Fair Adjudications for Immigrants Act

Bill: 117-s-2954
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Padilla, Alex [D-CA]
Introduced: 2021-10-07
Policy area: Immigration
Latest action: action_date: 2021-10-07
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S7001)

Summaries:
action_date: 2021-10-07
action_desc: Introduced in Senate
text: <p><strong>Fair Adjudications for Immigrants Act</strong></p> <p>This bill narrows the scope of certain crime-based grounds for barring or removing an alien from the United States. (Generally, a conviction for certain crimes, such as a crime that carries a term of incarceration of a certain length, may constitute grounds for denying an individual certain immigration benefits.)</p> <p>The bill redefines the term <em>conviction</em> to exclude convictions that have been dismissed, expunged, deferred, annulled, invalidated, withheld, vacated, or pardoned. The term must also exclude adjudications where a court issued a recommendation against removal, an order of probation without entry of judgment, or a similar disposition.</p> <p>In addition, any reference to a term of imprisonment or sentence must, unless otherwise provided (1) only consider the period of incarceration ordered by a court, and (2) exclude any suspended portion of a sentence. Currently, for immigration purposes, a term of incarceration includes any part of the sentence that was suspended.</p> <p>These provisions pertaining to the definition of <em>conviction</em> and terms of imprisonment shall apply to convictions and judgments entered either before or after this bill's enactment. </p> <p>Furthermore, certain crime-based grounds for barring or removing an alien shall not apply if the sentencing court issues a recommendation that the alien not be removed on the basis of the conviction. </p>

tv_txt: II 117th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 2954 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES October 7, 2021 Mr. Padilla (for himself, Ms. Hirono , Mr. Booker , Ms. Warren , Mr. Sanders , Mrs. Feinstein , Mr. Blumenthal , Mr. Markey , Mr. Whitehouse , and Ms. Baldwin ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to alter the definition of conviction , and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Fair Adjudications for Immigrants Act . 2. Expungement and sentencing (a) 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 to read as follows: (48) (A) The term conviction means a formal judgment of guilt entered by a court. (B) The following may not be considered a conviction for purposes of this Act: (i) An adjudication or judgment of guilt that has been dismissed, expunged, deferred, annulled, invalidated, withheld, vacated, or pardoned federally or by a State or locality, including by the President of the United States or by a person or agency authorized by State law to grant such pardon. (ii) Any adjudication in which the court has issued— (I) a judicial recommendation against removal; (II) an order of probation without entry of judgment; or (III) any similar disposition. (iii) A judgment that is on appeal or is within the time to file direct appeal. (C) (i) Unless otherwise provided, with respect to an offense, any reference to a term of imprisonment or a sentence is considered to include only the period of incarceration ordered by a court. (ii) Any such reference shall be considered to exclude any portion of a sentence of which the imposition or execution was suspended. . (2) Retroactive applicability The amendment made by this subsection shall apply with respect to any conviction, adjudication, or judgment entered before, on, or after the date of the enactment of this Act. (b) Judicial recommendation against removal The grounds of inadmissibility and deportability under sections 212(a)(2) and 237(a)(2) of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(2) and 1227(a)(2)) shall not apply to an alien with a criminal conviction if, after having provided notice and an opportunity to respond to the prosecuting authorities, the sentencing court issues a recommendation to the Secretary that the alien not be removed on the basis of the conviction.