TPS and DED Protection Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2064 To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide for certain protec- tions for aliens granted temporary protected status or deferred enforced departure, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 18, 2021 Mr. SMITH of New Jersey introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide for certain protections for aliens granted temporary pro- tected status or deferred enforced departure, 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 ‘‘TPS and DED Protec- 4 tion Act of 2021’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:01 May 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2064.IH H2064 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2064 IH SEC. 2. ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS FOR CERTAIN NON-IMMI- 1 GRANT NATIONALS GRANTED TEMPORARY 2 PROTECTED STATUS OR DEFERRED EN- 3 FORCED DEPARTURE. 4 Title II of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 5 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 6 244 the following (and amending the table of contents ac- 7 cordingly): 8 ‘‘SEC. 244A. ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS FOR CERTAIN NA- 9 TIONALS IN RECEIPT OF TEMPORARY PRO- 10 TECTED STATUS OR DEFERRED ENFORCED 11 DEPARTURE. 12 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The status of any alien described 13 in subsection (c) shall be adjusted by the Secretary of 14 Homeland Security to that of an alien lawfully admitted 15 for permanent residence, if the alien— 16 ‘‘(1) applies for such adjustment within 3 years 17 after the date of enactment of this section; 18 ‘‘(2) is determined to be admissible to the 19 United States for permanent residence; and 20 ‘‘(3) meets the criteria established under sub- 21 section (c). 22 ‘‘(b) CERTAIN GROUNDS FOR INADMISSIBILITY INAP- 23 PLICABLE.— 24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of deter- 25 mining admissibility under subsection (a)(2), the 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:01 May 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2064.IH H2064 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2064 IH grounds for inadmissibility specified in paragraphs 1 (4), (5), (6)(A), and (7)(A) of section 212(a) of the 2 Immigration and Nationality Act shall not apply. 3 ‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL WAIVER FOR INDIVIDUAL 4 ALIENS.—The Secretary may waive any other provi- 5 sion of section 212(a) in the case of an individual 6 alien for humanitarian purposes, to assure family 7 unity, or when it is otherwise in the public interest. 8 ‘‘(c) ALIENS ELIGIBLE FOR ADJUSTMENT OF STA- 9 TUS.— 10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An alien shall be eligible 11 for adjustment of status if— 12 ‘‘(A) the alien is a national of a country 13 (or part of a country) with a designation under 14 244(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act 15 during the period specified in section 244(b)(2) 16 and who was granted temporary protected sta- 17 tus, or was otherwise eligible for temporary pro- 18 tected status, on or before October 1, 2017, or 19 has been granted Deferred Enforced Departure 20 (hereinafter in this section referred to as 21 ‘DED’) on or before October 1, 2017; and 22 ‘‘(B) the alien has been continuously phys- 23 ically present in the United States for a period 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:01 May 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2064.IH H2064 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2064 IH of not less than 3 years before the date of the 1 enactment of this section. 2 ‘‘(2) TPS ALIENS PREVIOUSLY REMOVED OR 3 DEPARTED.—An alien shall be eligible for adjust- 4 ment of status if the alien was removed or volun- 5 tarily departed from the United States on or after 6 September 25, 2016, if the alien— 7 ‘‘(A) applies from abroad; 8 ‘‘(B) was continuously physically present 9 in the United States for a period of not less 10 than 3 years before the date of removal or de- 11 parture; 12 ‘‘(C) had temporary protected status on 13 such date, or was otherwise eligible, on such 14 date, for temporary protected status notwith- 15 standing subsections (c)(1)(A)(iv) and (c)(3)(C) 16 of section 244 of the Immigration and Nation- 17 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1254a); and 18 ‘‘(D) the sole reason for the alien’s re- 19 moval or departure was— 20 ‘‘(i) that the alien was present in the 21 United States after the expiration of the 22 designation of that foreign state (or part 23 thereof) under section 244(b)(3)(B) of the 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:01 May 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2064.IH H2064 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2064 IH Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1 1254a(b)(3)(B)); or 2 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a voluntary depar- 3 ture, the alien did so on the basis of the 4 Secretary’s determination to terminate 5 such designation. 