3.0.0 2915 2023-01-11T13:42:29Z 2023-01-11T13:42:29Z Senate S 2018-05-22 115 ssju00 Judiciary Committee Senate Standing Referred to 2018-05-22T20:52:28Z POWER Act 115 5908 HR 2018-07-24 Referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security. Related bill CRS 2018-05-22 ssju00 Judiciary Committee Senate Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. IntroReferral 2018-05-22 Introduced in Senate IntroReferral 10000 9 Library of Congress M000639 Sen. Menendez, Robert [D-NJ] Robert Menendez D NJ N B001277 Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT] Richard Blumenthal D CT 2018-05-22 True S000033 Sen. Sanders, Bernard [I-VT] Bernard Sanders I VT 2018-05-22 True C001113 Sen. Cortez Masto, Catherine [D-NV] Catherine Cortez Masto D NV 2018-05-22 True B001288 Sen. Booker, Cory A. [D-NJ] Cory Booker D NJ 2018-05-22 True Immigration Administrative remedies Crime victims Criminal investigation, prosecution, interrogation Employment discrimination and employee rights Foreign labor Immigration status and procedures Immigration 00 2018-05-22 Introduced in Senate 2019-01-29T16:16:16Z Protect Our Workers from Exploitation and Retaliation Act or the POWER Act

This bill amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to expand the nonimmigrant U-visa category (crime victims and their immediate family members) to include an alien who:

  • has suffered substantial abuse or harm resulting from a workplace violation claim;
  • is a victim of specified criminal activity or a workplace violation and would suffer extreme hardship upon removal;
  • has been helpful in a workplace violation investigation; or
  • has filed, is a material witness in, or is likely to be helpful in the investigation of, a workplace claim and reasonably fears, or has been the victim of, employer retaliation.

An alien who is a material witness in a workplace claim and who has been helpful in a related law enforcement action may remain and work temporarily in the United States.

In a Department of Homeland Security workplace enforcement action a detained alien: (1) who is necessary as a witness shall not be removed until the appropriate law enforcement agency is notified and has an opportunity to interview such individual, and (2) who is entitled to a stay or abeyance of removal shall not be removed.

An alien in removal proceedings who is a witness in a workplace claim or who has filed for U-visa status shall be entitled to a stay or abeyance of removal and permitted to work until the claim's disposition unless the alien has been convicted of a felony or filed a bad faith claim.

]]> POWER Act Display Title POWER Act Official Title as Introduced A bill to protect alien victims of crime or serious labor or employment violations from removal from the United States, and for other purposes. Introduced in Senate IS Short Titles as Introduced POWER Act Short Titles as Introduced Protect Our Workers from Exploitation and Retaliation Act Introduced in Senate 2018-05-22T04:00:00Z https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BILLS-115s2915is/xml/BILLS-115s2915is.xml 2018-05-22 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.