I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 496 
To provide provisional protected presence to qualified individuals who came 
to the United States as children. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 12, 2017 
Mr. COFFMAN (for himself, Mr. GUTIE´RREZ, Mr. CURBELO of Florida, Ms. 
ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. DENHAM, Ms. LOFGREN, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, and 
Ms. JUDY CHU of California) introduced the following bill; which was re-
ferred to the Committee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To provide provisional protected presence to qualified 
individuals who came to the United States as children. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Bar Removal of Indi-
viduals who Dream and Grow our Economy Act’’ or the 
‘‘BRIDGE Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. PROVISIONAL PROTECTED PRESENCE FOR YOUNG 
INDIVIDUALS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 4 of title II of the Immi-
gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1221 et seq.) is 
amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 244A. PROVISIONAL PROTECTED PRESENCE. 
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) DACA RECIPIENT.—The term ‘DACA re-
cipient’ means an alien who is in deferred action sta-
tus on the date of the enactment of this section pur-
suant to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals 
(‘DACA’) Program announced on June 15, 2012. 
‘‘(2) FELONY.—The term ‘felony’ means a Fed-
eral, State, or local criminal offense (excluding a 
State or local offense for which an essential element 
was the alien’s immigration status) punishable by 
imprisonment for a term exceeding one year. 
‘‘(3) MISDEMEANOR.—The term ‘misdemeanor’ 
means a Federal, State, or local criminal offense 
(excluding a State or local offense for which an es-
sential element was the alien’s immigration status, a 
significant misdemeanor, and a minor traffic of-
fense) for which— 
‘‘(A) the maximum term of imprisonment 
is greater than five days and not greater than 
one year; and 
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‘‘(B) the individual was sentenced to time 
in custody of 90 days or less. 
‘‘(4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means 
the Secretary of Homeland Security. 
‘‘(5) SIGNIFICANT
MISDEMEANOR.—The term 
‘significant misdemeanor’ means a Federal, State, or 
local criminal offense (excluding a State or local of-
fense for which an essential element was the alien’s 
immigration status) for which the maximum term of 
imprisonment is greater than five days and not 
greater than one year that— 
‘‘(A) regardless of the sentence imposed, is 
a crime of domestic violence (as defined in sec-
tion 237(a)(2)(E)(i)) or an offense of sexual 
abuse or exploitation, burglary, unlawful posses-
sion or use of a firearm, drug distribution or 
trafficking, or driving under the influence if the 
State law requires, as an element of the offense, 
the operation of a motor vehicle and a finding 
of impairment or a blood alcohol content of .08 
or higher; or 
‘‘(B) resulted in a sentence of time in cus-
tody of more than 90 days, excluding an offense 
for which the sentence was suspended. 
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‘‘(6) THREAT
TO
NATIONAL
SECURITY.—An 
alien is a ‘threat to national security’ if the alien 
is— 
‘‘(A) inadmissible under section 212(a)(3); 
or 
‘‘(B) deportable under section 237(a)(4). 
‘‘(7) THREAT TO PUBLIC SAFETY.—An alien is 
a ‘threat to public safety’ if the alien— 
‘‘(A) has been convicted of an offense for 
which an element was participation in a crimi-
nal street gang (as defined in section 521(a) of 
title 18, United States Code); or 
‘‘(B) has engaged in a continuing criminal 
enterprise (as defined in section 408(c) of the 
Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and 
Control Act of 1970 (21 U.S.C. 848(c))). 
‘‘(b) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary— 
‘‘(1) shall grant provisional protected presence 
to an alien who files an application demonstrating 
that he or she meets the eligibility criteria under 
subsection (c) and pays the appropriate application 
fee; 
‘‘(2) may not remove such alien from the 
United States during the period in which such provi-
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eral educational development exam or other 
State-authorized exam; 
‘‘(B) has graduated or obtained a certifi-
cate of completion from high school; 
‘‘(C) has obtained a general educational 
development certificate; or 
‘‘(D) is an honorably discharged veteran of 
the Coast Guard or Armed Forces of the 
United States; 
‘‘(7) has not been convicted of— 
‘‘(A) a felony; 
‘‘(B) a significant misdemeanor; or 
‘‘(C) three or more misdemeanors not oc-
curring on the same date and not arising out of 
the same act, omission, or scheme of mis-
conduct; and 
‘‘(8) does not otherwise pose a threat to na-
tional security or a threat to public safety. 
‘‘(d) DURATION OF PROVISIONAL PROTECTED PRES-
ENCE AND EMPLOYMENT AUTHORIZATION.—Provisional 
protected presence and the employment authorization pro-
vided under this section shall be effective until the date 
that is three years after the date of the enactment of this 
section. 
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‘‘(e) STATUS DURING PERIOD OF PROVISIONAL PRO-
TECTED PRESENCE.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—An alien granted provi-
sional protected presence is not considered to be un-
lawfully present in the United States during the pe-
riod beginning on the date such status is granted 
and ending on the date described in subsection (d). 
‘‘(2) STATUS OUTSIDE PERIOD.—The granting 
of provisional protected presence under this section 
does not excuse previous or subsequent periods of 
unlawful presence. 
‘‘(f) APPLICATION.— 
‘‘(1) AGE REQUIREMENT.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—An alien who has 
never been in removal proceedings, or whose 
proceedings have been terminated before mak-
ing a request for provisional protected presence, 
shall be at least 15 years old on the date on 
which the alien submits an application under 
this section. 
‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—The age requirement 
set forth in subparagraph (A) shall not apply to 
an alien who, on the date on which the alien ap-
plies for provisional protected presence, is in re-
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moval proceedings, has a final removal order, or 
has a voluntary departure order. 
‘‘(2) APPLICATION FEE.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may re-
quire aliens applying for provisional protected 
presence and employment authorization under 
this section to pay a reasonable fee that is com-
mensurate with the cost of processing the appli-
cation. 
‘‘(B) EXEMPTION.—An applicant may be 
exempted from paying the fee required under 
subparagraph (A) if the alien— 
‘‘(i)(I) is younger than 18 years of 
age; 
‘‘(II) received total income during the 
12-month period immediately preceding the 
date on which the alien files an application 
under this section that is less than 150 
percent of the United States poverty level; 
and 
‘‘(III) is in foster care or otherwise 
lacking any parental or other familial sup-
port; 
‘‘(ii) is younger than 18 years of age 
and is homeless; 
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‘‘(iii)(I) cannot care for himself or 
herself because of a serious, chronic dis-
ability; and 
‘‘(II) received total income during the 
12-month period immediately preceding the 
date on which the alien files an application 
under this section that is less than 150 
percent of the United States poverty level; 
or 
‘‘(iv)(I) as of the date on which the 
alien files an application under this sec-
tion, has accumulated $10,000 or more in 
debt in the past 12 months as a result of 
unreimbursed medical expenses incurred by 
the alien or an immediate family member 
of the alien; and 
‘‘(II) received total income during the 
12-month period immediately preceding the 
date on which the alien files an application 
under this section that is less than 150 
percent of the United States poverty level. 
‘‘(3) REMOVAL
STAYED
WHILE
APPLICATION 
PENDING.—The Secretary may not remove an alien 
from the United States who appears prima facie eli-
gible for provisional protected presence while the 
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alien’s application for provisional protected presence 
is pending. 
‘‘(4) ALIENS
NOT
IN
IMMIGRATION
DETEN-
TION.—An alien who is not in immigration deten-
tion, but who is in removal proceedings, is the sub-
ject of a final removal order, or is the subject of a 
voluntary departure order, may apply for provisional 
protected presence under this section if the alien ap-
pears prima facie eligible for provisional protected 
presence. 
‘‘(5) ALIENS
IN
IMMIGRATION
DETENTION.— 
The Secretary shall provide any alien in immigration 
detention, including any alien who is in removal pro-
ceedings, is the subject of a final removal order, or 
is the subject of a voluntary departure order, who 
appears prima facie eligible for provisional protected 
presence, upon request, with a reasonable oppor-
tunity to apply for provisional protected presence 
under this section. 
‘‘(6) CONFIDENTIALITY.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 
protect information provided in applications for 
provisional protected presence under this sec-
tion and in requests for consideration of DACA 
from disclosure to U.S. Immigration and Cus-
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toms Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Bor-
der Protection for the purpose of immigration 
enforcement proceedings. 
‘‘(B) REFERRALS PROHIBITED.—The Sec-
retary may not refer individuals whose cases 
have been deferred pursuant to DACA or who 
have been granted provisional protected pres-
ence under this section to U.S. Immigration 
and Customs Enforcement. 
‘‘(C) LIMITED EXCEPTION.—The informa-
tion submitted in applications for provisional 
protected presence under this section and in re-
quests for consideration of DACA may be 
shared with national security and law enforce-
ment agencies— 
‘‘(i) for assistance in the consideration 
of the application for provisional protected 
presence; 
‘‘(ii) to identify or prevent fraudulent 
claims; 
‘‘(iii) for national security purposes; 
and 
‘‘(iv) for the investigation or prosecu-
tion of any felony not related to immigra-
tion status. 
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