SECURE Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 879 To provide a process for granting lawful permanent resident status to aliens from certain countries who meet specified eligibility requirements, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 26, 2019 Mr. VAN HOLLEN (for himself, Mr. CARDIN, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Ms. KLO- BUCHAR, Mr. KAINE, Mr. REED, Ms. CORTEZ MASTO, and Ms. SMITH) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To provide a process for granting lawful permanent resident status to aliens from certain countries who meet specified eligibility requirements, 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 TITLES. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Safe Environment 4 from Countries Under Repression and Emergency Act’’ or 5 the ‘‘SECURE Act’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:54 Apr 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S879.IS S879 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 879 IS SEC. 2. ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS OF CERTAIN FOREIGN NA- 1 TIONALS. 2 (a) ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS.— 3 (1) AUTHORIZATION.— 4 (A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding sec- 5 tion 245(c) of the Immigration and Nationality 6 Act (8 U.S.C. 1255(c)), the status of any alien 7 described in subsection (b)(1) shall be adjusted 8 by the Secretary of Homeland Security to that 9 of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent res- 10 idence if the alien— 11 (i) is not inadmissible under para- 12 graph (2) or (3) of section 212(a) of such 13 Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)); 14 (ii) is not deportable under paragraph 15 (2), (3), or (4) of section 237(a) of such 16 Act (8 U.S.C. 1227(a)); and 17 (iii) is not described in section 18 208(b)(2)(A)(i) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 19 1158(b)(2)(A)(i)). 20 (B) TREATMENT OF EXPUNGED CONVIC- 21 TIONS.—For purposes of this Act, the term 22 ‘‘conviction’’ does not include a judgment that 23 has been expunged or set aside that resulted in 24 a rehabilitative disposition or the equivalent. 25 (2) APPLICATION.— 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:54 Apr 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S879.IS S879 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 879 IS (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 1 subparagraph (B), any alien who is physically 2 present in the United States may apply for ad- 3 justment of status under this section. 4 (B) APPLICATIONS FROM OUTSIDE UNITED 5 STATES FOR CERTAIN ALIENS PREVIOUSLY RE- 6 MOVED OR WHO DEPARTED.—In the case of an 7 alien who, on or after September 28, 2016, was 8 removed from the United States or departed 9 pursuant to an order of voluntary departure, 10 the alien may apply for adjustment of status 11 under this section from outside the United 12 States if, on the day before the date on which 13 the alien was so removed or so departed, the 14 alien was an alien described in subsection 15 (b)(1). 16 (C) FEE.— 17 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of 18 Homeland Security shall require any alien 19 applying for permanent resident status 20 under this section to pay a reasonable fee 21 that is commensurate with the cost of 22 processing the application. Such fee may 23 not exceed $1,140. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:54 Apr 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S879.IS S879 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 879 IS (ii) FEE EXEMPTION.—An applicant 1 may be exempted from paying the applica- 2 tion fee required under clause (i) if the ap- 3 plicant— 4 (I) is younger than 18 years of 5 age; 6 (II) received total income, during 7 the 12-month period immediately pre- 8 ceding the date on which the applicant 9 files an application under this section, 10 that is less than 150 percent of the 11 Federal poverty line; 12 (III) is in foster care or other- 13 wise lacking any parental or other fa- 14 milial support; or 15 (IV) cannot care for himself or 16 herself because of a serious, chronic 17 disability. 18 (D) RELATIONSHIP OF APPLICATION TO 19 CERTAIN ORDERS.— 20 (i) MOTION NOT REQUIRED.—An 21 alien described in subparagraph (A) or (B) 22 who has been the subject of an order of re- 23 moval or voluntary departure may not be 24 required, as a condition of submitting or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:54 Apr 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S879.IS S879 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 879 IS approving an application under such sub- 1 paragraph, to file a motion to reopen, re- 2 consider, or vacate such order. 3 (ii) APPROVAL.—If the Secretary of 4 Homeland Security approves an application 5 submitted by an alien under this para- 6 graph, the Secretary shall cancel any order 7 of removal or voluntary departure to which 8 the alien is or was subject. 9 (iii) DENIAL.—If the Secretary of 10 Homeland Security renders a final admin- 11 istrative decision to deny an application 12 submitted by an alien under this para- 13 graph, any order of removal or voluntary 14 departure to which the alien is subject 15 shall be effective and enforceable to the 16 same extent as if such application had not 17 been made. 18 (b) ALIENS ELIGIBLE FOR ADJUSTMENT OF STA- 19 TUS.— 20 (1) IN GENERAL.—An alien is described in this 21 subsection if the alien— 22 (A) is a national of a foreign state that 23 was at any time designated under section 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:54 Apr 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S879.IS S879 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 879 IS 244(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act 1 (8 U.S.C. 1254a(b)); 2 (B)(i) is in temporary protected status 3 under section 244 of the Immigration and Na- 4 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1254a); 5 (ii) held temporary protected status as a 6 national of a designated country listed in para- 7 graph (1); 8 (iii) qualified for temporary protected sta- 9 tus on the date on which the last designation or 10 extension was made by the Secretary of Home- 11 land Security; or 12 (iv) was present in the United States pur- 13 suant to a grant of deferred enforced departure 14 that had been extended beyond September 28, 15 2016; 16 (C)(i) has been continuously present in the 17 United States for not less than 3 years and is 18 physically present in the United States on the 19 date on which the alien files an application for 20 adjustment of status under this section; or 21 (ii) in the case of an alien who, on or after 22 September 28, 2016, was removed from the 23 United States or departed pursuant to an order 24 of voluntary departure, was continuously pres- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:54 Apr 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S879.IS S879 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •S 879 IS ent in the United States for a period of not less 1 than 3 years before the date on which the alien 2 was so removed or so departed; and 3 (D) passes all applicable criminal and na- 4 tional security background checks. 5 (2) SHORT ABSENCES.—An alien shall not be 6 considered to have failed to maintain continuous 7 physical presence in the United States under para- 8 graph (1)(C) by reason of an absence, or multiple 9 absences, from the United States for any period or 10 periods that do not exceed, in the aggregate, 180 11 days. 12 (3) WAIVER AUTHORIZED.—Notwithstanding 13 any provision of the Immigration and Nationality 14 Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.), an alien who fails to 15 meet the continuous physical presence requirement 16 under paragraph (1)(C) shall be considered eligible 17 for adjustment of status under this section if the At- 18 torney General or the Secretary of Homeland Secu- 19 rity, as applicable, determines that the removal or 20 continued absence of the alien from the United 21 States, as applicable, would result in extreme hard- 22 ship to the alien or to the alien’s spouse, children, 23 parents, or domestic partner. 24 (c) STAY OF REMOVAL.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:37 Apr 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S879.IS S879 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •S 879 IS (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para- 1 graph (2), an alien who is subject to a final order 2 of removal may not be removed if the alien— 3 (A) has a pending application under sub- 4 section (a); or 5 (B)(i) is prima facie eligible to file an ap- 6 plication under subsection (a); and 7 (ii) indicates that he or she intends to file 8 such an application. 9 (2) EXCEPTION.—Paragraph (1) shall not 10 apply to any alien whose application under sub- 11 section (a) has been denied by the Secretary of 12 Homeland Security in a final administrative deter- 13 mination. 14 (3) DURING CERTAIN PROCEEDINGS.— 15 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 16 subparagraph (B) and notwithstanding any pro- 17 vision of the Immigration and Nationality Act 18 (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.), the Secretary of Home- 19 land Security may not order any alien to be re- 20 moved from the United States if the alien 21 raises, as a defense to such an order, the eligi- 22 bility of the alien to apply for adjustment of 23 status under subsection (a). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:54 Apr 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S879.IS S879 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •S 879 IS (B) EXCEPTION.—Subparagraph (A) shall 1 not apply to any alien whose application under 2 subsection (a) has been denied by the Secretary 3 of Homeland Security in a final administrative 4 determination. 5 (4) WORK AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary of 6 Homeland Security— 7 (A) shall authorize any alien who has ap- 8 plied for adjustment of status under subsection 9 (a) to engage in employment in the United 10 States while such application is pending; and 11 (B) may provide such alien with an ‘‘em- 12 ployment authorized’’ endorsement or other ap- 13 propriate document signifying such employment 14 authorization. 15 (d) ADVANCE PAROLE.— 16 (1) IN GENERAL.—During the period beginning 17 on the date on which an alien applies for adjustment 18 of status under this Act and ending on the date on 19 which the Secretary of Homeland Security makes a 20 final decision regarding such application, the alien 21 shall be eligible to apply for advance parole. 22 (2) APPLICABILITY.—Section 101(g) of the Im- 23 migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(g)) 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:54 Apr 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S879.IS S879 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •S 879 IS shall not apply to an alien granted advance parole 1 under this subsection. 2 (e) ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS FOR SPOUSES AND 3 CHILDREN.— 4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 5 245(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 6 U.S.C. 1255(c)) and except as provided in para- 7 graphs (2) and (3), the Secretary of Homeland Se- 8 curity shall adjust the status of an alien to that of 9 an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence 10 if the alien— 11 (A) is the spouse, domestic partner, child, 12 or unmarried son or daughter of an alien whose 13 status has been adjusted to that of an alien 14 lawfully admitted for permanent residence 15 under subsection (a); 16 (B) is physically present in the United 17 States on the date on which the alien files an 18 application for such adjustment of status; and 19 (C) is otherwise eligible to receive an immi- 20 grant visa and is otherwise admissible to the 21 United States for permanent residence. 22 (2) CONTINUOUS PRESENCE REQUIREMENT.— 23 (A) IN GENERAL.—The status of an un- 24 married son or daughter referred to in para- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:54 Apr 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S879.IS S879 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •S 879 IS graph (1)(A) may not be adjusted under para- 1 graph (1) until such son or daughter establishes 2 that he or she has been physically present in 3 the United States for at least 1 year. 4 (B) SHORT ABSENCES.—An alien shall not 5 be considered to have failed to maintain contin- 6 uous physical presence in the United States 7 under subparagraph (A) by reason of an ab- 8 sence, or multiple absences, from the United 9 States for any period or periods that do not ex- 10 ceed, in the aggregate, 180 days. 11 (3) WAIVER.—In determining eligibility and ad- 12 missibility under paragraph (1)(C), the grounds for 13 inadmissibility under paragraphs (4), (5), (6), 14 (7)(A), and (9) of section 212(a) of the Immigration 15 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)) shall not 16 apply. 17 (f) CLARIFICATION OF INSPECTION AND ADMISSION 18 UNDER TEMPORARY PROTECTED STATUS.—Section 19 244(f)(4) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 20 U.S.C. 1254a(f)(4)) is amended by inserting ‘‘as having 21 been inspected and admitted into the United States, and’’ 22 after ‘‘considered’’. 23 (g) AVAILABILITY OF ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW.— 24 The Secretary of Homeland Security shall provide appli- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:54 Apr 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S879.IS S879 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •S 879 IS cants for adjustment of status under subsection (a) the 1 same right to, and procedures for, administrative review 2 as are provided to— 3 (1) applicants for adjustment of status under 4 section 245 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 5 (8 U.S.C. 1255); or 6 (2) aliens who are subject to removal pro- 7 ceedings under section 240 of such Act (8 U.S.C. 8 1229a). 9 (h) EXCEPTIONS TO NUMERICAL LIMITATIONS.— 10 The numerical limitations set forth in sections 201 and 11 202 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 12 1151 and 1152) shall not apply to aliens whose status is 13 adjusted pursuant to subsection (a). 14 SEC. 3. CONFIDENTIALITY OF INFORMATION. 15 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland Secu- 16 rity may not disclose or use information provided in appli- 17 cations filed under section 2 for the purpose of immigra- 18 tion enforcement. 19 (b) REFERRALS PROHIBITED.—The Secretary may 20 not refer any individual who has been granted permanent 21 resident status under section 2 to U.S. Immigration and 22 Customs Enforcement, U.S. Customs and Border Protec- 23 tion, or any designee of either such entity. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:46 Apr 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S879.IS S879 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 13 •S 879 IS (c) LIMITED EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding sub- 1 sections (a) and (b), information provided in an applica- 2 tion for permanent resident status under section 2 may 3 be shared with Federal security and law enforcement 4 agencies— 5 (1) for assistance in the consideration of an ap- 6 plication for permanent resident status under such 7 section; 8 (2) to identify or prevent fraudulent cla [Text truncated for display. 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