American Dream and Promise Act of 2019

II Calendar No. 112 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 6 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 5, 2019 Received; read the first time JUNE 10, 2019 Read the second time and placed on the calendar AN ACT To authorize the cancellation of removal and adjustment of status of certain aliens, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘American Dream and Promise Act of 2019’’. 5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 6 this Act is as follows: 7 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. TITLE I—DREAM ACT Sec. 101. Short title. VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:18 Jun 10, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H6.PCS H6 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 HR 6 PCS Subtitle A—Treatment of Certain Long-term Residents Who Entered the United States as Children Sec. 111. Permanent resident status on a conditional basis for certain long- term residents who entered the United States as children. Sec. 112. Terms of permanent resident status on a conditional basis. Sec. 113. Removal of conditional basis of permanent resident status. Subtitle B—General Provisions Sec. 121. Definitions. Sec. 122. Submission of biometric and biographic data; background checks. Sec. 123. Limitation on removal; application and fee exemption; waiver of grounds for inadmissibility and other conditions on eligible in- dividuals. Sec. 124. Determination of continuous presence and residence. Sec. 125. Exemption from numerical limitations. Sec. 126. Availability of administrative and judicial review. Sec. 127. Documentation requirements. Sec. 128. Rule making. Sec. 129. Confidentiality of information. Sec. 130. Grant program to assist eligible applicants. Sec. 131. Provisions affecting eligibility for adjustment of status. Sec. 132. Supplementary surcharge for appointed counsel. Sec. 133. Annual report on provisional denial authority. TITLE II—AMERICAN PROMISE ACT Sec. 201. Short title. Subtitle A—Treatment of Certain Nationals of Certain Countries Designated for Temporary Protected Status or Deferred Enforced Departure Sec. 211. Adjustment of status for certain nationals of certain countries des- ignated for temporary protected status or deferred enforced de- parture. Subtitle B—General Provisions Sec. 221. Definitions. Sec. 222. Submission of biometric and biographic data; background checks. Sec. 223. Limitation on removal; application and fee exemption; waiver of grounds for inadmissibility and other conditions on eligible in- dividuals. Sec. 224. Determination of continuous presence. Sec. 225. Exemption from numerical limitations. Sec. 226. Availability of administrative and judicial review. Sec. 227. Documentation requirements. Sec. 228. Rule making. Sec. 229. Confidentiality of information. Sec. 230. Grant program to assist eligible applicants. Sec. 231. Provisions affecting eligibility for adjustment of status. VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:18 Jun 10, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H6.PCS H6 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 HR 6 PCS TITLE I—DREAM ACT 1 SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE. 2 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Dream Act of 2019’’. 3 Subtitle A—Treatment of Certain 4 Long-term Residents Who En- 5 tered the United States as Chil- 6 dren 7 SEC. 111. PERMANENT RESIDENT STATUS ON A CONDI- 8 TIONAL BASIS FOR CERTAIN LONG-TERM 9 RESIDENTS WHO ENTERED THE UNITED 10 STATES AS CHILDREN. 11 (a) CONDITIONAL BASIS FOR STATUS.—Notwith- 12 standing any other provision of law, and except as pro- 13 vided in section 113(c)(2), an alien shall be considered, 14 at the time of obtaining the status of an alien lawfully 15 admitted for permanent residence under this section, to 16 have obtained such status on a conditional basis subject 17 to the provisions of this title. 18 (b) REQUIREMENTS.— 19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 20 provision of law, the Secretary or the Attorney Gen- 21 eral shall cancel the removal of, and adjust to the 22 status of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent 23 residence on a conditional basis, or without the con- 24 ditional basis as provided in section 113(c)(2), an 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:18 Jun 10, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6.PCS H6 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 HR 6 PCS alien who is inadmissible or deportable from the 1 United States (or is under a grant of Deferred En- 2 forced Departure or has temporary protected status 3 under section 244 of the Immigration and Nation- 4 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1254a)) if— 5 (A) the alien has been continuously phys- 6 ically present in the United States since the 7 date that is 4 years before the date of the en- 8 actment of this Act; 9 (B) the alien was younger than 18 years of 10 age on the date on which the alien entered the 11 United States and has continuously resided in 12 the United States