[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 119 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. CON. RES. 119
Expressing the sense of Congress that wrongfully or unjustly deported
people who have established significant ties through years of life in
the United States deserve a chance to come home to reunite with loved
ones through a fair and central process within the Department of
Homeland Security.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 10, 2024
Mr. Cleaver (for himself, Mr. Espaillat, Mr. Trone, Mr. Grijalva, Ms.
Barragan, Mr. Vargas, Ms. Wilson of Florida, Ms. Williams of Georgia,
Mrs. Ramirez, Mrs. Watson Coleman, Ms. Velazquez, Ms. Jackson Lee, Ms.
Norton, and Mr. McGovern) submitted the following concurrent
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of Congress that wrongfully or unjustly deported
people who have established significant ties through years of life in
the United States deserve a chance to come home to reunite with loved
ones through a fair and central process within the Department of
Homeland Security.
Whereas the United States has deported over 2,000,000 people in the last 10
years, and not every deportation was fair, just, or accurate under
Federal law;
Whereas many of those wrongfully or unjustly deported have resided in the United
States for years or even decades, raising their families, building their
own businesses, and contributing to their communities and the United
States economy;
Whereas the Supreme Court recognizes deportation to be a ``particularly harsh
penalty'' and ``the severity of deportation'' as ``the equivalent of
banishment or exile'' (Padilla v. Kentucky, 559 U.S. 356 at 365, 373
(2010));
Whereas nearly all people who were deported on the basis of an unjust removal
order, or who have a new claim to lawful status since their deportation,
have no avenue to meaningfully present their case to return home and
reunite with their loved ones in the United States;
Whereas Congress offers limited, but critical, procedures within United States
immigration law for allowing wrongfully or unjustly deported people to
seek return to the United States following deportation, but in practice,
these mechanisms are difficult to access, onerous to navigate, and
rarely result in permission to return;
Whereas people wrongfully or unjustly deported from the United States include--
(1) people who have been separated from their children, families, and
loved ones after residing in the United States for years or decades;
(2) recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)
program who lost their status as a result of protracted litigation related
to the program;
(3) people targeted for deportation as retaliation for exercising their
First Amendment right to protest conditions in the immigration system;
(4) people who succeeded in winning their immigration cases subsequent
to deportation, but are still unable to return;
(5) people deported for past nonviolent criminal convictions who have
subsequently demonstrated a commitment to renewal and to their community;
(6) people whose criminal convictions that were the basis of
deportation have been expunged or pardoned; and
(7) veterans who served the United States;
Whereas deportation, by permanently separating people from their children,
spouses, and communities, leads to destabilizing and enduring poverty,
food and housing insecurity, and irreparable psychological harm to
children left behind;
Whereas many deported people are sent back to dangerous conditions that put
their life and well-being at significant risk, or to places where they
have no personal ties at all;
Whereas the harms of deportation disproportionately affect Black and brown
immigrant families, who are overrepresented within the deportation
system;
Whereas the Immigration Nationality Act, relevant regulations, and agency
policy, as written, do include certain legal mechanisms and avenues
designed to allow a person to make a case for return subsequent to
deportation, including through procedures to reopen a closed immigration
court case, to effectuate return upon prevailing on an appeal, or to
seek discretionary authority to return;
Whereas these mechanisms that Congress and the agency intended for remedying
wrongful or unjust deportations are largely ineffective and insufficient
due to a decentralized review process, associated lengthy wait times,
complicated and opaque application procedures, little to no access to
counsel, and a lack of resources for line-level decision makers with the
Department of Homeland Security to meaningfully consider such requests;
Whereas a centralized, dedicated unit within the Department of Homeland Security
that offers a fair and independent process for reviewing applications
from individuals seeking to return to the United States following a
wrongful or unjust deportation would ensure greater fairness and
consistency in adjudication, alleviate the burden on individual
government attorneys and immigration courts, and reorient the Department
of Homeland Security toward remedying past wrongful or unjust decisions
to deport;
Whereas such a centralized, dedicated Department of Homeland Security unit
focused on considering requests to return from wrongfully or unjustly
deported people could utilize the legal and discretionary authority
already provided under Federal law to facilitate the return of those
whose removal orders were contrary to law or justice;
Whereas the Department of Homeland Security has already established a successful
central removal review unit, known as ``ImmVets'', for the repatriation
of wrongfully or unjustly deported United States veterans, including
approximately 100 that have returned to the United States
postdeportation, demonstrating the feasibility and effectiveness of such
an approach;
Whereas establishing a centralized unit to review requests to return to the
United States from other people who have been wrongfully or unjustly
deported is wholly within the Department of Homeland Security's broad
legal authority and would bring fairness and credibility to the United
States immigration system; and
Whereas bringing home wrongfully or unjustly deported fathers, mothers,
community leaders, and workers is essential for moving toward an
immigration system that prioritizes family unity, community well-being,
economic prosperity, and basic due process: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),
That it is the sense of Congress that wrongfully or unjustly deported
people deserve a meaningful chance to come home to reunite with their
loved ones through a centralized unit within the United States
Department of Homeland Security dedicated to reviewing requests for
return to the United States.
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