POWER Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 5225 To protect victims of crime or serious labor violations from removal during Department of Homeland Security enforcement actions, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES NOVEMBER 21, 2019 Ms. JUDY CHU of California (for herself, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Ms. NOR- TON, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Ms. GARCIA of Texas, Mr. RASKIN, Mr. TRONE, Ms. JAYAPAL, and Ms. BARRAGA´N) introduced the following bill; which was 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 03:08 Dec 04, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5225.IH H5225 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 5225 IH 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 03:08 Dec 04, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5225.IH H5225 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 5225 IH 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 03:08 Dec 04, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5225.IH H5225 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 5225 IH (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)(iii)(II)); 9 and 10 ‘‘(II) reasonably fears, has been 11 threatened with, or has been the victim of, 12 an action involving force, physical re- 13 straint, retaliation, or abuse of the immi- 14 gration or other legal process against the 15 alien or another person by the employer in 16 relation to acts underlying the workplace 17 claim or related to the filing of the work- 18 place claim; or’’. 19 (b) TEMPORARY PROTECTION FOR VICTIMS OF 20 CRIME, LABOR, AND EMPLOYMENT VIOLATIONS.—Not- 21 withstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary of 22 Homeland Security may permit an alien to temporarily re- 23 main in the United States, and grant the alien employ- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:08 Dec 04, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5225.IH H5225 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 5225 IH ment authorization, if the Secretary determines that the 1 alien— 2 (1) has filed for relief under section 3 101(a)(15)(U) of the Immigration and Nationality 4 Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(U)); or 5 (2)(A) has filed, or is a material witness to, a 6 bona fide workplace claim (as defined in section 7 274A(e)(10)(B)(iii)(II) of such Act, as added by sec- 8 tion 3(b) of this Act); and 9 (B) has been helpful, is being helpful, or is like- 10 ly to be helpful to— 11 (i) a Federal, State, or local law enforce- 12 ment official; 13 (ii) a Federal, State, or local prosecutor; 14 (iii) a Federal, State, or local judge; 15 (iv) the Department of Homeland Security; 16 (v) the Equal Employment Opportunity 17 Commission; 18 (vi) the Department of Labor, including 19 the Occupational Safety and Health Adminis- 20 tration; 21 (vii) the National Labor Relations Board; 22 (viii) the head official of a State or local 23 government department of labor, workforce 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:08 Dec 04, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5225.IH H5225 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 5225 IH commission, or human relations commission or 1 council; or 2 (ix) other Federal, State, or local authori- 3 ties investigating, prosecuting, or seeking civil 4 remedies related to the workplace claim. 5 (c) REQUIREMENTS APPLICABLE TO U VISAS.—Sec- 6 tion 214(p) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 7 U.S.C. 1184(p)) is amended— 8 (1) in paragraph (1)— 9 (A) by inserting ‘‘or investigating, pros- 10 ecuting, or seeking civil remedies for workplace 11 claims described in section 101(a)(15)(U)(iv)’’ 12 after ‘‘section 101(a)(15)(U)(iii)’’ each place 13 such term appears; 14 (B) by striking ‘‘The petition’’ and insert- 15 ing the following: 16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The petition’’; and 17 (C) by adding at the end the following: 18 ‘‘(B) FEES.—An alien petitioning for, or 19 having status under, section 101(a)(15)(U) 20 shall not be required to submit any fee (or re- 21 quest any fee waiver) in connection with such 22 petition or status, including fees associated with 23 biometric services, or an application for advance 24 permission to enter as a nonimmigrant. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:08 Dec 04, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5225.IH H5225 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •HR 5225 IH ‘‘(C) CONFIDENTIALITY OF INFORMA- 1 TION.—Neither the Secretary of Homeland Se- 2 curity, nor the Attorney General, may use the 3 information furnished pursuant to a petition for 4 status under section 101(a)(15)(U) for pur- 5 poses of initiating or carrying out a removal 6 proceeding.’’; 7 (2) by striking paragraph (2); and 8 (3) in paragraph (6)— 9 (A) by inserting ‘‘or workplace claims de- 10 scribed in section 101(a)(15)(U)(iv)’’ after ‘‘de- 11 scribed in section 101(a)(15)(U)(iii)’’; and 12 (B) by inserting ‘‘or workplace claim’’ 13 after ‘‘prosecution of such criminal activity’’. 14 (d) ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS FOR VICTIMS OF 15 CRIMES.—Section 245(m)(1) of the Immigration and Na- 16 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1255(m)(1)) is amended by insert- 17 ing ‘‘or an investigation or prosecution regarding a work- 18 place claim’’ after ‘‘prosecution’’. 19 (e) CHANGE OF NONIMMIGRANT CLASSIFICATION.— 20 Section 384(a)(1) of the Illegal Immigration Reform and 21 Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 22 1367(a)(1)) is amended— 23 (1) in subparagraph (E), by striking ‘‘physical 24 or mental abuse and the criminal activity’’ and in- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:08 Dec 04, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5225.IH H5225 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •HR 5225 IH serting ‘‘abuse and the criminal activity or work- 1 place claim’’; 2 (2) in subparagraph (F), by adding ‘‘or’’ at the 3 end; and 4 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (F) the fol- 5 lowing: 6 ‘‘(G) the alien’s employer,’’. 7 SEC. 3. LABOR ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS. 8 (a) REMOVAL PROCEEDINGS.—Section 239(e) of the 9 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1229(e)) is 10 amended— 11 (1) in paragraph (1)— 12 (A) by striking ‘‘In cases where’’ and in- 13 serting ‘‘If’’; and 14 (B) by inserting ‘‘or as a result of informa- 15 tion provided to the Department of Homeland 16 Security in retaliation against individuals for 17 exercising or attempting to exercise their em- 18 ployment rights or other legal rights’’ after 19 ‘‘paragraph (2)’’; and 20 (2) in paragraph (2), by adding at the end the 21 following: 22 ‘‘(C) At a facility about which a workplace 23 claim has been filed or is contemporaneously 24 filed.’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:08 Dec 04, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5225.IH H5225 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •HR 5225 IH (b) UNLAWFUL EMPLOYMENT OF ALIENS.—Section 1 274A(e) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 2 1324a(e)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 3 ‘‘(10) CONDUCT IN ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS.— 4 ‘‘(A) ENFORCEMENT ACTION.—If the Sec- 5 retary of Homeland Security undertakes an en- 6 forcement action at a facility about which a 7 workplace claim has been filed or is contem- 8 poraneously filed, or as a result of information 9 provided to the Department of Homeland Secu- 10 rity in retaliation against employees for exer- 11 cising their rights related to a workplace claim, 12 the Secretary shall ensure that— 13 ‘‘(i) any aliens arrested or detained 14 who are necessary for the investigation or 15 prosecution of workplace claim violations 16 or criminal activity (as described in sub- 17 paragraph (T) or (U) of section 18 101(a)(15)) are not removed from the 19 United States until after the Secretary— 20 ‘‘(I) notifies the appropriate law 21 enforcement agency with jurisdiction 22 over such violations or criminal activ- 23 ity; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:08 Dec 04, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5225.IH H5225 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •HR 5225 IH ‘‘(II) provides such agency with 1 the opportunity to interview such 2 aliens; and 3 ‘‘(ii) no aliens entitled to a stay of re- 4 moval or abeyance of removal proceedings 5 under this section are removed. 6 ‘‘(B) PROTECTIONS FOR VICTIMS OF 7 CRIME, LABOR, AND EMPLOYMENT VIOLA- 8 TIONS.— 9 ‘‘(i) STAY OF REMOVAL OR ABEYANCE 10 OF REMOVAL PROCEEDINGS.—An alien 11 against whom removal proceedings have 12 been initiated under chapter 4 of title II, 13 who has filed a workplace claim, who is a 14 material witness in any pending or antici- 15 pated proceeding involving a bona fide 16 workplace claim, or who has filed for relief 17 under section 101(a)(15)(U), shall be enti- 18 tled to a stay of removal or an abeyance of 19 removal proceedings and to employment 20 authorization until the resolution of the 21 workplace claim or the denial of relief 22 under section 101(a)(15)(U) after exhaus- 23 tion of administrative appeals, whichever is 24 later, unless the Secretary establishes, by a 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:08 Dec 04, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5225.IH H5225 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •HR 5225 IH preponderance of the evidence in pro- 1 ceedings before the immigration judge pre- 2 siding over that alien’s removal hearing, 3 that— 4 ‘‘(I) the alien has been convicted 5 of a felony; or 6 ‘‘(II) the workplace claim was 7 filed in bad faith with the intent to 8 delay or avoid the alien’s removal. 9 ‘‘(ii) DURATION.—Any stay of re- 10 moval or abeyance of removal proceedings 11 and employment authorization issued pur- 12 suant to clause (i) shall remain valid until 13 the resolution of the workplace claim or 14 the denial of relief under section 15 101(a)(15)(U) after the exhaustion of ad- 16 ministrative appeals, and shall be extended 17 by the Secretary of Homeland Security for 18 a period of not longer than 10 additional 19 years upon determining that— 20 ‘‘(I) such relief would enable the 21 alien asserting a workplace claim to 22 pursue the claim to resolution; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:08 Dec 04, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5225.IH H5225 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •HR 5225 IH ‘‘(II) the deterrent goals of any 1 statute underlying a workplace claim 2 would be served; or 3 ‘‘(III) such extension would oth- 4 erwise further the interests of justice. 5 ‘‘(iii) DEFINITIONS.—In this para- 6 graph: 7 ‘‘(I) MATERIAL WITNESS.—Not- 8 withstanding any other provision of 9 law, the term ‘material witness’ means 10 an individual who presents a declara- 11 tion from an attorney investigating, 12 prosecuting, or defending the work- 13 place claim or from the presiding offi- 14 cer overseeing the workplace claim at- 15 testing that, to the best of the declar- 16 ant’s knowledge and belief, reasonable 17 cause exists to believe that the testi- 18 mony of the individual will be relevant 19 to the outcome of the workplace claim. 20 ‘‘(II) WORKPLACE CLAIM.—The 21 term ‘workplace claim’ means any 22 written or oral claim, charge, com- 23 plaint, or grievance filed with, commu- 24 nicated to, or submitted to the em- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:08 Dec 04, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5225.IH H5225 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 13 •HR 5225 IH ployer, a Federal, State, or local agen- 1 cy or court, or an employee represent- 2 ative related to the violation of appli- 3 cable Federal, State, and local labor 4 laws, including laws concerning wages 5 and hours, labor relations, family and 6 medical leave, occupational health and 7 safety, civil rights, or nondiscrimina- 8 tion.’’. 9 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:08 Dec 04, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H5225.IH H5225 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS