[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 177 (Thursday, October 7, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S7001]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. PADILLA (for himself, Ms. Hirono, Mr. Booker, Ms. Warren, 
        Mr. Sanders, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Markey, Mr. 
        Whitehouse, and Ms. Baldwin):
  S. 2954. A bill to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to alter 
the definition of ``conviction'', and for other purposes; to the 
Committee on the Judiciary.
  Mr. PADILLA. Mr. President, I rise to introduce the Fair 
Adjudications for Immigrants Act. This legislation would ensure that 
immigrants with criminal convictions do not face barriers to 
naturalization and experience unfair removals after their convictions 
have been dismissed, expunged, or pardoned by a Federal or State 
locality.
  What the bill would do. The Fair Adjudications for Immigrants Act is 
important in ensuring immigrants are not unjustly treated after 
receiving a criminal charge that never resulted in a conviction or 
after a previous conviction no longer stands.
  Specifically, this bill would ensure that immigrants whose 
convictions have been overturned are not penalized when they are no 
longer considered valid in the court of conviction or for sentences 
that have been fully suspended by the sentencing court.
  By redefining the term ``conviction'' in the Immigration and 
Nationality Act, this legislation also clarifies that any adjudication 
that is appealable or in which the court has issued a judicial 
recommendation against removal or probation without judgment will not 
count as a conviction.
  The bill would apply retroactively to any conviction, adjudication, 
or judgement entered before, on, or after the enactment of this bill. 
Finally, it establishes that an immigrant cannot be removed on the 
basis of a conviction if the sentencing court issues a recommendation 
against removal to the Secretary of Homeland Security.
  Why the bill is needed. Under current law, rather than having access 
to many rehabilitative measures that are afforded in the criminal 
justice system, immigrants with dismissed criminal charges, suspended 
sentences, or criminal convictions that are no longer considered valid 
in the court of conviction still face severe consequences in the 
immigration court system.
  Some of the immigration consequences that immigrants can face include 
unjust removals, mandatory detention, and barriers to naturalization.
  It is imperative that we resolve this disparity between immigration 
and criminal law to prevent those immigrants with dismissed criminal 
charges or with convictions that are no longer considered valid in the 
court of conviction from continuing to face punitive immigration 
consequences.
                                 ______