since such entry; 13 (C) the alien— 14 (i) subject to section 123(d), is not in- 15 admissible under paragraph (1), (6)(E), 16 (6)(G), (8), or (10) of section 212(a) of 17 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 18 U.S.C. 1182(a)); 19 (ii) has not ordered, incited, assisted, 20 or otherwise participated in the persecution 21 of any person on account of race, religion, 22 nationality, membership in a particular so- 23 cial group, or political opinion; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:18 Jun 10, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6.PCS H6 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 HR 6 PCS (iii) is not barred from adjustment of 1 status under this title based on the crimi- 2 nal and national security grounds de- 3 scribed under subsection (c), subject to the 4 provisions of such subsection; and 5 (D) the alien— 6 (i) has been admitted to an institution 7 of higher education; 8 (ii) has been admitted to an area ca- 9 reer and technical education school at the 10 postsecondary level; 11 (iii) in the United States, has ob- 12 tained— 13 (I) a high school diploma or a 14 commensurate alternative award from 15 a public or private high school; 16 (II) a General Education Devel- 17 opment credential, a high school 18 equivalency diploma recognized under 19 State law, or another similar State- 20 authorized credential; 21 (III) a credential or certificate 22 from an area career and technical 23 education school at the secondary 24 level; or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:18 Jun 10, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6.PCS H6 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 HR 6 PCS (IV) a recognized postsecondary 1 credential; or 2 (iv) is enrolled in secondary school or 3 in an education program assisting students 4 in— 5 (I) obtaining a high school di- 6 ploma or its recognized equivalent 7 under State law; 8 (II) passing the General Edu- 9 cation Development test, a high school 10 equivalence diploma examination, or 11 other similar State-authorized exam; 12 (III) obtaining a certificate or 13 credential from an area career and 14 technical education school providing 15 education at the secondary level; or 16 (IV) obtaining a recognized post- 17 secondary credential. 18 (2) APPLICATION FEE.— 19 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may, 20 subject to an exemption under section 123(c), 21 require an alien applying under this section to 22 pay a reasonable fee that is commensurate with 23 the cost of processing the application but does 24 not exceed $495.00. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:18 Jun 10, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6.PCS H6 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 HR 6 PCS (B) SPECIAL PROCEDURE FOR APPLICANTS 1 WITH DACA.—The Secretary shall establish a 2 streamlined procedure for aliens who have been 3 granted DACA and who meet the requirements 4 for renewal (under the terms of the program in 5 effect on January 1, 2017) to apply for can- 6 cellation of removal and adjustment of status to 7 that of an alien lawfully admitted for perma- 8 nent residence on a conditional basis under this 9 section, or without the conditional basis as pro- 10 vided in section 113(c)(2). Such procedure shall 11 not include a requirement that the applicant 12 pay a fee, except that the Secretary may re- 13 quire an applicant who meets the requirements 14 for lawful permanent residence without the con- 15 ditional basis under section 113(c)(2) to pay a 16 fee that is commensurate with the cost of proc- 17 essing the application, subject to the exemption 18 under section 123(c). 19 (3) BACKGROUND CHECKS.—The Secretary 20 may not grant an alien permanent resident status on 21 a conditional basis under this section until the re- 22 quirements of section 122 are satisfied. 23 (4) MILITARY SELECTIVE SERVICE.—An alien 24 applying for permanent resident status on a condi- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:18 Jun 10, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6.PCS H6 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 HR 6 PCS tional basis under this section, or without the condi- 1 tional basis as provided in section 113(c)(2), shall 2 establish that the alien has registered under the 3 Military Selective Service Act (50 U.S.C. 3801 et 4 seq.), if the alien is subject to registration under 5 such Act. 6 (c) CRIMINAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY BARS.— 7 (1) GROUNDS OF INELIGIBILITY.—Except as 8 provided in paragraph (2), an alien is ineligible for 9 adjustment of status under this title (whether on a 10 conditional basis or without the conditional basis as 11 provided in section 113(c)(2)) if any of the following 12 apply: 13 (A) The alien is inadmissible under para- 14 graph (2) or (3) of section 212(a) of the Immi- 15 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)). 