful language services in a 

6 timely fashion; or 

7 ‘‘(I) has been determined by an immigra8 tion judge or the Secretary of Homeland Secu9 rity to be experiencing severe trauma or to be 

10 a survivor of torture or gender-based violence, 

11 based on information obtained during intake, 

12 from the alien’s attorney or legal service pro13 vider, or through credible self-reporting. 

14 ‘‘(c) SUBSEQUENT DETERMINATIONS.—An alien who 

15 is detained under this section shall be provided with a de 

16 novo custody determination hearing under this subsection 

17 every 60 days, as well as upon showing of a change in 

18 circumstances or good cause for a de novo custody deter19 mination hearing.’’; and 

20 (2) by striking subsection (e) and inserting the 

21 following: 

22 ‘‘(e) RELEASE UPON AN ORDER GRANTING RELIEF

23 FROM REMOVAL.—In the case of an alien with respect to 

24 whom an immigration judge has entered an order termi25 nating removal proceedings or an order providing for relief 


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1 from removal, including an order granting asylum, or pro2 viding for withholding, deferral, or cancellation of removal, 

3 which order is pending appeal, the Secretary of Homeland 

4 Security shall immediately release the alien upon entry of 

5 the order, and may impose only reasonable conditions on 

6 the alien’s release from custody. 

7 ‘‘(f) COMMUNITY-BASED CASE MANAGEMENT PRO8 GRAM.— 

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

10 Security shall establish, outside of the purview of 

11 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a com12 munity-based case management program that— 

13 ‘‘(A) provides alternatives to detaining 

14 aliens; 

15 ‘‘(B) offers a continuum of community16 based support options and services, including— 

17 ‘‘(i) case management; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) access to— 

19 ‘‘(I) social services; 

20 ‘‘(II) medical and mental health 

21 services; 

22 ‘‘(III) housing; 

23 ‘‘(IV) transportation; and 

24 ‘‘(V) legal services; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) provides services in the appropriate 

2 language. 

3 ‘‘(2) PROHIBITION ON ELECTRONIC SURVEIL4 LANCE.—The program under paragraph (1) may not 

5 include, as an alternative to detention, the provision 

6 of ankle monitors or other forms of electronic sur7 veillance. 

8 ‘‘(3) STUDY.—Within 180 days, the Secretary 

9 shall undertake a study to examine best practices of 

10 government-funded case management and related 

11 services, including exploring the possibility of fund12 ing case management services out of the Depart13 ment. 

14 ‘‘(4) CONTRACTS.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may 

16 enter into 1 or more contracts to operate the 

17 case management program described in para18 graph (1). 

19 ‘‘(B) PRIORITIZATION.—In entering into a 

20 contract under subparagraph (A), the Secretary 

21 shall give priority to direct contracts with quali22 fied nongovernmental community-based organi23 zations that have experience providing services 

24 to immigrant, refugee, and asylum-seeking pop25 ulations. 


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1 ‘‘(5) INDIVIDUALIZED DETERMINATION RE2 QUIRED.— 

3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In determining wheth4 er to order an alien to participate in a program 

5 under this subsection, the Secretary or the im6 migration judge, as appropriate, shall make an 

7 individualized determination to determine the 

8 appropriate level of supervision for the alien. 

9 ‘‘(B) EXEMPTION.—Participation in a pro10 gram under this subsection may not be ordered 

11 for an alien for whom it is determined that re12 lease on reasonable bond or recognizance will 

13 reasonably ensure the appearance of the alien 

14 as required and the safety of any other person 

15 and the community. 

16 ‘‘(6) PROHIBITION ON FEES FOR ALTER17 NATIVES TO DETENTION.—An alien who is required 

18 to participate in a specific alternatives to detention 

19 program or service may not be charged a fee for 

20 such participation. 

21 ‘‘(7) CASE MANAGEMENT REVIEW.—Not later 

22 than 180 days after the date of the enactment of the 

23 New Way Forward Act, the Secretary shall conduct 

24 a review of— 


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1 ‘‘(A) best practices in federally funded case 

2 management programs; and 

3 ‘‘(B) the feasibility of transferring alter4 natives to detention case management programs 

5 out of the purview of the Department of Home6 land Security.’’. 

7 (b) PROBABLE CAUSE HEARING.—Section 287(a) of 

8 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1357(a)) 

9 is amended by striking the matter preceding paragraph 

10 (3) and inserting the following: 

11 ‘‘(a) Any officer or employee of the Department of 

12 Homeland Security authorized under regulations pre13 scribed by the Secretary of Homeland Security shall have 

14 power without warrant— 

15 ‘‘(1) to interrogate any alien or person believed 

16 to be an alien as to the person’s right to be or to 

17 remain in the United States, provided that such in18 terrogation is not based on the person’s race, eth19 nicity, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, 

20 color, spoken language, or English language pro21 ficiency; and 

22 ‘‘(2) to arrest any alien who in the officer or 

23 employee’s presence or view is entering or attempt24 ing to enter the United States in violation of any law 

25 or regulation made in pursuance of law regulating 


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1 the admission, exclusion, expulsion, or removal of 

2 aliens, or to arrest any alien in the United States, 

3 if— 

4 ‘‘(A) the officer or employee has probable 

5 cause to believe that the alien so arrested is in 

6 the United States in violation of any such law 

7 or regulation and is likely to escape before a 

8 warrant can be obtained for his arrest; 

9 ‘‘(B) the officer or employee has reason to 

10 believe that the person would knowingly and 

11 willfully fail to appear in immigration court in 

12 response to a properly served notice to appear; 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(C) not later than 48 hours after being 

15 taken into custody, the arrested alien is pro16 vided with a hearing before an immigration 

17 judge to determine whether there is probable 

18 cause as required by this section, including 

19 probable cause to believe that the person would 

20 have knowingly and willfully failed to appear as 

21 required under subparagraph (B), which burden 

22 to establish probable cause shall be on the Gov23 ernment.’’. 


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1 (c) MANDATORY DETENTION REPEALED.—The Im2 migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.) is 

3 amended— 

4 (1) in section 235(b)(1)(B)(ii)— 

5 (A) by striking ‘‘shall’’ and inserting 

6 ‘‘may’’; and 

7 (B) by inserting before the period at the 

8 end the following: ‘‘pursuant to the custody re9 view procedures set forth in section 236’’; 

10 (2) by striking section 235(b)(1)(B)(iii)(IV); 

11 (3) in section 235(b)(2)(A)— 

12 (A) by striking ‘‘shall’’ and inserting 

13 ‘‘may’’; and 

14 (B) by inserting before the period at the 

15 end the following: ‘‘pursuant to the custody re16 view procedures set forth in section 236’’; 

17 (4) by striking section 236A; 

18 (5) in section 238(a)(2), by striking ‘‘pursuant 

19 to section 236(c)’’; and 

20 (6) in section 506(a)(2)— 

21 (A) by striking the paragraph heading and 

22 inserting the following: ‘‘RELEASE HEARING

23 FOR ALIENS DETAINED’’; and 

24 (B) in subparagraph (A)— 


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

2 by striking ‘‘lawfully admitted for perma3 nent residence’’; 

4 (ii) by striking clause (i); and 

5 (iii) by redesignating clauses (ii) and 

6 (iii) as clauses (i) and (ii), respectively. 

7 (d) ALIENS ORDERED REMOVED.—Section 241(a) of 

8 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1231(a)) 

9 is amended— 

10 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘90 days’’ 

11 each place it appears and inserting ‘‘60 days’’; 

12 (2) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the 

13 following: 

14 ‘‘(2) INITIAL CUSTODY REDETERMINATION

15 HEARING.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 72 

17 hours after the entry of a final administrative 

18 order of removal, the alien ordered removed 

19 shall be provided with a custody redetermina20 tion hearing before an immigration judge. 