6 ‘‘(3) DED ALIENS PREVIOUSLY REMOVED OR 7 DEPARTED.—An alien shall be eligible for adjust- 8 ment of status if the alien was removed or volun- 9 tarily departed from the United States on or after 10 September 28, 2016, if the alien— 11 ‘‘(A) applies from abroad; 12 ‘‘(B) is under a grant of Deferred En- 13 forced Departure as of September 28, 2016; 14 ‘‘(C) was continuously physically present in 15 the United States for a period of not less than 16 3 years before the date of removal or departure; 17 and 18 ‘‘(D) the sole reason for the alien’s re- 19 moval or departure— 20 ‘‘(i) was that the alien was present in 21 the United States after the expiration of 22 the deferral of enforced departure directed 23 in the Presidential Memorandum on De- 24 ferred Enforced Departure for Liberians 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:01 May 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2064.IH H2064 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2064 IH issued on September 28, 2016, or any sub- 1 sequent extension of such deferral; or 2 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a voluntary depar- 3 ture, the alien did so on the basis of the 4 President’s determination to terminate 5 such presidential memorandum or exten- 6 sion. 7 ‘‘(d) WAIVER AUTHORIZED.—Notwithstanding any 8 provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act, an alien 9 who fails to meet the continuous physical presence require- 10 ment under paragraph (2) of subsection (c) shall be con- 11 sidered eligible for status adjustment as provided in this 12 section if the Attorney General or the Secretary deter- 13 mines that the removal of the alien from the United States 14 would result in extreme hardship to the alien, their spouse, 15 their children, their parents, or their domestic partner. 16 ‘‘(e) EFFECT OF APPLICATION ON CERTAIN OR- 17 DERS.—An alien present in the United States who has 18 been ordered removed or has been granted voluntary de- 19 parture from the United States may, notwithstanding 20 such order, apply for adjustment of status under this sec- 21 tion. Such alien shall not be required to file a separate 22 motion to reopen, reconsider, or vacate the order of re- 23 moval. If the Secretary approves the application, the Sec- 24 retary shall cancel the order of removal. If the Secretary 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:01 May 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2064.IH H2064 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2064 IH renders a final administrative decision to deny the applica- 1 tion, the order of removal shall be effective and enforce- 2 able to the same extent as if the application had not been 3 made. 4 ‘‘(f) WORK AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary shall 5 authorize an alien who has applied for adjustment of sta- 6 tus under this section to engage in employment in the 7 United States during the pendency of such application and 8 shall provide the alien with an appropriate document signi- 9 fying authorization of employment. 10 ‘‘(g) ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS FOR CERTAIN FAMILY 11 MEMBERS.— 12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The status of an alien shall 13 be adjusted by the Secretary to that of an alien law- 14 fully admitted for permanent residence if the alien— 15 ‘‘(A) is the spouse, parent, or unmarried 16 son or daughter of an alien whose status is ad- 17 justed under this section; 18 ‘‘(B) applies for adjustment under this sec- 19 tion within 3 years after the date of enactment 20 of this Act; and 21 ‘‘(C) is determined to be admissible to the 22 United States for permanent residence. 23 ‘‘(2) CERTAIN GROUNDS FOR INADMISSIBILITY 24 INAPPLICABLE.—For purposes of determining ad- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:01 May 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2064.IH H2064 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 2064 IH missibility under subsection (g)(1)(C), the grounds 1 for inadmissibility specified in paragraphs (4), (5), 2 (6)(A), and (7)(A) of section 212(a) shall not apply. 3 ‘‘(h) AVAILABILITY OF ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW.— 4 The Secretary shall provide to aliens applying for adjust- 5 ment of status under this section the same right to, and 6 procedures for, administrative review as are provided to— 7 ‘‘(1) applicants for adjustment of status under 8 section 245; or 9 ‘‘(2) aliens subject to removal proceedings 10 under section 240. 11 ‘‘(i) NO OFFSET IN NUMBER OF VISAS AVAIL- 12 ABLE.—The granting of adjustment of status under this 13 section shall not reduce the number of immigrant visas 14 authorized to be issued under any provision of the Immi- 15 gration and Nationality Act. 16 ‘‘(j) TREATMENT OF BRIEF, CASUAL, AND INNOCENT 17 DEPARTURES AND CERTAIN OTHER ABSENCES.—An 18 alien who has failed to maintain the 3-year continuous 19 physical presence requirement under subsection (c) be- 20 cause of brief, casual, and innocent departures or, emer- 21 gency travel, or extenuating circumstances outside of the 22 control of the alien, shall not be considered to have failed 23 to maintain continuous physical presence in the United 24 States. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:01 May 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2064.IH H2064 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 2064 IH ‘‘(k) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this Act 1 shall be construed to include aliens (as a class or indi- 2 vidual basis) from previously designated countries that no 3 longer have valid temporary protected status designation 4 under section 244(b), or aliens who no longer have a valid 5 deferred enforced departure status, unless such designated 6 status or previously deferred enforced departure expires 7 on or after January 1, 2017. 8 ‘‘(l) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 9 ‘‘(1) The term ‘domestic partner’ means an 10 adult of at least 18 years of age in a committed rela- 11 tionship with the alien applying for adjustment. A 12 committed relationship is one in which the employee 13 and the domestic partner of the employee are each 14 other’s sole domestic partner (and are not married 15 to or domestic partners with anyone else) and share 16 responsibility for a significant measure of each oth- 17 er’s common welfare and financial obligations. This 18 includes, but is not limited to, any relationship be- 19 tween two individuals of the same or opposite sex 20 that is granted legal recognition by a State or by the 21 District of Columbia as a marriage or analogous re- 22 lationship (including, but not limited to, a civil 23 union). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:01 May 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2064.IH H2064 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 2064 IH ‘‘(2) The term ‘provide for its repatriated citi- 1 zens’ means a country’s ability to provide safety, 2 and social safety net services, including preventive 3 healthcare services, and housing. 4 ‘‘(3) The term ‘Deferred Enforced Departure’ 5 or ‘DED’ refers to the presidential directive issued 6 on September 28, 2016.’’. 7 SEC. 3. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS REGARDING FUTURE 8 DISCONTINUED ELIGIBILITY OF ALIENS 9 FROM COUNTRIES CURRENTLY LISTED 10 UNDER TEMPORARY PROTECTED STATUS. 11 (a) ADDITIONAL REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—Sec- 12 tion 244(b)(3) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 13 U.S.C. 1254a(b)(3)) is amended by adding at the end, the 14 following: 15 ‘‘(D) REPORT ON TERMINATIONS.—Within 16 3 days after the Attorney General’s announce- 17 ment, including by notice in the Federal Reg- 18 ister, of a country’s designation being termi- 19 nated from Temporary Protected Status, the 20 Attorney General shall submit to the Committee 21 on the Judiciary of the Senate and the House 22 Judiciary Committee a report that includes— 23 ‘‘(i) an explanation of the event or 24 events that initially prompted a country’s 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:01 May 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2064.IH H2064 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 2064 IH designation under temporary protected sta- 1 tus; 2 ‘‘(ii) the progress the country has 3 made in remedying the designation speci- 4 fied in clause (i), including any significant 5 challenges or shortcomings that have not 6 been addressed since the initial designa- 7 tion; and 8 ‘‘(iii) an analysis, with applicable and 9 relevant metrics as determined by the Sec- 10 retary, of the country’s ability to repatriate 11 its nationals, including— 12 ‘‘(I) the country’s financial abil- 13 ity to provide for its repatriated citi- 14 zens; 15 ‘‘(II) the country’s financial abil- 16 ity to address the initial designation 17 specified in clause (i) without foreign 18 assistance; 19 ‘‘(III) the country’s gross domes- 20 tic product, gross domestic product 21 per capita, and an analysis of the 22 country’s ability to be economically 23 self-sufficient without foreign assist- 24 ance; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:01 May 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2064.IH H2064 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 2064 IH ‘‘(IV) the economic and social 1 impact repatriation of nationals in 2 possession of temporary protected sta- 3 tus would have on the recipient coun- 4 try; and 5 ‘‘(V) any additional metrics the 6 Secretary deems necessary.’’. 7 SEC. 4. ADJUSTMENT OF RELATION OF PERIOD OF TEM- 8 PORARY PROTECTED STATUS TO CANCELLA- 9 TION OF REMOVAL. 10 Section 244(e) of the Immigration and Nationality 11 Act (8 U.S.C. 1254a(e)) is amended— 12 (1) by striking ‘‘With respect to an alien’’ and 13 inserting the following: 14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—With respect to an alien’’; 15 and 16 (2) by adding at the end, the following: 17 ‘‘(2) WAIVER FOR CERTAIN TEMPORARY PRO- 18 TECTED STATUS HOLDERS.—The provisions in sub- 19 section (e) shall not apply to an alien who is eligible 20 for adjustment of status pursuant to section 244A 21 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]