[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3611 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3611

To require the Secretary of Homeland Security to submit to Congress an 
annual report on immigration policy directives issued by the Department 
  of Homeland Security, to ensure that each such policy directive is 
subject to the rule making process described in section 553 of title 5, 
              United States Code, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 21, 2013

   Mr. Perry (for himself, Mr. Barletta, Mrs. Bachmann, Mr. Smith of 
Texas, Mr. Stewart, Mr. Cotton, and Mr. Gingrey of Georgia) introduced 
    the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the 
                               Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To require the Secretary of Homeland Security to submit to Congress an 
annual report on immigration policy directives issued by the Department 
  of Homeland Security, to ensure that each such policy directive is 
subject to the rule making process described in section 553 of title 5, 
              United States Code, 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 ``DHS Immigration Accountability and 
Transparency Act of 2013''.

SEC. 2. TRANSPARENCY REQUIREMENT FOR IMMIGRATION POLICY DIRECTIVES.

    (a) Reporting Requirement.--The Secretary of Homeland Security 
shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Homeland Security of the 
House of Representatives an annual report on immigration policy 
directives.
    (b) Matters Covered.--The report required by subsection (a) shall 
include, at a minimum--
            (1) statistics on the removal of aliens from the United 
        States during the 10-year period preceding the date of 
        submission of the report, including the number of aliens placed 
        in removal proceedings but not removed;
            (2) statistics and a cost-benefit analysis regarding the 
        use of Federal funds to implement each immigration policy 
        directive issued by the Department of Homeland Security during 
        the period beginning on January 20, 2009, and ending on the 
        date of submission of the report;
            (3) the number of aliens unlawfully present or without 
        lawful status in the United States with an immigration status 
        that was modified or otherwise adjusted as a result of each 
        such policy directive, including an identification of the new 
        status assigned to each such alien;
            (4) the number of aliens unlawfully present or without 
        lawful status in the United States who applied for and were 
        denied relief as a result of each such policy directive, and 
        the percentage of such aliens against whom removal proceedings 
        were initiated;
            (5) for each alien denied relief under paragraph (4) 
        against whom removal proceedings were not initiated, an 
        explanation of why such action was not taken and a listing of 
        the final determination made in such alien's case, if any;
            (6) the number of cases in the Executive Office for 
        Immigration Review of the Department of Justice that were 
        administratively closed as a result of each such policy 
        directive and an identification of the new status or statuses 
        assigned to the aliens in such cases;
            (7) statistics on aliens unlawfully present or without 
        lawful status in the United States released from prisons or 
        administrative detention centers since January 20, 2009, 
        including--
                    (A) the number of such aliens convicted or formally 
                accused of a violent crime; and
                    (B) the number of such aliens released in each 
                State; and
            (8) detailed information on the methods used to compile and 
        calculate the information described in paragraphs (1), (2), 
        (3), (4), (5), (6), and (7).
    (c) Public Availability.--The report required by subsection (a) 
shall be made publicly available.
    (d) Reporting Deadline.--The Secretary shall submit the first 
report required by subsection (a) not later than 90 days after the date 
of the enactment of this Act.
    (e) Removal of Aliens From the United States.--In this Act, the 
term ``removal of aliens from the United States'' does not include 
individuals who are denied admission upon being inspected by an 
immigration officer at the border of the United States.

SEC. 3. ACCOUNTABILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR IMMIGRATION POLICY DIRECTIVES.

    (a) Treatment of an Immigration Policy Directive as a Rule.--For 
purposes of chapters 5, 6, 7, and 8 of title 5, United States Code, an 
immigration policy directive shall be treated as a rule.
    (b) Notice Requirement.--In publishing a general notice of proposed 
rule making as required under section 553 of title 5, United States 
Code, for an immigration policy directive, the Secretary of Homeland 
Security shall include a report that--
            (1) describes with reasonable detail the actions the 
        Department of Homeland Security plans to take to implement and 
        enforce the policy directive;
            (2) indicates whether the policy directive states a new or 
        changed policy regarding the enforcement of any Federal law, 
        and if so, provides a citation to such law; and
            (3) estimates the number of aliens present in the United 
        States with an immigration status that will be modified as a 
        result of the policy directive and identifies the new status or 
        statuses to be assigned to such aliens.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Immigration policy directive.--The term ``immigration 
        policy directive'' means any communication that is not a rule, 
        issued by the Department of Homeland Security or any agency or 
        office within the Department, regarding the administration or 
        enforcement of immigration law or policy, including memoranda, 
        statements, and guidance documents.
            (2) Rule.--The term ``rule'' has the meaning provided in 
        section 551 of title 5, United States Code.
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