POWER Act

Protect Our Workers from Exploitation and Retaliation Act or the POWER Act

This bill amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to expand the nonimmigrant U-visa category (crime victims and their immediate family members) to include an alien who:

• has suffered substantial abuse or harm resulting from a workplace violation claim;
• is a victim of specified criminal activity or a workplace violation and would suffer extreme hardship upon removal;
• has been helpful in a workplace violation investigation; or
• has filed, is a material witness in, or is likely to be helpful in the investigation of, a workplace claim and reasonably fears, or has been the victim of, employer retaliation.

An alien who is a material witness in a workplace claim and who has been helpful in a related law enforcement action may remain and work temporarily in the United States.

In a Department of Homeland Security workplace enforcement action a detained alien: (1) who is necessary as a witness shall not be removed until the appropriate law enforcement agency is notified and has an opportunity to interview such individual, and (2) who is entitled to a stay or abeyance of removal shall not be removed.

An alien in removal proceedings who is a witness in a workplace claim or who has filed for U-visa status shall be entitled to a stay or abeyance of removal and permitted to work until the claim's disposition unless the alien has been convicted of a felony or filed a bad faith claim.

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