United States S 819: Fairness for Immigrant Families Act

Bill Text

II
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION S. 819
To protect immigrant families, combat fraud, promote citizenship, and build
community trust, and for other purposes.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
MARCH 15, 2023
Ms. CORTEZ MASTO introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
A BILL
To protect immigrant families, combat fraud, promote citi-
zenship, and build community trust, and for other pur-
poses.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4
‘‘Fairness for Immigrant Families Act’’. 5
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 6
this Act is as follows: 7
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Findings.
Sec. 3. Definitions.
TITLE I—PROTECTING IMMIGRANT FAMILIES
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Subtitle A—Expansion of Admissibility
Sec. 101. Promoting family unity.
Sec. 102. Extension of the application period for certain aliens present in the
United States for adjustment of status.
Subtitle B—Relief From Removal
Sec. 111. Individuals previously removed.
Sec. 112. Expansion of cancellation of removal.
Sec. 113. Prohibition on removal of aliens with pending applications.
Sec. 114. Motions to reopen in cases involving fraud, negligence, misrepresenta-
tion, extortion, and unauthorized practice of law.
Subtitle C—Provisions Relating to Removal of Parents of United States
Citizens
Sec. 121. Review of and reporting on removal of parents of United States citi-
zens.
Sec. 122. Report on enforcement actions against parents of United States citi-
zens and DACA recipients.
Sec. 123. Report on United States citizens detained or deported.
Sec. 124. Protections for United States citizen children abroad.
TITLE II—COMBATING FRAUD AND PROMOTING CITIZENSHIP
Sec. 201. Combating immigration services fraud.
Sec. 202. Requirements for immigration consultants.
Sec. 203. Fee and backlog transparency.
Sec. 204. National Office for New Americans.
TITLE III—BUILDING COMMUNITY TRUST
Sec. 301. Protecting aliens who are victims of or witnesses to crimes or are de-
fending civil rights.
Sec. 302. Semiannual report on certain enforcement actions.
Sec. 303. Rule of construction.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 1
Congress makes the following findings: 2
(1) Immigration plays a defining role in the 3
identity of the United States. Families throughout 4
the United States have roots in the immigration ex-5
perience of earlier generations of immigrants who 6
came to the United States seeking better opportuni-7
ties, safety from persecution, and ultimately, a 8
chance at the American dream. 9
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(2) While the ancestors of some families arrived 1
centuries ago, other families are continuing that tra-2
dition today. Approximately 38,000,000 second-gen-3
eration Americans are living in the United States. 4
As of 2020, 17,800,000 children in the United 5
States, or 26 percent, lived with 1 or more immi-6
grant parents. Just over 1 in 4 residents of the 7
United States is an immigrant or the child of immi-8
grants. As of 2020, immigrants account for 13.7 9
percent of the United States population. 10
(3) In the United States— 11
(A) 16,700,000 individuals live in a house-12
hold with 1 or more family members who are 13
not authorized to be in the United States; 14
(B) 5,900,000 United States citizen chil-15
dren live in a household with 1 or more family 16
members who are not authorized to be in the 17
United States; and 18
(C) 8,000,000 United States citizens live 19
in a household with 1 or more family members 20
who are not authorized to be in the United 21
States. 22
(4) Children of immigrants are the future work-23
ers, leaders, voters, parents, and taxpayers of the 24
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United States and are critical to the health and well- 1
being of the United States. 2
(5) Second-generation Americans closely reflect 3
or exceed the national average household income, 4
homeownership rate, and college graduation rate. 5
(6) In their pursuit of the American dream, 6
generations of immigrant families have contributed 7
to their communities in the United States and will 8
continue to do so, including as essential workers who 9
keep the United States running at great risk to 10
themselves and their families. 11
(7) Immigrants play a critical role in the 12
United States economy, and providing a path to citi-13
zenship for undocumented immigrants is a necessary 14
part of maintaining the economic strength of the 15
United States