I 
117TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 9348 
To amend the Second Chance Act of 2007 to require identification for 
returning citizens, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 17, 2022 
Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN (for herself and Mr. MFUME) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To amend the Second Chance Act of 2007 to require 
identification for returning citizens, and for other purposes. 
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 ‘‘New Pathways Act’’. 
SEC. 2. IDENTIFICATION FOR RETURNING CITIZENS. 
Section 231(b) of the Second Chance Act of 2007 (34 
U.S.C. 60541(b)) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(b) IDENTIFICATION
AND RELEASE ASSISTANCE 
FOR FEDERAL PRISONERS.— 
‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection— 
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‘‘(A) the term ‘community confinement’ 
means residence in a community treatment cen-
ter, halfway house, restitution center, mental 
health facility, alcohol or drug rehabilitation 
center, or other community facility; 
‘‘(B) the term ‘direct-release prisoner’ 
means a prisoner who is scheduled for release 
and will not be placed in prerelease custody; 
‘‘(C) the term ‘noncitizen covered indi-
vidual’— 
‘‘(i) means an individual in the cus-
tody of the Bureau of Prisons or sentenced 
to a term in community confinement 
who— 
‘‘(I) is lawfully present and eligi-
ble for employment authorization in 
the United States; and 
‘‘(II) has a document dem-
onstrating that the individual will 
have a place of residence upon release; 
and 
‘‘(ii) includes an alien lawfully admit-
ted for permanent residence (as defined in 
section 101(a) of the Immigration and Na-
tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a))), a ref-
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ugee (as defined in that section of that 
Act), and an asylee; and 
‘‘(D) the term ‘United States citizen cov-
ered individual’ means an individual in the cus-
tody of the Bureau of Prisons or sentenced to 
a term in community confinement who has— 
‘‘(i) a social security card; 
‘‘(ii) a document described in para-
graph (2)(B)(ii) as proof of United States 
citizenship; and 
‘‘(iii) a document demonstrating that 
the individual will have a place of residence 
upon release. 
‘‘(2) OBTAINING IDENTIFICATION FOR UNITED 
STATES CITIZENS.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—With respect to a 
United States citizen covered individual, the Di-
rector shall provide a photo identification card, 
which shall comply with the minimum require-
ments described in section 202(b) of the REAL 
ID Act of 2005 (49 U.S.C. 30301 note), prior 
to— 
‘‘(i) the release of the United States 
citizen covered individual from a term of 
imprisonment in a Federal prison; or 
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‘‘(ii) the release of the United States 
citizen covered individual from a sentence 
to a term in community confinement. 
‘‘(B) ASSISTANCE
IN
OBTAINING
DOCU-
MENTS.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause 
(iii), for the purpose of issuing an identi-
fication card under this subsection, the Di-
rector shall obtain, on behalf of United 
States citizen covered individuals— 
‘‘(I) a social security card; and 
‘‘(II) a document described in 
clause (ii) as proof of United States 
citizenship. 
‘‘(ii) PROOF OF UNITED STATES CITI-
ZENSHIP.—A document described in this 
clause is— 
‘‘(I) a United States passport; 
‘‘(II) an original or certified copy 
of a birth certificate that indicates 
that the individual was born in the 
United States or a territory of the 
United States; 
‘‘(III) in the case of a United 
States citizen born inside the United 
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States for whom a document de-
scribed in subclause (I) or (II) is not 
available, any document described in 
subsection (a), (b), or (c) of section 
435.407 of title 42, Code of Federal 
Regulations, or any successor thereto; 
or 
‘‘(IV) in the case of a United 
States citizen born outside the United 
States, an original or certified copy 
of— 
‘‘(aa) a certificate of natu-
ralization (Form N–550 or N– 
570); 
‘‘(bb) a consular report of 
birth abroad (Form FS–240); 
‘‘(cc) a certification of birth 
abroad (Form FS–545); 
‘‘(dd) a certification of re-
port of birth (Form DS–1350); 
or 
‘‘(ee) a certificate of citizen-
ship (Form N–560). 
‘‘(iii) EXCEPTIONS.— 
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‘‘(I) LACK OF RESPONSE FROM 
FEDERAL OR STATE AGENCY.—If the 
Director cannot obtain a copy of a 
document required under clause (i) 
because of inaction by the Federal or 
State agency from which the docu-
ment was requested, the Director 
shall provide to the United States cit-
izen covered individual— 
‘‘(aa) a written statement 
that explains what steps the Di-
rector took in trying to obtain 
the document; and 
‘‘(bb) any documents trans-
mitted to the Director by the 
Federal or State agency in re-
sponse to the request for the doc-
ument. 
‘‘(II) LACK
OF
AUTHORIZATION 
FROM UNITED STATES CITIZEN COV-
ERED
INDIVIDUAL.—If the Director 
cannot obtain a copy of a document 
required under clause (i) because the 
United States citizen covered indi-
vidual does not provide the authoriza-
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tion required to obtain the document, 
the Director shall provide a written 
statement to the United States citizen 
covered individual that explains why 
the document was not obtained. 
‘‘(C) PROVISION
OF
DOCUMENTS.—Upon 
issuance of an identification card to a covered 
individual under this paragraph, the Director 
shall provide all documents obtained for the 
United States citizen covered individual under 
subparagraph (B). 
‘‘(3) OBTAINING
DOCUMENTS
FOR
NONCITI-
ZENS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—With respect to a non-
citizen covered individual, the Director shall as-
sist in obtaining from the Director of the U.S. 
Citizenship and Immigration Services— 
‘‘(i) proof of lawful status in the 
United States of the noncitizen covered in-
dividual; and 
‘‘(ii) in the case of a noncitizen cov-
ered individual who is not admitted for 
lawful permanent residence, an employ-
ment authorization document. 
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‘‘(B) ASSISTANCE.—The assistance pro-
vided by the Director under subparagraph (A) 
shall include— 
‘‘(i) providing the noncitizen covered 
individual with applicable U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration Services forms and in-
structions; and 
‘‘(ii) assisting the noncitizen covered 
individual in completing and submitting 
such forms, together with any required 
supporting documentation. 
‘‘(C) PROVISION
OF
DOCUMENTS.—Upon 
receipt of a document for a noncitizen covered 
individual under this paragraph, the Director 
shall provide such document to the noncitizen 
covered individual. 
‘‘(4) 
ASSISTANCE
DEVELOPING
RELEASE 
PLAN.—At the request of a direct-release prisoner, a 
representative of the United States Probation Sys-
tem shall, prior to the release of that prisoner, help 
that prisoner develop a release plan.’’. 
Æ 
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