POWER Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2929 To protect victims of crime or serious labor violations from removal during Department of Homeland Security enforcement actions, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES NOVEMBER 21, 2019 Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. BOOKER, Ms. HARRIS, Ms. CORTEZ MASTO, Mr. SANDERS, and Mr. MERKLEY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To protect victims of crime or serious labor violations from removal during Department of Homeland Security en- forcement actions, 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 ‘‘Protect Our Workers 4 from Exploitation and Retaliation Act’’ or the ‘‘POWER 5 Act’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:07 Dec 03, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2929.IS S2929 aiking on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS 2 •S 2929 IS SEC. 2. VICTIMS OF SERIOUS LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT 1 VIOLATIONS OR CRIME. 2 (a) PROTECTION FOR VICTIMS OF LABOR AND EM- 3 PLOYMENT VIOLATIONS.—Section 101(a)(15)(U) of the 4 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 5 1101(a)(15)(U)) is amended— 6 (1) in clause (i)— 7 (A) by amending subclause (I) to read as 8 follows: 9 ‘‘(I) the alien— 10 ‘‘(aa) has suffered substantial 11 abuse or harm as a result of having 12 been a victim of criminal activity de- 13 scribed in clause (iii); 14 ‘‘(bb) has suffered substantial 15 abuse or harm related to a violation 16 described in clause (iv); 17 ‘‘(cc) is a victim of criminal ac- 18 tivity described in clause (iii) and 19 would suffer extreme hardship upon 20 removal; or 21 ‘‘(dd) has suffered a violation de- 22 scribed in clause (iv) and would suffer 23 extreme hardship upon removal;’’; 24 (B) in subclause (II), by inserting ‘‘or a 25 labor or employment violation resulting in a 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:07 Dec 03, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2929.IS S2929 aiking on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS 3 •S 2929 IS workplace claim described in clause (iv)’’ before 1 the semicolon at the end; 2 (C) in subclause (III)— 3 (i) by striking ‘‘or State judge, to the 4 Service’’ and inserting ‘‘, State, or local 5 judge, to the Department of Homeland Se- 6 curity, to the Equal Employment Oppor- 7 tunity Commission, to the Department of 8 Labor, to the National Labor Relations 9 Board’’; and 10 (ii) by inserting ‘‘or investigating, 11 prosecuting, or seeking civil remedies for a 12 labor or employment violation related to a 13 workplace claim described in clause (iv)’’ 14 before the semicolon at the end; and 15 (D) in subclause (IV)— 16 (i) by inserting ‘‘(aa)’’ after ‘‘(IV)’’; 17 and 18 (ii) by adding at the end the fol- 19 lowing: ‘‘or 20 ‘‘(bb) a workplace claim described in clause (iv) 21 resulting from a labor or employment violation;’’; 22 (2) in clause (ii)(II), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 23 end; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:07 Dec 03, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2929.IS S2929 aiking on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS 4 •S 2929 IS (3) in clause (iii), by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end 1 and inserting ‘‘and’’; and 2 (4) by adding at the end the following: 3 ‘‘(iv) in the labor or employment violation 4 related to a workplace claim, the alien— 5 ‘‘(I) has filed, is a material witness in, 6 or is likely to be helpful in the investiga- 7 tion of, a bona fide workplace claim (as de- 8 fined in section 274A(e)(10)(C)); and 9 ‘‘(II) reasonably fears, has been 10 threatened with, or has been the victim of, 11 an action involving force, physical re- 12 straint, retaliation, or abuse of the immi- 13 gration or other legal process against the 14 alien or another person by the employer in 15 relation to acts underlying the workplace 16 claim or related to the filing of the work- 17 place claim; or’’. 18 (b) TEMPORARY PROTECTION FOR VICTIMS OF 19 CRIME, LABOR, AND EMPLOYMENT VIOLATIONS.—Not- 20 withstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary of 21 Homeland Security may permit an alien to temporarily re- 22 main in the United States, and grant the alien employ- 23 ment authorization, if the Secretary determines that the 24 alien— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:07 Dec 03, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2929.IS S2929 aiking on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS 5 •S 2929 IS (1) has filed for relief under section 1 101(a)(15)(U) of the Immigration and Nationality 2 Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(U)); or 3 (2)(A) has filed, or is a material witness to, a 4 bona fide workplace claim (as defined in section 5 274A(e)(10)(C) of such Act, as added by section 6 3(b) of this Act); and 7 (B) has been helpful, is being helpful, or is like- 8 ly to be helpful to— 9 (i) a Federal, State, or local law enforce- 10 ment official; 11 (ii) a Federal, State, or local prosecutor; 12 (iii) a Federal, State, or local judge; 13 (iv) the Department of Homeland Security; 14 (v) the Equal Employment Opportunity 15 Commission; 16 (vi) the Department of Labor, including 17 the Occupational Safety and Health Adminis- 18 tration; 19 (vii) the National Labor Relations Board; 20 (viii) the head official of a State or local 21 government department of labor, workforce 22 commission, or human relations commission or 23 council; or 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:07 Dec 03, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2929.IS S2929 aiking on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS 6 •S 2929 IS (ix) any other Federal, State, or local au- 1 thority investigating, prosecuting, or seeking 2 civil remedies related to the workplace claim. 3 (c) REQUIREMENTS APPLICABLE TO U VISAS.—Sec- 4 tion 214(p) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 5 U.S.C. 1184(p)) is amended— 6 (1) in paragraph (1)— 7 (A) in the third sentence, by inserting ‘‘or 8 in the investigation or prosecution of, or the 9 seeking of civil remedies for, a workplace claim 10 described in section 101(a)(15)(U)(iv)’’; 11 (B) in the first sentence— 12 (i) by inserting ‘‘or investigating, 13 prosecuting, or seeking civil remedies for 14 workplace claims described in section 15 101(a)(15)(U)(iv)’’ after ‘‘section 16 101(a)(15)(U)(iii)’’; and 17 (ii) by striking ‘‘The petition’’ and in- 18 serting the following: 19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The petition’’; and 20 (C) by adding at the end the following: 21 ‘‘(B) FEES.—An alien petitioning for, or 22 having status under, section 101(a)(15)(U) 23 shall not be required to submit any fee (or re- 24 quest any fee waiver) in connection with such 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:07 Dec 03, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2929.IS S2929 aiking on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS 7 •S 2929 IS petition or status, including fees associated with 1 biometric services, or an application for advance 2 permission to enter as a nonimmigrant. 3 ‘‘(C) CONFIDENTIALITY OF INFORMA- 4 TION.—Neither the Secretary of Homeland Se- 5 curity, nor the Attorney General, may use the 6 information furnished pursuant to a petition for 7 status under section 101(a)(15)(U) for pur- 8 poses of initiating or carrying out a removal 9 proceeding.’’; 10 (2) by striking paragraph (2); 11 (3) by redesignating paragraphs (3) through 12 (7) as paragraphs (2) through (6), respectively; and 13 (4) in paragraph (5), as redesignated— 14 (A) by inserting ‘‘or workplace claims de- 15 scribed in section 101(a)(15)(U)(iv)’’ after ‘‘de- 16 scribed in section 101(a)(15)(U)(iii)’’; and 17 (B) by inserting ‘‘or workplace claim’’ 18 after ‘‘prosecution of such criminal activity’’. 19 (d) ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS FOR VICTIMS OF 20 CRIMES.—Section 245(m)(1) of the Immigration and Na- 21 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1255(m)(1)) is amended by insert- 22 ing ‘‘or an investigation or prosecution regarding a work- 23 place claim’’ after ‘‘prosecution’’. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:07 Dec 03, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2929.IS S2929 aiking on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS 8 •S 2929 IS (e) CHANGE OF NONIMMIGRANT CLASSIFICATION.— 1 Section 384(a)(1) of the Illegal Immigration Reform and 2 Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 3 1367(a)(1)) is amended— 4 (1) in subparagraph (E), by striking ‘‘physical 5 or mental abuse and the criminal activity’’ and in- 6 serting ‘‘abuse and the criminal activity or work- 7 place claim’’; 8 (2) in subparagraph (F), by adding ‘‘or’’ at the 9 end; and 10 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (F) the fol- 11 lowing: 12 ‘‘(G) the alien’s employer,’’. 13 SEC. 3. LABOR ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS. 14 (a) REMOVAL PROCEEDINGS.—Section 239(e) of the 15 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1229(e)) is 16 amended— 17 (1) in paragraph (1)— 18 (A) by striking ‘‘In cases where’’ and in- 19 serting ‘‘If’’; and 20 (B) by inserting ‘‘or as a result of informa- 21 tion provided to the Secretary of Homeland Se- 22 curity in retaliation against individuals for exer- 23 cising or attempting to exercise their employ- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:07 Dec 03, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2929.IS S2929 aiking on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS 9 •S 2929 IS ment rights or other legal rights’’ after ‘‘para- 1 graph (2)’’; and 2 (2) in paragraph (2), by adding at the end the 3 following: 4 ‘‘(C) At a facility about which a workplace 5 claim has been filed or is contemporaneously 6 filed.’’. 7 (b) UNLAWFUL EMPLOYMENT OF ALIENS.—Section 8 274A(e) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 9 1324a(e)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 10 ‘‘(10) CONDUCT IN ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS.— 11 ‘‘(A) ENFORCEMENT ACTION.—If the Sec- 12 retary of Homeland Security undertakes an en- 13 forcement action at a facility about which a 14 workplace claim has been filed or is contem- 15 poraneously filed, or as a result of information 16 provided to the Secretary in retaliation against 17 employees for exercising their rights related to 18 a workplace claim, the Secretary shall ensure 19 that— 20 ‘‘(i) any alien arrested or detained 21 who is necessary for the investigation or 22 prosecution of workplace claim violations 23 or criminal activity (as described in sub- 24 paragraph (T) or (U) of section 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:07 Dec 03, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2929.IS S2929 aiking on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS 10 •S 2929 IS 101(a)(15)) is not removed from the 1 United States until after the Secretary— 2 ‘‘(I) notifies the appropriate law 3 enforcement agency with jurisdiction 4 over such violations or criminal activ- 5 ity; and 6 ‘‘(II) provides such agency with 7 the opportunity to interview such 8 alien; and 9 ‘‘(ii) no alien entitled to a stay of re- 10 moval or abeyance of removal proceedings 11 under this section is removed. 12 ‘‘(B) PROTECTIONS FOR VICTIMS OF 13 CRIME, LABOR, AND EMPLOYMENT VIOLA- 14 TIONS.— 15 ‘‘(i) STAY OF REMOVAL OR ABEYANCE 16 OF REMOVAL PROCEEDINGS.—An alien 17 against whom removal proceedings have 18 been initiated under chapter 4 of title II, 19 who has filed a workplace claim, who is a 20 material witness in any pending or antici- 21 pated proceeding involving a bona fide 22 workplace claim, or who has filed for relief 23 under section 101(a)(15)(U), shall be enti- 24 tled to a stay of removal or an abeyance of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:07 Dec 03, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2929.IS S2929 aiking on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS 11 •S 2929 IS removal proceedings and to employment 1 authorization until the resolution of the 2 workplace claim or the denial of relief 3 under section 101(a)(15)(U) after exhaus- 4 tion of administrative appeals, whichever is 5 later, unless the Secretary establishes, by a 6 preponderance of the evidence in pro- 7 ceedings before the immigration judge pre- 8 siding over that alien’s removal hearing, 9 that— 10 ‘‘(I) the alien has been convicted 11 of a felony; or 12 ‘‘(II) the workplace claim was 13 filed in bad faith with the intent to 14 delay or avoid the removal of the 15 alien. 16 ‘‘(ii) DURATION.—Any stay of re- 17 moval or abeyance of removal proceedings 18 and employment authorization issued pur- 19 suant to clause (i) shall remain valid until 20 the resolution of the workplace claim or 21 the denial of relief under section 22 101(a)(15)(U) after the exhaustion of ad- 23 ministrative appeals, and shall be extended 24 by the Secretary of Homeland Security for 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:07 Dec 03, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2929.IS S2929 aiking on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS 12 •S 2929 IS a period of not longer than 10 additional 1 years upon determining that— 2 ‘‘(I) such relief would enable the 3 alien asserting a workplace claim to 4 pursue the claim to resolution; 5 ‘‘(II) the deterrent goals of any 6 law underlying a workplace claim 7 would be served; or 8 ‘‘(III) such extension would oth- 9 erwise further the interests of justice. 10 ‘‘(C) DEFINITIONS.—In this paragraph: 11 ‘‘(i) MATERIAL WITNESS.—Notwith- 12 standing any other provision of law, the 13 term ‘material witness’ means an indi- 14 vidual who presents a declaration from an 15 attorney investigating, prosecuting, or de- 16 fending the workplace claim or from the 17 presiding officer overseeing the workplace 18 claim attesting that, to the best of the de- 19 clarant’s knowledge and belief, reasonable 20 cause exists to believe that the testimony 21 of the individual will be relevant to the 22 outcome of the workplace claim. 23 ‘‘(ii) WORKPLACE CLAIM.—The term 24 ‘workplace claim’ means any written or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:07 Dec 03, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2929.IS S2929 aiking on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS 13 •S 2929 IS oral claim, charge, complaint, or grievance 1 filed with, communicated to, or submitted 2 to the employer, a Federal, State, or local 3 agency or court, or an employee represent- 4 ative related to the violation of applicable 5 Federal, State, and local labor laws, in- 6 cluding laws concerning wages and hours, 7 labor relations, family and medical leave, 8 occupational health and safety, civil rights, 9 or nondiscrimination.’’. 10 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:07 Dec 03, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S2929.IS S2929 aiking on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS