[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 398 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 398
To transfer and limit Executive Branch authority to suspend or restrict
the entry of a class of aliens.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 4, 2025
Mr. Coons (for himself, Mr. Whitehouse, Mr. King, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr.
Booker, Mr. Van Hollen, Mrs. Shaheen, Ms. Duckworth, Mr. Kaine, Ms.
Cortez Masto, Mr. Schiff, Mr. Hickenlooper, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Wyden, Ms.
Baldwin, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Padilla, Mr. Schatz, Mr. Markey,
Ms. Hirono, Mr. Warner, Mr. Welch, Mr. Lujan, Ms. Cantwell, Mr. Peters,
Ms. Warren, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. Bennet, Ms. Smith, and Mr. Kim)
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To transfer and limit Executive Branch authority to suspend or restrict
the entry of a class of aliens.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLES.
This Act may be cited as the ``National Origin-Based
Antidiscrimination for Nonimmigrants Act'' or the ``NO BAN Act''.
SEC. 2. EXPANSION OF NONDISCRIMINATION PROVISION.
Section 202(a)(1)(A) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8
U.S.C. 1152(a)(1)(A)) is amended--
(1) by striking ``Except as specifically provided in
paragraph (2) and in sections 101(a)(27), 201(b)(2)(A)(i), and
203, no'' and inserting ``No'';
(2) by inserting ``or a nonimmigrant visa, admission or
other entry into the United States, or the approval or
revocation of any immigration benefit'' after ``immigrant
visa'';
(3) by inserting ``religion,'' after ``sex,''; and
(4) by inserting before the period at the end the
following: ``, except as specifically provided in paragraph (2)
and sections 101(a)(27), 201(b)(2)(A)(i), and 203, if otherwise
expressly required by statute, or if a statutorily authorized
benefit takes into consideration such factors''.
SEC. 3. TRANSFER AND LIMITATIONS ON AUTHORITY TO SUSPEND OR RESTRICT
THE ENTRY OF A CLASS OF ALIENS.
Section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.
1182(f)) is amended to read as follows:
``(f) Authority To Suspend or Restrict the Entry of a Class of
Aliens.--
``(1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), if the
Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of
Homeland Security, determines, based on specific and credible
facts, that the entry of any aliens or class of aliens into the
United States would undermine the security or public safety of
the United States or the preservation of human rights,
democratic processes or institutions, or international
stability, the President may temporarily--
``(A) suspend the entry of such aliens or class of
aliens as immigrants or nonimmigrants; or
``(B) impose any restrictions on the entry of such
aliens that the President deems appropriate.
``(2) Limitations.--In carrying out paragraph (1), the
President, the Secretary of State, and the Secretary of
Homeland Security shall--
``(A) only issue a suspension or restriction when
required to address specific acts implicating a
compelling government interest in a factor identified
under paragraph (1);
``(B) narrowly tailor such suspension or
restriction, using the least restrictive means, to
achieve such compelling government interest;
``(C) specify the duration of such suspension or
restriction;
``(D) consider waivers to any class-based
restriction or suspension and apply a rebuttable
presumption in favor of granting family-based and
humanitarian waivers; and
``(E) comply with all provisions of this Act.
``(3) Congressional notification.--
``(A) In general.--Before the President may
exercise the authority under paragraph (1), the
Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland
Security shall consult with Congress and provide
Congress with specific evidence supporting the need for
the proposed suspension or restriction and its proposed
duration.
``(B) Briefing and report.--Not later than 48 hours
after the President exercises the authority under
paragraph (1), the Secretary of State and the Secretary
of Homeland Security shall provide a briefing and
submit a written report to Congress that describes--
``(i) the action taken pursuant to
paragraph (1) and the specified objective of
such action;
``(ii) the estimated number of individuals
who will be impacted by such action;
``(iii) the constitutional and legislative
authority under which such action took place;
and
``(iv) the circumstances necessitating such
action, including how such action complies with
paragraph (2) and any intelligence informing
such actions.
``(C) Termination.--If the briefing and report
described in subparagraph (B) are not provided to
Congress during the 48-hour period beginning when the
President exercises the authority under paragraph (1),
the suspension or restriction shall immediately
terminate absent intervening congressional action.
``(D) Defined term.--In this paragraph, the term
`Congress' means--
``(i) the Select Committee on Intelligence
of the Senate;
``(ii) the Committee on Foreign Relations
of the Senate;
``(iii) the Committee on the Judiciary of
the Senate;
``(iv) the Committee on Homeland Security
and Governmental Affairs of the Senate;
``(v) the Permanent Select Committee on
Intelligence of the House of Representatives;
``(vi) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of
the House of Representatives;
``(vii) the Committee on the Judiciary of
the House of Representatives; and
``(viii) the Committee on Homeland Security
of the House of Representatives.
``(4) Publication.--The Secretary of State and the
Secretary of Homeland Security shall publicly announce and
publish an unclassified version of the report described in
paragraph (3)(B) in the Federal Register.
``(5) Judicial review.--
``(A) In general.--Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, an individual or entity who is
present in the United States and has been harmed by a
violation of this subsection may file an action in an
appropriate district court of the United States to seek
declaratory or injunctive relief.
``(B) Class action.--Nothing in this Act may be
construed to preclude an action filed pursuant to
subparagraph (A) from proceeding as a class action.
``(6) Treatment of commercial airlines.--Whenever the
Secretary of Homeland Security determines that a commercial
airline has failed to comply with regulations of the Secretary
of Homeland Security relating to requirements of airlines for
the detection of fraudulent documents used by passengers
traveling to the United States (including the training of
personnel in such detection), the Secretary of Homeland
Security may suspend the entry of some or all aliens
transported to the United States by such airline.
``(7) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this subsection may
be construed as authorizing the President, the Secretary of
State, or the Secretary of Homeland Security to act in a manner
inconsistent with the policy decisions expressed in the
immigration laws.''.
SEC. 4. VISA APPLICANTS REPORT.
(a) Initial Reports.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in
coordination with the Secretary of Homeland Security and the
heads of other relevant Federal agencies, shall submit a report
to the congressional committees referred to in section
212(f)(3)(D) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended
by section 3, that describes the implementation of Presidential
Proclamations 9645, 9822, and 9983 and Executive Order Nos.
13769, 13780, and 13815, during the effective period of each
such proclamation and order.
(2) Presidential proclamations 9645 and 9983.--In addition
to the content described in paragraph (1), the report submitted
with respect to Presidential Proclamation 9645, issued on
September 24, 2017, and Presidential Proclamation 9983, issued
on January 31, 2020, shall include, for each country listed in
such proclamation--
(A) the total number of individuals who applied for
a visa during the period the proclamation was in
effect, disaggregated by country and visa category;
(B) the total number of visa applicants described
in subparagraph (A) who were approved, disaggregated by
country and visa category;
(C) the total number of visa applicants described
in subparagraph (A) whose applications were denied,
disaggregated by country and visa category, and the
reasons for such denials;
(D) the total number of visa applicants described
in subparagraph (A) whose applications remain pending,
disaggregated by country and visa category;
(E) the total number of visa applicants described
in subparagraph (A) who were granted a waiver,
disaggregated by country and visa category;
(F) the total number of visa applicants described
in subparagraph (A) who were denied a waiver,
disaggregated by country and visa category, and the
reasons such waiver requests were denied;
(G) the total number of refugees admitted,
disaggregated by country; and
(H) the complete reports that were submitted to the
President every 180 days in accordance with section 4
of Presidential Proclamation 9645 in its original form,
and as amended by Presidential Proclamation 9983.
(b) Additional Reports.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 30 days after the date on
which the President exercises the authority under section
212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.
1182(f)), as amended by section 3, and every 30 days
thereafter, the Secretary of State, in coordination with the
Secretary of Homeland Security and heads of other relevant
Federal agencies, shall submit a report to the congressional
committees referred to in paragraph (3)(D) of such section
212(f) that identifies, with respect to countries affected by a
suspension or restriction--
(A) the information described in subparagraphs (A)
through (G) of subsection (a)(2); and
(B) the specific evidence supporting the need for
the continued exercise of presidential authority under
such section 212(f), including the information
described in paragraph (3)(B) of such section 212(f).
(2) Failure to submit timely report.--If the Secretary of
State fails to provide any report required under paragraph (1)
to the appropriate congressional committees by the specified
deadline, the suspension or restriction of any aliens or class
of aliens pursuant to such section 212(f) shall immediately
terminate absent intervening congressional action.
(3) Final report.--Not later than 30 days after the
termination of a suspension or restriction of any aliens or
class of aliens pursuant to such section 212(f), the Secretary
of State, in coordination with the Secretary of Homeland
Security and the heads of other relevant Federal agencies,
shall prepare and submit a final report to the congressional
committees referred to in paragraph (3)(D) of such section
containing the information and evidence described in
subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (1).
(c) Form; Availability.--The reports required under subsections (a)
and (b) shall be made publicly available online in unclassified form.
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