Title: American Families United Act
Policy area: Immigration

Summary:
American Families United Act
This bill limits what constitutes a conviction for immigration purposes and contains other related provisions. (A conviction can in certain instances be grounds for denying an individual immigration benefits.)
Under this bill, certain judgments of guilt, such as one that has been deferred, expunged, or invalidated, shall not be considered a conviction for immigration purposes. An order of probation without an entry of judgment shall also not count as a conviction. Similarly, a pardon shall render the underlying conviction null for immigration purposes.
Furthermore, for immigration purposes, a term of imprisonment shall only include the actual period of incarceration ordered by a court. If a term of imprisonment is suspended for any length, the suspended time shall not be considered as part of the term of imprisonment. (An individual may be denied certain immigration benefits if the individual has been convicted for a crime with a certain term of imprisonment.)
The bill also provides statutory authority for the Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security to, in certain instances, exercise discretion when enforcing immigration laws, such as waiving one or more grounds of inadmissibility or declining to order an alien removed. Such discretion may only be exercised on a case-by-case basis for humanitarian purposes or to preserve family unity and is subject to other limitations.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8708 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8708

 To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to promote family unity, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 30, 2020

  Ms. Escobar (for herself, Mr. Woodall, and Mr. Soto) introduced the 
  following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to promote family unity, 
                        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 ``American Families United Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The rights and interests of U.S. citizens should be 
        protected by our Nation's immigration laws.
            (2) It is the intent of Congress to provide the Attorney 
        General and Secretary of Homeland Security with the limited 
        ability to exercise their discretion in favor of the spouses, 
        children, and parents of American citizens in immigration 
        proceedings, on a case-by-case basis, to ensure fairness and 
        prevent hardships associated with family separation.

SEC. 3. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.

    Nothing in this Act shall be construed to provide the Attorney 
General or the Secretary of Homeland Security with the ability to 
exercise the discretionary authority provided in this Act, except on a 
case-by-case basis.

SEC. 4 DEFINITION OF CONVICTION.

            (1) In general.--Section 101(a)(48) of the Immigration and 
        Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(48)) is amended by striking 
        subparagraphs (A) and (B) and inserting the following:
                    ``(A) The term `conviction' means, with respect to 
                an alien, a final, formal judgment of guilt entered by 
                a court. A State or Federal court adjudication or 
                judgment of guilt that has been withheld, deferred, 
                expunged, annulled, invalidated, or vacated; an order 
                of probation without entry of judgment; or any similar 
                disposition under State or Federal law shall not be 
                considered a conviction for purposes of the immigration 
                laws.
                    ``(B) A pardon entered by a State or Federal 
                authority shall render the underlying conviction null 
                and void for purposes of the immigration laws.
                    ``(C) Any reference to a term of imprisonment or 
                sentence with respect to an offense is deemed to 
                include only the actual period of incarceration or 
                confinement ordered by a court of law. The suspension 
                of the imposition or execution of a term of 
                imprisonment or sentence in whole or in part shall not 
                be included as a part of the sentence for purposes of 
                the immigration laws.''.
            (2) Effective date and application.--The amendments made by 
        paragraph (1) shall take effect on the date of the enactment of 
        this Act and shall apply to convictions and sentences entered 
        before, on, or after the date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 5. DISCRETIONARY AUTHORITY WITH RESPECT TO REMOVAL, DEPORTATION, 
              INELIGIBILITY OR INADMISSIBILITY OF CITIZEN FAMILY 
              MEMBERS.

    (a) Applications for Relief From Removal.--Section 240(c)(4) of the 
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1229a(c)(4)) is amended by 
adding at the end the following:
                    ``(D) Judicial discretion.--
                            ``(i) In general.--In the case of an alien 
                        subject to removal, deportation, or exclusion 
                        proceedings, the Attorney General may, for 
                        reasons described in clause (ii)--
                                    ``(I) decline to order such alien 
                                removed, deported, or excluded from the 
                                United States;
                                    ``(II) terminate such removal, 
                                deportation, or exclusion proceedings; 
                                and
                                    ``(III) grant such alien permission 
                                to reapply for admission to the United 
                                States or any other application for 
                                relief from removal.
                            ``(ii) Limitation on discretion.--The 
                        Attorney General may exercise the discretion 
                        described in clause (i)--
                                    ``(I) for humanitarian purposes; or
                                    ``(II) to preserve family unity in 
                                the United States if the alien is--
                                            ``(aa) the spouse of a 
                                        United States citizen; or
                                            ``(bb) the parent of a 
                                        United States citizen child and 
                                        such child's other parent is a 
                                        United States citizen or was a 
                                        United States citizen at the 
                                        time of such other parent's 
                                        death.
                            ``(iii) Exclusions.--This subparagraph 
                        shall not apply to an alien whom the Attorney 
                        General determines--
                                    ``(I) is inadmissible or deportable 
                                under--
                                            ``(aa) subparagraph (B), 
                                        (C), (D)(ii), (E), (H), or (I) 
                                        of section 212(a)(2);
                                            ``(bb) section 212(a)(3);
                                            ``(cc) subparagraph (A), 
                                        (C), or (D) of section 
                                        212(a)(10); or
                                            ``(dd) paragraph 
                                        (2)(A)(ii), (2)(A)(v), (2)(F), 
                                        (4), or (6) of section 237(a); 
                                        or
                                    ``(II) has--
                                            ``(aa) been convicted of 
                                        conduct described in paragraph 
                                        (8), (11), or (12) of section 
                                        103 of the Trafficking Victims 
                                        Protection Act of 2000 (22 
                                        U.S.C. 7102); or
                                            ``(bb) a felony conviction 
                                        described in section 101(a)(43) 
                                        that would have been classified 
                                        as an aggravated felony at the 
                                        time of conviction.''.
    (b) Secretary's Discretion.--Section 212 of the Immigration and 
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating the second subsection (t) as 
        subsection (u); and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(v) Secretary's Discretion.--
            ``(1) In general.--In the case of an alien who is 
        inadmissible under subsection (a), deportable under section 
        237, or ineligible for any immigration benefit or relief under 
        the immigration laws, the Secretary of Homeland Security may, 
        for reasons described in paragraph (2)--
                    ``(A) and subject to paragraph (3), waive one or 
                more grounds of inadmissibility or deportability;
                    ``(B) decline to issue a notice to appear requiring 
                such an alien to appear in a removal proceeding;
                    ``(C) decline to reinstate an order of removal 
                under section 241(a)(5); and
                    ``(D) grant such an alien permission to reapply for 
                admission to the United States or any other application 
                for immigration benefits.
            ``(2) Limitation on discretion.--The Secretary of Homeland 
        Security may exercise the discretion described in clause (i)--
                    ``(A) for humanitarian purposes; or
                    ``(B) to preserve family unity in the United States 
                if the alien is--
                            ``(i) the spouse of a United States 
                        citizen; or
                            ``(ii) the parent of a United States 
                        citizen child and such child's other parent is 
                        a United States citizen or was a United States 
                        citizen at the time of such other parent's 
                        death.
            ``(3) This subsection shall not apply to an alien whom the 
        Secretary determines--
                    ``(A) is inadmissible or deportable under--
                            ``(i) subparagraph (B), (C), (D)(ii), (E), 
                        (H), or (I) of subsection (a)(2);
                            ``(ii) subsection (a)(3);
                            ``(iii) subparagraph (A), (C), or (D) of 
                        subsection (a)(10); or
                            ``(iv) paragraph (2)(A)(ii), (2)(A)(v), 
                        (2)(F), or (6) of section 237(a); or
                    ``(B) has--
                            ``(i) been convicted of conduct described 
                        in paragraph (8), (11), or (12) of section 103 
                        of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 
                        2000 (22 U.S.C. 7102); or
                            ``(ii) a felony conviction described in 
                        section 101(a)(43) that would have been 
                        classified as an aggravated felony at the time 
                        of conviction;''.
                                 <all>