Hmong and Lao Refugee Deportation Prohibition Act of 2020

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 6034 To defer the removal of individuals to the Lao People’s Democratic Republic for a 72-month period, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 28, 2020 Ms. MCCOLLUM (for herself, Mr. PHILLIPS, Mr. KIND, Mr. COSTA, Ms. MOORE, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Ms. SCANLON, Mr. LEVIN of Michigan, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. POCAN, and Ms. LOFGREN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To defer the removal of individuals to the Lao People’s Democratic Republic for a 72-month period, 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 ‘‘Hmong and Lao Ref- 4 ugee Deportation Prohibition Act of 2020’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds the following: 7 (1) Since 1975, nearly 200,000 refugees from 8 the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao P.D.R), 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:35 Mar 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6034.IH H6034 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 6034 IH including persons of Hmong, Lao, Khmu, and Mien 1 or Yao descent, have resettled in the U.S. as perma- 2 nent residents or become citizens. 3 (2) Beginning in the 1950s in Laos, Hmong 4 soldiers fought the Communist Pathet Lao move- 5 ment, and many Hmong and Lao later assisted U.S. 6 forces during the Vietnam War. 7 (3) The House Judiciary Committee reported in 8 2000, ‘‘At great personal peril and loss of life, the 9 Hmong fought with American forces and performed 10 critical roles in dangerous missions.’’. 11 (4) A former CIA officer stated to the Sub- 12 committee on Immigration and Claims that, 13 ‘‘[t]hroughout the war, CIA’s paramilitary forces 14 collected intelligence, used it in combat operations to 15 tie down some 50,000 North Vietnamese forces in 16 Laos, rescued downed American pilots and protected 17 sensitive American installations at remote mountain 18 tops . . .’’. 19 (5) Public Law 106–207, the Hmong Veterans 20 Naturalization Act of 2000, provided thousands of 21 Hmong refugees resettled to the U.S. who served 22 with a special guerrilla unit, or irregular forces, op- 23 erating from a base in Laos in support of the United 24 States military at any time during the period begin- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:35 Mar 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6034.IH H6034 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 6034 IH ning February 28, 1961, and ending September 18, 1 1978, with exemptions from certain provisions of the 2 Immigration and Naturalization Act. 3 (6) In 2000, it was reported by the House Judi- 4 ciary Committee in Report 106–563 that ‘‘many 5 Hmong refugees have found it difficult to naturalize 6 because of a difficulty learning English. This is due 7 to the facts that they came from a tribal society 8 without a written language until recent decades and 9 that many Hmong were recruited to be guerrillas at 10 the age of 12–14 and hence did not attend school.’’. 11 (7) Scholars argue that the U.S. insufficiently 12 resettled refugees from Laos leaving many ill-pre- 13 pared for immediate work, unacculturated, and suf- 14 fering psychosocial trauma resulting in cycles of pov- 15 erty. In 2016, 37.8 percent of Hmong and 18.5 per- 16 cent of Lao in the U.S. were living in poverty. 17 (8) There are currently over 4,700 long-time 18 U.S. residents of Hmong, Lao, Khmu, and Mien or 19 Yao descent with Final Orders for Removal who 20 were born in the Lao P.D.R., fled persecution in 21 Laos, were resettled in the U.S. as refugees, and 22 now face deportation to Laos due to past criminal 23 convictions. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:35 Mar 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6034.IH H6034 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 6034 IH (9) Individuals with Final Orders for Removal 1 who could be deported to the Lao P.D.R. often do 2 not speak the Lao language, lack familial connec- 3 tions, and are at risk of being a target for human 4 rights abuses as a result of historic support for U.S. 5 anti-communist policies. 6 (10) A 2018 Department of State Laos Human 7 Rights Report acknowledges the long record of 8 human rights abuses in the Lao P.D.R. The report 9 states, ‘‘The government neither prosecuted nor 10 punished officials who committed abuses, and police 11 and security forces committed human rights abuses 12 with impunity.’’. 13 (11) The Lao P.D.R. is a communist state that 14 does not currently have an official deportation agree- 15 ment with the U.S. and there is no extradition trea- 16 ty between Laos and the U.S. 17 (12) Many of the over 4,700 persons with Final 18 Orders of Removal who are at risk of deportation to 19 the Lao P.D.R. have not been able to seek adequate 20 immigration relief based on the complexity of the re- 21 quired legal filings and the backlogs in immigration 22 courts. It can take several years for an individual to 23 seek to reopen their immigration case and have their 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6034.IH H6034 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 6034 IH eligibility for immigration relief decided on the mer- 1 its. 2 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 3 It is the sense of the Congress that— 4 (1) individuals of Hmong, Lao, Khmu, and 5 Mien or Yao descent who arrived in the U.S. as ref- 6 ugees fleeing persecution in the Lao People’s Demo- 7 cratic Republic shall not be deported to Laos for a 8 period of 72 months; and 9 (2) the Trump administration’s efforts to de- 10 port more than 4,700 individuals of Hmong, Lao, 11 Khmu, and Mien or Yao descent residing in the U.S. 12 to the Lao People’s Democratic Republic puts these 13 individuals at grave risk, is unnecessary to ensure 14 public safety, and cruelly inflicts trauma and harm 15 on Hmong-American and Lao-American families and 16 communities that are making significant contribu- 17 tions to the strength and success of the U.S. 18 SEC. 4. DEFERRAL OF REMOVAL TO THE LAO PEOPLE’S 19 DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC FOR INDIVIDUALS 20 WITH REMOVAL ORDERS. 21 (a) DEFERRAL OF REMOVAL.—An alien may not be 22 removed for the 72-month period beginning on the date 23 of enactment of this Act if the alien— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:35 Mar 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6034.IH H6034 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 6034 IH (1) is an individual born in the Lao People’s 1 Democratic Republic or colonial French administra- 2 tion of the present-day Lao People’s Democratic Re- 3 public; 4 (2) has been ordered removed to Lao People’s 5 Democratic Republic at any time before the date of 6 enactment of this Act; and 7 (3) resided in the United States on or before 8 January 1, 2011. 9 (b) EMPLOYMENT AUTHORIZATION.—Upon applica- 10 tion to the Secretary of Homeland Security, an alien 11 whose removal is deferred pursuant to this Act— 12 (1) shall be authorized to engage in employ- 13 ment during the 72-month period described in sub- 14 section (a); and 15 (2) shall be issued an employment authorization 16 document that remains valid for 24 months subject 17 to renewal. 18 (c) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Secretary of Homeland 19 Security shall take the necessary steps to implement— 20 (1) the deferral of removal authorized under 21 this section; and 22 (2) the authorization of employment described 23 in subsection (b). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:35 Mar 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6034.IH H6034 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 6034 IH SEC. 5. NOTICE FOR CERTAIN ALIENS WITH REMOVAL OR- 1 DERS TO THE LAO PEOPLE’S DEMOCRATIC 2 REPUBLIC. 3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after the 4 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland 5 Security shall provide notice of the provisions of this Act 6 to each alien who— 7 (1) is an individual born in the Lao People’s 8 Democratic Republic or colonial French administra- 9 tion of the present-day Lao People’s Democratic Re- 10 public; and 11 (2) has a final order of removal. 12 (b) CONTENTS OF NOTICE.—The notice required 13 under subsection (a) shall include clear instructions ex- 14 plaining the requirements for an alien to file a motion to 15 reopen a proceeding under section 240 of the Immigration 16 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1229a) based on changed 17 country conditions. 18 SEC. 6. PROHIBITION ON DETENTION. 19 The Secretary of Homeland Security may not detain 20 an alien whose removal is deferred pursuant to this Act 21 on the basis of the alien’s immigration status in the 22 United States or as a result of a motion filed by the alien 23 to reopen a proceeding under section 240 of the Immigra- 24 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1229a). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:35 Mar 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6034.IH H6034 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 6034 IH SEC. 7. JUDICIAL REVIEW. 1 (a) REVIEW.—Notwithstanding any other provision 2 of law, an individual or entity who has been harmed by 3 a violation of this Act may file an action in an appropriate 4 district court of the United States to seek declaratory or 5 injunctive relief. 6 (b) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this Act 7 may be construed to preclude an action filed pursuant to 8 subsection (a) from proceeding as a class action (as such 9 term is defined in section 1711 of title 28, United States 10 Code). 11 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:35 Mar 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H6034.IH H6034 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS