3.0.0 2435 2023-01-11T13:32:20Z 2023-01-11T13:32:20Z Senate S 2015-12-18 114 ssju00 Judiciary Committee Senate Standing Referred to 2015-12-18T19:46:14Z 2015-12-18 ssju00 Judiciary Committee Senate Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. IntroReferral 2015-12-18 Introduced in Senate IntroReferral 10000 9 Library of Congress K000360 Sen. Kirk, Mark Steven [R-IL] MARK KIRK R IL STEVEN N C001047 Sen. Capito, Shelley Moore [R-WV] Shelley Capito R WV Moore 2015-12-18 True I000055 Sen. Isakson, Johnny [R-GA] Johnny Isakson R GA 2015-12-18 True T000476 Sen. Tillis, Thomas [R-NC] Thomas Tillis R NC Roland 2015-12-18 True W000437 Sen. Wicker, Roger F. [R-MS] Roger Wicker R MS F. 2015-12-18 True I000024 Sen. Inhofe, James M. [R-OK] Jim Inhofe R OK 2015-12-18 True Immigration Administrative law and regulatory procedures Afghanistan Asia Aviation and airports Border security and unlawful immigration Congressional oversight Criminal justice information and records Department of Homeland Security Foreign language and bilingual programs Fraud offenses and financial crimes Government studies and investigations Immigration status and procedures International organizations and cooperation Internet and video services Internet, web applications, social media Iraq Middle East Refugees, asylum, displaced persons Syria Terrorism Travel and tourism Visas and passports Immigration 00 2015-12-18 Introduced in Senate 2016-04-28T18:29:22Z Defend America Act of 2015

This bill prohibits, until the President certifies that specified provisions of this Act have been carried out, the refugee admission of any alien (covered alien) who is:

  • applying for admission to the United States as a refugee, and is a national or resident of Iraq or Syria, has no known nationality and whose last habitual residence was in Iraq or in Syria, or has been present in Iraq or in Syria at any time on or after March 1, 2011;
  • not a citizen of Iraq who is or was employed by or on behalf of the U.S. government in Iraq on or after March 20, 2003, for at least one year, and provided documented, valuable service to the U.S. government;
  • not the spouse or child of such alien; and
  • not an infant child without living parents who is younger than four years of age.

In addition to any Department of State or Department of Homeland Security (DHS) screenings, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) shall ensure that each covered alien receives a background investigation before U.S refugee admission.

A covered alien may:

  • not be admitted as a refugee until the FBI certifies to DHS and the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) that he or she has received a background investigation sufficient to determine whether the person is a U.S. security threat, and whether the person has provided support to any foreign terrorist organization; and
  • only be admitted to the United States after DHS, with the unanimous concurrence of the FBI and the DNI, certifies to Congress that the person is not such a threat.

The Inspector General of DHS shall conduct annual risk-based reviews of all certifications.

The Immigration and Nationality Act is amended to require the State Department, before a refugee's resettlement in a state, to give the governor specified personal information about the person.

The use of social media to promote terrorism shall be a grounds for inadmissibility.

Any alien shall be ineligible for visa waiver program participation who:

  • has been present, at any time on or after March 1, 2011, in Iraq or Syria, in a country designated as one that has repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism, or in any other country or area of concern designated by DHS; and
  • regardless of whether the alien is a national of a visa waiver program country, is a national of Iraq or Syria, a country designated as a country that has repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism, or any other country or area of concern.

Such prohibitions shall not apply to an alien who was present in such a country to perform military or official government service for a program country.

DHS may waive such prohibitions if in U.S. law enforcement or national security interests.

DHS shall review annually whether such prohibitions shall apply to any country or area, based on specified considerations.

A program country shall:

  • screen travelers to determine if they are using stolen or lost travel documents;
  • report the loss or theft of one of its national's passports to the United States within 24 hours;
  • with certain exceptions, certify to DHS that it is screening each entering or departing non-citizen or non-national for unlawful activity by using Interpol databases and notices, or other means designated by DHS;
  • enter into and comply with an agreement with the United States to assist in the operation of an air marshal program;
  • comply with U.S. aviation and airport security standards; and
  • certify that it issues to its citizens machine-readable, electronic passports that comply with the biometric and document identifying standards established by the International Civil Aviation Organization.

DHS may terminate a country's program status for noncompliance, subject to specified conditions for reinstatement.

By April 1, 2016, every citizen or national of a visa waiver program country who is cleared to travel to the United States under the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) shall possess a valid, unexpired, tamper-resistant, machine-readable passport that incorporates complying biometric and document authentication identifiers.

In determining whether to designate a country as a program country or whether a program country should retain its designation, DHS shall consider specified questions.

DHS shall:

  • evaluate program countries to identify those from which the admission of nationals would present a high risk to U.S. national security;
  • research opportunities to incorporate anti-fraud/deception technology into ESTA; and
  • collect from an applicant information on any additional or previous countries of citizenship, and consider such information when making admissions determinations.

The bill expresses the sense of Congress concerning establishment of electronic passport standards by the International Civil Aviation Organization.

The State Department shall prioritize the issuance of special immigrant visas for certain Iraqi and Afghan translators who worked with the U.S. government or Armed Forces.

]]> Defend America Act of 2015 Display Title Defend America Act of 2015 Official Title as Introduced A bill to ensure that each covered alien receives a thorough background investigation before such alien is admitted to the United States as a refugee, and for other purposes. Introduced in Senate IS Short Titles as Introduced Defend America Act of 2015 Introduced in Senate 2015-12-18T05:00:00Z https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BILLS-114s2435is/xml/BILLS-114s2435is.xml 2015-12-18 Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain. Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress This file contains bill summaries and statuses for federal legislation. A bill summary describes the most significant provisions of a piece of legislation and details the effects the legislative text may have on current law and federal programs. Bill summaries are authored by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) of the Library of Congress. As stated in Public Law 91-510 (2 USC 166 (d)(6)), one of the duties of CRS is "to prepare summaries and digests of bills and resolutions of a public general nature introduced in the Senate or House of Representatives". For more information, refer to the User Guide that accompanies this file.