NO BAN Act

Bill: 116-s-1123
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Coons, Christopher A. [D-DE]
Introduced: 2019-04-10
Policy area: Immigration
Subjects: Africa

Asia

Border security and unlawful immigration

Chad

Congressional oversight

Government information and archives

Immigration status and procedures

Iran

Iraq

Judicial review and appeals

Latin America

Libya

Mexico

Middle East

North Korea

Presidents and presidential powers, Vice Presidents

Racial and ethnic relations

Refugees, asylum, displaced persons

Religion

Somalia

Syria

Terrorism

Venezuela

Visas and passports

Yemen
Latest action: action_date: 2019-04-10
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Summaries:
action_date: 2019-04-10
action_desc: Introduced in Senate
text: <p><b>National Origin-Based Antidiscrimination for Nonimmigrants Act or the NO BAN Act</b></p> <p>This bill imposes limitations on the President's authority to suspend or restrict aliens from entering the United States and terminates certain presidential actions implementing such restrictions. It also prohibits religious discrimination in various immigration-related decisions, such as whether to issue an immigrant or non-immigrant visa, with certain exceptions.</p> <p>The President may temporarily restrict the entry of any aliens or class of aliens after the Department of State determines that the restriction would address specific acts that threaten U.S. interests such as security or public safety. </p> <p>The bill also imposes limitations on such restrictions, such as requiring the President, State Department, and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to provide specific evidence of a need for the restriction, and to narrowly tailor the restriction to meet a compelling government interest.</p> <p>Before imposing a restriction, the President, State Department, and DHS shall consult with Congress. The State Department and DHS shall report to Congress about the restriction within 48 hours of the restriction's imposition, with regular updates. If such reports are not made, the restriction shall immediately terminate.</p> <p><br> </p> <p><br> </p> <p><br> </p>

tv_txt: II 116th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 1123 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES April 10, 2019 Mr. Coons (for himself, Mrs. Feinstein , Mr. Van Hollen , Mr. Blumenthal , Mr. Markey , Ms. Harris , Mr. Durbin , Ms. Warren , Mrs. Murray , Mr. Leahy , Mr. Menendez , Ms. Klobuchar , Mr. Booker , Mr. Cardin , Mr. Kaine , Mr. Schumer , Mrs. Shaheen , Ms. Hirono , Ms. Stabenow , Mr. Merkley , Mr. Bennet , Mr. Sanders , Mr. Carper , Ms. Duckworth , Mr. Brown , Mrs. Gillibrand , Mr. Murphy , Ms. Smith , Mr. Casey , Mr. Whitehouse , Ms. Hassan , and Mr. Peters ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To transfer and limit Executive Branch authority to suspend or restrict the entry of a class of aliens.

1. Short titles This Act may be cited as the National Origin-Based Antidiscrimination for Nonimmigrants Act or the NO BAN Act . 2. Expansion of nondiscrimination provision Section 202(a)(1)(A) of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1152(a)(1)(A) ) is amended— (1) by inserting or a nonimmigrant visa, entry into the United States, or the approval or revocation of any immigration benefit after immigrant visa ; (2) by inserting religion, after sex, ; and (3) by inserting , except if expressly required by statute, or if a statutorily authorized benefit takes into consideration such factors before the period at the end. 3. Transfer and limitations on authority to suspend or restrict the entry of a class of aliens Section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1182(f) ) is amended— (1) in the subsection heading, by striking by President ; and (2) by striking Whenever the President and all that follows through appropriate. and inserting the following: (1) In general Subject to paragraph (2), if the Secretary of State, after consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security, determines, based on credible facts, that the entry of any aliens or of any class of aliens into the United States should be suspended or restricted to address specific acts that undermine the security or public safety of the United States; human rights; democratic processes or institutions; or international stability, the President may temporarily— (A) suspend the entry of any aliens or any class of aliens as immigrants or nonimmigrants; or (B) impose any restrictions on the entry of aliens that the President considers to be appropriate. (2) Limitations In carrying out paragraph (1), the President, the Secretary of State, and the Secretary of Homeland Security— (A) shall provide specific evidence supporting the determination; (B) shall comply with all provisions of this Act, including section 202(a)(1)(A); (C) shall narrowly tailor the suspension or restriction to meet a compelling governmental interest; (D) shall specify the duration of the suspension or restriction and set forth evidence justifying such duration; (E) shall use the least restrictive means possible to achieve the specified governmental interest; and (F) shall consider waivers to any class-based restriction or suspension and apply a rebuttable presumption in favor of granting family-based and humanitarian waivers. (3) Consultation The President, the Secretary of State, and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall consult with Congress before exercising the authority under paragraph (1). (4) Congressional notification Not later than 48 hours after the President exercises the authority under paragraph (1), the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall provide a briefing and submit a written report to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate , the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate , the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate , the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives , the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives , and the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives that describes— (A) the actions taken pursuant to paragraph (1) and the number of individuals to which such actions apply; (B) the constitutional and legislative authority under which such actions took place; and (C) the circumstances necessitating the actions taken pursuant to paragraph (1), including how such actions comply with the limitations described in paragraph (2). (5) Periodic reporting If the briefing required under paragraph (4) is not provided by the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security within 48 hours after exercising the authority under paragraph (1), and updated every 30 days thereafter, such emergency suspension or action shall immediately terminate absent intervening congressional action. (6) Publication The Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall publicly announce and publish in the Federal Register— (A) the nature of the actions taken pursuant to paragraph (1); (B) the estimated number of individuals impacted by such actions; (C) the specified objective of each such action; and (D) the circumstances necessitating such actions. (7) Judicial review (A) In general Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an individual or entity who is present in the United States and has been harmed by a violation of this subsection may file an action in an appropriate district court of the United States to seek declaratory or injunctive relief. (B) Class action Nothing in this Act may be construed to preclude an action filed pursuant to subparagraph (A) from proceeding as a class action. (8) . 4. Termination of certain executive actions (a) Termination Presidential Proclamations 9645 and 9822 and Executive Orders 13769, 13780, and 13815 shall be void beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act. (b) Effect All actions made pursuant to any proclamation or executive order terminated under subsection (a) shall cease on the date of the enactment of this Act. 5. Visa applicants report (a) Initial reports Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in coordination with the relevant heads of other Federal agencies, shall submit a report to the appropriate congressional committees that describes the implementation of each of the presidential proclamations and executive orders referred to in section 4. The report submitted with respect to Presidential Proclamation 9645 ( Presidential Proclamation Enhancing Vetting Capabilities and Processes for Detecting Attempted Entry Into the United States by Terrorists or Other Public-Safety Threats ), issued on September 24, 2017, should include, for each country listed in Presidential Proclamation 9645 or in any subsequent amendment to such proclamation— (1) the total number of new visa applicants, disaggregated by country and visa category; (2) the total number of visa applicants approved, disaggregated by country and visa category; (3) the total number of visa applicants rejected, disaggregated by country and visa category, and the reasons they were rejected; (4) the total number of pending visa applicants, disaggregated by country and visa category; (5) the total number of visa applicants granted a waiver, disaggregated by country and visa category; (6) the total number of visa applicants denied a waiver under such section, disaggregated by country and visa category, and the reasons such waiver requests were denied; (7) the total number of refugees admitted, disaggregated by country; and (8) the complete reports that have been submitted to the President every 180 days in accordance with section 4 of Presidential Proclamation 9645. (b) Additional reports Not later than 30 days after the President exercises authority under section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended by section 3, and every 30 days thereafter, the Secretary of State, in coordination with the heads of other relevant Federal agencies, shall submit a report to the appropriate congressional committees that identifies, with respect to visa applications affected by a suspension or restriction authorized under such subsection, the information described in paragraphs (1) through (7) of subsection (a). (c) Form; availability The reports required under subsections (a) and (b)— (1) shall be submitted in unclassified form; and (2) shall be made publicly available online.