Title: DETER Act
Policy area: Immigration

Summary:
Defending Elections against Trolls from Enemy Regimes Act or DETER Act
This bill makes an alien inadmissible to the United States or deportable if there are reasonable grounds to believe that the alien seeks to enter the country to improperly interfere with a U.S. election, or has previously done so.
Improper interference in a U.S. election is conduct by an alien that (1) violates federal criminal, voting rights, or campaign finance law, or is under the direction of a foreign government; and (2) interferes with any general or primary federal, state, or local election or caucus, including a candidate's campaign or a ballot measure.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1328 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1328

To designate foreign persons who improperly interfere in United States 
       elections as inadmissible aliens, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 6, 2019

Mr. Durbin (for himself, Mr. Graham, Mr. Blumenthal, and Mr. Grassley) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To designate foreign persons who improperly interfere in United States 
       elections as inadmissible aliens, 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 ``Defending Elections against Trolls 
from Enemy Regimes Act'' or ``DETER Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINED TERM.

    Section 101(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
1101(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(53) The term `improper interference in a United States 
        election' means conduct by an alien that--
                    ``(A)(i) violates Federal criminal, voting rights, 
                or campaign finance law; or
                    ``(ii) is under the direction of a foreign 
                government; and
                    ``(B) interferes with a general or primary Federal, 
                State, or local election or caucus, including--
                            ``(i) the campaign of a candidate; and
                            ``(ii) a ballot measure, including--
                                    ``(I) an amendment;
                                    ``(II) a bond issue;
                                    ``(III) an initiative;
                                    ``(IV) a recall;
                                    ``(V) a referral; and
                                    ``(VI) a referendum.''.

SEC. 3. IMPROPER INTERFERENCE IN UNITED STATES ELECTIONS.

    (a) Inadmissibility.--Section 212(a)(3) of the Immigration and 
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(3)) is amended by adding at the end 
the following:
                    ``(H) Improper interference in a united states 
                election.--Any alien who a consular officer, the 
                Secretary of Homeland Security, the Secretary of State, 
                or the Attorney General knows, or has reasonable 
                grounds to believe, is seeking admission to the United 
                States to engage in improper interference in a United 
                States election, or who has engaged in improper 
                interference in a United States election, is 
                inadmissible.''.
    (b) Deportability.--Section 237(a) of the Immigration and 
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1227(a)) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:
            ``(8) Improper interference in a united states election.--
        Any alien who has engaged, is engaged, or at any time after 
        admission engages in improper interference in a United States 
        election is deportable.''.
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