# Plain Language Summary: Destigmatizing in Immigration Act

This bill changes how marijuana use affects immigration decisions. Right now, if someone uses, possesses, or distributes marijuana, immigration officials can use that against them when deciding whether they're a person of "good moral character"—a legal standard that determines eligibility for visas, green cards, citizenship, and other immigration benefits. This bill removes marijuana-related conduct from that calculation entirely. So even if someone has a marijuana conviction or history of use, it can no longer be held against them in immigration proceedings.

The bill also prevents marijuana offenses from being used as a reason to deny someone entry into the United States or to deport them. Currently, people can be kept out of the country or removed from it because of marijuana-related charges. Under this law, those charges alone wouldn't trigger those consequences. This is a significant shift because immigration law has historically treated marijuana violations the same as other drug crimes, which carry serious penalties.

Additionally, the bill gives people a second chance if they were previously harmed by these rules. Anyone who was denied a visa because of marijuana use can reapply for admission. Anyone who was actually deported because of marijuana offenses can request to be readmitted and have their previous visa reinstated, as long as they don't have other reasons to be excluded from the country. The bill also removes an outdated provision that labeled people as "habitual drunkards" as grounds for immigration consequences, recognizing that this language is outdated and stigmatizing.

Destigmatizing in Immigration Act

Boyle, Brendan F.

Destigmatizing in Immigration Act This bill removes various immigration-related penalties pertaining to marijuana and addresses related issues. Specifically, offenses involving marijuana use, possession, or distribution shall not be grounds for (1) barring an alien from admission into the United States, (2) removing an alien from the United States, or (3) finding that an alien lacks good moral character for immigration purposes. An alien who was previously barred or deported due to such marijuana-related offenses shall be readmitted into the United States. Under this bill, the distribution of marijuana shall not constitute an aggravated felony for immigration purposes. Furthermore, the bill repeals a statutory provision stating that habitual drunkards lack good moral character for immigration purposes.