H.R. 8240House119th Congress (2025-2027)In Committee

SAFER Act of 2026

AI-Generated Summary

Updated April 13, 2026 at 2:16 AM UTC

The SAFER Act of 2026 changes U.S. asylum law by barring the approval of asylum for anyone who travels back to a "country of concern"—generally the applicant’s home country or last place of residence. It also says that if a person who already has asylum returns to that country, their asylum can be cancelled and they may face removal. Limited exceptions are allowed if the President or Secretary of State provides a special certification.

Key Provisions

Adds a new subsection to the Immigration and Nationality Act that forbids the Secretary of Homeland Security or the Attorney General from granting asylum to an individual who has returned to a country of concern.
States that an asylum recipient who returns to a country of concern can lose their asylum status, be subject to denaturalization, and may be removed under existing inadmissibility or deportability grounds.
Provides a case‑by‑case waiver option if the President certifies the travel is for national security reasons, or if the Secretary of State certifies that the country of concern has experienced a legitimate transfer of power.
Defines "country of concern" as the applicant’s country of nationality, or if stateless, the country of their last habitual residence where they applied for asylum.

Legislative Activity

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1 earlier action

HouseIntro Referral Latest Action

Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

Judiciary Committee

April 9, 2026

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HouseIntro Referral

Introduced in House

April 9, 2026

HouseIntro Referral

Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

Judiciary Committee

April 9, 2026

Bill Text

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Introduced in HouseIssued April 9, 2026

119th CONGRESS

2d Session

H. R. 8240

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

April 9, 2026

Mr. Tiffany introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

A BILL

To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to prohibit return to a county of concern with an asylum application.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Stopping Asylum Fraudsters Enforcement and Removal Act of 2026 or the SAFER Act of 2026.

Prohibition on return to country of concern for asylum applications

Section 208 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1158) is amended by adding at the end the following:

(f)

Prohibition on return to country of concern

(1)

Prohibition

The Secretary of Homeland Security or the Attorney General may not grant asylum to an alien who has returned to a country of concern.

(2)

Effect on status

An alien who has been granted asylum and returns to a country of concern shall be subject to termination of a grant of asylum, denaturalization, and is subject to any applicable grounds of inadmissibility or deportability under section 212(a) and 237(a).

(3)

Exception

Paragraphs (1) and (2) may be waived by the Secretary of Homeland Security or the Attorney General, as applicable, on a case-by-case basis if—

(A)

the President certifies that the individual is permitted to travel for national security purposes; or

(B)

the Secretary of State certifies that the country of concern has undergone a legitimate transfer of power.

(4)

Country of concern defined

In this section, the term country of concern means the alien's country of nationality or, in the case of a person having no nationality, the country of the alien's last habitual residence for which the alien applied for asylum pursuant to this section.