[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1499 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1499

To provide penalties for countries that systematically and unreasonably 
   refuse or delay repatriation of certain nationals, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 10, 2017

  Mr. Courtney (for himself and Mr. Woodall) introduced the following 
  bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in 
   addition to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, 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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To provide penalties for countries that systematically and unreasonably 
   refuse or delay repatriation of certain nationals, 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 ``Remedies for Refusal of Repatriation 
Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Appropriate committees of congress.--The term 
        ``appropriate committees of Congress'' means--
                    (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 
                Senate;
                    (B) the Committee on Homeland Security and 
                Governmental Affairs of the Senate;
                    (C) the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate;
                    (D) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House 
                of Representatives;
                    (E) the Committee on Homeland Security of the House 
                of Representatives; and
                    (F) the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of 
                Representatives.
            (2) Crime of violence.--The term ``crime of violence'' has 
        the meaning given that term in section 16 of title 18, United 
        States Code.
            (3) Felony.--The term ``felony'' means--
                    (A) a crime classified as a felony in the 
                convicting jurisdiction, excluding State or local 
                offenses for which an essential element was the alien's 
                immigration status; or
                    (B) in the case of an offense under section 276 of 
                the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1326), or 
                other Federal immigration-related offense that the 
                Secretary may designate by regulation, an offense for 
                which the term of imprisonment imposed on the defendant 
                exceeded 1 year.

SEC. 3. REMEDIES FOR SYSTEMATIC REFUSAL OF REPATRIATION.

    (a) Criteria for Systematic Refusal or Delay.--Not later than 60 
days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 
Homeland Security shall establish procedures for determining whether 
the government of a foreign country systematically and unreasonably 
refuses or delays the repatriation of nationals of such country who--
            (1) have been ordered removed from the United States; and
            (2)(A) have been convicted of a felony;
            (B) have been convicted of a crime of violence; or
            (C) are a threat to national security or public safety.
    (b) Requirements for Inclusion on Refusal or Delay List.--A country 
shall be deemed to systematically and unreasonably refuse or delay the 
repatriation of its nationals if--
            (1) the country refuses--
                    (A) to repatriate an individual described in 
                subsection (a) who has been ordered removed 
                notwithstanding the designation of such country as the 
                place to which the individual is to be removed by the 
                United States under section 241(b) of the Immigration 
                and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1231(b)); and
                    (B)(i) to secure and analyze all documents within 
                its control that could tend to identify the nationality 
                of such individual; or
                    (ii) to ensure that a government official capable 
                of determining that such individual is a national of 
                such country interviews such individual and, if 
                additional evidence is needed, such individual's 
                family; or
            (2) other factors indicate that the country systematically 
        and unreasonably refuses or delays the repatriation of 
        nationals of such country who are described in subsection (a) 
        and have been ordered removed to such country by the United 
        States.
    (c) Notification Requirements.--Upon determining that a country 
systematically and unreasonably refuses or delays repatriation of its 
nationals--
            (1) the Secretary of Homeland Security shall notify the 
        Secretary of State of such determination in writing not later 
        than 5 days after such determination; and
            (2) the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland 
        Security shall--
                    (A) meet concurrently with representatives of the 
                foreign government in the United States and in the 
                foreign country about such determination; and
                    (B) notify such representatives that the United 
                States may discontinue issuance of visas to nationals 
                of such country under section 243(d) of the Immigration 
                and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1253(d)).
    (d) Discontinuance of Visas.--In furtherance of section 243(d) of 
the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1253) and except as 
provided under subsection (e), if a country described in subsection (c) 
continues to systematically and unreasonably refuse or delay the 
repatriation of its nationals described in subsection (a) after 
receiving notification under subsection (c)(2)(B)--
            (1) the Secretary of Homeland Security shall notify the 
        Secretary of State that the country meets the criteria 
        described in section 243(d) of the Immigration and Nationality 
        Act (8 U.S.C. 1253(d)); and
            (2) the Secretary of State shall discontinue the issuance 
        of visas in accordance with such section.
    (e) Exception.--If the Secretary of Homeland Security determines 
that it is not in the interests of the United States to discontinue the 
issuance of visas to nationals of a country described in subsection 
(d), the Secretary of Homeland Security shall submit to the appropriate 
committees of Congress a report documenting the reasons for such 
determination.
    (f) Public Dissemination of Information.--The Secretary of Homeland 
Security and the Secretary of State shall list countries that 
systematically and unreasonably refuse or delay repatriation of their 
nationals described in subsection (a) on the Web sites of their 
respective departments.
    (g) Reports to Congress.--Not later than March 1 of each year, the 
Secretary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of State shall jointly 
submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report that--
            (1) identifies the countries that met the criteria 
        developed pursuant to subsection (a) in the previous calendar 
        year;
            (2) describes the actions taken by the Secretary of 
        Homeland Security and the Secretary of State after determining 
        that a country met the criteria developed pursuant to 
        subsection (a);
            (3) identifies the countries included in the notifications 
        described in subsections (c) and (d) and the actions taken by 
        the Secretary of State as a result of such notifications;
            (4) identifies the countries that do not meet the criteria 
        described in subsection (b), but have refused or delayed the 
        repatriation of their nationals; and
            (5) describes the actions taken by the Secretary of 
        Homeland Security and the Secretary of State with respect to 
        the countries described in paragraph (4).
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