PANDEMIC Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 6715 To require the removal of aliens in detention during a national emergency related to a communicable disease, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 5, 2020 Mr. GAETZ introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To require the removal of aliens in detention during a na- tional emergency related to a communicable disease, 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 American Na- 4 tionals During Emergencies by Mitigating the Immigra- 5 tion Crisis Act’’ or the ‘‘PANDEMIC Act’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:14 May 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6715.IH H6715 khammond on DSK30NT082PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 6715 IH SEC. 2. EXPEDITED REMOVAL OF DETAINED ALIENS DUR- 1 ING A NATIONAL EMERGENCY RELATED TO A 2 COMMUNICABLE DISEASE. 3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi- 4 sion of law, any unlawfully present alien who is detained 5 by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement during a 6 national emergency related to a communicable disease (re- 7 gardless of whether the alien was taken into custody be- 8 fore or during the national emergency related to a commu- 9 nicable disease) shall be removed from the United States 10 in a manner which eliminates the need for additional de- 11 tention at any processing center of the Department of 12 Homeland Security and in a manner which assures expedi- 13 tious removal. 14 (b) APPLICABILITY TO CRIMINAL ALIENS.—Sub- 15 section (a) shall not apply with respect to an alien against 16 whom charges for a crime of violence are pending. 17 SEC. 3. DEFINITION. 18 In this Act: 19 (1) The term ‘‘national emergency related to a 20 communicable disease’’ means— 21 (A) an emergency involving Federal pri- 22 mary responsibility determined to exist by the 23 President under section 501(b) of the Robert T. 24 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assist- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:14 May 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6715.IH H6715 khammond on DSK30NT082PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 6715 IH ance Act (42 U.S.C. 5191(b)) with respect to a 1 communicable disease; or 2 (B) a national emergency declared by the 3 President under the National Emergency Act 4 (50 U.S.C. 1610 et seq.) with respect to a com- 5 municable disease. 6 (2) The term ‘‘alien’’ has the meaning given the 7 term under section 101 of the Immigration and Na- 8 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101). 9 (3) The term ‘‘crime of violence’’ has the mean- 10 ing given the term under section 16 of title 18, 11 United States Code. 12 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:14 May 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H6715.IH H6715 khammond on DSK30NT082PROD with BILLS