What This Bill Does
This bill requires asylum officers working at U.S. embassies and consulates to conduct in-person or telephone interviews with people seeking asylum before they can enter the United States. People attempting to cross the southern border without valid entry documents would be turned away and directed to apply for asylum through an embassy or consulate instead.
##
Who It Affects
- People seeking asylum who attempt to enter the United States from Canada or Mexico at land borders
- Immigration officers inspecting people at border crossings
- Asylum officers employed at U.S. embassies and consulates
- Federal judges and magistrates in judicial districts
- Immigration detention facilities
##
Key Provisions
- Immigration officers at land borders must turn away asylum seekers without valid entry documents and tell them to schedule a hearing at a U.S. embassy or consulate in Canada or Mexico (Sec. 2(a))
- Asylum officers at embassies and consulates must conduct interviews with asylum seekers and determine whether they have experienced persecution, face credible fear of persecution, or would face torture if they returned to their home country (Sec. 2(b))
- People who pass through countries other than their home country on the way to the U.S. southern border become ineligible for asylum, with limited exceptions (Sec. 3(F))
- Asylum officers may deny asylum if someone could avoid persecution by relocating to another part of their home country (Sec. 3(G))
- Federal judges and magistrates must issue arrest warrants for violations of immigration law when removal orders have existed for 90 days or longer (Sec. 4)
- The Flores settlement agreement, a court agreement from 1997 about how detained immigrants must be treated, no longer applies to detained immigrants (Sec. 5)
##
What Changes
If this bill becomes law, people seeking asylum from the southern border would need to apply through U.S. embassies and consulates in Canada or Mexico instead of entering the United States and applying once inside the country. Immigration officers would have authority to turn away asylum seekers at the border. The legal requirements for who qualifies for asylum would change to exclude people who traveled through other countries to reach the United States, with certain exceptions. Judges would be required to issue arrest warrants more readily in immigration cases. Requirements for how detained immigrants must be treated would change.
##
Important Definitions
- "Credible fear of persecution" - Not specified in bill text
- "Persecution" - Not specified in bill text
- "Severe form of trafficking in persons" - Not specified in bill text
##
Effective Date
Not specified in bill text
II
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
S. 348
To require asylum officers at United States embassies and consulates to
conduct credible fear screenings before aliens seeking asylum may be
permitted to enter the United States to apply for asylum, and for
other purposes.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
FEBRUARY 9, 2023
Mrs. BRITT (for herself, Mr. BARRASSO, Mr. CASSIDY, Mr. COTTON, Mr.
CRAPO, Mrs. HYDE-SMITH, Mr. MULLIN, Mr. RISCH, Mr. ROUNDS, Mr.
THUNE, Mr. TILLIS, and Mr. BOOZMAN) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
A BILL
To require asylum officers at United States embassies and
consulates to conduct credible fear screenings before
aliens seeking asylum may be permitted to enter the
United States to apply for asylum, and for other pur-
poses.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
2
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
3
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Asylum Abuse Reduc-
4
tion Act’’.
5
VerDate Sep 11 2014
00:04 Feb 23, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\S348.IS
S348
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
2
•S 348 IS
SEC. 2. ASYLUM INTERVIEWS.
1
(a) BORDER CROSSINGS.—Notwithstanding section
2
235(b)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8
3
U.S.C. 1225(b)(1)), if an alien who is seeking asylum in
4
the United States attempts to enter the United States
5
from Canada or Mexico at a land port of entry without
6
a valid visa or other appropriate entry document, the im-
7
migration officer who is inspecting the alien—
8
(1) may not admit or parole the alien into the
9
United States; and
10
(2) shall advise the alien to schedule an asylum
11
hearing with the most convenient United States em-
12
bassy or consulate in Canada or Mexico.
13
(b) CREDIBLE FEAR SCREENINGS.—An alien de-
14
scribed in subsection (a) may only be permitted to enter
15
the United States to apply for asylum if an asylum officer
16
stationed at a United States embassy or consulate—
17
(1) has conducted an in-person or telephonic
18
interview with the alien; and
19
(2) as a result of such interview, has concluded
20
that the alien—
21
(A)(i) has been persecuted in the alien’s
22
country of nationality on account of the alien’s
23
race, religion, nationality, membership in a par-
24
ticular social group, or political opinion;
25
VerDate Sep 11 2014
00:04 Feb 23, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\S348.IS
S348
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
3
•S 348 IS
(ii) has a credible fear of persecution (as
1
defined in section 235(b)(1)(B) of the Immigra-
2
tion
and
Nationality
Act
(8
U.S.C.
3
1225(b)(1)(B))) if the alien returned to such
4
country; or
5
(iii) would be subject to torture by a gov-
6
ernment or public official acting under the color
7
of law if the alien returned to his or her coun-
8
try of nationality; and
9
(B) is otherwise eligible for asylum under
10
section 208(a) of that Act (8 U.S.C. 1158(a)).
11
SEC. 3. ASYLUM INELIGIBILITY.
12
Section 208(a)(2) of the Immigration and Nationality
13
Act (8 U.S.C. 1158(a)(2)) is amended by adding at the
14
end the following:
15
‘‘(F) TRANSIT
THROUGH
THIRD
COUN-
16
TRY.—
17
‘‘(i) IN
GENERAL.—Except as pro-
18
vided in clause (ii), paragraph (1) shall not
19
apply to any alien who, on or after the
20
date of the enactment of this subpara-
21
graph, enters, attempts to enter, or arrives
22
in the United States through the Southern
23
land border after transiting through, on
24
the way to the United States, one or more
25
VerDate Sep 11 2014
00:04 Feb 23, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\S348.IS
S348
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
4
•S 348 IS
countries other than the country of citizen-
1
ship, nationality, or last lawful habitual
2
residence of the alien.
3
‘‘(ii) EXCEPTIONS.—Clause (i) shall
4
not apply if—
5
‘‘(I)(aa) the alien demonstrates
6
that he or she applied for protection
7
from persecution or torture in one or
8
more countries (other than the coun-
9
try of citizenship, nationality, or last
10
lawful habitual residence of the alien)
11
through which the alien transited on
12
the way to the United States; and
13
‘‘(bb) the alien received a final
14
judgment denying the alien protection
15
in such country;
16
‘‘(II) the alien demonstrates that
17
he or she is or has been subject to a
18
severe form of trafficking in persons;
19
or
20
‘‘(III) the one or more countries
21
through which the alien transited on
22
the way to the United States were
23
not, at the time of the transit, parties
24
to—
25
VerDate Sep 11 2014
00:04 Feb 23, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\S348.IS
S348
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
5
•S 348 IS
‘‘(aa) the Convention Relat-
1
ing to the Status of Refugees,
2
done at Geneva July 28, 1951
3
(as made applicable by the Pro-
4
tocol Relating to the Status of
5
Refugees, done at New York
6
January 31, 1967 (19 UST
7
6223)); or
8
‘‘(bb)
the
Convention
9
against Torture and Other Cruel,
10
Inhuman or Degrading Treat-
11
ment or Punishment, done at
12
New York December 10, 1984.
13
‘‘(G) INTERNAL RELOCATION.—Paragraph
14
(1) shall not apply to an alien interviewed by an
15
asylum officer under section 2(b) of the Asylum
16
Abuse Reduction Act if the asylum officer
17
makes a determination that the alien may avoid
18
purported persecution or torture in the alien’s
19
country of nationality by relocating to another
20
part of such country.’’.
21
SEC. 4. CRIMINAL BENCH WARRANTS.
22
(a) ISSUANCE.—Each Federal judicial district shall
23
appoint at least 1 magistrate or district court judge who,
24
upon a showing of probable cause, shall issue a warrant
25
VerDate Sep 11 2014
00:04 Feb 23, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\S348.IS
S348
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
6
•S 348 IS
of arrest for a violation of section 243(a)(1) of the Immi-
1
gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1253(a)(1)).
2
(b) PROBABLE CAUSE.—An order of removal issued
3
under any provision of the Immigration and Nationality
4
Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.) that has been in existence
5
90 days or more shall constitute prima facie evidence of
6
probable cause to issue a warrant under subsection (a).
7
SEC. 5. INAPPLICABILITY OF FLORES SETTLEMENT AGREE-
8
MENT TO ALIENS SUBJECT TO DETENTION.
9
The stipulated settlement agreement filed in the
10
United States District Court for the Central District of
11
California on January 17, 1997 (CV 85–4544–RJK)
12
(commonly known as the ‘‘Flores settlement agreement’’),
13
shall not apply to the detention and custody of aliens sub-
14
ject to detention in the United States under the Immigra-
15
tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.).
16
Æ
VerDate Sep 11 2014
00:04 Feb 23, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\S348.IS
S348
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS