Asylum Reform and Border Protection Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 759 To modify the treatment of unaccompanied alien children who are in Federal custody by reason of their immigration status, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 3, 2021 Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To modify the treatment of unaccompanied alien children who are in Federal custody by reason of their immigra- tion status, and for other purposes. 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 Reform and 4 Border Protection Act of 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. CLARIFICATION OF INTENT REGARDING TAXPAYER- 6 PROVIDED COUNSEL. 7 Section 292 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 8 (8 U.S.C. 1362) is amended— 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:11 Feb 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H759.IH H759 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 759 IH (1) by striking ‘‘In any removal proceedings be- 1 fore an immigration judge and in any appeal pro- 2 ceedings before the Attorney General from any such 3 removal proceedings’’ and inserting ‘‘In any removal 4 proceedings before an immigration judge, or any 5 other immigration proceedings before the Attorney 6 General, the Secretary of Homeland Security, or any 7 appeal of such a proceeding’’; 8 (2) by striking ‘‘(at no expense to the Govern- 9 ment)’’; and 10 (3) by adding at the end the following: 11 ‘‘Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in no in- 12 stance shall the Government bear any expense for counsel 13 for any person in proceedings described in this section.’’. 14 SEC. 3. CREDIBLE FEAR INTERVIEWS. 15 Section 235(b)(1)(B)(v) of the Immigration and Na- 16 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1225(b)(1)(B)(v)) is amended by 17 striking ‘‘claim’’ and all that follows and inserting ‘‘claim, 18 as determined pursuant to section 208(b)(1)(B)(iii) and 19 such other facts as are known to the officer, that the alien 20 could establish eligibility for asylum under section 208, 21 and it is more probable than not that the statements made 22 by, and on behalf of, the alien in support of the alien’s 23 claim are true.’’. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:11 Feb 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H759.IH H759 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 759 IH SEC. 4. RECORDING EXPEDITED REMOVAL AND CREDIBLE 1 FEAR INTERVIEWS. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland Secu- 3 rity shall establish quality assurance procedures and take 4 steps to effectively ensure that questions by employees of 5 the Department of Homeland Security exercising expe- 6 dited removal authority under section 235(b) of the Immi- 7 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1225(b)) are asked 8 in a uniform manner, to the extent possible, and that both 9 these questions and the answers provided in response to 10 them are recorded in a uniform fashion. 11 (b) FACTORS RELATING TO SWORN STATEMENTS.— 12 Where practicable, any sworn or signed written statement 13 taken of an alien as part of the record of a proceeding 14 under section 235(b)(1)(A) of the Immigration and Na- 15 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1225(b)(1)(A)) shall be accom- 16 panied by a recording of the interview which served as the 17 basis for that sworn statement. 18 (c) INTERPRETERS.—The Secretary shall ensure that 19 a competent interpreter, not affiliated with the govern- 20 ment of the country from which the alien may claim asy- 21 lum, is used when the interviewing officer does not speak 22 a language understood by the alien. 23 (d) RECORDINGS IN IMMIGRATION PROCEEDINGS.— 24 There shall be an audio or audio visual recording of inter- 25 views of aliens subject to expedited removal. The recording 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:11 Feb 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H759.IH H759 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 759 IH shall be included in the record of proceeding and shall be 1 considered as evidence in any further proceedings involv- 2 ing the alien. 3 (e) NO PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.—Nothing in this 4 section shall be construed to create any right, benefit, 5 trust, or responsibility, whether substantive or procedural, 6 enforceable in law or equity by a party against the United 7 States, its departments, agencies, instrumentalities, enti- 8 ties, officers, employees, or agents, or any person, nor does 9 this section create any right of review in any administra- 10 tive, judicial, or other proceeding. 11 SEC. 5. PAROLE REFORM. 12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (5) of section 212(d) 13 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 14 1182(d)) is amended to read as follows: 15 ‘‘(5) HUMANITARIAN AND SIGNIFICANT PUBLIC 16 INTEREST PAROLE.— 17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the provi- 18 sions of this paragraph and section 214(f)(2), 19 the Secretary of Homeland Security, in the sole 20 discretion of the Secretary of Homeland Secu- 21 rity, may on an individual case-by-case basis, 22 and not according to eligibility criteria describ- 23 ing an entire class of potential parole recipients, 24 parole an alien into the United States tempo- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:11 Feb 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H759.IH H759 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 759 IH rarily, under such conditions as the Secretary of 1 Homeland Security may prescribe, only— 2 ‘‘(i) an alien not present in the United 3 States for an urgent humanitarian reason 4 (as described under subparagraph (B)); 5 ‘‘(ii) an alien not present in the 6 United States for a reason deemed strictly 7 in the significant public interest (as de- 8 scribed under subparagraph (C)); or 9 ‘‘(iii) an alien who— 10 ‘‘(I) is present in the United 11 States without lawful immigration sta- 12 tus; 13 ‘‘(II) is the beneficiary of a pend- 14 ing or approved petition under section 15 203(a); 16 ‘‘(III) is not otherwise inadmis- 17 sible or deportable; and 18 ‘‘(IV) is the spouse or minor 19 child of a member of the Armed 20 Forces serving on active duty at the 21 request of the member of the Armed 22 Forces. 23 ‘‘(B) HUMANITARIAN PAROLE.—The Sec- 24 retary of Homeland Security may parole an 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:11 Feb 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H759.IH H759 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 759 IH alien based on an urgent humanitarian reason 1 described in this subparagraph only if— 2 ‘‘(i) the alien has a medical emergency 3 and the alien cannot obtain necessary 4 treatment in the foreign state in which the 5 alien is residing or the medical emergency 6 is life-threatening and there is insufficient 7 time for the alien to be admitted through 8 the normal visa process; 9 ‘‘(ii) the alien is the parent or legal 10 guardian of an alien described in clause (i), 11 if the alien described in clause (i) is a 12 minor; 13 ‘‘(iii) the alien is needed in the United 14 States in order to donate an organ or 15 other tissue for transplant into a close 16 family member and there is insufficient 17 time for the alien to be admitted through 18 the normal visa process; 19 ‘‘(iv) the alien has a close family 20 member in the United States whose death 21 is imminent and the alien could not arrive 22 in the United States in time to see such 23 family member alive if the alien were to be 24 admitted through the normal visa process; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:11 Feb 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H759.IH H759 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 759 IH ‘‘(v) the alien is an adopted child with 1 an urgent medical condition, who is in the 2 legal custody of the petitioner for a final 3 adoption-related visa, and whose medical 4 treatment is required prior to the expected 5 award of a final adoption-related visa; 6 ‘‘(vi) the alien is a lawful applicant 7 for adjustment of status under section 8 245; or 9 ‘‘(vii) the alien was— 10 ‘‘(I) lawfully granted status 11 under section 208; 12 ‘‘(II) lawfully admitted under 13 section 207; or 14 ‘‘(III) granted withholding of re- 15 moval under section 241(b)(3). 16 ‘‘(C) SIGNIFICANT PUBLIC INTEREST PA- 17 ROLE.—The Secretary of Homeland Security 18 may parole an alien based on a reason deemed 19 strictly in the significant public interest de- 20 scribed in this subparagraph only if the alien 21 has assisted (or will assist, whether knowingly 22 or not) the United States Government in a mat- 23 ter, such as a criminal investigation, espionage, 24 or other similar law enforcement activity, in- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:11 Feb 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H759.IH H759 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 759 IH cluding a civil litigation matter requiring the 1 alien’s presence, and either the alien’s presence 2 in the United States is required by the Govern- 3 ment or the alien’s life would be threatened if 4 the alien were not permitted to come to the 5 United States. Only a matter described in this 6 subparagraph shall qualify for purposes of this 7 subparagraph, and no other matter may qual- 8 ify. 9 ‘‘(D) LIMITATION ON THE USE OF PAROLE 10 AUTHORITY.—The Secretary of Homeland Se- 11 curity may not use the parole authority under 12 this paragraph— 13 ‘‘(i) to circumvent immigration policy 14 established by law to admit classes of 15 aliens who do not qualify for admission; or 16 ‘‘(ii) to supplement established immi- 17 gration categories without congressional 18 approval. 19 ‘‘(E) PAROLE NOT AN ADMISSION.—Parole 20 of an alien under this paragraph shall not be 21 considered an admission of the alien into the 22 United States. When the purposes of the parole 23 of an alien have been served, as determined by 24 the Secretary of Homeland Security, the alien 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:11 Feb 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H759.IH H759 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 759 IH shall immediately return or be returned to the 1 custody from which the alien was paroled and 2 the alien shall be considered for admission to 3 the United States on the same basis as other 4 similarly situated applicants for admission. 5 ‘‘(F) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later 6 than 90 days after the end of each fiscal year, 7 the Secretary of Homeland Security shall sub- 8 mit a report to the Committees on the Judici- 9 ary of the House of Representatives and the 10 Senate describing the number and categories of 11 aliens paroled into the United States under this 12 paragraph. Each such report shall contain in- 13 formation and data concerning the number and 14 categories of aliens paroled, the duration of pa- 15 role, and the current status of aliens paroled 16 during the preceding fiscal year.’’. 17 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 18 subsection (a) shall take effect on the first day of the first 19 month beginning more than 60 days after the date of the 20 enactment of this Act. 21 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:11 Feb 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H759.IH H759 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 759 IH SEC. 6. MODIFICATIONS TO PREFERENTIAL AVAILABILITY 1 FOR ASYLUM FOR UNACCOMPANIED ALIEN 2 MINORS. 3 Section 208(a)(2) of the Immigration and Nationality 4 Act (8 U.S.C. 1158(a)(2)) is amended by striking sub- 5 paragraph (E). 6 SEC. 7. SAFE THIRD COUNTRY. 7 Section 208(a)(2)(A) of the Immigration and Nation- 8 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1158(a)(2)(A)) is amended— 9 (1) by striking ‘‘Attorney General’’ each place 10 it appears and inserting ‘‘Secretary of Homeland Se- 11 curity’’; and 12 (2) by striking ‘‘removed, pursuant to a bilat- 13 eral or multilateral agreement, to’’ and inserting 14 ‘‘removed to’’. 15 SEC. 8. WITHHOLDING OF REMOVAL. 16 Section 241(b)(3) of the Immigration and Nationality 17 Act (8 U.S.C. 1231(b)(3)) is amended— 18 (1) by adding at the end of subparagraph (A) 19 the following: 20 ‘‘The burden of proof shall be on the alien to 21 establish that the alien’s life or freedom would 22 be threatened in that country, and that race, 23 religion, nationality, membership in a particular 24 social group, or political opinion would be at 25 least one central reason for such threat.’’; and 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:11 Feb 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H759.IH H759 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 759 IH (2) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘In deter- 1 mining whether an alien has demonstrated that the 2 alien’s life or freedom would be threatened for a rea- 3 son described in subparagraph (A),’’ and inserting 4 ‘‘For purposes of this paragraph,’’. 5 SEC. 9. FIRM RESETTLEMENT. 6 Section 208(b)(2)(A)(vi) of the Immigration and Na- 7 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1158(b)(2)(A)(vi)) is amended by 8 striking ‘‘States.’’ and inserting ‘‘States, which shall be 9 considered demonstrated by evidence that the alien can 10 live in such country (in any legal status) without fear of 11 persecution.’’. 12 SEC. 10. TERMINATION OF ASYLUM STATUS PURSUANT TO 13 RETURN TO HOME COUNTRY. 14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 208(c) of the Immigration 15 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1158(c)) is amended by 16 adding at the end the following new paragraph: 17 ‘‘(3) TERMINATION OF STATUS PURSUANT TO 18 RETURN TO HOME COUNTRY.— 19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 20 subparagraphs (B) and (C), any alien who is 21 granted asylum status under this Act, who, ab- 22 sent changed country conditions, subsequently 23 returns to the country of such alien’s nation- 24 ality or, in the case of an alien having no na- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:11 Feb 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H759.IH H759 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 759 IH tionality, returns to any country in which such 1 alien last habitually resided, and who applied 2 for such status because of persecution or a well- 3 founded fear of persecution in that country on 4 account of race, religion, nationality, member- 5 ship in a particular social group, or political 6 opinion, shall have his or her status terminated. 7 ‘‘(B) WAIVER.—The Secretary has discre- 8 tion to waive subparagraph (A) if it is estab- 9 lished to the satisfaction of the Secretary that 10 the alien had a compelling reason for the re- 11 turn. The waiver shall be sought prior to depar- 12 ture from the United States or upon return.’’. 13 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 208(c)(3) 14 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 15 1158(c)(3)) is amended by inserting after ‘‘paragraph 16 (2)’’ the following: ‘‘or (4)’’. 17 SEC. 11. NOTICE CONCERNING FRIVOLOUS ASYLUM APPLI- 18 C [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]