Anti-Caravan Act of 2022

To place certain limitations on migrant caravans, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Anti-Caravan Act of 2022 2. Limitations on migrant caravans (a) Controlled flow policy (1) Funding Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security, shall make such amounts available in the form of reimbursements to the government of a Central American country or Mexico as may be necessary to cover up to 70 percent of the cost of any flight to return an alien to the alien’s country of origin or nationality if such alien is determined by the appropriate government authorities in the respective country to have unlawfully entered the country in a migrant caravan and be in transit to the United States. The total amount reimbursed to a government of a Central American country of Mexico for this purpose shall not exceed the amount authorized by appropriations for the applicable fiscal year. (2) Central American country defined In this subsection, the term Central American country (A) Guatemala; (B) Panama; (C) El Salvador; (D) Costa Rica; (E) Honduras; (F) Nicaragua; and (G) Belize. (b) Foreign aid for certain immigration activities (1) In general Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security, shall develop a program to provide direct funding to a Western Hemisphere country or other country determined by the Secretary of State to have a policy deterring unlawful travel from a source country of illegal migration to the United States. Such funding may be used to fund immigration detention, processing immigration cases, and repatriation flights for foreign nationals to be returned to their country of nationality. (2) Funding The Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security, shall make such amounts available in the form of reimbursements to the government of a Western Hemisphere country as may be necessary to cover up to 70 percent of percent of the costs for legal processing, detention, and air transportation, to be derived from amounts appropriated. (c) Well-Founded fear for certain asylum seekers Section 208(a)(2) of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1158(a)(2) (F) Migrant caravans (i) In general Paragraph (1) shall not apply to an alien if the Secretary of Homeland Security determines that the alien entered the United States in a group of more than 25 aliens in an hour period within a quarter mile along the United States-Mexico border region unless such alien enters the United States at a port of entry. (ii) Reporting requirement Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of the Anti-Caravan Act of 2022, and quarterly thereafter, the Secretary of Homeland Security and Attorney General shall submit a report to the Committee on the Judiciary and Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate on the number of migrant caravans encountered along the United States-Mexico border region from which country the migrant caravans originated, through which countries they transited, and what actions any Central American country or Mexico took to repatriate, detain, or impede the transit of a migrant caravan. . (d) Criminal and immigration penalties for organizers and participants in a migrant caravan Chapter 8 of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1321 et seq. 276A. Penalties for organizers and participants in a migrant caravan (a) In general (1) Participant An alien who participated in a migrant caravan, as determined by the Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security, shall be ineligible for any immigration benefit or status under this Act for 10 years from the date on which the migrant is encountered by U.S. Customs and Border Protection with respect to such participation. (2) Organizer or financier An alien who organized or financed a migrant caravan, as determined by the Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security, shall be ineligible for any immigration benefit or status under this Act for 30 years from the date on which such a determination is made. (b) Criminal penalties An individual who knowingly organized, financed, or otherwise provided material support a migrant caravan shall be fined under title 18, United States Code, or imprisoned not less than 10 years, or both. (c) Migrant caravan defined The term migrant caravan 8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq. . (e) Funds required The Secretary of State may use $60,000,000 to be derived from the unobligated balances of the amounts appropriated under section 7045(a)(1) of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022 ( Public Law 117–103 (f) Definitions In this section: (1) Migrant caravan The term migrant caravan 8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq. (2) Source country The term source country

Summary: Anti-Caravan Act of 2022 This bill imposes criminal penalties on any individual who organizes or provides material support for a group of 25 or more non-U.S. nationals (aliens under federal law) crossing international land borders with the intent to enter the United States without valid entry documents or lawful immigration status and in violation of any law. The bill also bars any non-U.S. national who participates in or organizes such a group from receiving any immigration benefit or status for specified periods of time.