HOPE Act
Bill: S.2261 | Sponsor: Sen. Duckworth, Tammy (D-IL)
Policy area: Immigration

Summary:
Healthcare Opportunities for Patriots in Exile Act or the HOPE Act
This bill authorizes the Department of Homeland Security to parole into the United States an alien veteran who (1) is seeking temporary admission to receive health care from the Department of Veterans Affairs, and (2) is outside the United States after having been ordered removed or voluntarily departed from the United States.
Such parole may not be available for an alien who is inadmissible due to a criminal conviction for a crime of violence, excluding a purely political offense, or a crime that endangers U.S. national security, for which the alien has served at least five years in prison.

To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to allow certain alien 
 veterans to be paroled into the United States to receive health care 
            furnished by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.

    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 ``Healthcare Opportunities for 
Patriots in Exile Act'' or the ``HOPE Act''.

SEC. 2. PAROLE FOR CERTAIN VETERANS.

    Section 212(d)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
1182(d)(5)) is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``subparagraph (B) 
        or'' and inserting ``subparagraphs (B) and (C) and'';
            (2) by striking ``Attorney General'' each place such term 
        appears and inserting ``Secretary of Homeland Security''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(C)(i) The Secretary of Homeland Security may parole any alien 
qualified under clause (ii) into the United States--
            ``(I) at the discretion of the Secretary;
            ``(II) on a case-by-case basis; and
            ``(III) temporarily under such conditions as the Secretary 
        may prescribe.
    ``(ii) To qualify for parole under clause (i) an alien applying for 
admission to the United States shall--
            ``(I) be a veteran (as defined in section 101 of title 38, 
        United States Code);
            ``(II) seek parole to receive health care furnished by the 
        Secretary of Veterans Affairs under chapter 17 of title 38, 
        United States Code; and
            ``(III) be outside of the United States pursuant to having 
        been ordered removed or voluntarily departed from the United 
        States under section 240B.
    ``(iii) Parole of an alien under clause (i) shall not be regarded 
as an admission of the alien.
    ``(iv) If the Secretary of Homeland Security determines that the 
purposes of such parole have been served the alien shall forthwith 
return or be returned to the custody from which the alien was paroled.
    ``(v) Parole shall not be available under clause (i) for an alien 
who is inadmissible due to a criminal conviction--
            ``(I)(aa) for a crime of violence (as defined in section 
        16(a) of title 18, United States Code), excluding a purely 
        political offense; or
            ``(bb) for a crime that endangers the national security of 
        the United States; and
            ``(II) for which the alien has served a term of 
        imprisonment of at least 5 years.''.
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