16 (B) Excluding any offense under State law 17 for which an essential element is the alien’s im- 18 migration status, and any minor traffic offense, 19 the alien has been convicted of— 20 (i) any felony offense; 21 (ii) three or more misdemeanor of- 22 fenses (excluding simple possession of can- 23 nabis or cannabis-related paraphernalia, 24 any offense involving cannabis or cannabis- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:18 Jun 10, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6.PCS H6 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 HR 6 PCS related paraphernalia which is no longer 1 prosecutable in the State in which the con- 2 viction was entered, and any offense involv- 3 ing civil disobedience without violence) not 4 occurring on the same date, and not aris- 5 ing out of the same act, omission, or 6 scheme of misconduct; or 7 (iii) a misdemeanor offense of domes- 8 tic violence, unless the alien demonstrates 9 that such crime is related to the alien hav- 10 ing been— 11 (I) a victim of domestic violence, 12 sexual assault, stalking, child abuse or 13 neglect, abuse or neglect in later life, 14 or human trafficking; 15 (II) battered or subjected to ex- 16 treme cruelty; or 17 (III) a victim of criminal activity 18 described in section 101(a)(15)(U)(iii) 19 of the Immigration and Nationality 20 Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(U)(iii)). 21 (2) WAIVERS FOR CERTAIN MISDEMEANORS.— 22 For humanitarian purposes, family unity, or if oth- 23 erwise in the public interest, the Secretary may— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:18 Jun 10, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6.PCS H6 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 HR 6 PCS (A) waive the grounds of inadmissibility 1 under subparagraphs (A), (C), and (D) of sec- 2 tion 212(a)(2) of the Immigration and Nation- 3 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(2)), unless the con- 4 viction forming the basis for inadmissibility 5 would otherwise render the alien ineligible 6 under paragraph (1)(B) (subject to subpara- 7 graph (B)); and 8 (B) for purposes of clauses (ii) and (iii) of 9 paragraph (1)(B), waive consideration of— 10 (i) one misdemeanor offense if the 11 alien has not been convicted of any offense 12 in the 5-year period preceding the date on 13 which the alien applies for adjustment of 14 status under this title; or 15 (ii) up to two misdemeanor offenses if 16 the alien has not been convicted of any of- 17 fense in the 10-year period preceding the 18 date on which the alien applies for adjust- 19 ment of status under this title. 20 (3) AUTHORITY TO CONDUCT SECONDARY RE- 21 VIEW.— 22 (A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding an 23 alien’s eligibility for adjustment of status under 24 this title, and subject to the procedures de- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:18 Jun 10, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6.PCS H6 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 HR 6 PCS scribed in this paragraph, the Secretary of 1 Homeland Security may, as a matter of non- 2 delegable discretion, provisionally deny an appli- 3 cation for adjustment of status (whether on a 4 conditional basis or without the conditional 5 basis as provided in section 113(c)(2)) if the 6 Secretary, based on clear and convincing evi- 7 dence, which shall include credible law enforce- 8 ment information, determines that the alien is 9 described in subparagraph (B) or (D). 10 (B) PUBLIC SAFETY.—An alien is de- 11 scribed in this subparagraph if— 12 (i) excluding simple possession of can- 13 nabis or cannabis-related paraphernalia, 14 any offense involving cannabis or cannabis- 15 related paraphernalia which is no longer 16 prosecutable in the State in which the con- 17 viction was entered, any offense under 18 State law for which an essential element is 19 the alien’s immigration status, any offense 20 involving civil disobedience without vio- 21 lence, and any minor traffic offense, the 22 alien— 23 (I) has been convicted of a mis- 24 demeanor offense punishable by a 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:18 Jun 10, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6.PCS H6 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 HR 6 PCS term of imprisonment of more than 1 30 days; or 2 (II) has been adjudicated delin- 3 quent in a State or local juvenile court 4 proceeding that resulted in a disposi- 5 tion ordering placement in a secure 6 facility; and 7 (ii) the alien poses a significant and 8 continuing threat to public safety related 9 to such conviction or adjudication. 10 (C) PUBLIC SAFETY DETERMINATION.— 11 For purposes of subparagraph (B)(ii), the Sec- 12 retary shall consider the recency of the convic- 13 tion or adjudication; the length of any imposed 14 sentence or placement; the nature and serious- 15 ness of the conviction or adjudication, including 16 whether the elements of the offense include the 17 unlawful possession or use of a deadly weapon 18 to commit an offense or other conduct intended 19 to cause serious bodily injury; and any miti- 20 gating factors pertaining to the [Text truncated for display. 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