§ 3 : EFFECTIVE DATE TRIGGERS |
DEFINITIONS.—In this section:
COMMISSION.—The term Commission means the Southern Border Security Commission established pursuant to section 4.
COMPREHENSIVE SOUTHERN BORDER SECURITY STRATEGY.—The term Comprehensive Southern Border Security Strategy means the strategy established by the Secretary pursuant to section 5(a) to achieve and maintain an effectiveness rate of 90 percent or higher in all border sectors.
EFFECTIVE CONTROL.—The term effective control means the ability to achieve and maintain, in a Border Patrol sector—
EFFECTIVENESS RATE.—The effectiveness rate, in the case of a border sector, is the percentage calculated by dividing the number of apprehensions and turn backs in the sector during a fiscal year by the total number of illegal entries in the sector during such fiscal year.
SOUTHERN BORDER.—The term Southern border means the international border between the United States and Mexico.
SOUTHERN BORDER FENCING STRATEGY.— [Leahy4] The term Southern Border Fencing Strategy means the strategy established by the Secretary pursuant to section 5(b) that identifies where fencing (including double-layer fencing), infrastructure, and technology, including at ports of entry, should be deployed along the Southern border.
BORDER SECURITY GOAL.—The Department’s border security goal is to achieve and maintain effective control in [Grassley1] all border sectors along the Southern border.
TRIGGERS.—
PROCESSING OF APPLICATIONS FOR REGISTERED PROVISIONAL IMMIGRANT STATUS.—Not earlier than the date upon which the Secretary has submitted to Congress the Notice of Commencement of implementation of the Comprehensive Southern Border Security Strategy and the Southern Border Fencing Strategy under section 5of this Act, the Secretary may commence processing applications for registered provisional immigrant status pursuant to section 245Bof the Immigration and Nationality Act, as added by section 2101of this Act.
ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS OF REGISTERED PROVISIONAL IMMIGRANTS.—
IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subparagraph (B), the Secretary may not adjust the status of aliens who have been granted registered provisional immigrant status, except for aliens granted blue card status under section 2201of this Act or described in section 245D(b)of the Immigration and Nationality Act, until 6 months after the date on which the Secretary, after consultation with the Attorney General, the Secretary of Defense, the Inspector General of the Department, and the Comptroller General of the United States, submits to the President and Congress a written certification that—
the Comprehensive Southern Border Security Strategy—
has been submitted to Congress and includes minimum requirements described under paragraph (3), (4), and (5) of section 5(a);
is deployed and operational (for purposes of this clause the term operational means the technology, infrastructure, and personnel, deemed necessary by the Secretary, in consultation with the Attorney General and the Secretary of Defense, and the Comptroller General, and includes the technology described under section 5(a)(3) to achieve effective control of the Southern border, has been procured, funded, and is in current use by the Department to achieve effective control, except in the event of routine maintenance, de minimis non-deployment, or natural disaster that would prevent the use of such assets);
the Southern Border Fencing Strategy has been submitted to Congress and implemented, and as a result the Secretary will certify that there is in place along the Southern Border no fewer than 700 miles of pedestrian fencing which will include replacement of all currently existing vehicle fencing on non-tribal lands on the Southern Border with pedestrian fencing where possible, and after this has been accomplished may include a second layer of pedestrian fencing in those locations along the Southern Border which the Secretary deems necessary or appropriate;
the Secretary has implemented the mandatory employment verification system required by section 274A of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a), as amended by section 3101, for use by all employers to prevent unauthorized workers from obtaining employment in the United States; and
the Secretary is using the electronic exit system created by section 3303(a)(1) at all international air and sea ports of entry within the United States where U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers are currently deployed; and
no fewer than 38,405 trained fulltime active duty U.S. Border Patrol agents are deployed, stationed, and maintained along the Southern Border.
EXCEPTION.—The Secretary shall permit registered provisional immigrants to apply for an adjustment to lawful permanent resident status if—
I. litigation or a force majeure has prevented 1 or more of the conditions described in clauses (i) through (iv) of subparagraph (A) from being implemented; or
the implementation of subparagraph (A) has been held unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of the United States or the Supreme Court has granted certiorari to the litigation on the constitutionality of implementation of subparagraph (A); and
10 years have elapsed since the date of the enactment of this Act.
WAIVER OF LEGAL REQUIREMENTS NECESSARY FOR IMPROVEMENT AT BORDERS.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary is authorized to waive all legal requirements that the Secretary determines to be necessary to ensure expeditious construction of the barriers, roads, or other physical tactical infrastructure needed to fulfill the requirements under this section. Any determination by the Secretary under this section shall be effective upon publication in the Federal Register [Leahy4] of a notice that specifies each law that is being waived and the Secretary’s explanation for the determination to waive that law. The waiver shall expire on the later of the date on which the Secretary submits the written certification that the Southern Border Fencing Strategy is substantially completed as specified in subsection (c)(2)(A)(ii) or the date that the Secretary submits the written certification that the Comprehensive Southern Border Security Strategy is substantially deployed and substantially operational as specified in subsection (c)(2)(A)(i).
FEDERAL COURT REVIEW.—
IN GENERAL.—The district courts of the United States shall have exclusive jurisdiction to hear all causes or claims arising from any action undertaken, or any decision made, by the Secretary under subsection (d). A cause of action or claim may only be brought alleging a violation of the Constitution of the United States. The court does not have jurisdiction to hear any claim not specified in this paragraph.
TIME FOR FILING COMPLAINT.—If a cause or claim under paragraph (1) is not filed within 60 days after the date of the contested action or decision by the Secretary, the claim shall be barred.
APPELLATE REVIEW.—An interlocutory or final judgment, decree, or order of the district court may be reviewed only upon petition for a writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court of the United States.