Anti-Caravan Act of 2022
Bill: H.R.7464 | Sponsor: Rep. Herrell, Yvette (R-NM)
Policy area: Immigration

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.

To place certain limitations on migrant caravans, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Anti-Caravan Act of 2022''.

SEC. 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'' means a country that has 
        implemented a controlled flow policy, including--
                    (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)) 
is amended by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
                    ``(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.) is amended by inserting after 
section 276 the following new section:

``SEC. 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' means a 
group of 25 or more individuals moving by land across international 
borders with the intent to enter the United States without valid entry 
documents or lawful immigration status, as determined by the Secretary 
of Homeland Security and the government of a country of transit, in 
violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et 
seq.) or any other law.''.
    (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) for the purpose of carrying out this Act.
    (f) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Migrant caravan.--The term ``migrant caravan'' means a 
        group of 25 or more individuals moving by land across 
        international borders with the intent to enter the United 
        States without valid entry documents or lawful immigration 
        status, as determined by the Secretary of Homeland Security and 
        the government of a country of transit, in violation of the 
        Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.) or any 
        other law.
            (2) Source country.--The term ``source country'' means a 
        country whose nationals account for more than 1.9 percent of 
        all U.S. Customs and Border Protection encounters, as 
        determined annually by the Secretary of Homeland Security, at 
        the southwest border of the United States.
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