[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2720 Placed on Calendar Senate (PCS)]






                                                       Calendar No. 605
110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2720

To withhold Federal financial assistance from each country that denies 
or unreasonably delays the acceptance of nationals of such country who 
 have been ordered removed from the United States and to prohibit the 
            issuance of visas to nationals of such country.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 5, 2008

  Mr. Specter introduced the following bill; which was read the first 
                                  time

                             March 6, 2008

            Read the second time and placed on the calendar

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To withhold Federal financial assistance from each country that denies 
or unreasonably delays the acceptance of nationals of such country who 
 have been ordered removed from the United States and to prohibit the 
            issuance of visas to nationals of such country.

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

SECTION 1. PROHIBITION ON FEDERAL FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO COUNTRIES 
              THAT DENY OR UNREASONABLY DELAY THE ACCEPTANCE OF 
              NATIONALS WHO HAVE BEEN ORDERED REMOVED FROM THE UNITED 
              STATES.

    Chapter 1 of part I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 
U.S.C. 2151 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 136. PROHIBITION ON FEDERAL FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO COUNTRIES 
              THAT DENY OR UNREASONABLY DELAY THE REPATRIATION OF 
              NATIONALS WHO HAVE BEEN ORDERED REMOVED FROM THE UNITED 
              STATES.

    ``(a) In General.--Except as otherwise provided under this section, 
funds made available under this Act may not be dispersed to a foreign 
country that refuses or unreasonably delays the acceptance of an alien 
who--
            ``(1) is a citizen, subject, national, or resident of such 
        country; and
            ``(2) has received a final order of removal under chapter 4 
        of title II of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
        1221 et seq.).
    ``(b) Defined Term.--In this section and in section 243(d) of the 
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1253(d)), a country is deemed 
to have refused or unreasonable delayed the acceptance of an alien who 
is a citizen, subject, national, or resident if the country does not 
accept the alien within 90 days of receiving a request to repatriate 
such alien from an official of the United States who is authorized to 
make such a request.
    ``(c) Quarterly Reports.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
enactment of this section, and every 3 months thereafter, the Secretary 
of Homeland Security shall submit a report to the Senate and the House 
of Representatives that--
            ``(1) lists all the countries which refuse or unreasonably 
        delay repatriation (as defined in subsection (b)); and
            ``(2) includes the total number of aliens who were refused 
        repatriation, organized by--
                    ``(A) country;
                    ``(B) detention status; and
                    ``(C) criminal status.
    ``(d) Issuance of Travel Documents.--If a country is listed in a 
report submitted under subsection (c), the country shall be subject to 
the sanctions described in subsection (a) and in section 243(d) of the 
Immigration and Nationality Act unless the country issues appropriate 
travel documents--
            ``(1) not later than 100 days after the submission of such 
        report on behalf of all aliens described in subsection (a) who 
        have been convicted of a crime committed while in the United 
        States; and
            ``(2) not later than 200 days after the submission of such 
        report on behalf of all other aliens described in subsection 
        (a).
    ``(e) Waiver.--
            ``(1) Request.--The President or a member of the 
        President's cabinet who has been designated by the President, 
        may submit a written request to Congress that this section be 
        waived, wholly or in part, with respect to any country.
            ``(2) Resolution of approval.--Not later than 7 legislative 
        days after the receipt of a waiver request under paragraph (1), 
        the Senate and the House of Representatives shall vote on a 
        joint resolution authorizing the waiver request.
            ``(3) Effect of failure to vote.--If the Senate or the 
        House of Representatives fails to vote on the joint resolution 
        described in paragraph (2) before the end of the time period 
        specified in paragraph (2), the waiver request is effectively 
        denied.
    ``(f) Standing.--A victim or an immediate family member of a victim 
of a crime committed by any alien described in subsection (a) after 
such alien has been issued a final order of removal shall have standing 
to sue in any Federal district court to enforce the provisions of this 
section and the provisions of section 243(d) of the Immigration and 
Nationality Act. No attorney's fees or monetary judgments may be 
awarded in a suit filed under this subsection.''.

SEC. 2. DISCONTINUING GRANTING VISAS TO NATIONALS OF COUNTRY DENYING OR 
              DELAYING ACCEPTING ALIENS.

    Section 243(d) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
1253(d)) is amended to read as follows:
    ``(d) Discontinuing Granting Visas to Nationals of Country Denying 
or Delaying Accepting Aliens.--
            ``(1) In general.--If a country is listed on the most 
        recent report submitted by the Secretary of Homeland Security 
        to Congress under section 136(c) of the Foreign Assistance Act 
        of 1961, the Secretary may not issue a visa to a subject, 
        national, or resident of such country unless--
                    ``(A) the country is in full compliance with 
                section 136(d) of such Act; or
                    ``(B) Congress passes a joint resolution providing 
                for the waiver of this subsection with respect to such 
                country.
            ``(2) Effect of unauthorized issuance.--Any visa issued in 
        violation of this paragraph shall be null and void.
            ``(3) Waiver.--
                    ``(A) Request.--The President or a member of the 
                President's cabinet who has been designated by the 
                President, may submit a written request to Congress 
                that this subsection be waived, wholly or in part, with 
                respect to any country.
                    ``(B) Resolution of approval.--Not later than 7 
                legislative days after the receipt of a request 
                described in subparagraph (A), the Senate and the House 
                of Representatives shall vote on a joint resolution 
                authorizing the waiver request.
                    ``(C) Effect of failure to vote.--If the Senate or 
                the House of Representatives fails to vote on the joint 
                resolution described in subparagraph (B), the waiver 
                request is effectively denied.
            ``(4) Standing.--A victim or an immediate family member of 
        a victim of a crime committed by any alien described in section 
        136(a) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 after such alien 
        has been issued a final order of removal shall have standing to 
        sue in any Federal district court to enforce the provisions of 
        this subsection. No attorney's fees or monetary judgments may 
        be awarded in a suit filed under this subsection.''.
                                                       Calendar No. 605

110th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                                S. 2720

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

To withhold Federal financial assistance from each country that denies 
or unreasonably delays the acceptance of nationals of such country who 
 have been ordered removed from the United States and to prohibit the 
            issuance of visas to nationals of such country.

_______________________________________________________________________

                             March 6, 2008

            Read the second time and placed on the calendar