[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3372 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3372

 To require asylum officers to conduct credible fear screenings before 
 admitting aliens seeking asylum into the United States, to direct the 
    Secretary of Homeland Security to establish an alternatives to 
            detention pilot program, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            August 23, 2018

  Mr. Inhofe introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
               referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To require asylum officers to conduct credible fear screenings before 
 admitting aliens seeking asylum into the United States, to direct the 
    Secretary of Homeland Security to establish an alternatives to 
            detention pilot program, 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 ``Asylum Abuse Reduction Act''.

SEC. 2. ASYLUM INTERVIEWS.

    (a) Border Crossings.--If an alien who is seeking asylum in the 
United States attempts to enter the United States from Canada or Mexico 
at a land port of entry without a valid visa or other appropriate entry 
documents, the immigration officer who is inspecting such alien--
            (1) may not admit such alien into the United States; and
            (2) shall advise such alien to schedule an asylum hearing 
        with the most convenient United States embassy or consulate in 
        Canada or Mexico.
    (b) Credible Fear Screenings.--An alien described in subsection (a) 
may not be admitted into the United States unless an asylum officer 
stationed at a United States embassy or consulate--
            (1) has conducted an in-person interview with the alien; 
        and
            (2) as a result of the interview conducted under paragraph 
        (1), has concluded that the alien--
                    (A) has been persecuted in the alien's country of 
                origin on account of the alien's race, religion, 
                nationality, membership in a particular social group, 
                or political opinion if the alien returned to such 
                country; or
                    (B) would be subject to torture if the alien 
                returned to his or her country of origin.

SEC. 3. CRIMINAL BENCH WARRANTS.

    (a) Issuance.--Each Federal judicial district shall appoint at 
least 1 magistrate or district court judge who, upon a showing of 
probable cause, shall issue a warrant of arrest for a violation of 
section 243(a)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
1253(a)(1)).
    (b) Probable Cause.--A warrant of removal issued under any 
provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et 
seq.) that has been in existence 90 days or more shall constitute prima 
facie evidence of probable cause to issue a warrant under subsection 
(a).

SEC. 4. ALTERNATIVES TO DETENTION PILOT PROGRAM.

    (a) Establishment.--The Secretary of Homeland Security, in 
consultation with the Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs 
Enforcement, shall establish an alternatives to detention pilot program 
in which aliens may be released to the supervision of a qualified 
organization that has entered into a contract with the Federal 
Government to facilitate the compliance of such aliens with all stages 
of the immigration proceedings.
    (b) Requirements.--An alien may not participate in the pilot 
program established under subsection (a) unless the alien--
            (1) certifies that he or she will comply with all stages of 
        the immigration proceedings, including removal, if ordered;
            (2) acknowledges that he or she is only entitled to a 
        single appeal of a decision by an immigration judge; and
            (3) signs a privacy waiver.
    (c) Consequences of Breach.--An alien who fails to comply with the 
requirements under subsection (b) may be subjected to a warrant of 
arrest, detention, and expedited removal proceedings.
    (d) Performance Metrics.--The Secretary of Homeland Security, in 
consultation with the Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs 
Enforcement, shall develop performance metrics to ensure that 
organizations that enter into a contract pursuant to subsection (a) are 
complying with performance standards. Such metrics should include, with 
respect to aliens released to the supervision of an organization--
            (1) absconsion rate;
            (2) arrest rate;
            (3) rate of completion of immigration case, include 
        removal; and
            (4) other metrics that the Secretary determines are related 
        to compliance with performance standards.
    (e) Penalties.--If an organization that has entered into a contract 
pursuant to subsection (a) fails to comply with the performance 
standards required by such contract, the Secretary may--
            (1) require funds paid to the organization for any period 
        of noncompliance to be returned;
            (2) terminate the contract with the organization; or
            (3) impose any other penalty authorized by the contract.
    (f) Report.--The Secretary of Homeland Security shall submit a 
report to the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate, the Committee 
on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate, the 
Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives, and the 
Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives on the 
implementation of the alternatives to detention pilot program 
established under this section.
                                 <all>