[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2915 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
115th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 2915
To protect alien victims of crime or serious labor or employment
violations from removal from the United States, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 22, 2018
Mr. Menendez (for himself, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Sanders, Ms. Cortez
Masto, and Mr. Booker) introduced the following bill; which was read
twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To protect alien victims of crime or serious labor or employment
violations from removal from the United States, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Protect Our Workers from
Exploitation and Retaliation Act'' or the ``POWER Act''.
SEC. 2. PROTECTION OF VICTIMS OF CRIME OR SERIOUS LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT
VIOLATIONS.
(a) Availability of U Visas.--Section 101(a)(15)(U) of the
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(U)) is amended--
(1) in clause (i)--
(A) by amending subclause (I) to read as follows:
``(I) the alien--
``(aa) has suffered substantial
abuse or harm as a result of having
been a victim of criminal activity
described in clause (iii);
``(bb) has suffered substantial
abuse or harm relating to a labor or
employment violation described in
clause (iv);
``(cc)(AA) is a victim of criminal
activity described in clause (iii); and
``(BB) would suffer extreme
hardship on removal from the United
States; or
``(dd)(AA) has suffered a labor or
employment violation described in
clause (iv); and
``(BB) would suffer extreme
hardship on removal from the United
States;'';
(B) in subclause (II)--
(i) by striking ``concerning'' and all that
follows through the semicolon at the end and
inserting ``relating to, as applicable--
``(aa) criminal activity
described in clause (iii); or
``(bb) the labor or
employment violation described
in clause (iv);'';
(C) by amending subclause (III) to read as follows:
``(III) with respect to the
investigation or prosecution of
criminal activity described in clause
(iii) or the investigation,
prosecution, or pursuit of civil
remedies relating to the labor or
employment violation described in
clause (iv), as applicable, the alien
(or in the case of an alien child under
the age of 16, the parent, guardian, or
next friend of the alien) has been
helpful, is being helpful, or is likely
to be helpful to--
``(aa) a Federal, State, or
local law enforcement official;
``(bb) a Federal, State, or
local prosecutor;
``(cc) a Federal, State, or
local judge;
``(dd) the Secretary of
Homeland Security;
``(ee) the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission;
``(ff) the Secretary of
Labor;
``(gg) the National Labor
Relations Board; or
``(hh) any other Federal,
State, or local authority;
and''; and
(D) in subclause (IV), by inserting before the
semicolon at the end ``or a workplace claim (as defined
in section 274A(e)(10)(C)(iii)(II)) resulted from the
labor or employment violation described in clause (iv),
as applicable'';
(2) in clause (ii)(II), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(3) by moving clause (iii) 2 ems to the left;
(4) in clause (iii), by striking ``or'' at the end and
inserting ``and''; and
(5) by adding at the end the following:
``(iv) a labor or employment violation
described in this clause is a violation--
``(I) that results in the filing of
a bona fide workplace claim (as defined
in section 274A(e)(10)(C)(iii)(II))--
``(aa) by an alien;
``(bb) for which an alien
is a material witness; or
``(cc) in the investigation
of which an alien is likely to
be helpful; and
``(II) with respect to which an
alien reasonably fears, has been
threatened with, or has been the victim
of, an action involving force, physical
restraint, retaliation, or abuse of the
immigration or other legal process
against the alien or any other person
by an employer relating to--
``(aa) an act underlying
such workplace claim; or
``(bb) the filing of such
workplace claim; or''.
(b) Temporary Protection From Removal.--Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, the Secretary of Homeland Security may allow an alien
to temporarily remain in the United States and grant the alien
employment authorization if the Secretary determines that the alien--
(1) has filed for relief under section 101(a)(15)(U) of the
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(U)); or
(2)(A) has filed, or is a material witness for, a bona fide
workplace claim (as defined in section 274A(e)(10)(B)(iii)(II)
of that Act); and
(B) with respect to the investigation, prosecution, or
pursuit of a civil remedy relating to the workplace claim, has
been helpful, is being helpful, or is likely to be helpful to--
(i) a Federal, State, or local law enforcement
official;
(ii) a Federal, State, or local prosecutor;
(iii) a Federal, State, or local judge;
(iv) the Secretary of Homeland Security;
(v) the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission;
(vi) the Secretary of Labor;
(vii) the National Labor Relations Board; or
(viii) any other Federal, State, or local
authority.
(c) Conforming Amendments.--Section 214(p) of the Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(p)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1)--
(A) in the paragraph heading, by striking ``for
section 101(a)(15)(u) visas'';
(B) in the first sentence, by inserting ``or
investigating, prosecuting, or seeking a civil remedy
relating to a labor or employment violation described
in section 101(a)(15)(U)(iv)'' before the period at the
end; and
(C) in the third sentence, by inserting ``or the
investigation, prosecution, or pursuit of a civil
remedy relating to a labor or employment violation
described in section 101(a)(15)(U)(iv), as applicable''
before the period at the end;
(2) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking ``10,000'' and
inserting ``30,000''; and
(3) in paragraph (6), in the first sentence--
(A) by inserting ``or investigating, prosecuting,
or seeking a civil remedy relating to a labor or
employment violation described in section
101(a)(15)(U)(iv), as applicable'' after ``described in
section 101(a)(15)(U)(iii)''; and
(B) by inserting ``or labor or employment
violation'' after ``prosecution of such criminal
activity''.
(d) Adjustment of Status.--Section 245(m)(1) of the Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1255(m)(1)) is amended, in the matter
preceding subparagraph (A), by inserting ``or an investigation or
prosecution of a labor or employment violation, as applicable'' after
``prosecution''.
(e) Change of Nonimmigrant Classification.--Section 384(a)(1) of
the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996
(8 U.S.C. 1367(a)(1)) is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (E), by striking ``physical or mental
abuse and the criminal activity'' and inserting ``abuse and the
criminal activity or labor or employment violation'';
(2) in subparagraph (F), by striking the comma at the end
and inserting ``, or''; and
(3) by inserting after subparagraph (F) the following:
``(G) the alien's employer,''.
SEC. 3. LABOR ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS.
(a) Removal Proceedings.--Section 239(e) of the Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1229(e)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1)--
(A) by striking ``In cases where'' and inserting
``If''; and
(B) by inserting ``or as a result of information
provided to the Secretary of Homeland Security in
retaliation against an individual for exercising or
attempting to exercise his or her employment rights or
other legal rights'' after ``paragraph (2)''; and
(2) in paragraph (2), by adding at the end the following:
``(C) At a facility with respect to which a
workplace claim (as defined in section
274A(e)(10)(B)(iv)) has been filed or is
contemporaneously filed.''.
(b) Unlawful Employment of Aliens.--Section 274A(e) of the
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a(e)) is amended by
adding at the end the following:
``(10) Conduct in enforcement actions.--
``(A) Enforcement action.--If the Secretary of
Homeland Security undertakes an enforcement action at a
facility with respect to which a workplace claim has
been filed or is contemporaneously filed or as a result
of information provided to the Secretary in retaliation
against an individual for exercising his or her rights
relating to a workplace claim, the Secretary shall
ensure that--
``(i) any alien arrested or detained who is
necessary for the investigation or prosecution
of a labor or employment violation, as
described in clause (iv) of subparagraph (U) of
section 101(a)(15), or a criminal activity, as
described in subparagraph (T) or clause (iii)
of subparagraph (U) of that section, is not
removed from the United States until a date
that is after the date on which the Secretary--
``(I) notifies the appropriate law
enforcement agency with jurisdiction
over such labor or employment violation
or criminal activity; and
``(II) provides such agency with
the opportunity to interview such
alien; and
``(ii) an alien entitled to a stay of
removal or an abeyance of removal proceedings
under this section is not removed.
``(B) Stay of removal or abeyance of removal
proceedings.--
``(i) In general.--Except as provided in
clause (ii), an alien against whom removal
proceedings have been initiated under chapter 4
of title II shall be entitled to a stay of
removal or an abeyance of removal proceedings
and employment authorization if the alien--
``(I) has filed a workplace claim;
``(II) is a material witness in any
pending or anticipated proceeding
relating to a bona fide workplace
claim; or
``(III) has filed an application
for relief under section 101(a)(15)(U).
``(ii) Exception.--Clause (i) shall not
apply with respect to an alien if the Secretary
establishes, by a preponderance of the evidence
in a proceeding before the immigration judge
presiding over such alien's removal hearing,
that--
``(I) the alien has been convicted
of a felony; or
``(II) the workplace claim was
filed in bad faith with the intent to
delay or avoid the removal of the
alien.
``(iii) Duration.--
``(I) In general.--Any stay of
removal or abeyance of removal
proceedings and employment
authorization issued pursuant to clause
(i) shall remain valid until the date
on which the workplace claim is
resolved or relief under section
101(a)(15)(U) is denied after
exhaustion of any administrative
appeal, as applicable.
``(II) Extension.--The Secretary of
Homeland Security may extend a stay of
removal or an abeyance of removal
proceedings for a period of not longer
than 3 years if the Secretary
determines that--
``(aa) such relief would
enable the alien asserting a
workplace claim to pursue the
claim to resolution;
``(bb) the deterrent goals
of any law underlying a
workplace claim would be
served; or
``(cc) such extension would
otherwise further the interests
of justice.
``(iv) Definitions.--In this paragraph:
``(I) Material witness.--The term
`material witness' means an individual
who presents a declaration from an
attorney investigating, prosecuting, or
defending a workplace claim or the
presiding officer overseeing the
workplace claim that attests that, to
the best of the knowledge and belief of
the declarant, reasonable cause exists
to believe that the testimony of the
individual will be relevant to the
outcome of the workplace claim.
``(II) Workplace claim.--The term
`workplace claim' means any written or
oral claim, charge, complaint, or
grievance relating to the violation of
applicable Federal, State, or local
labor laws (including laws relating to
wages and hours, labor relations,
family and medical leave, occupational
health and safety, civil rights, and
nondiscrimination) that is filed with
or communicated or submitted to--
``(aa) an employer;
``(bb) a Federal, State, or
local--
``(AA) agency; or
``(BB) court; or
``(cc) an employee
representative.''.
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