119 S2036 IS: Putting American Students First Act
U.S. Senate
2025-06-11
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II
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2036
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 11, 2025
Mr. Banks introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
A BILL
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to establish immigration and residency requirements for individuals served by Federal TRIO programs, and for other purposes.
1.

Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Putting American Students First Act”.
2.

Eligibility for participation in Federal TRIO programs
(a)

Eligibility
Section 402A of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a–11) is amended—
(1)
by redesignating subsections (f) through (h) as subsections (g) through (i), respectively; and
(2)
by inserting after subsection (e) the following:
“(f)

Citizenship and residency requirements
(1)

In general
To be eligible to participate in a program that receives assistance under this chapter, an individual shall be—
(A)
a national of the United States (as defined in paragraph (22) of section 101(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)));
(B)
an alien (as defined in paragraph (3) of such section) lawfully admitted for permanent residence (as defined in paragraph (20) of such section);
(C)
an alien (as defined in paragraph (3) of such section) who is physically present in the United States (as defined in paragraph (38) of such section) for other than a temporary purpose and who is able to provide evidence from the Secretary of Homeland Security of the alien’s intent to become lawfully admitted for permanent residence (as defined in paragraph (20) of such section);
(D)
a citizen of one of the Freely Associated States lawfully residing in the United States in accordance with the Compact of Free Association set forth in section 201 of the Compact of Free Association Act of 1985 (48 U.S.C. 1901 note; Public Law 99–239) or the Compact of Free Association set forth in section 201 of Public Law 99–658 (48 U.S.C. 1931 note);
(E)
an alien having CNMI Resident status under section 6(e)(6) of the Joint Resolution entitled “A Joint Resolution to approve the Covenant To Establish a Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in Political Union with the United States of America, and for other purposes”, approved March 24, 1976 (48 U.S.C. 1806); or
(F)
a lawful resident of one of the Freely Associated States.
(2)

Waiver prohibited
The requirement under paragraph (1) may not be waived under—
(A)
any provision of section 523 of Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2024 (Public Law 118–47);
(B)
any of the authorities provided by any of the laws referred to in subsection (b) of such section 523; or
(C)
any other authority provided in any law—
(i)
to carry out, or participate in, a Performance Partnership Pilot (as defined in section 526(a)(1) of the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2014 (42 U.S.C. 12301 note)); or
(ii)
that allows additional time to operate, or participate in, a Performance Partnership Pilot site selected on or before the date of the enactment of such law.”.
(b)

Conforming amendments
The Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1011 et seq.) is further amended—
(1)
in section 318(b) (20 U.S.C. 1059e(b)), by striking “section 402A(h)” each place it appears and inserting “section 402A(i)”;
(2)
in section 371(c) (20 U.S.C. 1067q(c)), by striking “section 402A(h)” each place it appears and inserting “section 402A(i)”;
(3)
in section 402E(g) (20 U.S.C. 1070a–15(g)), by striking “section 402A(g)” and inserting “section 402A(h)”; and
(4)
in section 402H (20 U.S.C. 1070a–18), by striking “section 402A(f)(4)” each place it appears and inserting “section 402A(g)(4)”.