HR7456-119

What This Bill Does

The bill would prohibit DHS from taking an arriving or departing alien into custody at a DHS field office or Executive Office for Immigration Review facility before a removal order is entered, unless an immigration judge determines the person lacks good moral character. It also says unlawful presence or unlawful entry alone cannot be the sole basis for finding a lack of good moral character. Separately, the Attorney General may not publicly display non-government party names outside immigration hearing rooms or other public EOIR facility areas.

Who Benefits and How

Immigration court respondents, immigrant families, and immigration attorneys benefit because the bill reduces the risk that a person appearing for a DHS or EOIR appointment is detained before a removal order solely because of unlawful presence or entry. Privacy also improves for respondents because EOIR and the Attorney General could not publicly post party names in accessible facility areas. Immigration judges gain a defined adjudicatory role in deciding whether the good-moral-character exception applies.

Who Bears the Burden and How

DHS officers must avoid taking covered aliens into custody at field offices or EOIR facilities before a removal order unless the statutory exception is met. Immigration judges must make good-moral-character determinations under INA section 101(f) and cannot rely solely on unlawful presence or unlawful entry. The Attorney General and EOIR facility staff must change public name-display practices for immigration proceedings.

Key Provisions

• Restricts DHS custody of covered aliens at DHS field offices and EOIR facilities before a removal order is entered.
• Requires an immigration judge good-moral-character determination before the custody exception can apply.
• Provides that unlawful presence or unlawful entry alone cannot prove lack of good moral character.
• Prohibits public display of non-government party names in accessible EOIR facility areas.