Destigmatizing in Immigration Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1614 To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide that marijuana use, possession, and distribution may not be considered for determina- tions of whether a person is a person of good moral character, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 8, 2021 Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide that marijuana use, possession, and distribution may not be considered for determinations of whether a person is a person of good moral character, 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 ‘‘Destigmatizing in Im- 4 migration Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:02 May 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1614.IH H1614 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1614 IH SEC. 2. MARIJUANA USE, POSSESSION, AND DISTRIBUTION 1 NOT CONSIDERED FOR GOOD MORAL CHAR- 2 ACTER OR GROUNDS FOR INADMISSIBILITY. 3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Immigration and Nationality 4 Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.) is amended— 5 (1) in section 101 (8 U.S.C. 1101)— 6 (A) in subsection (a)(43)(B), by inserting 7 ‘‘other than the distribution of marijuana,’’ 8 after ‘‘(as defined in section 102 of the Con- 9 trolled Substances Act)’’; and 10 (B) in subsection (f)— 11 (i) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘a 12 single offense of simple possession of 30 13 grams or less of marihuana’’ and inserting 14 ‘‘offenses involving the use, possession, or 15 distribution of marijuana’’; and 16 (ii) by adding at the end the fol- 17 lowing: ‘‘Notwithstanding any other provi- 18 sion of this Act, any offenses or conduct 19 involving the use, possession, or distribu- 20 tion of marijuana shall not be considered 21 in a determination of whether a person is 22 a person of good moral character.’’; 23 (2) in section 212(a)(2) (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(2)), 24 by amending subparagraph (F) to read as follows: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:02 May 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1614.IH H1614 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1614 IH ‘‘(F) MARIJUANA OFFENSES.—Notwith- 1 standing any other provision of this section, any 2 offenses involving the use, possession, or dis- 3 tribution of marijuana shall not be considered 4 as grounds of inadmissibility.’’; and 5 (3) in section 237(a)(2)(B)(i) (8 U.S.C. 6 1227(a)(2)(B)(i)), by striking ‘‘other than a single 7 offense involving possession for one’s own use of 30 8 grams or less of marijuana’’ and inserting ‘‘other 9 than offenses involving the use, possession, or dis- 10 tribution of marijuana’’. 11 (b) RIGHT TO REAPPLY OR RETURN.— 12 (1) REAPPLICATION.—Any alien who was pre- 13 viously denied a visa to enter the United States as 14 a direct result of the alien’s use, possession, or dis- 15 tribution of marijuana may reapply for admission to 16 the United States. 17 (2) REISSUANCE.—Any alien who was deported 18 from the United States as a direct result of the 19 alien’s use, possession, or distribution of marijuana 20 shall be readmitted to the United States and re- 21 issued the visa that they had at the time of the 22 alien’s deportation if the alien is not inadmissible 23 under section 212(a) of the Immigration and Na- 24 tionality Act, as amended by subsection (a)(2). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:02 May 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1614.IH H1614 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1614 IH SEC. 3. HABITUAL DRUNKARD REPEAL. 1 Paragraph (1) of section 101(f) of the Immigration 2 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(f)) is repealed. 3 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:02 May 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1614.IH H1614 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS