Us Congress 2025-2026 Regular Session

Us Congress House Bill HB696 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	I
2	2	119THCONGRESS
3	3	1
4	4	STSESSION H. R. 696
5	5	To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to reform temporary protected
6	6	status, and for other purposes.
7	7	IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
8	8	JANUARY23, 2025
9	9	Mr. N
10	10	EHLS(for himself, Mr. TIFFANY, Mr. SCHMIDT, Mr. BIGGSof Arizona,
11	11	and Mr. V
12	12	ANDREW) introduced the following bill; which was referred to
13	13	the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on
14	14	Homeland Security, and Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period
15	15	to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consider-
16	16	ation of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee
17	17	concerned
18	18	A BILL
19	19	To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to reform
20	20	temporary protected status, and for other purposes.
21	21	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1
22	22	tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2
23	23	SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3
24	24	This Act may be cited as the ‘‘End Unaccountable 4
25	25	Amnesty Act’’. 5
26	26	VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:41 Feb 21, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H696.IH H696
27	27	ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 2
28	28	•HR 696 IH
29	29	SEC. 2. TEMPORARY PROTECTED STATUS. 1
30	30	(a) P
31	31	OWERTODESIGNATE AFOREIGNSTATE.—Sec-2
32	32	tion 244(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 3
33	33	U.S.C. 1254a(b)) is amended— 4
34	34	(1) by striking paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) and 5
35	35	inserting the following: 6
36	36	‘‘(1) I
37	37	NITIAL DESIGNATION.—For purposes of 7
38	38	this section, a foreign state may be designated upon 8
39	39	the enactment of an Act that satisfies the following 9
40	40	requirements: 10
41	41	‘‘(A) The Act shall contain a finding— 11
42	42	‘‘(i) that there is an ongoing armed 12
43	43	conflict within the state and, due to such 13
44	44	conflict, requiring the return of aliens who 14
45	45	are nationals of that state (or to the part 15
46	46	of the state) would pose a serious threat to 16
47	47	their personal safety; 17
48	48	‘‘(ii) that— 18
49	49	‘‘(I) there has been an earth-19
50	50	quake, flood, drought, epidemic, or 20
51	51	other immediately life-threatening en-21
52	52	vironmental disaster in the state re-22
53	53	sulting in a substantial, but tem-23
54	54	porary, disruption of living conditions 24
55	55	in the area affected; 25
56	56	VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:41 Feb 21, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H696.IH H696
57	57	ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 3
58	58	•HR 696 IH
59	59	‘‘(II) the foreign state is unable, 1
60	60	temporarily, to handle adequately the 2
61	61	return to the state of aliens who are 3
62	62	nationals of the state; and 4
63	63	‘‘(III) the foreign state officially 5
64	64	has requested designation under this 6
65	65	subparagraph; or 7
66	66	‘‘(iii) that there exist extraordinary 8
67	67	and temporary conditions in the foreign 9
68	68	state that prevent aliens who are nationals 10
69	69	of the state from returning to the state in 11
70	70	safety and that permitting the aliens to re-12
71	71	main temporarily in the United States is 13
72	72	not contrary to the national interest of the 14
73	73	United States. 15
74	74	‘‘(B) The Act shall include— 16
75	75	‘‘(i) an estimate of the number of na-17
76	76	tionals of the foreign state who are (or 18
77	77	within the effective period of the designa-19
78	78	tion are likely to become) eligible for tem-20
79	79	porary protected status under this section; 21
80	80	‘‘(ii) such nationals’ immigration sta-22
81	81	tus in the United States; and 23
82	82	VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:41 Feb 21, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H696.IH H696
83	83	ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 4
84	84	•HR 696 IH
85	85	‘‘(iii) a time period for the effective-1
86	86	ness of the designation that is not greater 2
87	87	than 12 months. 3
88	88	‘‘(2) T
89	89	ERMINATION.— 4
90	90	‘‘(A) T
91	91	IMELY TERMINATION.—If an initial 5
92	92	designation of a foreign state is not extended 6
93	93	under paragraph (3), the initial designation 7
94	94	shall terminate at the end of the time period 8
95	95	described in paragraph (1)(B)(iii). 9
96	96	‘‘(B) E
97	97	ARLY TERMINATION.—For purposes 10
98	98	of this section, the designation of a foreign 11
99	99	state shall be terminated upon the enactment of 12
100	100	an Act that contains a finding that the foreign 13
101	101	state (or part of such foreign state) no longer 14
102	102	meets the conditions for designation under 15
103	103	paragraph (1)(A). 16
104	104	‘‘(3) E
105	105	XTENSION.—For purposes of this sec-17
106	106	tion, the time period for the effectiveness of the des-18
107	107	ignation of a foreign state may be extended upon the 19
108	108	enactment of an Act that includes— 20
109	109	‘‘(A) a finding that the conditions for des-21
110	110	ignation under paragraph (1)(A) continue to be 22
111	111	met; and 23
112	112	VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:41 Feb 21, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H696.IH H696
113	113	ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 5
114	114	•HR 696 IH
115	115	‘‘(B) a time period for the effectiveness of 1
116	116	the extension that is not greater than 12 2
117	117	months.’’; and 3
118	118	(2) in paragraph (5)(A), by striking ‘‘of the At-4
119	119	torney General’’ and inserting ‘‘made in any Act’’. 5
120	120	(b) A
121	121	LIENSLACKINGLAWFULIMMIGRATIONSTA-6
122	122	TUS.—Section 244(c)(2)(B) of the Immigration and Na-7
123	123	tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1254a(c)(2)(B)) is amended— 8
124	124	(1) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘, or’’ at the end 9
125	125	and inserting a semicolon; 10
126	126	(2) in clause (ii), by striking the period at the 11
127	127	end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 12
128	128	(3) by adding at the end the following: 13
129	129	‘‘(iii) the alien lacks a lawful immigra-14
130	130	tion status.’’. 15
131	131	(c) C
132	132	ONFORMINGAMENDMENTS.—Section 244 of the 16
133	133	Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1254a et seq.) 17
134	134	is amended— 18
135	135	(1) in subsection (d)(3), by striking ‘‘If the At-19
136	136	torney General terminates the designation of a for-20
137	137	eign state (or part of such foreign state) under sub-21
138	138	section (b)(3)(B)’’ and inserting ‘‘If the designation 22
139	139	of a foreign state (or part of such foreign state) is 23
140	140	terminated under section 244(b)(2)’’; and 24
141	141	(2) in subsection (i)(1)— 25
142	142	VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:41 Feb 21, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H696.IH H696
143	143	ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 6
144	144	•HR 696 IH
145	145	(A) in subparagraph (A), by striking the 1
146	146	comma at the end and adding ‘‘; and’’; 2
147	147	(B) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘, 3
148	148	and’’ at the end and inserting a period; and 4
149	149	(C) by striking subparagraph (C). 5
150	150	(d) T
151	151	ECHNICALCORRECTIONS.—Section 244 of the 6
152	152	Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1254a), as 7
153	153	amended by subsections (a) and (b) of this section, is fur-8
154	154	ther amended by striking ‘‘Attorney General’’ each place 9
155	155	it appears and inserting ‘‘Secretary of Homeland Secu-10
156	156	rity’’. 11
157	157	SEC. 3. UNACCOMPANIED ALIEN CHILDREN. 12
158	158	(a) R
159	159	EPATRIATION OF UNACCOMPANIED ALIEN 13
160	160	C
161	161	HILDREN.— 14
162	162	(1) I
163	163	N GENERAL.—Section 235 of the William 15
164	164	Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reau-16
165	165	thorization Act of 2008 (8 U.S.C. 1232) is amend-17
166	166	ed— 18
167	167	(A) in subsection (a)— 19
168	168	(i) in paragraph (2)— 20
169	169	(I) by amending the heading to 21
170	170	read as follows: ‘‘R
171	171	ULES FOR UNAC-22
172	172	COMPANIED ALIEN CHILDREN .—’’; 23
173	173	(II) in subparagraph (A)— 24
174	174	VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:41 Feb 21, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H696.IH H696
175	175	ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 7
176	176	•HR 696 IH
177	177	(aa) in the matter preceding 1
178	178	clause (i), by striking ‘‘who is a 2
179	179	national or habitual resident of a 3
180	180	country that is contiguous with 4
181	181	the United States’’; 5
182	182	(bb) in clause (i), by insert-6
183	183	ing ‘‘and’’ at the end; 7
184	184	(cc) in clause (ii), by strik-8
185	185	ing ‘‘; and’’ and inserting a pe-9
186	186	riod; and 10
187	187	(dd) by striking clause (iii); 11
188	188	and 12
189	189	(III) in subparagraph (B)— 13
190	190	(aa) in the matter preceding 14
191	191	clause (i), by striking ‘‘(8 U.S.C. 15
192	192	1101 et seq.) may—’’ and insert-16
193	193	ing ‘‘(8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.)—’’; 17
194	194	(bb) in clause (i), by insert-18
195	195	ing before ‘‘permit such child to 19
196	196	withdraw’’ the following: ‘‘may’’; 20
197	197	and 21
198	198	(cc) in clause (ii), by insert-22
199	199	ing before ‘‘return such child’’ 23
200	200	the following: ‘‘shall’’; and 24
201	201	(ii) in paragraph (5)(D)— 25
202	202	VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:41 Feb 21, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H696.IH H696
203	203	ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 8
204	204	•HR 696 IH
205	205	(I) in the matter preceding clause 1
206	206	(i), by striking ‘‘, except for an unac-2
207	207	companied alien child from a contig-3
208	208	uous country subject to exceptions 4
209	209	under subsection (a)(2),’’ and insert-5
210	210	ing ‘‘who does not meet the criteria 6
211	211	listed in paragraph (2)(A)’’; and 7
212	212	(II) in clause (i), by inserting be-8
213	213	fore the semicolon at the end the fol-9
214	214	lowing: ‘‘, which shall include a hear-10
215	215	ing before an immigration judge not 11
216	216	later than 14 days after being 12
217	217	screened under paragraph (4)’’; 13
218	218	(B) in subsection (b)— 14
219	219	(i) in paragraph (2)— 15
220	220	(I) in subparagraph (A), by in-16
221	221	serting before the semicolon the fol-17
222	222	lowing: ‘‘believed not to meet the cri-18
223	223	teria listed in subsection (a)(2)(A)’’; 19
224	224	and 20
225	225	(II) in subparagraph (B), by in-21
226	226	serting before the period the following: 22
227	227	‘‘and does not meet the criteria listed 23
228	228	in subsection (a)(2)(A)’’; and 24
229	229	VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:41 Feb 21, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H696.IH H696
230	230	ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 9
231	231	•HR 696 IH
232	232	(ii) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘an 1
233	233	unaccompanied alien child in custody 2
234	234	shall’’ and all that follows, and inserting 3
235	235	the following: ‘‘an unaccompanied alien 4
236	236	child in custody— 5
237	237	‘‘(A) in the case of a child who does not 6
238	238	meet the criteria listed in subsection (a)(2)(A), 7
239	239	shall transfer the custody of such child to the 8
240	240	Secretary of Health and Human Services not 9
241	241	later than 30 days after determining that such 10
242	242	child is an unaccompanied alien child who does 11
243	243	not meet such criteria; or 12
244	244	‘‘(B) in the case of a child who meets the 13
245	245	criteria listed in subsection (a)(2)(A), may 14
246	246	transfer the custody of such child to the Sec-15
247	247	retary of Health and Human Services after de-16
248	248	termining that such child is an unaccompanied 17
249	249	alien child who meets such criteria.’’; and 18
250	250	(C) in subsection (c)— 19
251	251	(i) in paragraph (3), by inserting at 20
252	252	the end the following: 21
253	253	‘‘(D) I
254	254	NFORMATION ABOUT INDIVIDUALS 22
255	255	WITH WHOM CHILDREN ARE PLACED .— 23
256	256	‘‘(i) I
257	257	NFORMATION TO BE PROVIDED 24
258	258	TO HOMELAND SECURITY .—Before placing 25
259	259	VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:41 Feb 21, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H696.IH H696
260	260	ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 10
261	261	•HR 696 IH
262	262	a child with an individual, the Secretary of 1
263	263	Health and Human Services shall provide 2
264	264	to the Secretary of Homeland Security, re-3
265	265	garding the individual with whom the child 4
266	266	will be placed, information on— 5
267	267	‘‘(I) the name of the individual; 6
268	268	‘‘(II) the social security number 7
269	269	of the individual; 8
270	270	‘‘(III) the date of birth of the in-9
271	271	dividual; 10
272	272	‘‘(IV) the location of the individ-11
273	273	ual’s residence where the child will be 12
274	274	placed; 13
275	275	‘‘(V) the immigration status of 14
276	276	the individual, if known; and 15
277	277	‘‘(VI) contact information for the 16
278	278	individual. 17
279	279	‘‘(ii) A
280	280	CTIVITIES OF THE SECRETARY 18
281	281	OF HOMELAND SECURITY .—Not later than 19
282	282	30 days after receiving the information 20
283	283	listed in clause (i), the Secretary of Home-21
284	284	land Security, upon determining that an 22
285	285	individual with whom a child is placed is 23
286	286	unlawfully present in the United States 24
287	287	and not in removal proceedings pursuant 25
288	288	VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:41 Feb 21, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H696.IH H696
289	289	ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 11
290	290	•HR 696 IH
291	291	to chapter 4 of title II of the Immigration 1
292	292	and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1221 et 2
293	293	seq.), shall initiate such removal pro-3
294	294	ceedings.’’; and 4
295	295	(ii) in paragraph (5)— 5
296	296	(I) by inserting after ‘‘to the 6
297	297	greatest extent practicable’’ the fol-7
298	298	lowing: ‘‘(at no expense to the Gov-8
299	299	ernment)’’; and 9
300	300	(II) by striking ‘‘have counsel to 10
301	301	represent them’’ and inserting ‘‘have 11
302	302	access to counsel to represent them’’. 12
303	303	(2) E
304	304	FFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 13
305	305	by this section shall apply to any unaccompanied 14
306	306	alien child (as such term is defined in section 462(g) 15
307	307	of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 16
308	308	279(g))) apprehended on or after the date that is 30 17
309	309	days after the date of the enactment of this Act. 18
310	310	(b) S
311	311	PECIALIMMIGRANTJUVENILESTATUS FORIM-19
312	312	MIGRANTSUNABLETOREUNITEWITHEITHERPAR-20
313	313	ENT.—Section 101(a)(27)(J) of the Immigration and Na-21
314	314	tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(27)(J)) is amended— 22
315	315	(1) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘, and whose reuni-23
316	316	fication with 1 or both of the immigrant’s parents 24
317	317	VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:41 Feb 21, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H696.IH H696
318	318	ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 12
319	319	•HR 696 IH
320	320	is not viable due to abuse, neglect, abandonment, or 1
321	321	a similar basis found under State law’’; and 2
322	322	(2) in clause (iii)— 3
323	323	(A) in subclause (I), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 4
324	324	the end; 5
325	325	(B) in subclause (II), by inserting ‘‘and’’ 6
326	326	after the semicolon; and 7
327	327	(C) by adding at the end the following: 8
328	328	‘‘(III) an alien may not be grant-9
329	329	ed special immigrant status under this 10
330	330	subparagraph if the alien’s reunifica-11
331	331	tion with any one parent or legal 12
332	332	guardian is not precluded by abuse, 13
333	333	neglect, abandonment, or any similar 14
334	334	cause under State law;’’. 15
335	335	(c) R
336	336	ULE OFCONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec-16
337	337	tion shall be construed to limit the following procedures 17
338	338	or practices relating to an unaccompanied alien child (as 18
339	339	defined in section 462(g)(2) of the Homeland Security Act 19
340	340	of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 279(g)(2))): 20
341	341	(1) Screening of such a child for a credible fear 21
342	342	of return to his or her country of origin. 22
343	343	(2) Screening of such a child to determine 23
344	344	whether he or she was a victim of trafficking. 24
345	345	VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:41 Feb 21, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H696.IH H696
346	346	ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 13
347	347	•HR 696 IH
348	348	(3) Department of Health and Human Services 1
349	349	policy in effect on the date of the enactment of this 2
350	350	Act requiring a home study for such a child if he or 3
351	351	she is under 12 years of age. 4
352	352	SEC. 4. REPEAL OF CANCELLATION OF REMOVAL; ADJUST-5
353	353	MENT OF STATUS. 6
354	354	(a) R
355	355	EPEAL.—Section 240A of the Immigration and 7
356	356	Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1229b) is repealed. 8
357	357	(b) C
358	358	ONFORMINGAMENDMENTS.—The Immigration 9
359	359	and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.) is amended— 10
360	360	(1) in section 101(a)— 11
361	361	(A) in paragraph (13)(C)(v), by striking 12
362	362	‘‘or 240A(a)’’; and 13
363	363	(B) in paragraph (50), by striking ‘‘, 14
364	364	204(a)(1)(B)(ii)(II)(aa)(BB), or 15
365	365	240A(b)(2)(A)(i)(III)’’ and inserting ‘‘or 16
366	366	204(a)(1)(B)(ii)(II)(aa)(BB)’’; 17
367	367	(2) by striking section 201(b)(1)(D); 18
368	368	(3) in section 240— 19
369	369	(A) in subsection (b)(7), by striking 20
370	370	‘‘240A,’’; 21
371	371	(B) in subsection (c)(7)(C)(iv)(I), by strik-22
372	372	ing ‘‘clause (ii) or (iii) of section 204(a)(1)(B), 23
373	373	or 240A(b)(2)’’ and inserting ‘‘or clause (ii) or 24
374	374	(iii) of section 204(a)(1)(B)’’; and 25
375	375	VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:41 Feb 21, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H696.IH H696
376	376	ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 14
377	377	•HR 696 IH
378	378	(C) in subsection (e), by striking ‘‘and sec-1
379	379	tion 240A’’; 2
380	380	(4) in section 240B(d)— 3
381	381	(A) in paragraph (1)(B), by striking 4
382	382	‘‘240A,’’; and 5
383	383	(B) in paragraph (2)— 6
384	384	(i) by striking ‘‘240A or’’; and 7
385	385	(ii) by striking ‘‘under section 8
386	386	240A(b)(2), or’’; 9
387	387	(5) in section 242(a)(2)(B)(i), by striking 10
388	388	‘‘240A,’’; 11
389	389	(6) by striking section 244(e); 12
390	390	(7) in section 245(l)(7), by striking 13
391	391	‘‘240A(b)(2),’’ and 14
392	392	(8) by striking section 504(k)(3). 15
393	393	SEC. 5. PROHIBITED IDENTIFICATION DOCUMENTS FOR 16
394	394	AIR TRAVEL. 17
395	395	(a) P
396	396	ROHIBITEDIDENTIFICATIONDOCUMENTS AT 18
397	397	A
398	398	IRPORTSECURITYCHECKPOINTS.—The Administrator 19
399	399	of the Transportation Security Administration may not 20
400	400	accept as valid proof of identification a prohibited identi-21
401	401	fication document at an airport security checkpoint. 22
402	402	(b) P
403	403	ROHIBITION ONOPERATIONS FORCERTAINAIR 23
404	404	C
405	405	ARRIERS.— 24
406	406	VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:41 Feb 21, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H696.IH H696
407	407	ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 15
408	408	•HR 696 IH
409	409	(1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 401 of title 49, 1
410	410	United States Code, is amended by inserting after 2
411	411	section 40130 the following: 3
412	412	‘‘§ 40131. Prohibition on operations for air carriers 4
413	413	allowing use of prohibited identification 5
414	414	documents 6
415	415	‘‘An air carrier or foreign air carrier may not operate 7
416	416	an aircraft in foreign air transportation or land such air-8
417	417	craft at any airport in the United States if the air carrier 9
418	418	or foreign air carrier allows the use of a prohibited identi-10
419	419	fication document (as such term is defined in section 5 11
420	420	of the End Executive Branch Amnesty Act of 2025) as 12
421	421	identification to board such aircraft.’’. 13
422	422	(2) C
423	423	LERICAL AMENDMENT .—The analysis for 14
424	424	chapter 401 of title 49, United States Code, is 15
425	425	amended by inserting after the item relating to sec-16
426	426	tion 40130 the following: 17
427	427	‘‘40131. Prohibition on operations for air carriers allowing use of prohibited
428	428	identification documents.’’.
429	429	(c) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘prohib-18
430	430	ited identification document’’ means any of the following: 19
431	431	(1) The U.S. Customs and Border Protection 20
432	432	One Mobile App. 21
433	433	(2) A Notice to Appear issued by the Depart-22
434	434	ment of Homeland Security. 23
435	435	VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:41 Feb 21, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H696.IH H696
436	436	ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 16
437	437	•HR 696 IH
438	438	(3) A Notice to Report issued by the Depart-1
439	439	ment of Homeland Security. 2
440	440	SEC. 6. IMMIGRATION PAROLE REFORM. 3
441	441	(a) I
442	442	NGENERAL.—Section 212(d)(5) of the Immi-4
443	443	gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(d)(5)) is 5
444	444	amended to read as follows: 6
445	445	‘‘(5)(A) Except as provided in subparagraphs 7
446	446	(B) and (C) and section 214(f), the Secretary of 8
447	447	Homeland Security, in the discretion of the Sec-9
448	448	retary, may temporarily parole into the United 10
449	449	States any alien applying for admission to the 11
450	450	United States who is not present in the United 12
451	451	States, under such conditions as the Secretary may 13
452	452	prescribe, on a case-by-case basis, and not according 14
453	453	to eligibility criteria describing an entire class of po-15
454	454	tential parole recipients, for urgent humanitarian 16
455	455	reasons or significant public benefit. Parole granted 17
456	456	under this subparagraph may not be regarded as an 18
457	457	admission of the alien. When the purposes of such 19
458	458	parole have been served in the opinion of the Sec-20
459	459	retary, the alien shall immediately return or be re-21
460	460	turned to the custody from which the alien was pa-22
461	461	roled. After such return, the case of the alien shall 23
462	462	be dealt with in the same manner as the case of any 24
463	463	other applicant for admission to the United States. 25
464	464	VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:41 Feb 21, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H696.IH H696
465	465	ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 17
466	466	•HR 696 IH
467	467	‘‘(B) The Secretary of Homeland Security may 1
468	468	grant parole to any alien who— 2
469	469	‘‘(i) is present in the United States without 3
470	470	lawful immigration status; 4
471	471	‘‘(ii) is the beneficiary of an approved peti-5
472	472	tion under section 203(a); 6
473	473	‘‘(iii) is not otherwise inadmissible or re-7
474	474	movable; and 8
475	475	‘‘(iv) is the spouse or child of a member of 9
476	476	the Armed Forces serving on active duty. 10
477	477	‘‘(C) The Secretary of Homeland Security may 11
478	478	grant parole to any alien— 12
479	479	‘‘(i) who is a national of the Republic of 13
480	480	Cuba and is living in the Republic of Cuba; 14
481	481	‘‘(ii) who is the beneficiary of an approved 15
482	482	petition under section 203(a); 16
483	483	‘‘(iii) for whom an immigrant visa is not 17
484	484	immediately available; 18
485	485	‘‘(iv) who meets all eligibility requirements 19
486	486	for an immigrant visa; 20
487	487	‘‘(v) who is not otherwise inadmissible; and 21
488	488	‘‘(vi) who is receiving a grant of parole in 22
489	489	furtherance of the commitment of the United 23
490	490	States to the minimum level of annual legal mi-24
491	491	gration of Cuban nationals to the United States 25
492	492	VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:41 Feb 21, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H696.IH H696
493	493	ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 18
494	494	•HR 696 IH
495	495	specified in the U.S.-Cuba Joint Communique´ 1
496	496	on Migration, done at New York September 9, 2
497	497	1994, and reaffirmed in the Cuba-United 3
498	498	States: Joint Statement on Normalization of 4
499	499	Migration, Building on the Agreement of Sep-5
500	500	tember 9, 1994, done at New York May 2, 6
501	501	1995. 7
502	502	‘‘(D) The Secretary of Homeland Security may 8
503	503	grant parole to an alien who is returned to a contig-9
504	504	uous country under section 235(b)(2)(C) to allow 10
505	505	the alien to attend the alien’s immigration hearing. 11
506	506	The grant of parole shall not exceed the time re-12
507	507	quired for the alien to be escorted to, and attend, 13
508	508	the alien’s immigration hearing scheduled on the 14
509	509	same calendar day as the grant, and to immediately 15
510	510	thereafter be escorted back to the contiguous coun-16
511	511	try. A grant of parole under this subparagraph shall 17
512	512	not be considered for purposes of determining 18
513	513	whether the alien is inadmissible under this Act. 19
514	514	‘‘(E) For purposes of determining an alien’s eli-20
515	515	gibility for parole under subparagraph (A), an ur-21
516	516	gent humanitarian reason shall be limited to cir-22
517	517	cumstances in which the alien establishes that— 23
518	518	‘‘(i)(I) the alien has a medical emergency; 24
519	519	and 25
520	520	VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:41 Feb 21, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00018 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H696.IH H696
521	521	ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 19
522	522	•HR 696 IH
523	523	‘‘(II)(aa) the alien cannot obtain necessary 1
524	524	treatment in the foreign state in which the alien 2
525	525	is residing; or 3
526	526	‘‘(bb) the medical emergency is life-threat-4
527	527	ening and there is insufficient time for the alien 5
528	528	to be admitted through the normal visa process; 6
529	529	‘‘(ii) the alien is the parent or legal guard-7
530	530	ian of an alien described in clause (i) and the 8
531	531	alien described in clause (i) is a minor; 9
532	532	‘‘(iii) the alien is needed in the United 10
533	533	States in order to donate an organ or other tis-11
534	534	sue for transplant and there is insufficient time 12
535	535	for the alien to be admitted through the normal 13
536	536	visa process; 14
537	537	‘‘(iv) the alien has a close family member 15
538	538	in the United States whose death is imminent 16
539	539	and the alien could not arrive in the United 17
540	540	States in time to see such family member alive 18
541	541	if the alien were to be admitted through the 19
542	542	normal visa process; 20
543	543	‘‘(v) the alien is seeking to attend the fu-21
544	544	neral of a close family member and the alien 22
545	545	could not arrive in the United States in time to 23
546	546	attend such funeral if the alien were to be ad-24
547	547	mitted through the normal visa process; 25
548	548	VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:41 Feb 21, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H696.IH H696
549	549	ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 20
550	550	•HR 696 IH
551	551	‘‘(vi) the alien is an adopted child with an 1
552	552	urgent medical condition who is in the legal 2
553	553	custody of the petitioner for a final adoption-re-3
554	554	lated visa and whose medical treatment is re-4
555	555	quired before the expected award of a final 5
556	556	adoption-related visa; or 6
557	557	‘‘(vii) the alien is a lawful applicant for ad-7
558	558	justment of status under section 245 and is re-8
559	559	turning to the United States after temporary 9
560	560	travel abroad. 10
561	561	‘‘(F) For purposes of determining an alien’s eli-11
562	562	gibility for parole under subparagraph (A), a signifi-12
563	563	cant public benefit may be determined to result from 13
564	564	the parole of an alien only if— 14
565	565	‘‘(i) the alien has assisted (or will assist, 15
566	566	whether knowingly or not) the United States 16
567	567	Government in a law enforcement matter; 17
568	568	‘‘(ii) the alien’s presence is required by the 18
569	569	Government in furtherance of such law enforce-19
570	570	ment matter; and 20
571	571	‘‘(iii) the alien is inadmissible, does not 21
572	572	satisfy the eligibility requirements for admission 22
573	573	as a nonimmigrant, or there is insufficient time 23
574	574	for the alien to be admitted through the normal 24
575	575	visa process. 25
576	576	VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:41 Feb 21, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00020 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H696.IH H696
577	577	ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 21
578	578	•HR 696 IH
579	579	‘‘(G) For purposes of determining an alien’s eli-1
580	580	gibility for parole under subparagraph (A), the term 2
581	581	‘case-by-case basis’ means that the facts in each in-3
582	582	dividual case are considered and parole is not grant-4
583	583	ed based on membership in a defined class of aliens 5
584	584	to be granted parole. The fact that aliens are consid-6
585	585	ered for or granted parole one-by-one and not as a 7
586	586	group is not sufficient to establish that the parole 8
587	587	decision is made on a ‘case-by-case basis’. 9
588	588	‘‘(H) The Secretary of Homeland Security may 10
589	589	not use the parole authority under this paragraph to 11
590	590	parole an alien into the United States for any reason 12
591	591	or purpose other than those described in subpara-13
592	592	graphs (B), (C), (D), (E), and (F). 14
593	593	‘‘(I) An alien granted parole may not accept 15
594	594	employment, except that an alien granted parole 16
595	595	pursuant to subparagraph (B) or (C) is authorized 17
596	596	to accept employment for the duration of the parole, 18
597	597	as evidenced by an employment authorization docu-19
598	598	ment issued by the Secretary of Homeland Security. 20
599	599	‘‘(J) Parole granted after a departure from the 21
600	600	United States shall not be regarded as an admission 22
601	601	of the alien. An alien granted parole, whether as an 23
602	602	initial grant of parole or parole upon reentry into 24
603	603	the United States, is not eligible to adjust status to 25
604	604	VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:41 Feb 21, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00021 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H696.IH H696
605	605	ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 22
606	606	•HR 696 IH
607	607	lawful permanent residence or for any other immi-1
608	608	gration benefit if the immigration status the alien 2
609	609	had at the time of departure did not authorize the 3
610	610	alien to adjust status or to be eligible for such ben-4
611	611	efit. 5
612	612	‘‘(K)(i) Except as provided in clauses (ii) and 6
613	613	(iii), parole shall be granted to an alien under this 7
614	614	paragraph for the shorter of— 8
615	615	‘‘(I) a period of sufficient length to accom-9
616	616	plish the activity described in subparagraph 10
617	617	(D), (E), or (F) for which the alien was grant-11
618	618	ed parole; or 12
619	619	‘‘(II) 1 year. 13
620	620	‘‘(ii) Grants of parole pursuant to subparagraph 14
621	621	(A) may be extended once, in the discretion of the 15
622	622	Secretary, for an additional period that is the short-16
623	623	er of— 17
624	624	‘‘(I) the period that is necessary to accom-18
625	625	plish the activity described in subparagraph (E) 19
626	626	or (F) for which the alien was granted parole; 20
627	627	or 21
628	628	‘‘(II) 1 year. 22
629	629	‘‘(iii) Aliens who have a pending application to 23
630	630	adjust status to permanent residence under section 24
631	631	245 may request extensions of parole under this 25
632	632	VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:41 Feb 21, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00022 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H696.IH H696
633	633	ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 23
634	634	•HR 696 IH
635	635	paragraph, in 1-year increments, until the applica-1
636	636	tion for adjustment has been adjudicated. Such pa-2
637	637	role shall terminate immediately upon the denial of 3
638	638	such adjustment application. 4
639	639	‘‘(L) The total number of aliens granted parole 5
640	640	under this paragraph during any fiscal year may not 6
641	641	exceed 1,000. 7
642	642	‘‘(M) Not later than 90 days after the last day 8
643	643	of each fiscal year, the Secretary of Homeland Secu-9
644	644	rity shall submit to the Committee on the Judiciary 10
645	645	of the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary 11
646	646	of the House of Representatives and make available 12
647	647	to the public, a report— 13
648	648	‘‘(i) identifying the total number of aliens 14
649	649	paroled into the United States under this para-15
650	650	graph during the previous fiscal year; and 16
651	651	‘‘(ii) containing information and data re-17
652	652	garding all aliens paroled during such fiscal 18
653	653	year, including— 19
654	654	‘‘(I) the duration of parole; 20
655	655	‘‘(II) the type of parole; and 21
656	656	‘‘(III) the current status of the aliens 22
657	657	so paroled.’’. 23
658	658	(b) I
659	659	MPLEMENTATION.— 24
660	660	VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:41 Feb 21, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H696.IH H696
661	661	ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 24
662	662	•HR 696 IH
663	663	(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-1
664	664	graph (2), this section and the amendments made by 2
665	665	this section shall take effect on the date that is 30 3
666	666	days after the date of the enactment of this Act. 4
667	667	(2) E
668	668	XCEPTIONS.—Notwithstanding paragraph 5
669	669	(1), each of the following exceptions apply: 6
670	670	(A) Any application for parole or advance 7
671	671	parole filed by an alien before the date of the 8
672	672	enactment of this Act shall be adjudicated 9
673	673	under the law that was in effect on the date on 10
674	674	which the application was properly filed and 11
675	675	any approved advance parole shall remain valid 12
676	676	under the law that was in effect on the date on 13
677	677	which the advance parole was approved. 14
678	678	(B) Section 212(d)(5)(J) of the Immigra-15
679	679	tion and Nationality Act, as added by sub-16
680	680	section (a), shall take effect on the date of the 17
681	681	enactment of this Act. 18
682	682	(C) Aliens who were paroled into the 19
683	683	United States pursuant to section 212(d)(5)(A) 20
684	684	of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 21
685	685	U.S.C. 1182(d)(5)(A)) before January 1, 2023, 22
686	686	shall continue to be subject to the terms of pa-23
687	687	role that were in effect on the date on which 24
688	688	their respective parole was approved. 25
689	689	VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:41 Feb 21, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00024 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H696.IH H696
690	690	ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 25
691	691	•HR 696 IH
692	692	(c) CAUSE OFACTION.—Any person, State, or local 1
693	693	government that experiences financial harm in excess of 2
694	694	$1,000 due to a failure of the Federal Government to law-3
695	695	fully apply the provisions of this section or the amend-4
696	696	ments made by this section shall have standing to bring 5
697	697	a civil action against the Federal Government in an appro-6
698	698	priate district court of the United States for appropriate 7
699	699	relief. 8
700	700	(d) S
701	701	EVERABILITY.—If any provision of this section 9
702	702	or any amendment by this section, or the application of 10
703	703	such provision or amendment to any person or cir-11
704	704	cumstance, is held to be unconstitutional, the remainder 12
705	705	of this section and the application of such provision or 13
706	706	amendment to any other person or circumstance shall not 14
707	707	be affected. 15
708	708	Æ
709	709	VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:41 Feb 21, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00025 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H696.IH H696
710	710	ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS