POWER Act

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1828 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 MARCH 28, 2023 Ms. CHU (for herself, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Ms. TITUS, Ms. BARRAGA´N, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Ms. JAYAPAL, Ms. SCHA- KOWSKY, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. CASAR, Ms. TLAIB, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. GARCI´A of Illinois, and Ms. NORTON) introduced the fol- lowing 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 03:59 Apr 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1828.IH H1828 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 1828 IH SEC. 2. VICTIMS OF SERIOUS LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT 1 VIOLATIONS OR CRIME. 2 (a) PROTECTION FOR VICTIMS OF LABOR AND EM- 3 PLOYMENT VIOLATIONS.—Section 101(a)(15)(U) of the 4 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 5 1101(a)(15)(U)) is amended— 6 (1) in clause (i)— 7 (A) by striking subclause (I) and inserting 8 the following: 9 ‘‘(I) the alien— 10 ‘‘(aa) has suffered substantial 11 physical, emotional, or mental abuse 12 or harm as a result of having been a 13 victim of criminal activity described in 14 clause (iii); 15 ‘‘(bb) has suffered substantial 16 physical, emotional, or mental abuse 17 or harm related to a violation de- 18 scribed in clause (iv); 19 ‘‘(cc) is a victim of criminal ac- 20 tivity described in clause (iii) and 21 would suffer extreme hardship upon 22 removal; or 23 ‘‘(dd) has suffered a violation de- 24 scribed in clause (iv) and would suffer 25 extreme hardship upon removal;’’; 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:59 Apr 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1828.IH H1828 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 1828 IH (B) in subclause (II), by inserting ‘‘, or a 1 labor or employment violation resulting in a 2 workplace claim described in clause (iv)’’ before 3 the semicolon at the end; 4 (C) in subclause (III)— 5 (i) by striking ‘‘or State judge, to the 6 Service’’ and inserting ‘‘, State, or local 7 judge, to the Department of Homeland Se- 8 curity, to the Equal Employment Oppor- 9 tunity Commission, to the Department of 10 Labor (including the Occupational Safety 11 and Health Administration), to the Na- 12 tional Labor Relations Board, to the head 13 official of a State or local government de- 14 partment of labor, workforce commission, 15 or human relations commission or coun- 16 cil’’; 17 (ii) by striking ‘‘investigating or pros- 18 ecuting’’ and inserting ‘‘investigating, 19 prosecuting, or seeking civil remedies for’’; 20 and 21 (iii) by inserting ‘‘, or investigating, 22 prosecuting, or seeking civil remedies for a 23 labor or employment violation related to a 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:59 Apr 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1828.IH H1828 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HR 1828 IH workplace claim described in clause (iv)’’ 1 before the semicolon at the end; and 2 (D) in subclause (IV)— 3 (i) by inserting ‘‘(aa)’’ after ‘‘(IV)’’; 4 (ii) by inserting ‘‘or’’ after the semi- 5 colon at the end; and 6 (iii) by adding at the end the fol- 7 lowing: 8 ‘‘(bb) a workplace claim described in clause (iv) 9 resulting from a labor or employment violation;’’; 10 (2) in clause (ii)(II), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 11 end; 12 (3) in clause (iii), by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end 13 and inserting ‘‘and’’; and 14 (4) by adding at the end the following: 15 ‘‘(iv) in the labor or employment violation 16 related to a workplace claim, the alien has filed, 17 is a material witness in, or is likely to be help- 18 ful in the investigation of, a bona fide work- 19 place claim (as defined in section 20 274A(e)(10)(B)(iii)(II)); or’’. 21 (b) TEMPORARY PROTECTION FOR INJURED WORK- 22 ERS AND VICTIMS OF CRIME, LABOR, AND EMPLOYMENT 23 VIOLATIONS.—Notwithstanding any other provision of 24 law, the Secretary of Homeland Security may permit an 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:59 Apr 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1828.IH H1828 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •HR 1828 IH alien to temporarily remain in the United States, shall not 1 remove the alien from the United States during the per- 2 mitted period, and shall provide the alien with the alien 3 employment authorization, if the Secretary determines 4 that the alien— 5 (1) has filed for relief under section 6 101(a)(15)(U) of the Immigration and Nationality 7 Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(U)) or section 8 101(a)(15)(T) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 9 1101(a)(15)(T)); 10 (2)(A) has filed, or is a material witness to, a 11 bona fide workplace claim (as defined in section 12 274A(e)(10)(B)(iii)(II) of such Act, as added by sec- 13 tion 3(b) of this Act) or has filed, or is a material 14 witness to, a civil claim arising from criminal activ- 15 ity (as defined in section 274A(e)(10)(B)(iii)(III) of 16 such Act); and 17 (B) has been helpful, is being helpful, or is like- 18 ly to be helpful to— 19 (i) a Federal, State, or local law enforce- 20 ment official; 21 (ii) a Federal, State, or local prosecutor; 22 (iii) a Federal, State, or local judge; 23 (iv) the Department of Homeland Security; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:59 Apr 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1828.IH H1828 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •HR 1828 IH (v) the Equal Employment Opportunity 1 Commission; 2 (vi) the Department of Labor, including 3 the Occupational Safety and Health Adminis- 4 tration; 5 (vii) the National Labor Relations Board; 6 (viii) the head official of a State or local 7 government department of labor, workforce 8 commission, or human relations commission or 9 council; or 10 (ix) other Federal, State, or local authori- 11 ties; or 12 (3) has filed a workers’ compensation claim or 13 is undergoing treatment for a workplace injury or 14 illness. 15 (c) REQUIREMENTS APPLICABLE TO U VISAS.—Sec- 16 tion 214(p) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 17 U.S.C. 1184(p)) is amended— 18 (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘or inves- 19 tigating, prosecuting, or seeking civil remedies for 20 workplace claims described in section 21 101(a)(15)(U)(iv)’’ after ‘‘section 22 101(a)(15)(U)(iii)’’ each place such term appears; 23 (2) by striking paragraph (2); and 24 (3) in paragraph (6)— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:59 Apr 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1828.IH H1828 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •HR 1828 IH (A) by inserting ‘‘or workplace claims de- 1 scribed in section 101(a)(15)(U)(iv)’’ after ‘‘de- 2 scribed in section 101(a)(15)(U)(iii)’’; and 3 (B) by inserting ‘‘or workplace claim’’ 4 after ‘‘prosecution of such criminal activity’’. 5 (d) ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS FOR VICTIMS OF 6 CRIMES.—Section 245(m)(1) of the Immigration and Na- 7 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1255(m)(1)) is amended by insert- 8 ing ‘‘or an investigation or prosecution regarding a work- 9 place claim’’ after ‘‘prosecution’’. 10 (e) ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS AND FEES.—Section 11 245(l)(7) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 12 U.S.C. 1255(l)(7)) is amended by striking ‘‘permit aliens 13 to apply for a waiver of’’ and inserting ‘‘not require the 14 payment of any’’. 15 (f) CHANGE OF NONIMMIGRANT CLASSIFICATION.— 16 Section 384(a)(1) of the Illegal Immigration Reform and 17 Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 18 1367(a)(1)) is amended— 19 (1) in subparagraph (E), by striking ‘‘physical 20 or mental abuse and the criminal activity’’ and in- 21 serting ‘‘abuse and the criminal activity or work- 22 place claim’’; 23 (2) in subparagraph (F), by adding ‘‘or’’ at the 24 end; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:59 Apr 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1828.IH H1828 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •HR 1828 IH (3) by inserting after subparagraph (F) the fol- 1 lowing: 2 ‘‘(G) the alien’s employer,’’. 3 (g) CONFIDENTIALITY OF INFORMATION.—Section 4 384(b)(2) of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immi- 5 grant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1367(b)(2)) 6 is amended by adding at the end the following: 7 ‘‘However, neither the Secretary of Homeland Secu- 8 rity nor the Attorney General may use the informa- 9 tion furnished pursuant to any application under 10 section 101(a)(15)(T), 101(a)(15)(U), 101(a)(27), 11 101(a)(51), 106, 240A(b)(2), or 244(a) of the Immi- 12 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 13 1101(a)(15)(T); 1101(a)(15)(U); 1101(a)(27); 14 1101(a)(51); 1105a; 1229b(b)(2); 1254a(a)), or sec- 15 tion 107(b)(1)(E)(i)(II)(bb) of the Victims of Traf- 16 ficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 (22 17 U.S.C. 7105(b)(1)(E)(i)(II)(bb)), for purposes of 18 initiating or carrying out a removal proceeding.’’. 19 SEC. 3. LABOR ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS. 20 (a) REMOVAL PROCEEDINGS.—Section 239(e) of the 21 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1229(e)) is 22 amended— 23 (1) in paragraph (1)— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:59 Apr 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1828.IH H1828 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 9 •HR 1828 IH (A) by striking ‘‘In cases where’’ and in- 1 serting ‘‘If’’; and 2 (B) by inserting ‘‘or as a result of informa- 3 tion provided to the Department of Homeland 4 Security in retaliation against individuals for 5 exercising or attempting to exercise their em- 6 ployment rights or other legal rights’’ after 7 ‘‘paragraph (2)’’; and 8 (2) in paragraph (2), by adding at the end the 9 following: 10 ‘‘(C) At a facility about which a workplace 11 claim has been filed or is contemporaneously 12 filed.’’. 13 (b) UNLAWFUL EMPLOYMENT OF ALIENS.—Section 14 274A(e) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 15 1324a(e)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 16 ‘‘(10) CONDUCT IN ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS.— 17 ‘‘(A) ENFORCEMENT ACTION.—If the Sec- 18 retary of Homeland Security undertakes an en- 19 forcement action at a facility about which a 20 workplace claim has been filed or is contem- 21 poraneously filed, or as a result of information 22 provided to the Department of Homeland Secu- 23 rity in retaliation against employees for exer- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:59 Apr 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1828.IH H1828 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 10 •HR 1828 IH cising their rights related to a workplace claim, 1 the Secretary shall ensure that— 2 ‘‘(i) any aliens arrested or detained 3 who are victims of or material witnesses to 4 workplace claim violations or criminal ac- 5 tivity (as described in subparagraph (T) or 6 (U) of section 101(a)(15)) are not removed 7 from the United States until after the Sec- 8 retary— 9 ‘‘(I) notifies the appropriate 10 agency with jurisdiction over such vio- 11 lations or criminal activity; and 12 ‘‘(II) provides such agency with 13 the opportunity to interview such 14 aliens; and 15 ‘‘(ii) no aliens entitled to a stay of re- 16 moval or abeyance of removal proceedings 17 under this section are removed. 18 ‘‘(B) PROTECTIONS FOR VICTIMS OF 19 CRIME, LABOR, AND EMPLOYMENT VIOLA- 20 TIONS.— 21 ‘‘(i) STAY OF REMOVAL OR ABEYANCE 22 OF REMOVAL PROCEEDINGS.—An alien 23 against whom removal proceedings have 24 been initiated under chapter 4 of title II, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:59 Apr 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1828.IH H1828 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 11 •HR 1828 IH who has filed a workplace claim, who is a 1 material witness in any pending or antici- 2 pated proceeding involving a bona fide 3 workplace claim or civil claim arising from 4 criminal activity, or who has filed for relief 5 under section 101(a)(15)(U), shall be enti- 6 tled to a stay of removal or an abeyance of 7 removal proceedings and to employment 8 authorization until the resolution of the 9 workplace claim or the denial of relief 10 under section 101(a)(15)(U) after exhaus- 11 tion of administrative or judicial appeals, 12 whichever is later. 13 ‘‘(ii) DURATION.—Any stay of re- 14 moval or abeyance of removal proceedings 15 and employment authorization issued pur- 16 suant to clause (i) shall remain valid until 17 the resolution of the workplace claim or 18 the denial of relief under section 19 101(a)(15)(U) after the exhaustion of ad- 20 ministrative or judicial appeals, and shall 21 be extended by the Secretary of Homeland 22 Security for a period of not longer than 10 23 additional years upon determining that— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:59 Apr 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1828.IH H1828 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 12 •HR 1828 IH ‘‘(I) such relief would enable the 1 alien asserting a workplace claim or 2 civil claim arising from criminal activ- 3 ity, or assisting in investigation or 4 prosecution of criminal activity, to 5 pursue the matter to resolution, ac- 6 cording to any agency administering 7 any statute underlying these claims or 8 any other credible evidence; 9 ‘‘(II) the deterrent goals of any 10 statute underlying a workplace claim, 11 criminal activity, or civil claim arising 12 from criminal activity would be 13 served, according to any agency ad- 14 ministering such a statute or any 15 other credible evidence; or 16 ‘‘(III) such extension would oth- 17 erwise further the interests of justice. 18 ‘‘(iii) DEFINITIONS.—In this para- 19 graph: 20 ‘‘(I) MATERIAL WITNESS.—Not- 21 withstanding any other provision of 22 law, the term ‘material witness’ means 23 an individual who presents a declara- 24 tion from an attorney investigating, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:59 Apr 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1828.IH H1828 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 13 •HR 1828 IH prosecuting, or defending the claim or 1 from the presiding officer overseeing 2 the claim attesting that, to the best of 3 the declarant’s knowledge and belief, 4 reasonable cause exists to believe that 5 the testimony of the individual will be 6 relevant to the outcome of the work- 7 place claim. 8 ‘‘(II) WORKPLACE CLAIM.—The 9 term ‘workplace claim’ means any 10 written or oral claim, charge, com- 11 plaint, or grievance filed with, commu- 12 nicated to, or submitted to the em- 13 ployer, a Federal, Sta [Text truncated for display. 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