To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to reform asylum procedures related to the filing of frivolous applications, and for other purposes.

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3857 To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to reform asylum procedures related to the filing of frivolous applications, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JULY 19, 2019 Mrs. LESKO introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to reform asylum procedures related to the filing of frivolous appli- cations, 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. NOTICE CONCERNING FRIVOLOUS ASYLUM AP- 3 PLICATIONS. 4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 208(d)(4) of the Immi- 5 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1158(d)(4)) is 6 amended— 7 (1) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), 8 by inserting ‘‘the Secretary of Homeland Security 9 or’’ before ‘‘the Attorney General’’; 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:34 Jul 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3857.IH H3857 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 3857 IH (2) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘and of 1 the consequences, under paragraph (6), of knowingly 2 filing a frivolous application for asylum; and’’ and 3 inserting a semicolon; 4 (3) in subparagraph (B), by striking the period 5 and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 6 (4) by adding at the end the following: 7 ‘‘(C) ensure that a written warning ap- 8 pears on the asylum application advising the 9 alien of the consequences of filing a frivolous 10 application and serving as notice to the alien of 11 the consequence of filing a frivolous applica- 12 tion.’’. 13 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 208(d)(6) 14 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 15 1158(d)(6)) is amended by striking ‘‘If the’’ and all that 16 follows and inserting: 17 ‘‘(A) If the Secretary of Homeland Secu- 18 rity or the Attorney General determines that an 19 alien has knowingly made a frivolous applica- 20 tion for asylum and the alien has received the 21 notice under paragraph (4)(C), the alien shall 22 be permanently ineligible for any benefits under 23 this chapter, effective as the date of the final 24 determination of such an application. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:34 Jul 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3857.IH H3857 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 3857 IH ‘‘(B) An application is frivolous if the Sec- 1 retary of Homeland Security or the Attorney 2 General determines, consistent with subpara- 3 graph (C), that— 4 ‘‘(i) it is so insufficient in substance 5 that it is clear that the applicant know- 6 ingly filed the application solely or in part 7 to delay removal from the United States, 8 to seek employment authorization as an 9 applicant for asylum pursuant to regula- 10 tions issued pursuant to paragraph (2), or 11 to seek issuance of a Notice to Appear in 12 order to pursue Cancellation of Removal 13 under section 240A(b); or 14 ‘‘(ii) any of the material elements are 15 knowingly fabricated. 16 ‘‘(C) In determining that an application is 17 frivolous, the Secretary or the Attorney General 18 must be satisfied that the applicant, during the 19 course of the proceedings, has had sufficient op- 20 portunity to clarify any discrepancies or implau- 21 sible aspects of the claim. 22 ‘‘(D) For purposes of this section, a find- 23 ing that an alien filed a frivolous asylum appli- 24 cation shall not preclude the alien from seeking 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:03 Jul 31, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3857.IH H3857 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 3857 IH withholding of removal under section 241(b)(3) 1 or protection pursuant to the Convention 2 Against Torture.’’. 3 SEC. 2. ANTI-FRAUD INVESTIGATIVE WORK PRODUCT. 4 (a) ASYLUM CREDIBILITY DETERMINATIONS.—Sec- 5 tion 208(b)(1)(B)(iii) of the Immigration and Nationality 6 Act (8 U.S.C. 1158(b)(1)(B)(iii)) is amended by inserting 7 after ‘‘all relevant factors’’ the following: ‘‘, including 8 statements made to, and investigative reports prepared by, 9 immigration authorities and other government officials’’. 10 (b) RELIEF FOR REMOVAL CREDIBILITY DETER- 11 MINATIONS.—Section 240(c)(4)(C) of the Immigration 12 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1229a(c)(4)(C)) is amended 13 by inserting after ‘‘all relevant factors’’ the following: ‘‘, 14 including statements made to, and investigative reports 15 prepared by, immigration authorities and other govern- 16 ment officials’’. 17 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:34 Jul 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3857.IH H3857 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS