3.0.0 2946 2024-07-24T15:22:27Z 2024-07-24T15:22:27Z House H HR 2023-04-27 118 [Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 71 (Thursday, April 27, 2023)][House]From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]By Mr. VICENTE GONZALEZ of Texas:H.R. 2946.Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuantto the following:Article 1, Section 8The single subject of this legislation is:To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to advancemeritorious asylum claims.[Page H2086]]]> hshm00 Homeland Security Committee House Standing hshm11 Border Security and Enforcement Subcommittee Referred to 2023-04-27T17:48:04Z Referred to 2023-04-27T13:07:10Z hsju00 Judiciary Committee House Standing Referred to 2023-04-27T13:07:05Z 2023-04-27 hshm11 Border Security and Enforcement Subcommittee 1 House committee actions Referred to the Subcommittee on Border Security and Enforcement. Committee 2023-04-27 Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Homeland Security, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned. IntroReferral H11100 2 House floor actions hshm00 Homeland Security Committee 2023-04-27 Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Homeland Security, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned. IntroReferral H11100 2 House floor actions hsju00 Judiciary Committee 2023-04-27 Introduced in House IntroReferral Intro-H 9 Library of Congress 2023-04-27 Introduced in House IntroReferral 1000 9 Library of Congress G000581 Rep. Gonzalez, Vicente [D-TX-34] Vicente Gonzalez D TX 34 N Immigration Border security and unlawful immigration 2023-12-12T16:00:23Z Guatemala 2023-12-12T16:00:23Z Immigration status and procedures 2023-12-12T16:00:23Z Infectious and parasitic diseases 2023-12-12T16:00:23Z Judges 2023-12-12T16:00:23Z Law enforcement officers 2023-12-12T16:00:23Z Mexico 2023-12-12T16:00:23Z Refugees, asylum, displaced persons 2023-12-12T16:00:23Z User charges and fees 2023-12-12T16:00:23Z Immigration 2023-05-16T19:45:19Z 00 2023-04-27 Introduced in House 2024-01-11T17:24:41Z Safe Zones Act of 2023

This bill makes changes to procedures relating to seeking asylum, including by establishing facilities outside of the United States to accept and process refugee applications to the United States.

Specifically, the Department of State must establish safe zones that accept applications for asylum from individuals who are nationals of (1) the country where that safe zone is located, or (2) a country next to the country where the safe zone is located. The State Department must establish at least three safe zones along the U.S.-Mexico border and one safe zone in Guatemala.

For each safe zone, the State Department must (1) ensure that it is fortified from danger; (2) provide temporary housing for individuals with pending applications; (3) provide adequate meals; and (4) provide access to various services, including medical services. The bill also imposes various requirements related to safe zones, including deadlines for processing applications.

The bill expands the definition of asylum officer (i.e., officers who conduct initial credible fear reviews to determine whether an asylum seeker's application may proceed) to include trained and qualified staff as determined by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). (In 2020, a federal court ruled that DHS may not use U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents to conduct such interviews.)

The bill also requires the hiring of additional border patrol agents and immigration judges.

]]> Safe Zones Act of 2023 Display Title 45 Safe Zones Act of 2023 2024-07-24T15:22:27Z Short Title(s) as Introduced 101 Safe Zones Act of 2023 2024-05-24T13:40:27Z Introduced in House IH Official Title as Introduced 6 To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to advance meritorious asylum claims, and for other purposes. 2024-03-18T20:41:46Z Introduced in House IH Introduced in House 2023-04-27T04:00:00Z https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BILLS-118hr2946ih/xml/BILLS-118hr2946ih.xml 2023-04-27 Referred to the Subcommittee on Border Security and Enforcement. 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.