Criminal Alien Gang Member Removal Act

Criminal Alien Gang Member Removal Act

(Sec. 2) This bill amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to make an alien: (1) inadmissible if a consular officer, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), or the Department of Justice (DOJ) knows or has reason to believe that such person is or has been a member of a criminal gang or has participated in criminal gang activities; and (2) deportable if such person is or has been a member of a criminal gang, or has participated in criminal gang activities knowing that such activities will promote illegal activity.

A "criminal gang" is defined as an ongoing group, club, organization, or association of five or more persons: (1) one of the primary purposes of which is the commission of specified criminal offenses and the members of which engage, or have engaged within the past five years, in a continuing series of such offenses; or (2) that has been designated as a criminal gang by DHS. Such offenses include: (1) felony drug offenses, (2) bringing in and harboring certain aliens, (3) assisting certain aliens to enter the United States, (4) importing aliens for immoral purposes, (5) crimes of violence, (6) obstruction of justice or witness tampering, (7) identification document fraud, (8) slavery and trafficking in persons, (9) money laundering, and (10) interstate or foreign travel in connection with a racketeering enterprise.

DHS: (1) may designate a group of five or more persons as a criminal gang based upon its conduct, and (2) shall publish a designation in the Federal Register seven days after providing congressional notification as provided for in this bill. A designation shall be effective until: (1) it is revoked or blocked by Congress; (2) DHS determines that the group no longer fits such designation or that national security or law enforcement interests warrant a revocation; or (3) it is judicially set aside. A group may file a petition for revocation with DHS. The bill prescribes DHS review provisions. A revocation of a designation shall not affect any proceeding based on conduct committed prior to the effective date of the revocation.

Within 30 days after publication of a designation, an amended designation, or a determination in response to a petition for revocation, a designated group may seek judicial review with the U.S. Court of Appeals, DC Circuit.

The bill: (1) provides for mandatory detention of alien gang members; and (2) makes alien gang members ineligible for asylum, temporary protected status, special immigrant juvenile status, and parole (unless such an alien is assisting the United States in a law enforcement matter).

Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov