Bill > HR2366

This bill aims to provide additional discretionary authority to immigration officials to help keep families of U.S. citizens together. Specifically, the bill allows the Attorney General and Secretary of Homeland Security to exercise discretion in immigration proceedings involving spouses and children of U.S. citizens. They can terminate removal proceedings, decline to order removal, grant permission to reapply for admission, or waive certain grounds of inadmissibility or deportability if doing so would prevent hardship to the U.S. citizen's family. The bill creates a presumption that family separation itself constitutes hardship. It also provides special considerations for widows, widowers, and children of deceased U.S. citizens, allowing them to seek relief within two years of the citizen's death or under extraordinary circumstances. The bill includes some exclusions for individuals with certain serious criminal backgrounds or specific immigration violations. Additionally, the bill allows individuals whose immigration petitions were previously denied to file motions to reopen their cases within two years of the act's enactment, provided they can demonstrate that the new law would have changed the outcome of their original application. The bill emphasizes that these discretionary powers must be exercised on a case-by-case basis and does not broadly limit existing immigration enforcement authorities.

Justice

https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/2366/all-info