Federal

Temporary Protected Status Reform and Integrity Act

Source: Congress.gov · 4,290 words in original text

What This Bill Does

This bill changes how the federal government designates foreign countries for Temporary Protected Status (a program that lets certain people from designated countries stay and work in the United States temporarily). The bill also changes who qualifies for this status, what happens when designations end, and requires Congress to approve extensions of designations instead of allowing the executive branch to do it alone.

Who It Affects

- People from foreign countries designated for Temporary Protected Status - The Secretary of Homeland Security - Congress - The Department of Homeland Security - Foreign countries with designated regions

Key Provisions

- The Secretary of Homeland Security must submit a report to Congress at least 30 days before a Temporary Protected Status designation takes effect, containing specific information about why the designation is necessary (Sec. 2) - The Secretary must review whether conditions for Temporary Protected Status continue to exist at least 90 days before the initial designation period ends, and can extend the designation for up to 18 months if conditions continue to be met (Sec. 2) - Extensions beyond the first 18-month period require Congress to pass a new law authorizing the extension, not just approval from the Secretary (Sec. 2) - When a designation ends, people with Temporary Protected Status get 180 days to leave the United States or obtain another lawful status, and they become a removal priority if they do not leave within that time (Sec. 4) - People cannot travel outside the United States and return while maintaining Temporary Protected Status, unless they get advance approval from the Secretary, and approval-to-travel eliminates eligibility to adjust immigration status later (Sec. 3) - People who entered the United States after the date the Secretary designates a country are permanently ineligible for Temporary Protected Status (Sec. 2) - People with criminal records (two or more misdemeanors or one or more felonies) cannot receive Temporary Protected Status (Sec. 2) - All applications for Temporary Protected Status must be filed electronically starting 180 days after this law takes effect, and applications filed more than 90 days after the government publishes notice of a designation will not be accepted (Sec. 6) - The Secretary cannot waive grounds of inadmissibility when deciding who qualifies for Temporary Protected Status (Sec. 5)

What Changes

If this bill becomes law, Congress gains power over extensions of Temporary Protected Status designations that currently rest with the executive branch. The bill eliminates automatic extensions and requires Congress to vote to approve each extension. People already designated for Temporary Protected Status who received waivers before this law passes keep those waivers. The bill makes it harder to qualify by blocking people who entered after a designation was announced, blocking people with criminal convictions, and blocking people who overstayed visas or entered without inspection. It also eliminates the ability to travel and return while keeping Temporary Protected Status status. When designations end, people get exactly 180 days to leave instead of potentially longer periods. The bill removes language from existing law that previously allowed certain benefits and travel considerations for people with Temporary Protected Status.

Important Definitions

- Temporary Protected Status: A designation allowing nationals of certain countries to stay and work in the United States temporarily when their country is experiencing war, environmental disaster, or other specified extraordinary conditions - Continuous residence: Living in the United States without leaving, except for approved absences - Continuous physical presence: Being physically in the United States during required periods

Effective Date

This Act takes effect 180 days after Congress passes and signs it into law (Sec. 9).

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 207 To modify the procedures for designating foreign states under section 244 of the Immigration and Nationality Act and granting temporary protected status to nationals of such foreign states. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES FEBRUARY 1, 2023 Mr. LANKFORD introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To modify the procedures for designating foreign states under section 244 of the Immigration and Nationality Act and granting temporary protected status to nationals of such foreign states. 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Temporary Protected Status Reform and Integrity Act’’. 5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 6 this Act is as follows: 7 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Designation of a foreign state for temporary protected status. Sec. 3. Travel abroad by a registrant with temporary protected status. VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:07 Feb 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\S207.IS S207 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •S 207 IS Sec. 4. Procedures upon termination of a temporary protected status designa- tion. Sec. 5. Clarification of temporary protected status. Sec. 6. Filing of requests for temporary protected status. Sec. 7. Technical amendments. Sec. 8. Severability. Sec. 9. Effective date. SEC. 2. DESIGNATION OF A FOREIGN STATE FOR TEM- 1 PORARY PROTECTED STATUS. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 244(b) of the Immigra- 3 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1254a(b)) is amend- 4 ed— 5 (1) by striking ‘‘Attorney General’’ each place 6 such term appears and inserting ‘‘Secretary of 7 Homeland Security’’; 8 (2) in paragraph (1), in the undesignated mat- 9 ter following subparagraph (C), by inserting ‘‘the 10 Secretary of Homeland Security, not later than 30 11 days before such effective date, submits a report to 12 Congress that contains all of the matters described 13 in paragraph (3)(C)(ii) with respect to such designa- 14 tion and’’ after ‘‘unless’’; and 15 (3) in paragraph (3)— 16 (A) by amending subparagraph (A) to read 17 as follows: 18 ‘‘(A) REVIEWS.— 19 ‘‘(i) INITIAL REVIEW.—Not later than 20 90 days before the end of the initial period 21 of designation of a foreign state (or part of 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:07 Feb 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S207.IS S207 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •S 207 IS a foreign state) under this subsection, the 1 Secretary of Homeland Security, after con- 2 sultation with the appropriate Federal 3 agencies— 4 ‘‘(I) shall review the conditions in 5 the foreign state (or part of the for- 6 eign state) for which such designation 7 is in effect; and 8 ‘‘(II) may extend such designa- 9 tion for a period not to exceed 18 10 months if the Secretary— 11 ‘‘(aa) determines that the 12 conditions for such designation 13 continue to be met; and 14 ‘‘(bb) submits the informa- 15 tion described in subparagraph 16 (C)(ii) to Congress. 17 ‘‘(ii) PERIODIC REVIEWS.—Not later 18 than 90 days before the end of any ex- 19 tended period of designation beyond the 20 first designation of a foreign state (or part 21 of a foreign state) under this subsection, 22 the Secretary of Homeland Security, after 23 consultation with the appropriate Federal 24 agencies— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:07 Feb 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S207.IS S207 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •S 207 IS ‘‘(I) shall review the conditions in 1 the foreign state (or part of the for- 2 eign state) for which such designation 3 is in effect; and 4 ‘‘(II) may make a determination 5 as to whether the conditions for such 6 designation continue to be met.’’; 7 (B) in subparagraph (B)— 8 (i) by striking ‘‘If the Attorney Gen- 9 eral’’ and inserting the following: 10 ‘‘(i) AUTOMATIC TERMINATION.—A 11 designation shall terminate on the date on 12 which such designation, or the most recent 13 extension of such designation, is scheduled 14 to expire if— 15 ‘‘(I) the Secretary of Homeland 16 Security does not make a determina- 17 tion under clause (i)(II) or (ii)(II) of 18 subparagraph (A) that the conditions 19 for such designation continue to be 20 met; or 21 ‘‘(II)(aa) the Secretary of Home- 22 land Security submits a recommenda- 23 tion to extend such designation pursu- 24 ant to subparagraph (C)(i); and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:07 Feb 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S207.IS S207 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •S 207 IS ‘‘(bb) such extension is not ex- 1 pressly authorized by an Act of Con- 2 gress that is enacted not later than 90 3 days after the date on which such rec- 4 ommendation is submitted. 5 ‘‘(ii) EFFECT OF DETERMINATION.— 6 If the Secretary of Homeland Security’’; 7 and 8 (ii) by striking ‘‘the Attorney Gen- 9 eral’’ and inserting ‘‘the Secretary’’; and 10 (C) by striking subparagraph (C) and in- 11 serting the following: 12 ‘‘(C) RECOMMENDATION TO CONGRESS ON 13 EXTENSIONS OF DESIGNATION.— 14 ‘‘(i) RECOMMENDATION.—If the Sec- 15 retary of Homeland Security determines, 16 pursuant to subparagraph (A)(ii), that a 17 foreign state (or part of a foreign state) 18 continues to meet the conditions for des- 19 ignation under paragraph (1) and that 20 such designation should receive a second or 21 subsequent extension, the Secretary shall 22 submit a recommendation to Congress to 23 extend, by an Act of Congress, the period 24 of designation of the foreign state (or part 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:07 Feb 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S207.IS S207 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •S 207 IS of the foreign state) for a period not to ex- 1 ceed 18 months. 2 ‘‘(ii) MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED.—A 3 recommendation under clause (i) shall in- 4 clude— 5 ‘‘(I) a justification for the exten- 6 sion, including a description of— 7 ‘‘(aa) the humanitarian con- 8 cern in the foreign state (or part 9 of a foreign state); or 10 ‘‘(bb) the reason for which 11 the extension is otherwise in the 12 national interest of the United 13 States; and 14 ‘‘(II) a report to the appropriate 15 congressional committees that in- 16 cludes— 17 ‘‘(aa) a summary of the 18 country conditions information 19 assessed by the Secretary of 20 Homeland Security and the ap- 21 propriate Federal agencies that 22 with which the Secretary has 23 consulted; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:07 Feb 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S207.IS S207 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •S 207 IS ‘‘(bb) copies of all sources 1 from which the country condi- 2 tions information described in 3 item (aa) originated; 4 ‘‘(cc) an unredacted copy of 5 the signed decision memo to des- 6 ignate or extend temporary pro- 7 tected status for the foreign state 8 (or part of a foreign state); 9 ‘‘(dd) a justification for why 10 the entire foreign state (rather 11 than a part of the foreign state) 12 merits such designation, if appli- 13 cable; 14 ‘‘(ee) the analysis used to 15 reach the decision described in 16 item (dd); 17 ‘‘(ff) any local or regional 18 variations in the country condi- 19 tions which differ from the prior 20 designation or requested redesig- 21 nation; and 22 ‘‘(gg) the estimated or ac- 23 tual population of aliens from the 24 foreign state (or part of such for- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:07 Feb 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S207.IS S207 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •S 207 IS eign state) residing in the United 1 States— 2 ‘‘(AA) who have valid 3 nonimmigrant status; 4 ‘‘(BB) who have been 5 granted a discretionary re- 6 prieve from removal; 7 ‘‘(CC) who have over- 8 stayed any type of lawful 9 status in the United States; 10 ‘‘(DD) who have never 11 held lawful status in the 12 United States; 13 ‘‘(EE) who have any 14 sort of criminal record, with 15 a description of the nature 16 of such criminal record; 17 ‘‘(FF) who have trav- 18 eled abroad during the pe- 19 riod of designation, with the 20 prior approval of the Sec- 21 retary of Homeland Secu- 22 rity; 23 ‘‘(GG) who have trav- 24 eled abroad during the pe- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:07 Feb 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S207.IS S207 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 9 •S 207 IS riod of designation without 1 the prior approval from the 2 Secretary of Homeland Se- 3 curity; 4 ‘‘(HH) whose tem- 5 porary protected status has 6 been terminated for any rea- 7 son; or 8 ‘‘(II) who have pre- 9 viously been ordered re- 10 moved from the United 11 States. 12 ‘‘(iii) CONSULTATION.— 13 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Not later 14 than 30 days after submitting a rec- 15 ommendation described in clause (i) 16 to Congress, the Secretary of Home- 17 land Security shall provide a briefing 18 to the appropriate congressional com- 19 mittees. 20 ‘‘(II) CONSULTATION DE- 21 SCRIBED.—Each consultation required 22 under subclause (I) shall involve an 23 in-person appearance by a designated 24 cabinet-level representative of the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:07 Feb 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S207.IS S207 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 10 •S 207 IS President with members of the appro- 1 priate congressional committees to re- 2 view the justification extending a des- 3 ignation under this subparagraph, in- 4 cluding a discussion of the elements 5 described in clause (ii). 6 ‘‘(D) PROHIBITION AGAINST NEW DES- 7 IGNATIONS.— 8 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clauses 9 (ii) and (iii), the Secretary of Homeland 10 Security may not designate a foreign state 11 (or part of a foreign state) for which a des- 12 ignation has terminated pursuant to sub- 13 paragraph (B)(i) during the 18-month pe- 14 riod beginning on the date of such termi- 15 nation. 16 ‘‘(ii) APPLICABILITY.—Clause (i) shall 17 not apply to a designation that is expressly 18 authorized by an Act of Congress. 19 ‘‘(iii) SAME OR SIMILAR DESIGNA- 20 TION.—The Secretary of Homeland Secu- 21 rity may not redesignate a foreign state (or 22 part of a foreign state) for which a des- 23 ignation has terminated pursuant to sub- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:07 Feb 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S207.IS S207 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 11 •S 207 IS paragraph (B)(i) based on the same or a 1 similar criteria, event, or justification. 2 ‘‘(E) CLARIFICATION REGARDING ELIGI- 3 BILITY FOR TEMPORARY PROTECTED STATUS.— 4 ‘‘(i) TREATMENT OF PRIOR STATUS.— 5 Any alien who has been admitted and held 6 valid nonimmigrant status shall not be 7 considered eligible for temporary protected 8 status under this subsection unless such 9 status is terminated not later than 180 10 days before the termination of a designa- 11 tion or an extension of a designation of 12 temporary protected status. 13 ‘‘(ii) TREATMENT OF CRIMINAL CON- 14 VICTIONS.—Any alien who has been con- 15 victed of 2 or more misdemeanors or 1 or 16 more felonies is not eligible for temporary 17 protected status under this section. 18 ‘‘(iii) UNLAWFUL ENTRY OR VISA 19 OVERSTAY ELIGIBILITY.—Any alien who 20 has entered the United States without in- 21 spection, has overstayed the period for 22 which the alien has been lawfully admitted, 23 has been issued a final order of removal, or 24 otherwise is not lawfully present in the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:07 Feb 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S207.IS S207 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 12 •S 207 IS United States is not eligible for temporary 1 protected status under this section. 2 ‘‘(iv) PROHIBITION ON APPROVAL OF 3 REQUESTS FOR ALIENS WHO ENTERED 4 THE UNITED STATES AFTER THE DATE OF 5 DESIGNATION.— 6 ‘‘(I) LATE ARRIVALS.—Notwith- 7 standing any other provision of law, 8 an alien who enters the United States 9 after the date on which the Secretary 10 designates a foreign state (or part of 11 a foreign state) pursuant to para- 12 graph (1) shall be considered ineli- 13 gible to register for temporary pro- 14 tected status under this section. 15 ‘‘(II) CONTINUATION OF INELIGI- 16 BILITY.—Any alien who is determined 17 to be ineligible for temporary pro- 18 tected status under this section is not 19 eligible to receive such status during 20 any extension of a designation of the 21 foreign state (or part of a foreign 22 state) of which such alien is a na- 23 tional. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:07 Feb 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S207.IS S207 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 13 •S 207 IS ‘‘(III) CONTINUOUS PRESENCE 1 REQUIREMENT.—Any alien who failed 2 to meet the continuous presence re- 3 quirement as of the date on which the 4 Secretary of Homeland Security des- 5 ignated the foreign state (or the part 6 of a foreign state) of which the alien 7 is national is not eligible to register 8 for temporary protected status under 9 this section. The date of the Secretary 10 of Homeland Security’s designation 11 shall be deemed to be the date on 12 which the Secretary announces such 13 decision, rather than the date on 14 which such decision was published in 15 the Federal Register.’’. 16 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 244(a) of 17 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1254a(a)) 18 is amended by striking paragraph (5). 19 SEC. 3. TRAVEL ABROAD BY A REGISTRANT WITH TEM- 20 PORARY PROTECTED STATUS. 21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 244(c) of the Immigration 22 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1254a(c)) is amended— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:07 Feb 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S207.IS S207 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 14 •S 207 IS (1) in paragraph (3)(B), by striking ‘‘except 1 as’’ and all that follows through ‘‘permitted in sub- 2 section (f)(3),’’; and 3 (2) by amending paragraph (4) to read as fol- 4 lows: 5 ‘‘(4) PROHIBITION OF TRAVEL ABROAD BY A 6 REGISTRANT WITH TEMPORARY PROTECTED STA- 7 TUS.— 8 ‘‘(A) EFFECT OF FAILURE TO MAINTAIN 9 CONTINUOUS RESIDENCE.—Except as provided 10 in subparagraph (B), any alien who fails to 11 maintain continuous residence for the duration 12 of his or her temporary protected status in ac- 13 cordance with paragraph (1)(A)(i) shall have 14 such status withdrawn immediately upon depar- 15 ture from the United States. 16 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION FOR PREAPPROVED AB- 17 SENCES.— 18 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—An alien shall not 19 be considered to have failed to maintain 20 continuous residence in the United States 21 under paragraph (1)(A)( [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]

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