The GRACE Act makes it easier for immigrants facing deportation to stay in the United States if removing them would cause serious hardship to their American family members. Currently, the government can stop a deportation if it would create "exceptional and extremely unusual hardship" to a U.S. citizen or permanent resident relative. This bill expands that protection by clarifying that the hardship of family separation itself counts as this kind of serious hardship. In practical terms, this means an immigrant who might otherwise be deported could potentially stay if they have close family members who are U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents, because separating them would be considered an extreme hardship. The bill essentially recognizes that tearing families apart is itself a legitimate reason to halt a deportation, giving immigration judges more flexibility to keep families together when someone faces removal from the country.

GRACE Act

Jackson Lee, Sheila

Grant Relief for American Children's Elevation Act of 2023 or the GRACE Act This bill establishes that an exceptional and extremely unusual hardship includes a hardship resulting from a removal (or deportation) that separates the individual subject to removal from a family member who is a U.S. citizen, a lawful permanent resident, or lawfully admitted into the United States. Under current law, the Department of Homeland Security may cancel the removal of a non-U.S. national (alien under federal law) if the removal would result in an exceptional and extremely unusual hardship to an immediate relative who is a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident.