SECURE Act

Van Hollen, Chris

Safe Environment from Countries Under Repression and Emergency Act or the SECURE Act This bill allows qualified nationals of a country that has or had a temporary protected status designation to obtain permanent resident status. Such an alien qualifies for permanent residence if the alien <ul> <li> had temporary protected status, qualified for such status on certain dates, or was present in the United States due to having been granted deferred enforced departure status that extended past a certain date; </li> <li>has been continuously present in the United States for three years before applying for adjustment or before being removed after a certain date; </li> <li>is not inadmissible or deportable for certain reasons; and </li> <li>passes applicable background checks.</li> </ul> The continuous presence requirement may be waived in certain instances. A spouse, domestic partner, child, or unmarried child of a qualifying alien may also obtain permanent resident status under the bill upon meeting certain requirements. An alien with a pending application shall receive work authorization and be eligible for travel authorization. An alien may not be removed if the alien (1) has a pending application, or (2) is prima facie eligible for permanent resident status under this bill and intends to apply. Information from applications may not be used or shared for immigration enforcement, with limited exceptions such as for identifying fraudulent claims. The Department of Homeland Security must report to Congress when terminating a country's temporary protected status designation with an explanation justifying the termination.