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S. 4983 · Senate bill · 119th Congress
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This Act may be cited as the “Harry Reid Immigration Stabilization Act”.
Except where otherwise specifically provided, the provisions of this Act are effective for fiscal years after fiscal year 2026.
Section 201 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1151) is amended—
(a) by striking subsection (c) and inserting:
“(c) The worldwide level of family-sponsored immigrants is—
(i) 300,000, minus
(ii) the sum of—
(A) the number of refugees admitted under section 207 in the preceding fiscal year, and
(B) the number of aliens described in sections 201(b)(2) and 203(b) who were issued immigrant visas or who otherwise acquired the status of aliens lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence in the previous fiscal year;”;
(b) by striking subsection (d) and inserting:
“(d) The worldwide level of employment-based immigrants is 40,000”; and
(c) by striking “55,000” from subsection (e) and inserting “zero”.
Section 203 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1153) is amended by—
(a) adding the following paragraph to subsection (a):
“(5) If the worldwide level of family-sponsored immigrants for any fiscal year is less than 226,000, then the maximum number of visas that can be allotted to any class of family-sponsored immigrants under this subsection shall be proportionately reduced for that fiscal year;”;
(b) striking subsection (b) and inserting:
“(b) Allocation for employment-Based immigrants.— Visas shall be made available in a number not to exceed the worldwide level of employment-based immigrants to qualified immigrants who are aliens described in any of the following paragraphs (1) through (3).
(1) Aliens with extraordinary ability.— An alien is described in this paragraph if—
(A) the alien has extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics which has been demonstrated by sustained national or international acclaim and whose achievements have been recognized in the field through extensive documentation,
(B) the alien seeks to enter the United States to continue work in the area of extraordinary ability, and
(C) the alien's entry into the United States will substantially benefit prospectively the United States.
(2) Outstanding professors and researchers.— An alien is described in this paragraph if—
(A) the alien is recognized internationally as outstanding in a specific academic area,
(B) the alien has at least 3 years of experience in teaching or research in the academic area, and
(C) the alien seeks to enter the United States—
(i) for a tenured position (or tenure-track position) within a university or institution of higher education to teach in the academic area,
(ii) for a comparable position with a university or institution of higher education to conduct research in the area, or
(iii) for a comparable position to conduct research in the area with a department, division, or institute of a private employer, if the department, division, or institute employs at least 3 persons full-time in research activities and has achieved documented accomplishments in an academic field.
(3) Certain multinational executives and managers.— An alien is described in this paragraph if the alien, in the 3 years preceding the time of the alien's application for classification and admission into the United States under this paragraph, has been employed for at least 1 year by a firm or comporation or other legal entity or an affiliate or subsidiary thereof and the alien seeks to enter the United States in order to continue to render services to the same employer or to a subsidiary or affiliate thereof in a capacity that is managerial or executive.”.
(c) striking subsection (c) and inserting:
“(c) Visas shall be made available to employment-related immigrants in the order in which a petition on behalf of each such immigrant is filed with the Attorney General and waiting lists of applicants for visas shall be maintained in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Secretary of State.”;
(d) striking “(a), (b), or (c)” from subsections (d), (f), and (g) and inserting “(a) or (b)”;
(e) striking subsection (e); and
(f) renumbering subsections (f) and (g) as (e) and (f), respectively.
Section 204 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1154) is amended by—
(a) striking from subsection (a)(1)(A) “the classification by reason of a relationship described in paragraph (1), (3), or (4) of section 203(a) or”;
(b) striking from subsection (a)(1) subparagraphs (B), (C), (D), (E), (F), (G), and inserting:
“(B) Any alien desiring to be classified under section 203(b), or any person on behalf of such an alien, may file a petition with the Attorney General for such classification.”;
(c) striking from subsection (e) “as an immigrant under subsection (a), (b), or (c) of section 203 or”;
(d) striking from subsection (f)(i) “, 203(a)(1), or 203(a)(3), as appropriate”; and
(e) adding:
“(h) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the Attorney General shall not approve after September 30, 2026, any petitions other than for immediate relative status under section 201(b)(2) or classification by reason of a relationship described in section 203(b).”.
The Immigration and Nationality Act is amended by—
(a) striking from section 201(b)(2)(A)(i) “the children, spouses, and parents of a citizen of the United States, except that, in the case of parents, such citizens shall be at least 21 years of age” and inserting “children and spouses of a citizen of the United States”;
(b) striking from section 203(a)(1) “Unmarried sons or daughters of citizens.—Qualified immigrants who are the unmarried sons or daughters of citizens or the United States” and inserting “Parents of adult United States citizens.—Qualified immigrants who are the parents of citizens of the United States who are at least 21 years of age”; and
(c) striking “Married” and “married” from section 203(a)(3) .
Section 207 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1157) is amended by striking subsection (a) and inserting:
“(a) Except as provided in subsection (b), the number of refugees who may be admitted under this section in any fiscal year may not exceed 50,000. Admissions under this subsection shall be allocated by the President among refugees of special humanitarian concern to the United States.”.
(a) Public Law 89–732, as amended by Public Law 94–571, is repealed.
(b) Section 207 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1157) is amended by adding after subsection (e) thereof:
“(f) Determinations of the allocation of admissions under subsections (a) and (b), determinations of admissions under subsection (c), and procedures for the determination of refugee status shall not discriminate in favor of or against any alien on the basis of the alien's race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.”.
(a) Inspection of aliens.— Section 235(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1225(b)) is amended to read as follows:
“(b) Inspection and exclusion by immigration officers.—
(1) An immigration officer shall inspect each alien who is seeking entry to the United States.
(2)
(A) If the examining immigration officer determines that an alien seeking entry—
(i) does not present the documentation required (if any) to obtain legal entry to the United States; and
(ii) does not indicate either an intention to apply for asylum (under section 208) or a fear of persecution, the officer shall order the alien excluded from the United States without further hearing or review.
(B) The examining immigration officer shall refer for immediate inspection at a port of entry by an asylum officer under subparagraph (C) any alien who has indicated an intention to apply for asylum or a fear of persecution.
(C)
(i) If an asylum officer determines that an alien has a credible fear of persecution, the alien shall be entitled to apply for asylum under section 208.
(ii) If an asylum officer determines that an alien does not have a credible fear of persecution the officer shall order the alien excluded from the United States without further hearing or review.
(3)
(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), if the examining immigration officer determines that an alien seeking entry is not clearly and beyond a doubt entitled to enter, the alien shall be detained for a hearing before a special inquiry officer.
(B) The provisions of subparagraph (A) shall not apply—
(i) to an alien crewman,
(ii) to an alien described in paragraph (2)(A) or 2(C)(ii)(I), or
(iii) if the conditions described in section 273(d) exist.
(4) The decision of the examining immigration officer, if favorable to the admission of any alien, shall be subject to challenge by any other immigration officer and such challenge shall operate to take the alien, whose privilege to enter is so challenged, before a special inquiry officer for a hearing on exclusion of the alien.
(5)
(A) Subject to subparagraph (B), an alien has not entered the United States for purposes of this Act unless and until such alien has been inspected and admitted by an immigration officer pursuant to this subsection.
(B) An alien who (i) is physically present in the United States, (ii) has been physically present in the United States for a continuous period of one year, and (iii) has not been inspected and admitted by an immigration officer shall be deemed to have entered the United States without inspection.
(6) Interior repatriation.— The Secretary of State shall undertake to enter into, on behalf of the United States, arrangements with the governments of countries contiguous to the United States that any excludable or deportable alien who is to depart the United States to such country under an order of deportation, under a grant of voluntary departure with safeguards, or at a time when the alien is in federal custody shall be transported to a point in the contiguous country that, to the extent practicable, is not less than 500 kilometers from the border of the United States.”.
(b) Grounds for exclusion.— Section 221(a)(6) of the Immigration and Nationality Act is amended by adding the following paragraphs:
“(G)
(i) Any alien who, in seeking entry to the United States or boarding a common carrier for the purpose of coming to the United States, presents any document which is forged, counterfeit, altered, falsely made, stolen, or inapplicable to the alien presenting the document, or otherwise contains a misrepresentation of a material fact, shall be excluded.
(ii) Subparagraph (ii) shall not apply to an alien if, in the determination of the asylum officer, the document or documents to which that subparagraph refers were presented by the alien solely to enable the alien to depart directly from—
(A) a country in which the alien had a credible fear of persecution; or
(B) a country in which there was a significant danger that the alien would be returned to a country in which the alien would have a credible fear of persecution.
(iii) For the purposes of this subparagraph, the term credible fear of persecution means (I) that it is more probable than not that the statements made by the alien in support of his or her claim are true, and (II) that there is a significant possibility, in light of such statements and of such other facts as are known to the officer that the alien could establish eligibility for asylum under section 208.
(H) Any alien who, in boarding a common carrier for the purpose of coming to the United States, presents a document that relates or purports to relate to the alien's eligibility to enter the United States, and fails to present such document to an immigration officer upon arrival at a port of entry into the United States, shall be excluded.”.
(b) Conforming amendments.— Section 237(a) (8 U.S.C. 1227(a)) is amended—
(1) in the second sentence of paragraph (1) by striking “Deportation” and inserting “Subject to section 235(b)(2), deportation”; and
(2) in the first sentence of paragraph (2) by striking “If” and inserting “Subject to section 235(b)(2), if”.
(a) In general.— Section 208 (8 U.S.C. 1158) is amended to read as follows:
“208.
(a) Asylum.—
(1) Right to apply.— An alien physically present in the United States or at a land border or port of entry may apply for asylum in accordance with this section.
(2) Conditions for granting.—
(A) Grants by attorney general.— The Attorney General may grant asylum to an alien if the alien applies for asylum in accordance with the requirements of this section and establishes that it is more probable than not that in the alien's country of nationality (or, in the case of a person having no nationality, the country in which such alien last habitually resided) such alien would be arrested and incarcerated or such alien's life would be threatened on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.
(B) Exception.— Subparagraph (A) shall not apply to an alien if the Attorney General determines that—
(i) the alien ordered, incited, assisted, or otherwise participated in the persecution of any person on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion;
(ii) the alien, having been convicted by a final judgment of a particularly serious crime, constitutes a danger to the community of the United States;
(iii) there are serious reasons for believing that the alien has committed a serious nonpolitical crime outside the United States prior to the arrival of the alien in the United States;
(iv) there are reasonable grounds for regarding the alien as a danger to the security of the United States; or
(v) a country willing to accept the alien has been identified (other than the country described in subparagraph (A)) to which the alien can be deported or returned and the alien does not establish that it is more likely than not that the alien would be incarcerated or the alien's life would be threatened in such country on account of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion. For purposes of clause (ii), an alien who has been convicted of an aggravated felony shall be considered to have committed a particularly serious crime. The Attorney General shall promulgate regulations that specify additional crimes that will be considered to be a crime described in clause (ii) or clause (iii).
(3) Asylum status.— In the case of any alien granted asylum under paragraph (2), the Attorney General, in accordance with this section—
(A) shall not deport or return the alien to the country described under paragraph (2)(A);
(B) shall authorize the alien to engage in employment in the United States and provide the alien with an “employment authorized” endorsement or other appropriate work permit; and
(C) may allow the alien to travel abroad with the prior consent of the Attorney General, except that such travel may not be authorized to the country from which the alien claimed to be fleeing persecution.
(4) Termination.— Asylum granted under paragraph (2) shall be terminated if the Attorney General, pursuant to such regulations as the Attorney General may prescribe, determines that—
(A) the alien no longer meets the conditions described in paragraph (2) owing to a change in circumstances in the alien's country of nationality or, in the case of an alien having no nationality, in the country in which the alien last habitually resided;
(B) the alien meets a condition described in paragraph (2);
(C) a country willing to accept the alien has been identified (other than the country described in paragraph (2)) to which the alien can be deported or returned and the alien cannot establish that it is more likely than not that the alien would be arrested or incarcerated in such country on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion; or
(D) the alien returns to the country from which the alien claimed to be fleeing persecution or makes application with the Attorney General to return to the country from which the alien claimed to fleeing persecution.
(5) Acceptance by another country.— In the case of an alien described in paragraph (2)(C)(v) or paragraph (4)(C), the alien's deportation or return shall be directed by the Attorney General in the sole discretion of the Attorney General, to any country which is willing to accept the alien into its territory (other than the country described in paragraph (2)).
(b) Asylum procedure.—
(1) Applications.—
(A) In general.—
(i) Deadline.— Subject to clause (ii), an alien's application for asylum shall not be considered under this section unless—
(I) the alien has filed, not later than 30 days after entering or coming to the United States, notice of intention to file such an application, and
(II) such application is actually filed not later than 45 days after entering or coming to the United States.
(ii) Exception.— An application for temporary asylum may be considered, notwithstanding that the requirements of clause (i) have not been met, only if the alien demonstrates by clear and convincing evidence changed circumstances in the alien's country of nationality (or in the case of an alien with no nationality, in the country where the alien last habitually resided) affecting eligibility for asylum.
(B) Requirements.— An application for temporary asylum shall not be considered unless the alien submits to the taking of fingerprints and a photograph in a manner determined by the Attorney General.
(C) Fees.— The Attorney General may provide for a reasonable fee for the consideration of an application for asylum or for any employment authorization under subsection (a)(3)(B).
(D) Notice of privilege of counsel and consequences of frivolous application.— At the time of filing a notice of intention to apply for asylum, the alien shall be advised of the privilege of being represented (at no expense to the government) by such counsel, authorized to practice in such proceedings, as the alien shall choose and of the consequences, under subsection (d), of filling a frivolous application for temporary asylum.
(2) Consideration of applications; hearings.—
(A) Asylum officers.— Applications for temporary asylum shall be considered by officers of the Service (referred to in this Act as “asylum officers”) who are specially designated by the Service as having special training and knowledge of international conditions and human rights records of foreign countries. Pending the designation of such officers, individuals who as of the date of the enactment of the Harry Reid Immigration Stabilization Act are authorized to perform duties as asylum officers shall be deemed to be qualified to be asylum officers for purposes of this Act.
(B) Scheduling of hearings.—
(i) In general.— Upon the filing of an application for asylum, an asylum officer, at the earliest practicable time and after consultation with the attorney for the Government and the attorney (if any) for the applicant, shall set the application for hearing on a day certain or list it on a weekly or other short-term calendar, so as to assure a speedy hearing.
(ii) Deadline.— Unless the applicant (or an attorney for the applicant) consents in writing to the contrary, the hearing on the asylum application shall commence not later than 45 days after the date the application was filed.
(C) Public hearings.— A hearing on a temporary asylum application shall be open to the public unless the applicant requests that it be closed to the public.
(D) Rights in hearings.— The officer shall, to the extent practicable, conduct the hearing in a nonadversarial manner. During such hearing, the applicant shall have the privilege of the assistance and participation of counsel (as provided under paragraph (1)(D)) and both the government and the applicant shall be entitled to present evidence and witnesses, to examine and object to evidence, and to cross-examine all witnesses.
(E) Country conditions.— An officer may request opinions regarding country conditions from the Secretary of State, but shall not request or consider recommendations from the Secretary of State as to whether a particular named individual should or should not be granted temporary asylum.
(F) Transcript of hearings.— A complete record of the proceedings and of all testimony and evidence produced at the hearing shall be kept. The hearing shall be recorded verbatim. The Attorney General and the Service shall provide that a transcript of a hearing held under this section is made available not later than 10 days after the date of completion of the hearing.
(G) Deadline for determinations on applications.— The officer shall render a determination on the application not later than 30 days after the date of completion of the hearing. The determination of the officer shall be based only on the officer's knowledge of international conditions and human rights records of foreign countries, and evidence produced at the hearing.
(H) Resource allocation.— The Attorney General shall allocate sufficient resources so as to assure that applications for asylum are heard and determined on a timely basis. However, nothing in this paragraph relating to scheduling or deadlines shall be construed as creating any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, which is legally enforceable by any party against the United States, its agencies, its officers, or any other person.
(I) Sanctions for failure to appear.—
(i) Subject to clause (ii), the application for asylum of an alien who does not appear for a hearing on such application shall be summarily dismissed unless the alien can show exceptional circumstances (as defined in section 242B(f)(2)) as determined by the asylum officer.
(ii) Clause (i) shall not apply if written and oral notice were not provided as required by section 242B(e)(4)(B).
(iii) Except in exceptional circumstances (as defined in section 242B(f)(2)), an application summarily dismissed in accordance with Clause (i) shall not be reopened or reconsidered nor shall a new application for asylum be entertained by the Attorney General at any time.
(J) Finality of determinations.—
(i) In general.— The decision of the asylum officer shall be the final administrative determination of a claim for asylum.
(ii) Treatment of cases in exclusion or deportation.— If proceedings are instituted against an alien under section 235 or 242 of this Act and the alien files an application for asylum based on circumstances described in subsection (b)(1)(A)(ii), the asylum officer shall render, on an expedited basis, a decision on the application.
(c) Asylum status adjustments.—
(1) Adjustment of status.— Under such regulations as the Attorney General may prescribe, the Attorney General shall adjust to the status of an alien granted asylum the status of any alien granted asylum under subsection (a)(2)(A) who—
(A) applies for such adjustment;
(B) has been physically present in the United States for at least 3 years after being granted asylum;
(C) continues to be eligible for asylum under this section; and
(D) is admissible under this Act at the time of examination for adjustment of status under this subsection.
(2) Treatment of spouse and children.— A spouse or child (as defined in section 101(b)(A), (B), (C), (D), or (E)) of an alien whose status is adjusted to that of an alien granted asylum under paragraph (a)(2) may be granted the same status as the alien if accompanying, or following to join, such alien.
(3) Application fees.— The Attorney General may impose a reasonable fee for the filing of an application for asylum under this subsection.
(d) Denial of immigration benefits for frivolous applications.—
(1) In general.— If the asylum officer determines that an alien has made a frivolous application for asylum under this section and the alien has received the notice under subsection (b)(1)(D)(i), the alien shall be permanently ineligible for any benefits under this Act, effective as of the date of a final determination on such application.
(2) Treatment of fraudulent or material misrepresentations.— For purposes of this subsection, an application considered to be “frivolous” includes, but is not limited to, an application which is fraudulent or otherwise contains a willful misrepresentation or concealment of a material fact.”.
Section 24B(e)(4) (8 U.S.C. 1252b(e)(4)) is amended in subparagraph (A), by striking all after clause (iii) and inserting “shall not be eligible for any benefits under this Act.”.
(a) Section 235 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1225) is amended by adding at the end thereof:
“(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no court shall have jurisdiction to review, except by petition for habeas corpus, any determination made with respect to an alien found excludable pursuant to titles I or II of this Act. In any such case, review by habeas corpus shall be limited to examination of whether the petitioner (I) is an alien, and (II) was ordered excluded from the United States pursuant to the provisions of this Act. Regardless of the nature of the suit or claim, no court shall have jurisdiction except as provided in this paragraph to consider the validity of any adjudication or determination of exclusion, to certify a class in an action challenging the exclusion provisions of this Act or any portion or implementation thereof, or to provide declaratory or injunctive relief with respect to the exclusion of any alien.
(e) In any action brought for the assessment of penalties for improper entry or re-entry of an alien under sections 275, 276, 277 or 278 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, no court shall have jurisdiction to hear claims collaterally attacking the validity of orders of exclusion, or deportation entered under sections 235, 236, or 242 of that Act.”.
(a) Limitation on deportation.— Section 243 (8 U.S.C. 1253) is amended by striking subsection (h).
(b) Adjustment of status.— Section 209(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1159(b)) is amended—
(1) in paragraph (2) by striking “one year” and inserting “5 years”; and
(2) by amending paragraph (3) to read as follows:
“(3) continues to be eligible for asylum under section 208,”.
(c) Aliens ineligible for temporary protected status.— Section 244A(c)(2)(B)(ii) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1254a(c)(2)(B)(ii)) is amended by striking “section 243(h)(2)” and inserting “clauses (i), (ii), (iii), or (iv) of section 208(a)(2)(C)”.
(d) Eligibility for naturalization.— Section 316(f)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1427(f)(1)) is amended by striking “subparagraphs (A) through (D) of paragraph 243(h)(2)” and inserting “clauses (i), (ii), (iii), or (iv) of section 208(a)(2)(C)”.
(e) Family unity.— Section 301(e) of the Immigration Act of 1990 (Public Law 101–649) is amended by striking “section 243(h)(2)” and inserting “clauses (i), (ii), (iii), or (iv) of section 208(a)(2)(C)”.
(a) In general.— Except as otherwise provided, the amendments made by this title shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act.
(b) Exceptions.—
(1) The amendments made by this title shall not apply to applications for asylum or withholding of deportation made before the first day of the first month that begins more than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act and no application for asylum under section 208 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (as amended by section 201 of this Act) shall be considered before such first day.
(2) In applying section 208(b)(1)(A) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (as amended by this title) in the case of an alien who has entered or came to the United States before the first day described in paragraph (1), notwithstanding the deadlines specified in such section—
(A) the deadline for the filing of a notice of intention to file an application for asylum is 30 days after such first day, and
(B) the deadline for the filing of the application for asylum is 45 days after the date of filing such notice.
(3) The amendments made by section 305(b) (relating to adjustment of status) shall not apply to aliens granted asylum under section 208 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as in effect before the date of the enactment of this Act.
(a) Expansion in definition.— Section 101(a)(43) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(43) is amended to read as follows:
“(43) The term aggravated felony means—
(A) murder;
(B) any illicit trafficking in any controlled substance (as defined in section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act), including any drug trafficking crime as defined in section 924(c) of title 18, United States Code;
(C) any illicit trafficking in any firearms or destructive devices as defined in section 921 of title 18, United States Code, or in explosive materials as defined in section 841(c) of title 18, United States Code;
(D) any offense described in (i) section 1956 of title 18, United States Code (relating to laundering of monetary instruments) or (ii) section 1957 of such title (relating to engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specific unlawful activity) if the value of the funds exceeded $100,000;
(E) any offense described in—
(i) subsection (h) or (i) of section 842, title 18, United States Code, or subsection (d), (e), (f), (g), (h), or (i) of section 844 of title 18, United States Code (relating to explosive materials offenses),
(ii) paragraph (1), (2), (3), (4), or (5) of section 922(g), or section 922(j), section 922(n), section 922(o), section 922(p), section 922(r), section 924(b), or section 924(h) of title 18, United States Code (relating to firearms offenses), or
(iii) section 5861 of title 26, United States Code (relating to firearms offenses);
(F) any crime of violence (as defined in section 16 of title 18, United States Code, not including a purely political offense) for which the term of imprisonment imposed (regardless of any suspension of such imprisonment) is at least 5 years;
(G) any theft offense (including receipt of stolen property) or any burglary offense, where a sentence of 5 years imprisonment or more may be imposed;
(H) any offense described in section 875, section 876, section 877, or section 1202 of title 18, United States Code (relating to the demand for or receipt of ransom);
(I) any offense described in section 2251, section 2251A or section 2252 of title 18, United States Code (relating to child pornography);
(J) any offense described in—
(i) section 1962 of title 18, United States Code (relating to racketeer influenced corrupt organizations), or
(ii) section 1084 (if it is a second or subsequent offense) or section 1955 of such title (relating to gambling offenses), where a sentence of 5 years imprisonment or more may be imposed;
(K) any offense relating to commercial bribery, counterfeiting, forgery or trafficking in vehicles whose identification numbers have been altered, where a sentence of 5 years imprisonment or more may be imposed;
(L) any offense—
(i) described in section 2421, section 2422, or section 2423 of title 18, United States Code (relating to transportation for the purpose of prostitution) for commercial advantage, or
(ii) described in section 1581 through 1585, or section 1588, of title 18, United States Code (relating to peonage, slavery, and involuntary servitude);
(M) any offense relating to perjury or subornation of perjury where a sentence of 5 years imprisonment or more may be imposed;
(N) any offense described in—
(i) section 793 (relating to gathering or transmitting national defense information), section 798 (relating to disclosure of classified information), section 2153 (relating to sabotage) or section 2381 or section 2382 (relating to treason) of title 18, United States Code, or
(ii) section 421 of title 50, United States Code (relating to protecting the identity of undercover intelligence agents);
(O) any offense—
(i) involving fraud or deceit where the loss to the victim or victims exceeded $200,000; or
(ii) described in section 7201 of title 26, United States Code (relating to tax evasion), where the tax loss to the Government exceeds $200,000;
(P) any offense described in section 274(a)(1) of title 18, United States Code (relating to alien smuggling) for the purpose of commercial advantage;
(Q) any violation of section 1546(a) of title 18, United States Code (relating to document fraud), for the purpose of commercial advantage;
(R) any offense relating to failing to appear before a court pursuant to a court order to answer to or dispose of a charge of a felony, where a sentence of 2 years or more may be imposed; or any attempt or conspiracy to commit any such act. Such term applies to offenses described in this paragraph whether in violation of Federal or State law and applies to such offenses in violation of the laws of a foreign country for which the term of imprisonment was completed within the previous 15 years; or
(S) any felony committed by an alien on or after the date that alien had received a waiver of deportation under sections 212 or 241 of this Act (8 U.S.C. 1182 or 1251) after commission of a prior felony.”.
(b) Effective date.— The amendments made by this section shall apply to all convictions entered before, on, or after the date of enactment of this Act.
(a) Elimination of administrative hearing for certain criminal aliens.— Section 242A of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1252a) is amended by adding at the end the following:
“(c) Deportation of Aliens Who are not Permanent Residents.—
(1) Notwithstanding section 242, and subject to paragraph (5), the Attorney General may issue a final order of deportation against any alien described in paragraph (2) whom the Attorney General determines to be deportable under section 241(a)(2)(A)(iii) (relating to conviction of an aggravated felony).
(2) An alien is described in this paragraph if the alien—
(A) was not lawfully admitted for permanent residence at the time that proceedings under this section commenced, or
(B) had permanent resident status on a conditional basis (as described in section 216) at the time that proceedings under this section commenced.
(3) The Attorney General may delegate the authority in this section to the Commissioner or to any District Director of the Service.
(4) No alien described in this section shall be eligible for—
(A) any relief from deportation that the Attorney General may grant in his discretion, or
(B) relief under section 243(h).
(5) The Attorney General may not execute any order described in paragraph (1) until 14 calendar days have passed from the date that such order was issued, in order that the alien has an opportunity to apply for judicial review under section 106.”.
(b) Limited judicial review.— Section 106 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1105a) is amended—
(1) in the first sentence of subsection (a), by inserting “or pursuant to section 242A” after “under section 242(b)”;
(2) in subsection (a)(1) and subsection (a)(3), by inserting “(including an alien described in section 242(A)” after “aggravated felony”; and
(3) by adding at the end the following new subsection;
“(d) Notwithstanding subsection (c), a petition for review or for habeas corpus on behalf of an alien described in section 242A(c) may only challenge whether the alien is in fact as alien described in such section, and no court shall have jurisdiction to review any other issue.”.
(c) Technical and conforming changes.— Section 242A of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1252a) is amended as follows:
(1) In subsection (a)—
(A) by striking “(a) In General.—” and inserting “(b) Deportation of Permanent Resident Aliens.—(1) In General.—”; and
(B) by inserting in the first sentence “permanent resident” after “correctional facilities for”;
(2) In subsection (b)—
(A) by striking “(b) Implementation.—” and inserting “(2) Implementation.—”; and
(B) by striking “respect to an” and inserting “respect to a permanent resident”;
(3) By striking out subsection (c);
(4) In subsection (d)—
(A) by striking “(d) Expedited Proceedings.—(1)” and inserting “(3) Expedited Proceedings.—(A)”;
(B) by inserting “permanent resident” after “in the case of any”; and
(C) by striking “(2)” and inserting “(B)”;
(5) In subsection (e)—
(A) by striking “(e) Review.—(1)” and inserting “(4) Review.—(A)”;
(B) by striking the second sentence; and
(C) by striking “(2)” and inserting “(B)”.
(6) By inserting after the section heading the following new subsection:
“(a) Presumption of deportability.— An alien convicted of an aggravated felony shall be conclusively presumed to be deportable from the United States.”.
(7) The heading of such section is amended to read as follows:
“Expedited deportation of aliens convicted of committing aggravated felonies.— ”.
(d) Effective date.— The amendments made by this section shall apply to all aliens against whom deportation proceedings are initiated after the date of enactment of this Act.
(a) Judicial deportation.— Section 242A of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1252a) is amended by inserting at the end the following new subsection:
“(d) Judicial deportation.—
(1) Authority.— In any criminal case subject to the jurisdiction of any court of the United States or of any State, such court may enter a judicial order of deportation at the time of sentencing against an alien whose criminal conviction causes such alien to be deportable under section 241(a)(2)(A)(iii) (relating to conviction of a felony).
(2) Denial of judicial order.— Denial of a request for a judicial order of deportation shall not preclude the Attorney General from initiating deportation proceedings pursuant to section 242 upon the same ground of deportability or upon any other ground of deportability provided under section 241(a).”.
(b) Technical and conforming changes.— The ninth sentence of section 242(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1252(b)) is amended by striking out “The” and inserting in lieu thereof, “Except as provided in section 242A(d), the”.
(c) Effective date.— The amendments made by this section shall apply to all aliens whose adjudication of guilt or guilty plea is entered in the record after the date of enactment of this Act.
(a) Defenses based on seven years of permanent residence.— The last sentence of section 212(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(c)) is amended by striking out “has served for such felony or felonies” and all that follows through the period and inserting in lieu thereof “has been sentenced for such felony or felonies to a term of imprisonment of at least 5 years, Provided, That the time for appealing such conviction or sentence has expired and the sentence has become final.”.
(b) Defenses based on withholding of deportation.— Section 243(h)(2) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1253(h)(2)) is amended by—
(1) striking out the final sentence and inserting in lieu thereof the following new subparagraph:
“(E) the alien has been convicted of a felony.”; and
(2) striking out the “or” at the end of subparagraph (C) and inserting “or” at the end of subparagraph (D).
(a) Failure to depart.— Section 242(e) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1252(e)) is amended—
(1) by striking out “paragraph (2), (3), or 4 of” the first time it appears, and
(2) by striking out “shall be imprisoned not more than ten years” and inserting in lieu thereof, “shall be imprisoned not more than two years, or shall be imprisoned not more than ten years if the alien is a member of any of the classes described in paragraph (2), (3), or (4) of section 241(a)”.
(b) Reentry.— Section 276(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1326(b)) is amended—
(1) in paragraph (1), by (A) inserting after “commission of” the following: “two or more misdemeanors or”, and (B) striking out “5” and inserting in lieu thereof “10”,
(2) in paragraph (2), by striking out “15” and inserting in lieu thereof “20”, and
(3) by adding at the end the following sentence: “For the purposes of this subsection, the term deportation shall include any agreement where an alien stipulates to deportation during a criminal trial under either Federal or State law.”.
(c) Collateral attacks on underlying deportation order.— Section 276 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1326) is amended by inserting after subsection (b) the following new subsection:
“(c) In any criminal proceeding under this section, no alien may challenge the validity of the deportation order described in subsection (a)(1) or subsection (b).”.
Section 242(h) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1252(h)) is amended to read as follows:
“(h)
(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), an alien sentenced to imprisonment may not be deported until such imprisonment has been terminated by the release of the alien from confinement. Parole, supervised release, probation, or possibility of rearrest or further confinement in respect of the same offense shall not be a ground for deferral of deportation.
(2) The Attorney General may deport an alien prior to the completion of a sentence of imprisonment—
(A) in the case of an alien in the custody of the Attorney General, if the Attorney General determines that the alien has been adequately punished and that such deportation of the alien is appropriate; or
(B) in the case of an alien in the custody of a State, if the chief State official exercising authority with respect to the incarceration of the alien determines (i) that the alien has been adequately punished and that such deportation is appropriate, and (ii) submits a written request to the Attorney General that such alien be so deported.”.
(a) In general.— Subchapter A of chapter 227 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
“3560. Order of Deportation for certain aliens.— The court, upon sentencing an individual who is an alien for an aggravated felony (as defined in section 101(a)(43) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, shall include in a sentencing order a declaration that the individual is deportable. And presentence report required under the Rules of Criminal Procedure with respect to the sentencing of any individual for such a felony shall include whether or not such individual is an alien.”.
(b) Clerical amendment.— The table of sections at the beginning of subchapter A of chapter 227 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new item:
(c) Deportation procedures.— Section 242A of the Immigration and Nationality Act (18 U.S.C. 1252a) is amended by adding at the end the following:
“(f) Deportation pursuant to a judicial order.— An alien subject to a judicial order of deportation under section 3560 of title 18, United States Code, shall be deported consistent with section 242(h).”.
(a) Federal incarceration.— Section 242 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1252) is amended by adding at the end the following:
“(j)
(1) The Attorney General shall take into the custody of the Federal Government, and shall incarcerate for a determinate sentence of imprisonment, a criminal alien described in paragraph (3) if—
(A) the chief State official exercising authority with respect to the incarceration of the undocumented criminal alien submits a written request to the secretary;
(B) the undocumented criminal is sentenced to a determinate term of imprisonment;
(C) the State in which the official described in paragraph A exercises authority cooperates, and requires local governments or agencies in such State to cooperate, with Federal immigration authorities with respect to the identification, location, arrest, prosecution, detention, and deportation of aliens who are not lawfully present in the United States; and
(D) adequate Federal facilities are available for the incarceration of the criminal alien.
(2) Criminal aliens taken into the custody of the Attorney General under paragraph (1) may be deported under subsection (h)(2)(A).
(3) An alien is described in this paragraph if the alien—
(A) has been convicted of a felony and sentenced to a term of imprisonment, and
(B)
(i) had entered the United States without inspection or at any time or place other than as designated by the Attorney General, or
(ii) was the subject of exclusion or deportation proceedings at the time he or she was taken into custody by the State.”.
(a) False statement.— Section 1542 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by striking “fined not more than $2,000 or imprisoned not more than five years, or both” and inserting “fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both”.
(b) Forgery.— Section 1543 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by striking “fined not more than $2,000 or imprisoned not more than five years, or both” and inserting “fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both”.
(c) Misuse of passport.— Section 1544 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by striking “fined not more than $2,000 or imprisoned not more than five years, or both” and inserting “fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both”.
(d) Safe conduct violation.— Section 1545 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by striking “fined not more than $2,000 or imprisoned not more than three years, or both” and inserting “fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both”.
(e) Fraud and misuse of visas.— Section 1546(a) of title 18, United States Code, is amended by striking “fined not more than $2,000 or imprisoned not more than five years, or both” and inserting “fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both”.
Whenever a State or local law enforcement agency arrests an immigrant or nonimmigrant alien for the commission of a felony, that State or local law enforcement agency shall provide the District Director of the Immigration and Naturalization Service for the district in which the State or local law enforcement agency has jurisdiction the following information within 72 hours of the arrest: the name of the alien; the alien's place of birth; the alien's date of birth; the alien's alien registration number, if any; the nature of the offense for which the alien was arrested; and any available information on bond, future hearings and proceedings.
Section 204(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act is amended by adding a comma after the word “laws” the first time it appears, striking the word “or” prior to “(2)” and inserting the following before the period: “or (3) the petition was submitted by or on behalf of any alien who entered or attempted to enter the United States unlawfully, who entered or attempted to enter with fraudulent, forged or stolen documents, who failed to present the immigration officer any document produced when the alien boarded a common carrier for travel to the United States, or who entered the United States lawfully as a nonimmigrant but violated the terms of his or her nonimmigrant visa”.
(a) Exclusion of criminal alien.— Section 212(a)(2)(A)(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(2)(A)(i)) is amended by striking “or” at the end of subparagraph (I) and inserting the following new subparagraph prior to the phrase “is excludable”: “or (III) any violation of any immigration law or any violation of any federal or State statute prohibiting fraud, including any statutes prohibiting income tax evasion”.
(b) Exclusion reform.— Section 212 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182) is amended by striking paragraph (c) and inserting the following as new paragraph (c):
“(c) Aliens lawfully admitted for permanent residence who temporarily proceeded abroad voluntarily and not under an order of deportation shall not be admitted if that alien is excludable under paragraph (a).”.
(a) Form of deportation hearings.— The second sentence of section 242(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1252(b)) is amended by inserting before the period the following: “; except that nothing in this subsection shall preclude the Attorney General from authorizing proceedings by electronic or telephonic media (with or without the consent of the alien) or, where waived or agreed to by the parties, in the absence of the alien”.
(b) Construction of expedited deportation requirements.— No amendment made by this Act and nothing in section 242(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1252(i)), shall be construed to create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, which is legally enforceable by any party against the United States, its agencies, its officers, or any other person.
Section 212(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(4)) is amended by striking paragraph (4) and inserting:
“(4) Public charge.— Any alien who cannot demonstrate to the consular officer at the time of application for a visa, or to the Attorney General at the time of application for admission or adjustment of status, that, taking into account the alien's age and medical condition, he or she has assets, education, skills, or a combination thereof that make it very unlikely that he or she will become eligible for means-tested public assistance of any kind (including, but not limited to, medical care or food and housing assistance) or will otherwise become a public charge is excludable.”.
The Immigration and Nationality Act is amended by striking section 213 (8 U.S.C. 1183) and inserting:
“213. Financial responsibility of sponsors.—
(a) An alien excludable under paragraph 4 of Section 212(a) may, if otherwise admissible, be admitted in the discretion of the Attorney General upon the giving of a suitable and proper bond and a guarantee of financial responsibility by an individual (hereinafter in this section referred to as the alien's “sponsor”) who is not less than 21 nor more than 60 years of age, is of good moral character, has never been convicted of a felony, has never filed for bankruptcy or been adjudicated a bankrupt, and is a citizen of the United States or an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence.
(b) The guarantee of financial responsibility in subsection (a) must provide (1) that the sponsor, and the sponsor's spouse if the sponsor is married, agree in the case of an alien under 21 years of age, to assume legal custody for the alien after the alien's departure to the United States and until the alien becomes 21 years of age, in accordance with the law of the State where the sponsor resides, and (2) that the sponsor agrees to furnish, during the 5-year period beginning on the date of the alien's acquiring the status of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence, or during the period beginning on the date of the alien's acquiring the status of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence and ending on the date on which the alien becomes 21 years of age, whichever period is longer, such financial support as is necessary to prevent the alien's becoming a public charge.
(c) A guarantee of financial responsibility given under subsection (a) may be enforced with respect to an alien by a civil suit against his sponsor by the Attorney General or by any Federal or State agency that has provided the alien means-tested public assistance of any kind, including but not limited to medical, food, and housing assistance.
(d) Civil suits under subsection (c) shall be brought in the United States district court for the district in which the defendant resides and may be brought at any time on or before the date that is 5 years after the date on which the sponsor's period of financial responsibility under subsection (a) expired.
(e) The bond required of an alien's sponsor by subsection (a) shall be in favor of the United States and all States, territories, countries, towns, municipalities, and districts within the United States and shall hold them harmless against the alien's becoming a public charge. The bond shall be in such amount and shall contain such conditions as the Attorney General may prescribe. The bond shall terminate upon (1) the alien's permanent departure from the United States, (2) the death of an alien, or (3) the expiration of the period of financial responsibility described in subsection (b), whichever occurs first, and any sums or other security held to secure performance thereof, except to the extent forfeited for violation of the terms thereof, shall be returned to the person by whom furnished, or to his legal representative.”.
(a) Direct federal financial benefits.— Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no direct Federal financial benefit or social insurance benefit may be paid, conferred, or otherwise given, on or after the date of enactment of this Act, to any alien not lawfully admitted to the United States as a permanent resident or a refugee except pursuant to a provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act: Provided, however, That Federal reimbursement of emergency medical care provided to such an alien may be provided under such regulations as the Secretary of Health and Human Services may in his or her discretion prescribe.
(b) Unemployment benefits.— No alien who has not been granted employment authorization pursuant to Federal law shall be eligible for unemployment compensation under an unemployment compensation law of a State or the United States.
(a) Work eligibility documents.— Effective January 1, 2028, Section 274A of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a) is amended by striking subparagraphs (A) through (D) of subsection (b)(1) and inserting:
“(A) In general.— The person or entity must attest, under penalty of perjury and on a form designated or established by the Attorney General by regulation, that it has verified that the individual is not an unauthorized alien by—
(i) examining the document described in (B) in the case of an individual claiming to be a United States citizen, United States national,
(ii) examining the document described in paragraph (C) in the case of an individual not claiming to be a United States citizen, a United States national, or a permanent resident alien, and
(iii) reporting the individual's Social Security account number to the Social Security Administration through the telephone verification system established pursuant to section 602 of the Harry Reid Immigration Stabilization Act.
(B) Documents of citizens and nationals.— The document described in this paragraph is an individual's Social Security account number card issued pursuant to section 601(c) of the Harry Reid Immigration Stabilization Act.
(C) Documents of aliens.— The document described in this paragraph is an alien's identification card issued by the Immigration and Naturalization Service pursuant to section 601(b) of the Harry Reid Immigration Stabilization Act.”.
(b) Improvement of alien identity cards.—
(1) Permanent resident aliens.— The Attorney General shall cause to be issued to every alien acquiring lawful permanent residence in the United States after June 30, 2027, and, upon application, to any alien who acquired lawful permanent residence before July 1, 2027, an alien identification card that shall—
(A) be uniform in appearance,
(B) be as tamper-proof and counterfeit-resistant as practicable,
(C) contain a photograph and fingerprint,
(D) display the name, sex, date of birth, and such other identifying information as the Attorney General shall determine, and
(E) incorporate a machine-readable encoding of the information displayed on the card.
(2) Other aliens.— The Attorney General shall cause to be issued to every alien who becomes authorized to work in the United States after June 30, 2027, other than by reason of lawful admission for permanent residence, and shall cause to be issued, upon application, to any other alien who is authorized to work in the United States other than by reason of lawful admission for permanent residence an alien identification card that shall—
(A) be uniform in appearance,
(B) be as tamper-proof and counterfeit-resistant as practicable,
(C) contain a photograph and fingerprint,
(D) display the alien's name, sex, date of birth, place of birth, and such other identifying information as the Attorney General shall determine,
(E) show an expiration date that shall be determined in accordance with regulations issued by the Attorney General, but shall not in any case be later than three calendar years after the date of issuance, and
(F) incorporate a machine-readable encoding of the information displayed on the card.
(c) Improvement of social security cards.—
(1) Improved card for citizens.— The Secretary shall cause to be issued improved Social Security account number cards to United States citizens and United States nationals upon application, proof of identity, proof of citizenship or nationality, and payment of a reasonable fee.
(2) Improved card for aliens.— The Secretary shall cause to be issued improved Social Security account number cards to aliens lawfully admitted for permanent residence upon application, proof of identity, verification of status by the Immigration and Naturalization Service, and payment of a reasonable fee.
(3) Requirements.— The cards described in paragraphs (1) and (2) shall—
(A) be uniform in appearance,
(B) be as tamper-proof and counterfeit-resistant as practicable,
(C) contain a photograph and fingerprint,
(D) display the name, sex, date of birth, place of birth, and Social Security account number of the issuee, and such other identifying information as the Secretary shall determine, and
(E) incorporate a machine-readable encoding of the information displayed on the card.
(4) Secretary defined.— For purposes of this subsection, Secretary means the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
(d) Reasonable fee.— The amount of the fee that is to be charged under subsections (b) and (c) shall be the amount (rounded to the nearest whole dollar), not exceeding $50, required to cover the costs of issuing the card.
(e) No other cards.— No Social Security account number card or alien identification card shall be issued after June 30, 2027, whether as an original card or as a replacement, that does not satisfy the requirements of this section.
(f) Definitions.— For purposes of this section—
(1) “State” means one of the United States, the District of Columbia, or Puerto Rico, and
(2) “place of birth” means, for an individual—
(A) born in a State, the two-letter symbol used by the United States Post Office to identify that State, or
(B) not born in a State, such two-letter symbol as the Secretary shall determine by regulations.
(a) Social security database.— By September 30, 2027, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall make such modifications to the Social Security account number data base (NUMIDENT) as are practicable and enable confirmation through the telephone verification system described in subsection (d) that a Social Security account number has been issued to an individual identified by last name, sex, year of birth, and place of birth and that such individual is not known to the Secretary of Health and Human Services to be an alien not authorized to work in the United States. At a minimum the data base shall be modified to enable confirmation that a Social Security account number is not assigned to an individual authorized to work in the United States because the number— The Attorney General shall provide such assistance as the Secretary of Health and Human Services may require to merge or otherwise make use of any data base of the Immigration and Naturalization Service for the purposes of this section.
(1) has not been issued,
(2) was issued to an individual known by the Secretary of Health and Human Services as not authorized to work,
(3) was issued to a person that is deceased and has not been reissued, or
(4) was issued to an alien that any data base of the Immigration and Naturalization Service shows is not authorized to work in the United States.
(b) Exchange of information.— The Attorney General shall notify the Secretary of Health and Human Services of the expiration of an alien's authorization to work in the United States not later than 14 calendar days after the date of expiration. The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall furnish the Attorney General with a list of any aliens for whom confirmation of work eligibility has been requested not later than 5 calendar days after such request. Such list shall include the telephone number from which the request was made and the employer identification number of the requester.
(c) Adult applicants.— The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall furnish to the Attorney General a copy of any application (including supporting documentation) for a Social Security account number by an alien or by an individual over 16 years of age who claims to be a United States citizen or national and shall not issue a number before the earlier of the following dates:
(1) The date on which the Attorney General confirms in writing that his records do not show that the applicant is an alien unauthorized to work in the United States.
(2) 60 days after a copy of the application and supporting documentation has been delivered to the Attorney General.
(d) Telephone verification system.— Before January 1, 2028, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall test and place in operation a system whereby an employer can report by touch-tone telephone his employer identification number and the Social Security account number, last name, sex, year of birth, and place of birth of any individual who is to be employed and can receive immediate confirmation that the number was issued to the individual having that identity and that such person is not identified within the Social Security account number data base as an individual who is not a United States citizen, a United States national, or an alien authorized to work in the United States. The charge for each call will be sufficient to cover the costs of operating the system, except that it shall not exceed $2 plus any line charges payable to the telephone carrier. The system shall provide for access to a live operator if an entry is not accepted or confirmed, shall provide a verification code to the caller, shall create and maintain a record of each inquiry (including the telephone number of the requester) and its verification code for not less than two years, and shall accommodate devices that read the magnetic strip incorporated by a card issued under section 601.
(e) Abuse of system.— The use of the telephone verification system established by subsection (d) by a person other than— shall be punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000 per occurrence.
(1) an employer acting pursuant to Section 274A(b)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, or
(2) an officer or employee of an agency of the United States or of any State acting in the performance of official duties,
The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall consult with the State agency responsible for registration and certification of births and deaths and, within 2 years of the date of enactment of this Act, shall establish a national electronic network linking the vital statistics records of such States. The network shall provide, where practical, for the matching of deaths with births and shall enable the confirmation of births and deaths of citizens of the United States, or of aliens within the United States, by any Federal or State agency or official in the performance of official duties. The Secretary shall institute measures to achieve uniform and accurate reporting of vital statistics into the national network, to protect the integrity of the registration and certification process, and to prevent fraud against the Government and other persons through the use of false birth or death certificates.
The number of full-time officer positions in the border patrol of the Immigration and Naturalization Service shall be increased to 22,900 in fiscal year 2027, 23,900 in fiscal year 2028, 24,900 in fiscal year 2029, 25,900 in fiscal year 2030, and 26,900 in fiscal year 2031.
The Commissioner shall collect a user fee for each entry into the United States by land or by sea after December 31, 2026. The fee shall be $3 for each person entering other than by private automobile, van, or truck and $5 for each private automobile, van, or truck. The Commissioner by regulation may establish a reduced fee or a multiple-crossing fee for frequent border crossers.
There is established a Border Control Trust Fund (“Fund”) under the control of the Commissioner. The fees collected under section 702 shall be deposited into the Fund. Amounts deposited into the Fund and the earnings thereon shall be expended by the Commissioner exclusively on (1) measures, personnel, structures, and devices to deter and prevent illegal entry of persons and contraband into the United States by land or by sea, (2) construction and operation of facilities to expedite lawful border traffic and reduce, where practical, extensive delays in the time required for lawful entry of goods and persons, and (3) financial and other assistance to State and local law enforcement agencies that have entered into cooperative arrangements with the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Not less than 80 percent of the sum of (a) amounts deposited into the Fund during a fiscal year and (b) the earnings of the Fund during that fiscal year shall be expended during that or the subsequent fiscal year.
(A) In general.— Section 273 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1323) is amended—
(1) in subsection (a), by striking “(other than from foreign contiguous territory)”;
(2) by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as subsections (e) and (f), respectively;
(3) by inserting after subsection (b) the following:
“(c) Records.— The Attorney General shall maintain a record of each undocumented alien arriving on or after the date of enactment of this subsection at a United States port of entry and of the carrier which brought such alien to that port of entry.”;
(4) by inserting after subsection (c) (as added by paragraph (4)), the following:
“(d) Repeat offenses.—
(1) If the Attorney General determines that, during the preceding calendar year, any carrier has delivered an average of more than 0.5 undocumented aliens per arrival at United States ports of entry then, for the next calendar year, in lieu of the penalty of $3,000 specified in subsection (b), such carrier shall pay to the Attorney General a penalty of $10,000 for each alien brought in violation of subsection (a) or, alternatively, such carrier may choose to participate in a 1-year pilot program intended to reduce the number of undocumented aliens arriving at United States ports of entry via international carriers. If such international carrier chooses to participate in the 1-year pilot program, that carrier will be subject to the penalty levels prescribed in subsection (b), rather than the increased penalty levels specified in this subsection, for each alien brought in violation of subsection (a). The 1-year pilot program, which can be extended for multiple years at the discretion of the Attorney General, shall consist of a program whereby the international carrier collects the travel documents necessary for entry into the United States from all passengers upon their entry to the carrier and physically returns them to the passengers on an individual basis only at the actual point of inspection at the United States port of entry by United States immigration officials.
(2) If the Attorney General determines that, during the preceding calendar year, any carrier has delivered an average of more than 1.5 undocumented aliens per arrival at United States ports of entry, then, for the next calendar year, in lieu of the penalties specified in subsection (b) and in paragraph (1) of this subsection, such carrier shall pay to the Attorney General a penalty of $20,000 for each alien brought in violation of subsection (a).
(3) If the Attorney General determines that, in the preceding calendar year, any carrier has delivered an average of more than 2 undocumented aliens per arrival at United States ports of entry, then such carrier shall forfeit all landing rights in the United States for the next calendar year.”; and
(5) subsection (e) (as redesignated) is amended—
(A) by inserting after “refunded.” the following: “Unless the alien transported is granted political asylum status in the United States or”; and
(B) by inserting before the period at the end thereof “or that the visa or other immigration documentation presented to the carrier was forged, counterfeit, altered, falsely made, stolen, or inapplicable to the alien presenting the document”.
(b) Effective date.— The amendment made by subsection (a)(4) shall take effect on January 1 of the second calendar year following the date of enactment of this Act.
The Secretary of State shall undertake to enter into, on behalf of the United States, cooperative arrangements with appropriate foreign governments for the purpose of preventing the unlawful entry of aliens by land, air, or sea.
The Secretary of Defense, in consultation, when appropriate, with the Attorney General and the Secretary of State, shall instruct the Coast Guard to deter and prevent the unlawful entry of aliens into the United States by sea. Such instructions shall include directives providing for stopping and boarding vessels, making inquiries of persons and inspecting documents and property on board such vessels, and returning a vessel to the country from which it came or to another country. In the case of vessels outside the territorial sea of the United States, such instructions shall be limited to vessels of the United States, vessels without nationality, vessels assimilated to vessels without nationality, and vessels of foreign nations with which the United States has arrangements authorizing the United States to stop and board such vessels. Except as otherwise provided in the preceding sentence, actions pursuant to this section are authorized to be undertaken both within and beyond the territorial sea of the United States.
Section 1961(1) of title 18, United States Code, is amended by striking “or” immediately prior to “(E)”, and by adding: “or (F) any act which is indictable under any of the following provisions of title 8, United States Code, section 1324(a)(i) (relating to prohibitions on bringing in or harboring certain aliens), section 1325 (relating to illegal entry, marriage fraud, or establishing a commercial enterprise for the purpose of evading the immigration laws), section 1327 (relating to aiding or assisting certain aliens to enter the United States), or section 1328 (relating to the importation of aliens for immoral purpose).”
Pursuant to section 994 of title 28, United States Code, the United States Sentencing Commission shall promulgate guidelines, or amend existing guidelines, to provide that a defendant convicted of violating, or conspiring to violate section 1324(a) of title 8, United States Code, shall be assigned not less than offense level 25 under section 2L1.1 of the United States Sentencing Guidelines if any of the following factors exist— Otherwise, the base offense level shall be 13, except for an offense described in section 1324(a)(2)(A) of title 8, United States Code.
(1) if the offense involved five or more aliens in a single scheme or otherwise;
(2) if the offense involved other criminal activity including, but not limited to, violations of the Controlled Substances Act, prostitution, importation of aliens for immoral purposes, trafficking in firearms, money laundering, illegal gang activities, kidnapping or ransom demands, fraudulent documents, or extortion;
(3) if the offense involves smuggling of persons under the age of 18 years for the purposes of illegal adoption or of sexual or commercial exploitation;
(4) if the offense involves the smuggling of known or suspected terrorists or persons involved in organized crime;
(5) if the offense involves dangerous or inhumane treatment of the persons smuggled; or
(6) if death or serious bodily harm occurs to persons smuggled.
Subsection 274(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324(b)) is amended—
(1) by amending paragraph (1) to read as follows:
“(1) Any property, real or personal, which facilitates or is intended to facilitate, or which has been used in or is intended to be used in the commission of a violation of subsection (a) or of sections 274A(a)(1) or 274A(a)(2), or which constitutes or is derived from or traceable to the proceeds obtained directly or indirectly from a commission of a violation of subsection (a), shall be subject to seizure and forfeiture, except that—
(A) no property, used by any person as a common carrier in the transaction of business as a common carrier shall be forfeited under the provisions of this section unless it shall appear that the owner or other person in charge of such property was a consenting party or privy to the illegal act;
(B) no property shall be forfeited under the provisions of this section by reason of any act or omission established by the owner thereof to have been committed or omitted by any person other than such owner while such property was unlawfully in the possession of a person other than the owner in violation of the criminal laws of the United States or of any State; and
(C) no property shall be forfeited under this paragraph to the extent of an interest of any owner, by reason of any act or omission established by that owner to have been committed or omitted without the knowledge or consent of the owner, unless such action or omission was committed by an employee or agent of the owner, and facilitated or was intended to facilitate, or was used in or intended to be used in, the commission of a violation of subsection (a) or of section 274A(a)(1) or 274A(a)(2) which was committed by the owner or which intended to further the business interests of the owner, or to confer any other benefit upon the owner.”.
(2) by striking from paragraph (2)—
(A) “conveyance” both places it appears and inserting in lieu thereof “property”; and
(B) “is being used in” and inserting in lieu thereof “is being used in, is facilitating, has facilitated, or was intended to facilitate”;
(3) by striking from paragraphs (4) and (5) “a conveyance” and “conveyance” each place such phrase or word appears and inserting in lieu thereof “property”;
(4) by striking from paragraph (4)—
(A) “or” at the end of subparagraph (C), and
(B) the period at the end of subparagraph (D) and insetting “; or”; and
(5) by adding after paragraph (4)(E):
“(E) transfer custody and ownership of forfeited property to any Federal, State, or local agency pursuant to the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1616a(c)).”.
(a) Section 2516(1) of title 18, United States Code, is amended—
(1) in paragraph (c) by inserting after “weapons),” the following: “or a felony violation of section 1028 (relating to production of false identification documentation), section 1546 (relating to fraud and misuse of visas, permits, and other documents),”;
(2) by striking “or” after paragraph (l) and redesignating paragraphs (m), (n), and (o) as paragraphs (n), (o), and (p), respectively;
(3) by inserting after paragraph (l) the following new paragraph:
“(m) a violation of section 274 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324) (relating to alien smuggling), of section 277 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1327) (relating to the smuggling of aliens convicted of aggravated felonies or of aliens subject to exclusion on grounds of national security), or of section 278 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1328) (relating to smuggling of aliens for the purpose of prostitution or other immoral purpose);”; and
(4) by striking “or any Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Criminal Division specially designated by the Attorney General” and inserting “or any Deputy Assistant Attorney General or acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General in, or one other officer or employee of, the Criminal Division specially designated by the Attorney General”.
(b) Section 2518(5) of title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting “(including personnel of a foreign government or of a State or subdivision of a State)” after “Government personnel”.
(c) Section 2510(7) of title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting before the semicolon “and additionally, for purposes of section 2517(1)–(2), any person authorized to perform investigative, law enforcement, or prosecutorial functions by a foreign government”.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no Federal financial assistance shall be paid to a State or local government or agency for the aid to families with dependent children program under subchapter IV of title 42 United States Code, the medicaid program under subchapter XIX of title 42 United States Code, the unemployment compensation program under section 3304 of title 26 of United States Code, the Food Stamp Program under the Food Stamp Act of 1977, or the financial assistance programs under the United States Housing Act of 1937, Section 235 or 236 of the National Housing Act, or section 101 of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1965 if such government or agency does not verify the immigration status of aliens applying for benefits under these programs through use of the automated SAVE system established under section 12 of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (Public Law 99–603).
In the exercise of its powers under section 5 of the Fourteenth Article of Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, the Congress has determined and hereby declares that any person born after the date of enactment of this title to a mother who is neither a citizen of the United States nor admitted to the United States as a lawful permanent resident, and which person is a national or citizen of another country of which either of his or her natural parents is a national or citizen, or is entitled upon application to become a national or citizen of such country, shall be considered as born subject to the jurisdiction of that foreign country and not subject to the jurisdiction of the United States within the meaning of section 1 of such Article and shall therefore not be a citizen of the United States or of any State solely by reason of physical presence within the United States at the moment of birth.
In the exercise of its powers under section 5 of the Fourteenth Article of Amendment to the Constitution of the United States to enforce the prohibition of section 1 of such Article against the making or enforcing of any law that shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States, the Congress determines that the right of citizens to vote is a privilege of citizens of the United States and that voting in elections of the United States or of any State by persons who are not citizens of the United States is an abridgement of that privilege. It shall be unlawful, and a felony punishable by a fine of not more than $10,000 and/or imprisonment of not more than 1 year for each unlawful vote, for any person who is not a citizen of the United States to vote in any election to which the provisions of the Fifteenth, Nineteenth, Twenty-Fourth, or Twenty-Sixth Article of Amendment to the Constitution applies or in any other election, referendum, ballot, or other procedure of the United States or of any State in which votes are taken. Any vote that is cast in violation of this section shall be null, void, and of no effect and shall not be counted.