21 ‘‘(B) PRESUMPTION OF DETENTION.—For 

22 purposes of the hearing under subparagraph 

23 (A), the alien shall be detained during the re24 moval period unless the alien can show, by a 

25 preponderance of the evidence, that the alien’s 


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1 removal is not reasonably foreseeable and that 

2 the alien does not pose a risk to the safety of 

3 any individual or to the community.’’; 

4 (3) in paragraph (3)— 

5 (A) in the paragraph heading, by striking 

6 ‘‘90-DAY’’ and inserting ‘‘60-DAY’’; and 

7 (B) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

8 (A), by striking ‘‘the alien, pending removal, 

9 shall be subject to supervision under’’ and in10 serting the following: ‘‘except as provided in 

11 paragraph (7), any alien who has been detained 

12 during the removal period shall be released 

13 from custody, pending removal, subject to indi14 vidualized supervision requirements in accord15 ance with’’; 

16 (4) by striking paragraph (6); and 

17 (5) by striking paragraph (7) and inserting the 

18 following: 

19 ‘‘(7) SUBSEQUENT CUSTODY REDETERMINA20 TION HEARINGS.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Government may 

22 request a subsequent redetermination hearing 

23 before an immigration judge seeking continued 

24 detention for an alien ordered to be detained 


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1 pursuant to paragraph (2) who has not been re2 moved within the removal period. 

3 ‘‘(B) STANDARD.—An alien may only be 

4 detained after the removal period upon a show5 ing by the Government that— 

6 ‘‘(i) the alien’s removal is reasonably 

7 foreseeable; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) the alien poses a risk to the safe9 ty of an individual or the community, 

10 which may only be established based on 

11 credible and individualized information 

12 that establishes objective risk factors, and 

13 may not be established based only on the 

14 fact that the alien has been charged with 

15 or is suspected of a crime. 

16 ‘‘(C) PERIOD OF DETENTION.—An alien 

17 may not be detained pursuant to an order 

18 under this paragraph for longer than a 60-day 

19 period. The Government may seek subsequent 

20 redetermination hearings under this paragraph 

21 in order to continue detaining an alien beyond 

22 each such 60-day period.’’. 


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1 TITLE II—STATUTE OF 

2 LIMITATIONS 

3 SEC. 201. TIME FOR COMMENCING REMOVAL PRO4 CEEDINGS. 

5 Section 239(d) of the Immigration and Nationality 

6 Act (8 U.S.C. 1229(d)) is amended by adding at the end 

7 the following: 

8 ‘‘(3)(A) Notwithstanding paragraph (2), any removal 

9 proceeding against an alien previously admitted to the 

10 United States for being within a class of deportable aliens 

11 described in section 237(a)(2), or within a class of inad12 missible aliens described in section 212(a)(2), shall not be 

13 entertained unless commenced not later than the date that 

14 is five years after the date on which the alien became de15 portable or inadmissible. 

16 ‘‘(B) This paragraph shall apply to any removal pro17 ceeding resulting in an order of removal before the date 

18 of the enactment of the New Way Forward Act as if in 

19 effect on the date on which the removal proceeding was 

20 commenced.’’. 


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1 TITLE III—LIMIT CRIMINAL2 SYSTEM-TO-REMOVAL PIPELINE 

3 SEC. 301. CRIMINAL OFFENSES AND IMMIGRATION LAWS. 

4 (a) INADMISSIBILITY BASED ON CRIMINAL AND RE5 LATED GROUNDS.—Section 212(a)(2) of the Immigration 

6 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(2)) is amended— 

7 (1) by striking subparagraph (A); and 

8 (2) by redesignating subparagraphs (B) 

9 through (I) as subparagraphs (A) through (H), re10 spectively. 

11 (b) DEPORTABILITY BASED ON CRIMINAL OF12 FENSES.—Section 237(a)(2) of the Immigration and Na13 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1227(a)(2)) is amended— 

14 (1) in subparagraph (A)— 

15 (A) by striking clauses (i) and (ii); 

16 (B) by redesignating clauses (iii) through 

17 (vi) as clauses (i) through (iv), respectively; and 

18 (C) in clause (iv), as so redesignated, by 

19 striking ‘‘Clauses (i), (ii), and (iii)’’ and insert20 ing ‘‘Clauses (i) and (ii)’’; 

21 (2) by striking subparagraph (B); and 

22 (3) by redesignating subparagraphs (C) through 

23 (F) as subparagraphs (B) through (E), respectively. 


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1 SEC. 302. DEFINITIONS. 

2 (a) AGGRAVATED FELONY.—Section 101(a)(43) of 

3 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

4 1101(a)(43)) is amended— 

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

6 by striking ‘‘means—’’ and inserting ‘‘means a fel7 ony, for which a term of imprisonment of not less 

8 than 5 years was imposed, that is—’’; 

9 (2) in subparagraph (F), by striking ‘‘for which 

10 the term of imprisonment at least one year’’; 

11 (3) in subparagraph (G), by striking ‘‘for 

12 which’’ and all that follows through ‘‘year’’; 

13 (4) in subparagraph (J), by striking ‘‘, for 

14 which a sentence of one year imprisonment or more 

15 may be imposed’’; 

16 (5) in subparagraph (P)— 

17 (A) by striking ‘‘(i)’’; and 

18 (B) by striking ‘‘and (ii) for which the 

19 term of imprisonment imposed (regardless of 

20 any suspension of such imprisonment) is at 

21 least 12 months’’; 

22 (6) in subparagraph (R), by striking ‘‘for which 

23 the term of imprisonment is at least one year’’; 

24 (7) in subparagraph (S), by striking ‘‘, for 

25 which the term of imprisonment is at least one 

26 year’’; and 


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1 (8) by striking the last sentence. 

2 (b) CONVICTION.—Section 101(a)(48) of the Immi3 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(48)) is 

4 amended— 

5 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘court’’ 

6 and all that follows through ‘‘to be imposed.’’ and 

7 inserting the following: ‘‘court. However, any such 

8 adjudication or judgment of guilt that has been dis9 missed, expunged, sealed, deferred, annulled, invali10 dated, withheld, or vacated by any court or entity 

11 shall not be considered a conviction for purposes of 

12 this Act. Any such adjudication or judgment of guilt 

13 where a court has issued a judicial recommendation 

14 against removal shall not be considered a conviction 

15 for purposes of this Act. Any disposition that is an 

16 order of probation without entry of judgment or any 

17 similar disposition, or where the President of the 

18 United States, the governor of a State or territory, 

19 or any body authorized by a state legislature or gov20 ernor has issued a pardon, shall not be considered 

21 a conviction for purposes of this Act. Any such adju22 dication or judgment on direct appeal or within the 

23 time to file direct appeal shall not be considered a 

24 ‘conviction’ for the purposes of this Act.’’; and 

25 (2) in subparagraph (B)— 


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1 (A) by inserting ‘‘only’’ after ‘‘deemed to 

2 include’’; and 

3 (B) by striking ‘‘or confinement’’ and all 

4 that follows through the period at the end and 

5 inserting ‘‘ordered by a court of law. Any such 

6 reference shall not include any term of impris7 onment or any sentence that has been subject 

8 to any suspension of imposition or execution in 

9 whole or in part, or that has been commuted or 

10 in any way modified or changed by the Presi11 dent of the United States, the governor of a 

12 State or territory, or any body authorized by a 

13 State legislature or governor to commute, mod14 ify, or in any way change a sentence.’’. 

15 (c) PARTICULARLY SERIOUS CRIME.—Section 

16 208(b)(2)(B)(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

17 (8 U.S.C. 1158(b)(2)(B)(i)) is amended to read as follows: 

18 ‘‘(i) CONVICTION OF AGGRAVATED

19 FELONY.—For purposes of clause (ii) of 

20 subparagraph (A), section 241(b)(3)(B), or 

21 any other provision of this Act, only an 

22 alien who has been convicted of an aggra23 vated felony for which a term of imprison24 ment of not less than five years was imVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:18 Apr 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00022 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2374.IH H2374

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1 posed shall be considered to have been con2 victed of a particularly serious crime.’’. 

3 (d) APPLICABILITY.—The amendments made by this 

4 section shall apply to— 

5 (1) admissions and conduct occurring before, 

6 on, or after the date of the enactment of this Act; 

7 and 

8 (2) convictions and sentences entered before, 

9 on, or after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

10 TITLE IV—RESTORE JUDICIAL 

11 DISCRETION AND END RE12 MOVAL WITHOUT DUE PROC13 ESS 

14 SEC. 401. IMMIGRATION PROCEDURAL CHANGES. 

15 (a) DECISION AND BURDEN OF PROOF.—Section 

16 240(c)(1)(A) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

17 U.S.C. 1229(c)(1)(A)) is amended by inserting after the 

18 period at the end the following: ‘‘Notwithstanding any 

19 other provision of law, an immigration judge may grant 

20 any relief or deferral from removal, including withholding 

21 of removal, to any individual who is otherwise eligible for 

22 such relief but for a prior criminal conviction, or the com23 mission of or a finding of the commission of other conduct 

24 described in section 212(a)(2), 237(a)(2), or 237(a)(3), if 

25 the immigration judge finds such an exercise of discretion 


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1 appropriate in pursuit of humanitarian purposes, to as2 sure family unity, or when it is otherwise in the public 

3 interest.’’. 

4 (b) REMOVAL OF ALIENS WHO ARE NOT PERMA5 NENT RESIDENTS.—Section 238 of the Immigration and 

6 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1228) is amended— 

7 (1) by striking subsection (b); and 

8 (2) by redesignating the first subsection (c) as 

9 subsection (b). 

10 (c) REINSTATEMENT OF REMOVAL ORDERS AGAINST

11 ALIENS ILLEGALLY REENTERING.—Section 241(a) of the 

12 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1231(a)) is 

13 amended— 

14 (1) by striking paragraph (5); and 

15 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (6) and (7) as 

16 paragraphs (5) and (6), respectively. 

17 (d) SPECIAL RULES RELATING TO CONTINUOUS

18 RESIDENCE OR PHYSICAL PRESENCE.—Section 240A(d) 

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

20 1229b(d)) is amended— 

21 (1) by striking paragraph (1); and 

22 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) as 

23 paragraphs (1) and (2), respectively. 


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1 (e) JUDICIAL REVIEW OF ORDERS OF REMOVAL.— 

2 Section 242 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

3 U.S.C. 1252) is amended by striking subsection (a)(2)(C). 

4 TITLE V—PROHIBITION AGAINST 

5 PERFORMANCE OF IMMIGRA6 TION OFFICER FUNCTIONS BY 

7 STATE AND LOCAL OFFICERS 

8 AND EMPLOYEES 

9 SEC. 501. LOCAL ENFORCEMENT. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 287(g) of the Immigra11 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1357(g)) is amended 

12 to read as follows: 

13 ‘‘(g)(1) The officers and employees of any State, or 

14 any political subdivision of a State, are prohibited from 

15 performing the function of an immigration officer in rela16 tion to the investigation, apprehension, transport, or de17 tention of aliens in the United States or otherwise assist 

18 in the performance of such functions. 

19 ‘‘(2) Civil immigration warrants shall not be made 

20 available to the officers or employees of any State, or any 

21 political subdivision of a State, through the National 

22 Crime Information Center database or its incorporated 

23 criminal history databases. Federal, State, and local law 

24 enforcement officials are prohibited from entering into the 

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1 porated criminal history databases information that re2 lates to an alien’s immigration status, the existence of a 

3 prior removal, deportation, or voluntary departure order 

4 entered against an alien, or any allegations of civil viola5 tions of the immigration laws. Any information described 

6 in this paragraph that is in the National Crime Informa7 tion Center database shall be removed from such database 

8 not later than 90 days after the enactment of the New 

9 Way Forward Act.’’. 

10 (b) PROHIBITING COORDINATION FOR ENFORCE11 MENT OF IMMIGRATION LAWS.— 

12 (1) PROHIBITING STATE AND LOCAL LAW EN13 FORCEMENT ARREST AND DETENTION OF ALIENS.— 

14 Section 439 of the Antiterrorism and Effective 

15 Death Penalty Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1252c) is re16 pealed. 

17 (2) COMMUNICATION.—Section 434 of the Per18 sonal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Rec19 onciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1644) is repealed. 

20 (c) COMMUNICATION AND ENFORCEMENT.—Section 

21 642 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Re22 sponsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1373) is repealed. 

23 SEC. 502. NATIONAL CRIME INFORMATION CENTER. 

24 Section 534(f) of title 28, United States Code, is 

25 amended— 


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1 (1) by redesignating paragraph (3) as para2 graph (4); and 

3 (2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘(3) Civil immigration warrants shall not be 

6 made available to the officers or employees of any 

7 State, or any political subdivision of a State, 

8 through the National Crime Information Center 

9 database or its incorporated criminal history data10 bases. Federal, State, and local law enforcement of11 ficials are prohibited from entering into the National 

12 Crime Information Center database or its incor13 porated criminal history databases information that 

14 relates to an alien’s immigration status, the exist15 ence of a prior removal, deportation, or voluntary 

16 departure order entered against an alien, or any al17 legations of civil violations of the immigration laws. 

18 Any information described in this paragraph that is 

19 in the National Crime Information Center database 

20 shall be removed from such database not later than 

21 90 days after the enactment of the New Way For22 ward Act.’’. 


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1 TITLE VI—DECRIMINALIZE 

2 MIGRATION 

3 SEC. 601. REPEALING MIGRATION CRIMINAL LAWS. 

4 (a) CRIMINAL PENALTIES FOR ENTRY AT IMPROPER

5 TIME OR PLACE.—Section 275 of the Immigration and 

6 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1325) is repealed. 

7 (b) CRIMINAL PENALTIES FOR REENTRY.—Section 

8 276 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

9 1326) is repealed. 

10 TITLE VII—RIGHT TO COME 

11 HOME 

12 SEC. 701. RECONSIDERING AND REOPENING IMMIGRATION 

13 CASES. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi15 sion of law, the Attorney General— 

16 (1) shall grant a motion to reconsider or reopen 

17 proceedings pursuant to paragraph (6) or (7) of sec18 tion 240(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

19 (8 U.S.C. 1229a(c)) with respect to any alien who— 

20 (A) on or after April 24, 1996— 

21 (i) was ordered removed, deported, or 

22 excluded; or 

23 (ii) departed the United States pursu24 ant to a grant of voluntary departure 

25 under section 240B of the Immigration 


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1 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1229c) (re2 gardless of whether or not the alien was 

3 ordered removed, deported, or excluded); 

4 and 

5 (B) demonstrates that the alien— 

6 (i) would not have been considered in7 admissible, excludable, or deportable under 

8 the immigration laws (as defined in section 

9 101(a)(17) of the Immigration and Nation10 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(17))) if this 

11 Act, and the amendments made by this 

12 Act, had been in effect on the date on 

13 which such order was issued or the vol14 untary departure took place; or 

15 (ii) would have been eligible to apply 

16 for relief from removal, deportation, or ex17 clusion under such laws if this Act, and 

18 the amendments made by this Act, had 

19 been in effect on the date on which such 

20 order was issued or the voluntary depar21 ture took place; and 

22 (2) shall deem an alien who makes the dem23 onstration under paragraph (1)(B) as not having 

24 been removed, deported, excluded, or departed, and 

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1 parture order, for all purposes under the Immigra2 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.). 

3 (b) PREVIOUSLY FILED APPLICATION; PREVIOUS

4 MOTIONS TO REOPEN OR RECONSIDER.—The Attorney 

5 General may not reject or deny a motion to reconsider or 

6 reopen under subsection (a) because— 

7 (1) the alien did not include a copy of any pre8 viously filed application for relief; or 

9 (2) the alien had previously filed a motion to 

10 reopen or reconsider. 

11 (c) DEADLINE.—The deadline described in para12 graphs (6)(B) and (7)(C)(i) of section 240(c) of the Immi13 grations and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1229a(c)) shall not 

14 apply to a motion to reopen or reconsider under this sec15 tion. 

16 (d) TRANSPORTATION.—The Secretary of Homeland 

17 Security shall provide transportation for aliens eligible for 

18 reopening or reconsideration of their proceedings under 

19 this section, at Government expense, to return to the 

20 United States for further immigration proceedings and 

21 shall admit or parole the alien into the United States. 

22 (e) PHYSICAL PRESENCE REQUIREMENT.—For the 

23 purpose of applications filed subsequent to reopening 

24 under this section pursuant to section 240A of the Immi25 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1229b), or any 


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1 other application for relief under the immigration laws (as 

2 defined in section 101(a)(17) of the Immigration and Na3 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(17))), removal, deporta4 tion, exclusion, or voluntary departure shall not be consid5 ered to toll any physical presence requirement. 

6 (f) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Notwithstanding any other 

7 provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.), any denial of a motion to reopen 

9 or reconsider submitted pursuant to this section is subject 

10 to de novo judicial review in a Federal district court hav11 ing jurisdiction over the applicant’s residence or, in the 

12 case of an applicant who was removed from the United 

13 States, the last known residential address of the applicant 

14 in the United States. 

Æ 


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