Ending Catch and Release Act of 2023

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 86 To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act with respect to the parole or release of an asylum applicant, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 9, 2023 Mr. BIGGS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act with respect to the parole or release of an asylum applicant, 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 ‘‘Ending Catch and Re- 4 lease Act of 2023’’. 5 SEC. 2. INSPECTION OF APPLICANTS FOR ADMISSION. 6 Section 235(b) of the Immigration and Nationality 7 Act (8 U.S.C. 1225(b)) is amended by— 8 (1) in paragraph (1)— 9 (A) in subparagraph (A)— 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:28 Jan 14, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H86.IH H86 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 86 IH (i) in clause (i)— 1 (I) by striking ‘‘section 2 212(a)(6)(C)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 3 212(a)(6)(A), 212(a)(6)(C), or’’; and 4 (II) by striking the period at the 5 end and inserting ‘‘. The Secretary 6 may not parole or otherwise release 7 the alien into the United States.’’; and 8 (ii) in clause (ii)— 9 (I) by striking ‘‘section 10 212(a)(6)(C)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 11 212(a)(6)(A), 212(a)(6)(C), or’’; and 12 (II) by striking the period at the 13 end and inserting ‘‘. The Secretary 14 may not parole or otherwise release 15 the alien into the United States.’’; and 16 (B) in subparagraph (B)— 17 (i) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘Attorney 18 General’’ and inserting ‘‘Secretary’’; 19 (ii) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘the 20 alien shall be detained for further consider- 21 ation of the application for asylum’’ and 22 inserting ‘‘the alien shall either be detained 23 for further consideration of the application 24 for asylum by an immigration judge or if 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:28 Jan 14, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H86.IH H86 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 86 IH the alien arrived on land from a foreign 1 territory contiguous to the United States, 2 be returned to that territory for further 3 consideration of the application for asylum 4 by an immigration judge. The Secretary 5 may not parole or otherwise release the 6 alien into the United States’’; 7 (iii) in clause (iii)— 8 (I) in subclause (I), by striking 9 the period at the end and adding ‘‘. 10 The Secretary shall remove the alien 11 within 72 hours. If the alien cannot 12 be removed, the alien shall be de- 13 tained until removed. The Secretary 14 may not parole or otherwise release 15 the alien into the United States.’’; 16 (II) in subclause (II), by striking 17 ‘‘has not’’ and inserting ‘‘has or has 18 not’’; and 19 (III) in subclause (IV), by strik- 20 ing the period at the end and insert- 21 ing ‘‘. The Secretary may not parole 22 or otherwise release the alien into the 23 United States.’’; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:28 Jan 14, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H86.IH H86 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 86 IH (iv) in clause (v), by striking ‘‘there is 1 a significant possibility, taking into ac- 2 count the credibility of the statements 3 made by the alien in support of the alien’s 4 claim and such other facts as are known to 5 the officer, that the alien could establish 6 eligibility for asylum under section 208’’ 7 and inserting ‘‘it is more likely than not 8 that the alien will be able to establish eligi- 9 bility for asylum under section 208’’; and 10 (2) in paragraph (2)— 11 (A) in subparagraph (A)— 12 (i) by striking ‘‘and (C)’’; and 13 (ii) by striking ‘‘the alien shall be de- 14 tained for a proceeding under section 15 240.’’ and inserting ‘‘the alien shall be ei- 16 ther detained for a proceeding under sec- 17 tion 240 or if the alien arrived on land 18 from a foreign territory contiguous to the 19 United States, be returned to that territory 20 pending a proceeding under section 240. 21 The Secretary may not parole or otherwise 22 release the alien into the United States.’’; 23 and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:28 Jan 14, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H86.IH H86 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 86 IH (B) by striking subparagraph (C). 1 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:28 Jan 14, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H86.IH H86 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS