Honor Our Commitment Act of 2020

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 7053 To defer removal of certain nationals of Vietnam for a 24-month period, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 28, 2020 Mr. LOWENTHAL (for himself, Ms. NORTON, Mr. CORREA, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. ROUDA, Mr. VARGAS, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, and Mr. CONNOLLY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To defer removal of certain nationals of Vietnam for a 24- 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 ‘‘Honor Our Commit- 4 ment Act of 2020’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds as follows: 7 (1) From April–September 1975, the United 8 States conducted Operation New Arrival to relocate 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:16 Jun 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7053.IH H7053 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 7053 IH 130,000 Vietnamese refugees to the United States 1 following the end of the Vietnam War. 2 (2) During this time, more than 50,000 Viet- 3 namese refugees were processed through Camp Pen- 4 dleton for Southern California. 5 (3) In the 4 decades since refugees fled Viet- 6 nam, Vietnamese Americans have weaved their sto- 7 ries into the American fabric. 8 (4) The biggest concentration of Vietnamese 9 American is in Orange County, California, followed 10 by San Jose (California), Houston (Texas), Seattle 11 (Washington), Northern Virginia, and New Orleans 12 (Louisiana). 13 (5) According to the 2010 census, Vietnamese 14 is the 6th most commonly spoken language in the 15 United States. 16 (6) Immigrant communities face significant 17 problems assimilating as a result of the trauma of 18 war. A 2018 study published by Rashmi Gangamma 19 and Daran Shipman in the Journal of Marital and 20 Family Therapy noted that ‘‘the traumatic nature of 21 (immigrant’s) forced displacement flight, and reset- 22 tlement can increase vulnerability to mental dis- 23 tress.’’. First generation immigrants are especially 24 vulnerable to gang violence within communities in 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:16 Jun 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7053.IH H7053 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 7053 IH which their parents cannot guide with cultural or po- 1 litical comfortability. 2 (7) In 2008, the United States and Vietnam 3 signed a bilateral repatriation agreement, hereafter 4 known as the 2008 Vietnam-U.S. Memorandum of 5 Understanding (MOU). 6 (8) According to Section 2, Article 2 of the 7 2008 Vietnam-U.S. MOU, ‘‘Vietnamese citizens are 8 not subject to return to Vietnam under this Agree- 9 ment if they arrived in the United States before July 10 12, 1995, the date on which diplomatic relations 11 were re-established between the U.S. Government 12 and the Vietnamese Government. The U.S. Govern- 13 ment and the Vietnamese Government maintain 14 their respective legal positions relative to Vietnamese 15 citizens who departed Vietnam for the United States 16 prior to that date’’. 17 (9) The United States under President George 18 Bush and President Barack Obama recognized the 19 2008 Vietnam-U.S. MOU’s protection for pre-1995 20 refugees from deportation. 21 (10) In 2019, President Trump’s Administra- 22 tion began to renegotiate the 2008 Vietnam-U.S. 23 MOU to expand the categories of immigrants it 24 could deport, including permanent residents who 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:16 Jun 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7053.IH H7053 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 7053 IH have committed certain minor crimes and others who 1 came to the United States as children after the Viet- 2 nam War. 3 (11) In February 2018, Asian Americans Ad- 4 vancing Justice’s Asian Law Caucus in San Fran- 5 cisco, Los Angeles, and Atlanta filed a class action 6 lawsuit in the name of Orange County resident 7 Hoang Trinh and six other refugees who all came to 8 the U.S. before the 1995 date and became legal per- 9 manent residents. Due to criminal convictions, they 10 all lost their green cards, making them subject to 11 deportation. Under the 2008 Vietnam-U.S. MOU, 12 they should be protected from deportation. The refu- 13 gees were held in prolonged detention in violation of 14 a 2001 U.S. Supreme Court decision restricting 15 overlong detention. 16 (12) In August 2018, U.S. District Judge 17 Cormac Carney ruled that the plaintiffs in the class 18 action presented a plausible claim that the govern- 19 ment is now not abiding by a ‘‘longstanding practice 20 of not removing pre-1995 Vietnamese immigrants 21 and by the 2008 diplomatic agreement.’’. 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:16 Jun 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7053.IH H7053 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 7053 IH SEC. 3. DEFERRAL OF REMOVAL FOR NATIONALS OF VIET- 1 NAM WITH REMOVAL ORDERS. 2 (a) DEFERRAL OF REMOVAL.—Except as provided in 3 subsection (b), an alien may not be removed for the 24- 4 month period beginning on the date of enactment of this 5 Act if the alien— 6 (1) is a national of Vietnam; 7 (2) has been ordered removed to Vietnam at 8 any time before the date of enactment of this Act; 9 and 10 (3) resided in the United States on or before 11 July 12, 1995. 12 (b) DEFERRAL NOT APPLICABLE TO CERTAIN 13 ALIENS.—Subsection (a) shall not apply to an alien if— 14 (1) the Secretary of Homeland Security deter- 15 mines that the alien’s removal is necessary based 16 upon credible facts that the alien is directly respon- 17 sible for specific and significant harm to the security 18 of the United States; or 19 (2) the alien is subject to extradition. 20 (c) EMPLOYMENT AUTHORIZATION.—Upon applica- 21 tion to the Secretary of Homeland Security, an alien 22 whose removal is deferred pursuant to this Act— 23 (1) shall be authorized to engage in employ- 24 ment during the 24-month period described in sub- 25 section (a); and 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:16 Jun 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7053.IH H7053 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 7053 IH (2) shall be issued an employment authorization 1 document that remains valid during such period. 2 (d) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Secretary of Homeland 3 Security shall take the necessary steps to implement— 4 (1) the deferral of removal authorized under 5 this section; and 6 (2) the authorization of employment described 7 in subsection (c). 8 SEC. 4. NOTICE FOR CERTAIN ALIENS WITH REMOVAL OR- 9 DERS TO VIETNAM. 10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after the 11 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland 12 Security shall provide notice of the provisions of this Act 13 to each alien who— 14 (1) is a national of Vietnam; and 15 (2) has a final order of removal. 16 (b) CONTENTS OF NOTICE.—The notice required 17 under subsection (a) shall include clear instructions ex- 18 plaining the requirements for an alien to file a motion to 19 reopen a proceeding under section 240 of the Immigration 20 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1229a) based on changed 21 country conditions. 22 SEC. 5. PROHIBITION ON DETENTION. 23 The Secretary of Homeland Security may not detain 24 an alien whose removal is deferred pursuant to this Act 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:16 Jun 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7053.IH H7053 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 7053 IH on the basis of the alien’s immigration status in the 1 United States or as a result of a motion filed by the alien 2 to reopen a proceeding under section 240 of the Immigra- 3 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1229a). 4 SEC. 6. JUDICIAL REVIEW. 5 (a) REVIEW.—Notwithstanding any other provision 6 of law, an individual or entity who has been harmed by 7 a violation of this Act may file an action in an appropriate 8 district court of the United States to seek declaratory or 9 injunctive relief. 10 (b) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this Act 11 may be construed to preclude an action filed pursuant to 12 subsection (a) from proceeding as a class action (as such 13 term is defined in section 1711 of title 28, United States 14 Code). 15 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:16 Jun 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H7053.IH H7053 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS