S. 2106 — SECURE Act

This section establishes a new section 245B of the Immigration and Nationality Act authorizing the Secretary of Homeland Security to adjust the status of certain current and former temporary protected status (TPS) beneficiaries to that of lawful permanent residents, notwithstanding INA §245(c) restrictions on adjustment. (As background, TPS under INA §244 provides temporary protection from removal, work authorization, and other benefits to eligible nationals of designated foreign states facing armed conflict, environmental disasters, or other extraordinary temporary conditions.) Eligibility requires that the alien (1) is a national of a state ever designated for TPS; (2) is in TPS, previously held TPS, qualified for TPS on the date of the last designation or extension, or was present under deferred enforced departure (DED) extended or issued after September 28, 2016; (3) has at least three years of continuous U.S. physical presence (tolling short absences aggregating no more than 180 days; waivable for extreme hardship to the alien or family); and (4) is not inadmissible under specified health or public charge grounds, not deportable on criminal, security, or smuggling grounds, not a persecutor, passes background checks, and treats expunged rehabilitative convictions as non-convictions. Eligible aliens physically present in the United States (or previously removed or voluntarily departed after September 28, 2016, if continuously present for three years beforehand) may apply, paying a fee up to $1,440 (exempt for minors, those with income below 150% of the federal poverty line, foster youth lacking support, or those with serious chronic disabilities). Approval cancels any removal or voluntary departure order without requiring a motion to reopen; denial revives the order. A stay of removal applies to pending applications or prima facie eligible aliens intending to apply (except after final denial).

This section prohibits the Secretary of Homeland Security from disclosing or using information provided in applications for permanent resident status under new INA §245B (as added by section 2) for immigration enforcement and from referring approved applicants to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, or their designees. It permits limited sharing of such information with federal security and law enforcement agencies (1) to assist in application review, (2) to identify or prevent fraud, (3) for national security purposes, or (4) for investigation or prosecution of non-immigration felonies. It imposes a civil penalty of up to $10,000 on any person who knowingly violates these protections.

This section revises procedures under the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program—under which the Secretary of Homeland Security may designate certain foreign states whose nationals cannot safely return due to conditions such as armed conflict or natural disaster—for terminating a country's designation by (1) replacing references to the Attorney General with the Secretary of Homeland Security and requiring consideration of a recommendation from the Secretary of State received by the Secretary not later than 90 days before the designation period ends; and (2) requiring the Secretary, not later than three days after Federal Register publication of a termination determination, to report to the Senate and House Judiciary Committees on the initial designation events, the country's progress and challenges, any requests for designation or extension, and the country's repatriation capacity based on metrics including financial ability to support repatriated citizens and address designation conditions without foreign aid, gross domestic product, per capita gross domestic product, political stability, economic self-sufficiency, repatriation impacts, and other relevant factors.

This section (1) applies definitions under INA §101 (8 U.S.C. 1101) to terms used in this Act, except as otherwise provided; (2) includes a savings provision stating that the Act and its amendments do not repeal, amend, alter, modify, affect, or restrict the powers, duties, functions, or authority of the Secretary of Homeland Security to administer and enforce immigration laws; and (3) clarifies that an alien eligible for lawful permanent resident status under new INA §245B (as added by section 2 of this Act) is not precluded from seeking that status under any other applicable law.