S.Amdt. 1706

1. Adds SEC. ___. DENIALS OF ASYLUM CLAIMS wherever appropriate

   Adds a section

   Inserted: SEC. ___. DENIALS OF ASYLUM CLAIMS.

   Inserted: (a) Adjudication.--Section 208(d)(6) (8 U.S.C. 1158(d)(6)) is amended to read as follows:

   Inserted: "(6) Frivolous applications.--

   Inserted: "(A) Knowingly frivolous applications.--If the Attorney General determines that an alien has knowingly made a frivolous application for asylum and the alien has received the notice under paragraph (4)(A), the alien may, at the discretion of the Attorney General, be permanently ineligible for any benefits under this Act, effective as of the date of a final determination on such application.

   Inserted: "(B) Determinations by asylum officers.--

   Inserted: "(i) In general.--If an asylum officer, as defined in section 235(b)(1)(E), determines that an alien has made a frivolous application for asylum, the asylum officer may dismiss the application.

   Inserted: "(ii) Reconsideration.--The Board of Immigration Appeals or an immigration judge may review and reverse the determination of an asylum officer under clause (i) if the Board or judge determines that the asylum claim involved is plausible.".

   Inserted: (b) Information.--Section 208 (8 U.S.C. 1158) is amended by adding at the end the following:

   Inserted: "(f) Information.--With respect to an application for asylum that comes before an immigration judge or asylum officer (as defined in section 235(b)(1)(E)), the judge or officer involved shall obtain detailed country conditions information relevant to eligibility for asylum or the withholding of removal from the Department of State. Such information shall include--

   Inserted: "(1) an assessment of the accuracy of the applicant's assertions about conditions in his or her country of nationality or habitual residence and his or her particular situation;

   Inserted: "(2) information about whether individuals who are similarly situated to the applicant are persecuted or tortured in his or her country of nationality or habitual residence and the frequency of such persecution or torture; and

   Inserted: "(3) other information determined by the judge or officer to be relevant to prevent fraud.".

   Show 2 more inserted paragraphsShow less

   Inserted: (c) Increase in Staffing.--The Secretary shall provide for an increase in the staff of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate at Asylum Offices to oversee, detect, and increase the anti-fraud operations and prosecutions relating to fraudulent asylum activities.

   Inserted: (d) Funding.--The Secretary of Homeland Security shall use amounts derived through fees provided for in this Act (or an amendment made by this Act) to carry out subsections (a) through (c) (and the amendments made by such subsections)).

   The amendment doesn't say where this goes; the clerk decides.

   Original wording

   At the appropriate place, insert the following:

Read automatically from the Congressional Record. Check the original before relying on it.

As printed