II 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2915 

To protect alien victims of crime or serious labor or employment violations 

from removal from the United States, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 22, 2018 

Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. SANDERS, Ms. CORTEZ

MASTO, and Mr. BOOKER) introduced the following bill; which was read 

twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To protect alien victims of crime or serious labor or employment violations from removal from 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 ‘‘Protect Our Workers 

5 from Exploitation and Retaliation Act’’ or the ‘‘POWER 

6 Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. PROTECTION OF VICTIMS OF CRIME OR SERIOUS 

2 LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT VIOLATIONS. 

3 (a) AVAILABILITY OF U VISAS.—Section 

4 101(a)(15)(U) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

5 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(U)) is amended— 

6 (1) in clause (i)— 

7 (A) by amending subclause (I) to read as 

8 follows: 

9 ‘‘(I) the alien— 

10 ‘‘(aa) has suffered substantial 

11 abuse or harm as a result of having 

12 been a victim of criminal activity de13 scribed in clause (iii); 

14 ‘‘(bb) has suffered substantial 

15 abuse or harm relating to a labor or 

16 employment violation described in 

17 clause (iv); 

18 ‘‘(cc)(AA) is a victim of criminal 

19 activity described in clause (iii); and 

20 ‘‘(BB) would suffer extreme 

21 hardship on removal from the United 

22 States; or 

23 ‘‘(dd)(AA) has suffered a labor 

24 or employment violation described in 

25 clause (iv); and 


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1 ‘‘(BB) would suffer extreme 

2 hardship on removal from the United 

3 States;’’; 

4 (B) in subclause (II)— 

5 (i) by striking ‘‘concerning’’ and all 

6 that follows through the semicolon at the 

7 end and inserting ‘‘relating to, as applica8 ble— 

9 ‘‘(aa) criminal activity de10 scribed in clause (iii); or 

11 ‘‘(bb) the labor or employ12 ment violation described in clause 

13 (iv);’’; 

14 (C) by amending subclause (III) to read as 

15 follows: 

16 ‘‘(III) with respect to the inves17 tigation or prosecution of criminal ac18 tivity described in clause (iii) or the 

19 investigation, prosecution, or pursuit 

20 of civil remedies relating to the labor 

21 or employment violation described in 

22 clause (iv), as applicable, the alien (or 

23 in the case of an alien child under the 

24 age of 16, the parent, guardian, or 

25 next friend of the alien) has been 


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1 helpful, is being helpful, or is likely to 

2 be helpful to— 

3 ‘‘(aa) a Federal, State, or 

4 local law enforcement official; 

5 ‘‘(bb) a Federal, State, or 

6 local prosecutor; 

7 ‘‘(cc) a Federal, State, or 

8 local judge; 

9 ‘‘(dd) the Secretary of 

10 Homeland Security; 

11 ‘‘(ee) the Equal Employment 

12 Opportunity Commission; 

13 ‘‘(ff) the Secretary of Labor; 

14 ‘‘(gg) the National Labor 

15 Relations Board; or 

16 ‘‘(hh) any other Federal, 

17 State, or local authority; and’’; 

18 and 

19 (D) in subclause (IV), by inserting before 

20 the semicolon at the end ‘‘or a workplace claim 

21 (as defined in section 274A(e)(10)(C)(iii)(II)) 

22 resulted from the labor or employment violation 

23 described in clause (iv), as applicable’’; 

24 (2) in clause (ii)(II), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

25 end; 


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1 (3) by moving clause (iii) 2 ems to the left; 

2 (4) in clause (iii), by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end 

3 and inserting ‘‘and’’; and 

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

5 ‘‘(iv) a labor or employment violation 

6 described in this clause is a violation— 

7 ‘‘(I) that results in the filing of a 

8 bona fide workplace claim (as defined 

9 in section 274A(e)(10)(C)(iii)(II))— 

10 ‘‘(aa) by an alien; 

11 ‘‘(bb) for which an alien is a 

12 material witness; or 

13 ‘‘(cc) in the investigation of 

14 which an alien is likely to be 

15 helpful; and 

16 ‘‘(II) with respect to which an 

17 alien reasonably fears, has been 

18 threatened with, or has been the vic19 tim of, an action involving force, phys20 ical restraint, retaliation, or abuse of 

21 the immigration or other legal process 

22 against the alien or any other person 

23 by an employer relating to— 

24 ‘‘(aa) an act underlying such 

25 workplace claim; or 


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1 ‘‘(bb) the filing of such 

2 workplace claim; or’’. 

3 (b) TEMPORARY PROTECTION FROM REMOVAL.— 

4 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary 

5 of Homeland Security may allow an alien to temporarily 

6 remain in the United States and grant the alien employ7 ment authorization if the Secretary determines that the 

8 alien— 

9 (1) has filed for relief under section 

10 101(a)(15)(U) of the Immigration and Nationality 

11 Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(U)); or 

12 (2)(A) has filed, or is a material witness for, a 

13 bona fide workplace claim (as defined in section 

14 274A(e)(10)(B)(iii)(II) of that Act); and 

15 (B) with respect to the investigation, prosecu16 tion, or pursuit of a civil remedy relating to the 

17 workplace claim, has been helpful, is being helpful, 

18 or is likely to be helpful to— 

19 (i) a Federal, State, or local law enforce20 ment official; 

21 (ii) a Federal, State, or local prosecutor; 

22 (iii) a Federal, State, or local judge; 

23 (iv) the Secretary of Homeland Security; 

24 (v) the Equal Employment Opportunity 

25 Commission; 


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1 (vi) the Secretary of Labor; 

2 (vii) the National Labor Relations Board; 

3 or 

4 (viii) any other Federal, State, or local au5 thority. 

6 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 214(p) of 

7 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(p)) 

8 is amended— 

9 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

10 (A) in the paragraph heading, by striking 

11 ‘‘FOR SECTION 101(A)(15)(U) VISAS’’; 

12 (B) in the first sentence, by inserting ‘‘or 

13 investigating, prosecuting, or seeking a civil 

14 remedy relating to a labor or employment viola15 tion described in section 101(a)(15)(U)(iv)’’ be16 fore the period at the end; and 

17 (C) in the third sentence, by inserting ‘‘or 

18 the investigation, prosecution, or pursuit of a 

19 civil remedy relating to a labor or employment 

20 violation described in section 101(a)(15)(U)(iv), 

21 as applicable’’ before the period at the end; 

22 (2) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking ‘‘10,000’’ 

23 and inserting ‘‘30,000’’; and 

24 (3) in paragraph (6), in the first sentence— 


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1 (A) by inserting ‘‘or investigating, pros2 ecuting, or seeking a civil remedy relating to a 

3 labor or employment violation described in sec4 tion 101(a)(15)(U)(iv), as applicable’’ after 

5 ‘‘described in section 101(a)(15)(U)(iii)’’; and 

6 (B) by inserting ‘‘or labor or employment 

7 violation’’ after ‘‘prosecution of such criminal 

8 activity’’. 

9 (d) ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS.—Section 245(m)(1) of 

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

11 1255(m)(1)) is amended, in the matter preceding subpara12 graph (A), by inserting ‘‘or an investigation or prosecution 

13 of a labor or employment violation, as applicable’’ after 

14 ‘‘prosecution’’. 

15 (e) CHANGE OF NONIMMIGRANT CLASSIFICATION.— 

16 Section 384(a)(1) of the Illegal Immigration Reform and 

17 Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 

18 1367(a)(1)) is amended— 

19 (1) in subparagraph (E), by striking ‘‘physical 

20 or mental abuse and the criminal activity’’ and in21 serting ‘‘abuse and the criminal activity or labor or 

22 employment violation’’; 

23 (2) in subparagraph (F), by striking the comma 

24 at the end and inserting ‘‘, or’’; and 


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1 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (F) the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(G) the alien’s employer,’’. 

4 SEC. 3. LABOR ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS. 

5 (a) REMOVAL PROCEEDINGS.—Section 239(e) of the 

6 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1229(e)) is 

7 amended— 

8 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

9 (A) by striking ‘‘In cases where’’ and in10 serting ‘‘If’’; and 

11 (B) by inserting ‘‘or as a result of informa12 tion provided to the Secretary of Homeland Se13 curity in retaliation against an individual for 

14 exercising or attempting to exercise his or her 

15 employment rights or other legal rights’’ after 

16 ‘‘paragraph (2)’’; and 

17 (2) in paragraph (2), by adding at the end the 

18 following: 

19 ‘‘(C) At a facility with respect to which a 

20 workplace claim (as defined in section 

21 274A(e)(10)(B)(iv)) has been filed or is con22 temporaneously filed.’’. 

23 (b) UNLAWFUL EMPLOYMENT OF ALIENS.—Section 

24 274A(e) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

25 1324a(e)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(10) CONDUCT IN ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS.— 

2 ‘‘(A) ENFORCEMENT ACTION.—If the Sec3 retary of Homeland Security undertakes an en4 forcement action at a facility with respect to 

5 which a workplace claim has been filed or is 

6 contemporaneously filed or as a result of infor7 mation provided to the Secretary in retaliation 

8 against an individual for exercising his or her 

9 rights relating to a workplace claim, the Sec10 retary shall ensure that— 

11 ‘‘(i) any alien arrested or detained 

12 who is necessary for the investigation or 

13 prosecution of a labor or employment viola14 tion, as described in clause (iv) of subpara15 graph (U) of section 101(a)(15), or a 

16 criminal activity, as described in subpara17 graph (T) or clause (iii) of subparagraph 

18 (U) of that section, is not removed from 

19 the United States until a date that is after 

20 the date on which the Secretary— 

21 ‘‘(I) notifies the appropriate law 

22 enforcement agency with jurisdiction 

23 over such labor or employment viola24 tion or criminal activity; and 


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1 ‘‘(II) provides such agency with 

2 the opportunity to interview such 

3 alien; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) an alien entitled to a stay of re5 moval or an abeyance of removal pro6 ceedings under this section is not removed. 

7 ‘‘(B) STAY OF REMOVAL OR ABEYANCE OF

8 REMOVAL PROCEEDINGS.— 

9 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro10 vided in clause (ii), an alien against whom 

11 removal proceedings have been initiated 

12 under chapter 4 of title II shall be entitled 

13 to a stay of removal or an abeyance of re14 moval proceedings and employment author15 ization if the alien— 

16 ‘‘(I) has filed a workplace claim; 

17 ‘‘(II) is a material witness in any 

18 pending or anticipated proceeding re19 lating to a bona fide workplace claim; 

20 or 

21 ‘‘(III) has filed an application for 

22 relief under section 101(a)(15)(U). 

23 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTION.—Clause (i) shall 

24 not apply with respect to an alien if the 

25 Secretary establishes, by a preponderance 


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1 of the evidence in a proceeding before the 

2 immigration judge presiding over such 

3 alien’s removal hearing, that— 

4 ‘‘(I) the alien has been convicted 

5 of a felony; or 

6 ‘‘(II) the workplace claim was 

7 filed in bad faith with the intent to 

8 delay or avoid the removal of the 

9 alien. 

10 ‘‘(iii) DURATION.— 

11 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Any stay of 

12 removal or abeyance of removal pro13 ceedings and employment authoriza14 tion issued pursuant to clause (i) shall 

15 remain valid until the date on which 

16 the workplace claim is resolved or re17 lief under section 101(a)(15)(U) is de18 nied after exhaustion of any adminis19 trative appeal, as applicable. 

20 ‘‘(II) EXTENSION.—The Sec21 retary of Homeland Security may ex22 tend a stay of removal or an abeyance 

23 of removal proceedings for a period of 

24 not longer than 3 years if the Sec25 retary determines that— 


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1 ‘‘(aa) such relief would en2 able the alien asserting a work3 place claim to pursue the claim 

4 to resolution; 

5 ‘‘(bb) the deterrent goals of 

6 any law underlying a workplace 

7 claim would be served; or 

8 ‘‘(cc) such extension would 

9 otherwise further the interests of 

10 justice. 

11 ‘‘(iv) DEFINITIONS.—In this para12 graph: 

13 ‘‘(I) MATERIAL WITNESS.—The 

14 term ‘material witness’ means an indi15 vidual who presents a declaration 

16 from an attorney investigating, pros17 ecuting, or defending a workplace 

18 claim or the presiding officer over19 seeing the workplace claim that at20 tests that, to the best of the knowl21 edge and belief of the declarant, rea22 sonable cause exists to believe that the 

23 testimony of the individual will be rel24 evant to the outcome of the workplace 

25 claim. 


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1 ‘‘(II) WORKPLACE CLAIM.—The 

2 term ‘workplace claim’ means any 

3 written or oral claim, charge, com4 plaint, or grievance relating to the vio5 lation of applicable Federal, State, or 

6 local labor laws (including laws relat7 ing to wages and hours, labor rela8 tions, family and medical leave, occu9 pational health and safety, civil rights, 

10 and nondiscrimination) that is filed 

11 with or communicated or submitted 

12 to— 

13 ‘‘(aa) an employer; 

14 ‘‘(bb) a Federal, State, or 

15 local— 

16 ‘‘(AA) agency; or 

17 ‘‘(BB) court; or 

18 ‘‘(cc) an employee represent19 ative.’’. 

Æ 


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