[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3106 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3106

   To strengthen the law enabling the United States to expeditiously 
  remove terrorist criminals, to add flexibility with respect to the 
places to which aliens may be removed, to give sufficient authority to 
 the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Attorney General to remove 
 aliens who pose a danger to national security, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 17, 2003

  Mr. Smith of Texas (for himself, Mr. Forbes, Mr. King of Iowa, Mr. 
 Feeney, Mr. Carter, Mr. Gallegly, Mr. Goodlatte, Mrs. Blackburn, Mr. 
    Bartlett of Maryland, Mr. Jenkins, and Ms. Hart) introduced the 
  following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To strengthen the law enabling the United States to expeditiously 
  remove terrorist criminals, to add flexibility with respect to the 
places to which aliens may be removed, to give sufficient authority to 
 the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Attorney General to remove 
 aliens who pose a danger to national security, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Removal of Terrorist Criminal Aliens 
Act of 2003''.

SEC. 2. EXPEDITED REMOVAL OF TERRORIST CRIMINAL ALIENS.

    (a) In General.--Title II of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 
U.S.C. 1151 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 238 the 
following:

``SEC. 238A. EXPEDITED REMOVAL OF TERRORIST CRIMINAL ALIENS.

    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary of Homeland Security, in such 
Secretary's discretion, may in the case of an alien described in 
subsection (b), determine whether such alien is deportable and issue a 
final order of removal pursuant to the procedures set forth in this 
section.
    ``(b) Aliens Described.--An alien is described in this subsection 
if--
            ``(1) the alien, whether or not admitted into the United 
        States, was convicted of any criminal offense described in 
        paragraph (2), (3)(B), or (6) of section 237(a) (without regard 
        to the date of the commission of the offense); and
            ``(2) the Secretary of Homeland Security, in such 
        Secretary's discretion and in consultation with appropriate 
        heads of agencies of the executive branch, certifies that the 
        alien is engaged in any activity that endangers the national 
        security of the United States.
    ``(c) Execution of Order.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary of Homeland Security, in 
        such Secretary's discretion, may at any time execute any order 
        described in subsection (a), except--
                    ``(A) during the 14-day period commencing after the 
                date on which such order is issued, in order that the 
                alien has an opportunity to apply for judicial review 
                under section 242, unless this subparagraph is waived 
                by the alien; or
                    ``(B) if the removal has been stayed under section 
                242(f)(2).
            ``(2) Review.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 
        including section 2241 of title 28, United States Code, no 
        court other than a court of appeals pursuant to its 
        jurisdiction under section 242 of this Act shall have 
        jurisdiction to review or set aside any order, action, or 
        decision taken or issued pursuant to this section. Review in 
        the court of appeals shall be limited to determining whether 
        the petitioner is--
                    ``(A) an alien; and
                    ``(B) subject to a final judgment of conviction for 
                an offense described in paragraph (2), (3)(B), or (6) 
                of section 237(a).
    ``(d) Regulations.--Proceedings before the Secretary of Homeland 
Security under this section shall be in accordance with such 
regulations as such Secretary shall prescribe. Such regulations shall 
provide that--
            ``(1) the alien shall be given reasonable notice of the 
        grounds for removal alleged and of the opportunity described in 
        paragraph (3);
            ``(2) the alien shall have the privilege of being 
        represented (at no expense to the Government) by such counsel, 
        authorized to practice in such proceedings, as the alien shall 
        choose;
            ``(3) the alien shall have a reasonable opportunity to 
        inspect the evidence and rebut the charges that the alien is 
        subject to a final judgment of conviction for an offense 
        described in paragraph (2), (3)(B), or (6) of section 237(a);
            ``(4) a determination shall be made on the record that the 
        individual upon whom the notice for the proceeding under this 
        section is served (either in person or by mail) is, in fact, 
        the alien named in such notice;
            ``(5) a record shall be maintained for judicial review; and
            ``(6) the final order of removal may not be adjudicated by 
        the same person who issues the charges.
    ``(e) Eligibility for Certain Relief.--No alien described in 
subsection (b), regardless of whether the alien is subject to 
procedures under this section or to proceedings under section 240, 
shall be eligible for withholding under section 241(b)(3) or for any 
discretionary relief from removal under the immigration laws of the 
United States.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents for the Immigration 
and Nationality Act is amended by inserting after the item relating to 
section 238 the following:

``238A. Expedited removal of terrorist criminal aliens.''.

SEC. 3. ADDITIONAL REMOVAL AUTHORITIES.

    (a) In General.--Section 241(b) of the Immigration and Nationality 
Act (8 U.S.C. 1231(b)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1)--
                    (A) by striking ``Attorney General'' each place 
                such term appears and inserting ``Secretary of Homeland 
                Security'';
                    (B) in each of subparagraphs (A) and (B), by 
                striking the period at the end and inserting ``unless, 
                in the opinion of the Secretary of Homeland Security, 
                removing the alien to such country would be prejudicial 
                to the United States.''; and
                    (C) by amending subparagraph (C) to read as 
                follows:
                    ``(C) Alternative countries.--If the alien is not 
                removed to a country designated in subparagraph (A) or 
                (B), the Secretary of Homeland Security may, in such 
                Secretary's discretion, remove the alien to--
                            ``(i) the country of which the alien is a 
                        citizen, subject, or national, unless the 
                        country prevents the alien from entering the 
                        country upon the alien's removal there; or
                            ``(ii) any country whose government will 
                        accept the alien into that country.''; and
            (2) in paragraph (2)--
                    (A) by striking ``Attorney General'' each place 
                such term appears and inserting ``Secretary of Homeland 
                Security'';
                    (B) by amending subparagraph (D) to read as 
                follows:
                    ``(D) Alternative countries.--If the alien is not 
                removed to a country designated under subparagraph 
                (A)(i), the Secretary of Homeland Security may, in such 
                Secretary's discretion, remove the alien to a country 
                of which the alien is a subject, national, or citizen, 
                unless--
                            ``(i) the country prevents the alien from 
                        entering the country upon the alien's removal 
                        there; or
                            ``(ii) in the opinion of the Secretary of 
                        Homeland Security, removing the alien to the 
                        country would be prejudicial to the United 
                        States.''; and
                    (C) by amending subparagraph (E)(vii) to read as 
                follows:
                            ``(vii) Any country whose government will 
                        accept the alien into that country.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a) shall 
take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act and shall apply to 
any deportation, exclusion, or removal on or after such date pursuant 
to any deportation, exclusion, or removal order, regardless of whether 
such order is administratively final before, on, or after such date.

SEC. 4. REMOVAL OF ALIENS POSING A DANGER TO NATIONAL SECURITY.

    Section 237(a)(4) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
1227(a)(4)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(E) National security.--
                            ``(i) Aliens other than lawful permanent 
                        residents.--An alien, other than an alien 
                        lawfully admitted for permanent residence, 
                        whose presence or activities in the United 
                        States the Attorney General or the Secretary of 
                        Homeland Security has reason to believe poses 
                        or pose a danger to the national security of 
                        the United States (as defined in section 
                        219(c)(2)), is deportable.
                            ``(ii) Delegation.--Delegation by the 
                        Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland 
                        Security of authority to make determinations 
                        for the purpose of establishing deportability 
                        under this subparagraph shall be limited to the 
                        Deputy Attorney General and the Deputy 
                        Secretary of Homeland Security, respectively.
                            ``(iii) Best available information.--In 
                        making determinations for the purpose of 
                        establishing whether an alien is deportable 
                        under this subparagraph, the Attorney General 
                        or the Deputy Attorney General, and the 
                        Secretary of Homeland Security or Deputy 
                        Secretary of Homeland Security, may take into 
                        account the best available information from the 
                        intelligence community, including confidential 
                        or national security information, and shall 
                        consult with appropriate heads of agencies of 
                        the executive branch.
                            ``(iv) Judicial review.--A determination 
                        made under this subparagraph shall be affirmed 
                        if challenged in Federal court where a facially 
                        legitimate and bona fide reason in support of 
                        the determination is provided.
                            ``(v) Relief and withholding.--An alien who 
                        is deportable under this subparagraph shall not 
                        be eligible for any discretionary relief from 
                        removal or for withholding of removal under 
                        section 241(b)(3). Notwithstanding any other 
                        provision of law, including section 2241 of 
                        title 28, United States Code, no court shall 
                        have jurisdiction to review a denial of relief 
                        or withholding made pursuant to this clause.''.
                                 <all>