Asylum Abuse Reduction Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 4030 To require asylum officers to conduct credible fear screenings before admitting aliens seeking asylum into the United States, to direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish an alternatives to detention pilot program, and to clarify that aliens transiting through third countries on the way to the United States are ineligible for asylum, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JULY 25, 2019 Mr. KEVIN HERN of Oklahoma introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To require asylum officers to conduct credible fear screenings before admitting aliens seeking asylum into the United States, to direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish an alternatives to detention pilot program, and to clarify that aliens transiting through third coun- tries on the way to the United States are ineligible for asylum, 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:48 Aug 14, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4030.IH H4030 Pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 4030 IH SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Asylum Abuse Reduc- 2 tion Act’’. 3 SEC. 2. ASYLUM INTERVIEWS. 4 (a) BORDER CROSSINGS.—If an alien who is seeking 5 asylum in the United States attempts to enter the United 6 States from Canada or Mexico at a land port of entry 7 without a valid visa or other appropriate entry documents, 8 the immigration officer who is inspecting such alien— 9 (1) may not admit such alien into the United 10 States; and 11 (2) shall advise such alien to schedule an asy- 12 lum hearing with the most convenient United States 13 embassy or consulate in Canada or Mexico. 14 (b) CREDIBLE FEAR SCREENINGS.—An alien de- 15 scribed in subsection (a) may not be admitted into the 16 United States unless an asylum officer stationed at a 17 United States embassy or consulate— 18 (1) has conducted an in-person interview with 19 the alien; and 20 (2) as a result of the interview conducted under 21 paragraph (1), has concluded that the alien— 22 (A) has been persecuted in the alien’s 23 country of origin on account of the alien’s race, 24 religion, nationality, membership in a particular 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:48 Aug 14, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4030.IH H4030 Pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 4030 IH social group, or political opinion if the alien re- 1 turned to such country; or 2 (B) would be subject to torture if the alien 3 returned to his or her country of origin. 4 SEC. 3. CRIMINAL BENCH WARRANTS. 5 (a) ISSUANCE.—Each Federal judicial district shall 6 appoint at least 1 magistrate or district court judge who, 7 upon a showing of probable cause, shall issue a warrant 8 of arrest for a violation of section 243(a)(1) of the Immi- 9 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1253(a)(1)). 10 (b) PROBABLE CAUSE.—A warrant of removal issued 11 under any provision of the Immigration and Nationality 12 Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.) that has been in existence 13 90 days or more shall constitute prima facie evidence of 14 probable cause to issue a warrant under subsection (a). 15 SEC. 4. ALTERNATIVES TO DETENTION PILOT PROGRAM. 16 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Homeland 17 Security, in consultation with the Director of U.S. Immi- 18 gration and Customs Enforcement, shall establish an al- 19 ternatives to detention pilot program in which aliens may 20 be released to the supervision of a qualified organization 21 that has entered into a contract with the Federal Govern- 22 ment to facilitate the alien’s compliance with all stages 23 of the immigration proceedings. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:48 Aug 14, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4030.IH H4030 Pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 4030 IH (b) REQUIREMENTS.—An alien may not participate 1 in the pilot program established under subsection (a) un- 2 less the alien— 3 (1) certifies that he or she will comply with all 4 stages of the immigration proceedings, including re- 5 moval, if ordered; 6 (2) acknowledges that he or she is only entitled 7 to a single appeal of a decision by an immigration 8 judge; and 9 (3) signs a privacy waiver. 10 (c) CONSEQUENCES OF BREACH.—An alien who fails 11 to comply with the requirements under subsection (b) may 12 be subject to a warrant of arrest, detention, and expedited 13 removal proceedings. 14 (d) PERFORMANCE METRICS.—The Secretary of 15 Homeland Security, in consultation with the Director of 16 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, shall de- 17 velop performance metrics to ensure that organizations 18 that enter into a contract pursuant to subsection (a) are 19 complying with performance standards. Such metrics 20 should include, with respect to aliens released to the super- 21 vision of an organization— 22 (1) absconsion rate; 23 (2) arrest rate; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:48 Aug 14, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4030.IH H4030 Pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 4030 IH (3) rate of completion of immigration case, in- 1 clude removal; and 2 (4) other metrics that the Secretary determines 3 are related to compliance with performance stand- 4 ards. 5 (e) PENALTIES.—If an organization that has entered 6 into a contract pursuant to subsection (a) fails to comply 7 with the performance standards required by such contract, 8 the Secretary may— 9 (1) require funds paid to the organization for 10 any period of noncompliance to be returned; 11 (2) terminate the contract with the organiza- 12 tion; or 13 (3) impose any other penalty authorized by the 14 contract. 15 (f) REPORT.—The Secretary of Homeland Security 16 shall submit to the Committee on the Judiciary and the 17 Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Af- 18 fairs of the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary 19 and the Committee on Homeland Security of the House 20 of Representatives a report on the implementation of the 21 alternatives to detention pilot program established under 22 this section. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:48 Aug 14, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4030.IH H4030 Pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 4030 IH SEC. 5. ASYLUM INELIGIBILITY FOR ALIENS TRANSITING 1 THROUGH THIRD COUNTRY. 2 Section 208(a)(2) of the Immigration and Nationality 3 Act (8 U.S.C. 1158(a)(2)) is amended by adding at the 4 end the following: 5 ‘‘(F) TRANSIT THROUGH THIRD COUN- 6 TRY.— 7 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro- 8 vided in clause (ii), paragraph (1) shall not 9 apply to any alien who, on or after date of 10 the enactment of this subparagraph, en- 11 ters, attempts to enter, or arrives in the 12 United States through the Southern land 13 border after transiting through, on the way 14 to the United States, one or more coun- 15 tries other than the country of citizenship, 16 nationality, or last lawful habitual resi- 17 dence of the alien. 18 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTIONS.—Clause (i) shall 19 not apply if— 20 ‘‘(I)(aa) the alien demonstrates 21 that he or she applied for protection 22 from persecution or torture in one or 23 more countries (other than the coun- 24 try of citizenship, nationality, or last 25 lawful habitual residence of the alien) 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:48 Aug 14, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4030.IH H4030 Pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 4030 IH through which the alien transited on 1 the way to the United States; and 2 ‘‘(bb) the alien received a final 3 judgment denying the alien protection 4 in such country; 5 ‘‘(II) the alien demonstrates that 6 he or she is or has been subject to a 7 severe form of trafficking in persons; 8 or 9 ‘‘(III) the one or more countries 10 through which the alien transited on 11 the way to the United States were 12 not, at the time of the transit, parties 13 to— 14 ‘‘(aa) the Convention Relat- 15 ing to the Status of Refugees, 16 done at Geneva July 28, 1951 17 (as made applicable by the Pro- 18 tocol Relating to the Status of 19 Refugees, done at New York 20 January 31, 1967 (19 UST 21 6223); or 22 ‘‘(bb) the Convention 23 against Torture and Other Cruel, 24 Inhuman or Degrading Treat- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:48 Aug 14, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4030.IH H4030 Pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 4030 IH ment or Punishment, done at 1 New York December 10, 1984.’’. 2 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:48 Aug 14, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H4030.IH H4030 Pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS