No Safe Haven for Terrorist Families Act

No Safe Haven for Terrorist Families Act (S.4526, 119th Congress)

Purpose and intent

• Establishes a new ground of inadmissibility and deportability for close relatives of designated foreign threat actors, with the aim of denying safe haven and immigration benefits to individuals connected to foreign terrorists and adversaries.
• Argues that current law is too narrow or discretionary in evaluating family ties to terrorists or hostile foreign regimes, and that extending protections to these “covered family members” enhances national security.

Key provisions and changes

• New inadmissibility ground (Section 212(a)(11))

  • Adds a new paragraph (11) covering “Covered Family Members of Covered Foreign Threat Actors.”
  • A “covered family member” includes spouses, parents, children, siblings, grandparents, grandchildren, and nieces/nephews of a “covered foreign threat actor.”
  • A “covered foreign threat actor” is defined to include:
  • Individuals designated as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (under EO 13224 or successor).
  • Senior leaders or officials of designated foreign terrorist organizations.
  • Senior officials of governments designated as state sponsors of terrorism or foreign adversaries (as defined by related law and executive frameworks).
  • Individuals sanctioned under the Global Magnitsky Act or other laws for significant corruption, kleptocracy, or human rights abuses tied to hostile regimes.
  • The provision applies retroactively to relationships formed before designation or to the actor’s designation date.
  • Result: those individuals would be inadmissible to enter the U.S..

• ** Deportability (Section 237(a)(8))**

  • Adds a new ground: any alien described as a “covered family member of a covered foreign threat actor” is deportable.

• Mandatory visa revocation and removal (Section 4)

  • State Department must revoke any visa or prior documentation for someone inadmissible under the new ground within 30 days of a determination of inadmissibility.
  • DHS enforcement: such aliens within the U.S. would be subject to removal proceedings with priority given to their removal.
  • No discretionary relief: individuals inadmissible under the new ground are not eligible for cancellation of removal, adjustment of status, or other discretionary relief, except as the Act explicitly provides.

• Implementation, reporting, and oversight (Section 5)

  • Within 180 days, enhanced screening procedures to identify covered family relationships using all available intelligence and sanctions databases.
  • Annual reporting to Congress (via DHS and DOS in coordination) on:
  • Number of aliens deemed inadmissible under the new ground.
  • Visas revoked for those inadmissible individuals.
  • Removals carried out for those individuals.
  • Waivers, if any, and justification for each waiver.

• Authorization of appropriations (Section 6)

  • Makes available necessary funds to carry out the Act.

• Effective date (Section 7)

  • Takes effect on enactment date.
  • Applies to:
  • All visa, admission, and status adjustment applications pending on or after enactment.
  • All aliens previously admitted or granted lawful status (i.e., prospective and retroactive applicability to some existing green cards or statuses).

Who would be affected

• Close relatives of individuals designated as foreign threat actors or those meeting the defined criteria for “covered foreign threat actors.”
• Prospective visa applicants, immigrants seeking admission or status adjustments, and current immigrants who are related to designated actors.
• U.S. government agencies involved in visa issuance, admission, removal, and border/port-of-entry screening (State Department, Department of Homeland Security).

Procedural and timeline aspects

• Enhanced screening procedures to identify covered relationships within 180 days of enactment.
• Annual reporting beginning one year after enactment and continuing annually.
• Visa revocation within 30 days post-determination of inadmissibility.
• Removal proceedings prioritized for those inadmissible under the new ground.
• Effective date immediately upon enactment, with broad application to pending and existing statuses as described.

Potential impacts to consider

• Expands inadmissibility and removal bases beyond direct involvement in terrorism to include family connections to designated actors.
• Tightens immigration benefits for families of foreign adversaries and sanctioned individuals.
• Could raise due process considerations for those seeking to demonstrate lack of current ties or risk; the bill restricts discretionary relief for those inadmissible under the new provision.
• Increases DHS/DOS screening workload and requires robust intelligence-sharing and data matching to identify covered family relationships.