§2.Grounds of inadmissibility and deportability for alien gang members
This section establishes new grounds of inadmissibility and deportability for aliens associated with criminal gangs and authorizes the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Attorney General, to designate a group, club, organization, or association of 5 or more persons as a criminal gang if it meets specified criteria. As background, the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) governs who may enter, remain in, or be removed from the United States.
The section adds a new INA definition of “criminal gang” to mean an ongoing group, club, organization, or association of 5 or more persons whose primary purposes include committing one or more listed offenses and whose members engage, or have engaged within the past 5 years, in a continuing series of such offenses, or that is designated by the Secretary as meeting those criteria. The listed offenses include: (1) a felony drug offense under 21 U.S.C. § 802; (2) alien smuggling and related offenses under 8 U.S.C. §§ 1324, 1327, and 1328; (3) a crime of violence under 18 U.S.C. § 16; (4) obstruction of justice, witness tampering or retaliation, or burglary; and (5) specified offenses involving identity fraud, trafficking in persons, racketeering, money laundering, and stolen vehicles or property under various provisions of title 18, as well as conspiracies to commit those offenses. The definition applies regardless of whether the offenses occurred before, on, or after enactment.
The section makes any alien inadmissible if a consular officer, the Secretary of Homeland Security, or the Attorney General knows or has reason to believe the alien is or has been a member of a criminal gang, or has participated in a criminal gang’s activities knowing, or having reason to know, that the activities will promote, further, aid, or support the gang’s illegal activity. It also makes any alien deportable on the same grounds.
The section adds a new INA section authorizing the Secretary, in consultation with the Attorney General, to designate a qualifying group of 5 or more persons as a criminal gang. Before making a designation, the Secretary must provide classified notice 7 days in advance to congressional leadership and relevant committees, and must publish the designation in the Federal Register 7 days after that notice. The Secretary must create an administrative record and may rely on classified information, which may be reviewed ex parte and in camera by a court during judicial review. A designation remains effective until revoked or set aside through judicial review, and the Secretary must review a designation upon petition after 2 years for a first petition.