Immigration

Domestic Refugee Resettlement Reform and Modernization Act of 2013

United States · United States Congress · 18 December 2013

Domestic Refugee Resettlement Reform and Modernization Act of 2013 - Directs the Comptroller General (GAO) to study the effectiveness of the Office of Refugee Resettlement's domestic refugee resettlement programs. Requires the Director of the Office of Refugee Resettlement to: (1) ensure that refugee assistance is provided to qualifying refugees who are secondary migrants; (2) report to Congress regarding states experiencing departures and arrivals due to secondary migration; and (3) expand the Office's data analysis, collection, and sharing activities to include data on mental and physical medical cases, housing needs, and refugee employment. Directs the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to provide refugee resettlement guidance to appropriate national, state, and local entities.

Humane Short Term Custody Act

United States · United States Congress · 12 December 2013

Humane Short Term Custody Act - Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to prescribe regulations establishing standards for short-term custody of individuals by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) that provide for basic minimums of care at all CBP facilities that hold individuals in custody, including Border Patrol stations, ports of entry, checkpoints, forward operating bases, secondary inspection areas, and short-term custody facilities. Requires: (1) that such regulations be fully consistent with national standards under the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003, and (2) annual facility inspections.

Emergency Port of Entry Personnel and Infrastructure Funding Act of 2013

United States · United States Congress · 12 December 2013

Emergency Port of Entry Personnel and Infrastructure Funding Act of 2013 - Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to hire, train, and assign to duty by September 30, 2019, an additional: (1) 5,000 full-time U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers to serve on all inspection lanes and enforcement teams at U.S. land ports of entry on the northern and southern borders of the United States; and (2) 350 full-time support staff for all U.S. ports of entry. Requires the Secretary to report to specified congressional committees on: (1) DHS plans for ensuring the placement of sufficient CBP officers and infrastructure for outbound inspections at southern border land ports of entry; and (2) each relevant department's plans for ensuring the placement of sufficient CBP agriculture specialists, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service entomologist identifier specialists, and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) consumer safety officers at such ports of entry. Directs the Secretary to: (1) ensure that each CBP officer is equipped with a secure two-way communication and satellite-enabled device that allows such officers to communicate between ports of entry and inspection stations and with law enforcement; and (2) establish a program for awarding grants for the purchase of identification and detection equipment and mobile, hand-held, two-way communication devices for state and local law enforcement officers serving on the southern border. Authorizes the Commissioner of CBP to aid in the enforcement of federal customs, immigration, and agriculture laws by: (1) designing, constructing, and modifying U.S. ports of entry, living quarters for personnel, technology and equipment, and other structures and facilities; (2) acquiring land deemed necessary to carry out the Commissioner's duties; and (3) constructing additional ports of entry along the borders. Authorizes the Administrator, for purposes of facilitating the construction, alteration, operation, or maintenance of a new or existing facility or other infrastructure at a port of entry, to: (1) enter into a cost-sharing or reimbursement agreement with the General Services Administration (GSA), or (2) provide GSA with donations of real or person property or nonpersonal services. Directs the Secretary to: (1) develop a strategic plan for standardized collection of vehicle wait times at land ports of entry, (2) develop a standardized model for the allocation of CBP officers and support staff at land ports of entry, and (3) identify and adopt new outcome-based performance measures that support the trade facilitation goals of CBP. Requires the Secretary to report to specified congressional committees annually on: (1) DHS's implementation plan for the staff enhancements, (2) the number of additional personnel assigned to duty at land ports of entry, (3) the methodology used to determine the distribution of additional personnel to address northbound and southbound cross-border inspections, (4) the strategic plan, (5) the CBP officer allocation model, and (6) the new outcome-based performance measures.

Immigration Compliance Enforcement (ICE) Act

United States · United States Congress · 12 December 2013

Immigration Compliance Enforcement (ICE) Act - Prohibits the use of federal funds for: (1) the position of Public Advocate within U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE); (2) the position of Deputy Assistant Director of Custody Programs and Community Outreach within ICE; or (3) any other position within ICE whose functions are substantially the same as those which as of March 26, 2013, were assigned to the position of Public Advocate within ICE, or as of the date of the enactment of this Act were assigned to the position of Deputy Assistant Director of Custody Programs and Community Outreach within ICE.

Korean Immigration Commemorative Coin Act

United States · United States Congress · 12 December 2013

Korean Immigration Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury, during the one-year period beginning January 1, 2018, to mint and issue $5 gold coins and $1 silver coins emblematic of the immigration of Koreans into the United States and their significant contributions to this nation. Requires all surcharges received from coin sales to be promptly paid by the Secretary to the Council on 100th Year Korean Immigration Commemorative Coin Act in order to provide academic scholarships.

Promoting Tourism to Enhance our Economy Act of 2013

United States · United States Congress · 12 December 2013

Promoting Tourism to Enhance our Economy Act of 2013 - Authorizes the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to admit into the United States as a visitor for pleasure a qualifying Canadian citizen over 55 years old and spouse (who is not required to be over 55 years old) for a period not to exceed 240 days if the person maintains a Canadian residence and owns a U.S. residence or has rented a U.S. accommodation for the duration of such stay. Requires such visitor also to be not inadmissible or described in any ground of deportability, and requires him or her not to: (1) engage in employment or labor for hire in the United States, or (2) seek any form of assistance or benefit under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996.

Federal Death Penalty Abolition Act of 2013

United States · United States Congress · 12 December 2013

Federal Death Penalty Abolition Act of 2013 - Repeals death penalty provisions for a wide range of homicide-related offenses under the Immigration and Nationality Act, the federal criminal code, the Controlled Substances Act, and other statutes relating to aircraft hijacking, espionage and treason, and offenses punished under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Prohibits the sentencing to death or execution of any person for any violation of federal law after the enactment of this Act. Commutes death penalties imposed prior to the enactment of this Act to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

Emergency Port of Entry Personnel and Infrastructure Funding Act of 2013

United States · United States Congress · 12 December 2013

Emergency Port of Entry Personnel and Infrastructure Funding Act of 2013 - Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to hire, train, and assign to duty by September 30, 2019, an additional: (1) 5,000 full-time U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers to serve on all inspection lanes and enforcement teams at U.S. land ports of entry on the northern and southern borders of the United States; and (2) 350 full-time support staff for all U.S. ports of entry. Requires the Secretary to report to specified congressional committees on: (1) DHS plans for ensuring the placement of sufficient CBP officers and infrastructure for outbound inspections at southern border land ports of entry; and (2) each relevant department's plans for ensuring the placement of sufficient CBP agriculture specialists, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service entomologist identifier specialists, and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) consumer safety officers at such ports of entry. Directs the Secretary to: (1) ensure that each CBP officer is equipped with a secure two-way communication and satellite-enabled device that allows such officers to communicate between ports of entry and inspection stations and with law enforcement; and (2) establish a program for awarding grants for the purchase of identification and detection equipment and mobile, hand-held, two-way communication devices for state and local law enforcement officers serving on the southern border. Authorizes the Commissioner of CBP to aid in the enforcement of federal customs, immigration, and agriculture laws by: (1) designing, constructing, and modifying U.S. ports of entry, living quarters for personnel, technology and equipment, and other structures and facilities; (2) acquiring land deemed necessary to carry out the Commissioner's duties; and (3) constructing additional ports of entry along the borders. Authorizes the Administrator, for purposes of facilitating the construction, alteration, operation, or maintenance of a new or existing facility or other infrastructure at a port of entry, to: (1) enter into cost-sharing or reimbursement agreements, or (2) accept donations of real or person property or nonpersonal services. Directs the Secretary to: (1) develop a strategic plan for standardized collection of vehicle wait times at land ports of entry, (2) develop a standardized model for the allocation of CBP officers and support staff at land ports of entry, and (3) identify and adopt new outcome-based performance measures that support the trade facilitation goals of CBP. Requires the Secretary to report to specified congressional committees annually on: (1) DHS's implementation plan for the staff enhancements, (2) the number of additional personnel assigned to duty at land ports of entry, (3) the methodology used to determine the distribution of additional personnel to address northbound and southbound cross-border inspections, (4) the strategic plan, (5) the CBP officer allocation model, and (6) the new outcome-based performance measures.

DHS Immigration Accountability and Transparency Act of 2013

United States · United States Congress · 21 November 2013

DHS Immigration Accountability and Transparency Act of 2013 - Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to submit to Congress an annual report on DHS immigration policy directives. States that for specified purposes an immigration policy directive shall be treated as a rule.

Filipino Temporary Protected Status Act of 2013

United States · United States Congress · 21 November 2013

Filipino Temporary Protected Status Act of 2013 - Expresses the sense of Congress that the extraordinary and temporary conditions caused by flooding and other catastrophic damage wrought by Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines qualifies the Philippines for designation under section 244 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, pursuant to which nationals of the Philippines would be eligible for temporary protected status in the United States. Provides 18-month temporary protected status for a national of the Philippines who: (1) has been continuously physically present in the United States since November 8, 2013, (2) is admissible as an immigrant and not ineligible for temporary protected status, and (3) registers for temporary protected status in a manner that the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) shall establish. Permits such an alien to travel abroad if the alien establishes to the satisfaction of the Secretary that emergency and extenuating circumstances beyond the alien's control require his or her departure for a brief, temporary trip abroad.

Training Highly Skilled Americans Act of 2013

United States · United States Congress · 20 November 2013

Training Highly Skilled Americans Act of 2013 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to establish in the Treasury the STEM Education and Training Account. Requires employers to submit along with an application for a certification a $1,000 fee (to be deposited in the STEM Education and Training Account). Sets aside specified amounts for: (1) a low-income STEM scholarship program, (2) K-12 STEM education, and (3) STEM capacity building at minority-serving institutions. Authorizes grants to eligible entities for American Dream Accounts for a group of low-income students.

Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2013

United States · United States Congress · 19 November 2013

Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2013 - Amends the federal criminal code to impose an additional penalty of $5,000 on any person or entity convicted of crimes relating to: (1) peonage, slavery, and trafficking in persons; (2) sexual abuse; (3) sexual exploitation and other abuse of children; (4) transportation for illegal sexual activity; or (5) human smuggling in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act. Establishes in the Treasury the Domestic Trafficking Victims' Fund into which such penalties shall be deposited and which shall be used in FY2015-FY2019 to award grants or enhance victims' programming under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005, and the Victims of Child Abuse Act of 1990. Allots funds to provide services for child pornography victims. Amends the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to make a determination, based on credible evidence, that a covered individual (i.e., a U.S. citizen or a permanent resident) has been a victim of a severe form of trafficking. Amends the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005 to authorize the Attorney General to award block grants to develop, improve, or expand comprehensive domestic child trafficking deterrence programs to rescue and restore the lives of trafficking victims, while investigating and prosecuting offenses involving child trafficking. Amends the Victims of Child Abuse Act of 1990 to include human trafficking and the production of child pornography within the definition of child abuse for purposes of such Act. Amends the federal criminal code to: (1) increase restitution for victims of human trafficking; (2) set forth provisions for combating aggravated human trafficking racketeering; (3) allow state and local prosecutors to obtain wiretap warrants in state courts for investigations into human trafficking, child sexual exploitation, and child pornography production; (4) increase penalties for offenses involving enticement into slavery, sex trafficking of children, child exploitation, and repeat sex offenders; and (5) revise the definition of the crime of travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct to facilitate prosecutions of such crime. Directs the Attorney General to ensure that all task forces and working groups within the Innocence Lost National Initiative engage in activities, programs, or operations to increase the investigative capabilities of law enforcement personnel in the detection, investigation, and prosecution of persons who patronize or solicit children for sex. Requires the Attorney General to audit grants awarded under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005. Imposes limits on the use of Department of Justice (DOJ) funds for DOJ conferences involving more than $20,000.

Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2014

United States · United States Congress · 19 November 2013

Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2013 - Amends the federal criminal code to impose an additional penalty of $5,000 on any person or entity convicted of crimes relating to: (1) peonage, slavery, and trafficking in persons; (2) sexual abuse; (3) sexual exploitation and other abuse of children; (4) transportation for illegal sexual activity; or (5) human smuggling in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act. Establishes in the Treasury the Domestic Trafficking Victims' Fund into which such penalties shall be deposited and which shall be used in FY2015-FY2019 to award grants or enhance victims' programming under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005, and the Victims of Child Abuse Act of 1990. Allots funds to provide services for child pornography victims. Amends the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to make a determination, based on credible evidence, that a covered individual (i.e., a U.S. citizen or a permanent resident) has been a victim of a severe form of trafficking. Amends the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005 to authorize the Attorney General to award block grants to develop, improve, or expand comprehensive domestic child trafficking deterrence programs to rescue and restore the lives of trafficking victims, while investigating and prosecuting offenses involving child trafficking. Amends the Victims of Child Abuse Act of 1990 to include human trafficking and the production of child pornography within the definition of child abuse for purposes of such Act. Amends the federal criminal code to: (1) increase restitution for victims of human trafficking; (2) set forth provisions for combating aggravated human trafficking racketeering; (3) allow state and local prosecutors to obtain wiretap warrants in state courts for investigations into human trafficking, child sexual exploitation, and child pornography production; (4) increase penalties for offenses involving enticement into slavery, sex trafficking of children, child exploitation, and repeat sex offenders; and (5) revise the definition of the crime of travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct to facilitate prosecutions of such crime. Directs the Attorney General to ensure that all task forces and working groups within the Innocence Lost National Initiative engage in activities, programs, or operations to increase the investigative capabilities of law enforcement personnel in the detection, investigation, and prosecution of persons who patronize or solicit children for sex. Requires the Attorney General to audit grants awarded under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005. Imposes limits on the use of Department of Justice (DOJ) funds for DOJ conferences involving more than $20,000.

Accuracy for Adoptees Act

United States · United States Congress · 30 October 2013

Accuracy for Adoptees Act - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to require that a certificate of citizenship or other federal document issued, or requested to be amended, reflect the child's name and date of birth as indicated on a state court order, birth certificate, certificate of foreign birth, certificate of birth abroad, or similar state vital records document issued by the child's U.S. state of residence after the child has been adopted or readopted in that state.

American Families United Act

United States · United States Congress · 30 October 2013

American Families United Act - States that nothing in this Act shall be construed to enable the Attorney General (DOJ) or the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to expand his or her discretionary authority beyond a case-by-case basis, or to provide legalization or nationalization of persons covered under this Act. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to revise waiver of inadmissibility requirements, among other things waiving inadmissibility for: (1) certain persons who entered the United States before age 16 who have earned a degree from a U.S. institution of higher education, (2) false claims of U.S. citizenship by persons under age 18 or lacking mental competence to knowingly misrepresent a claim, and (3) false claims of U.S. citizenship if inadmissibility would create family separation hardship for the alien (including a self-petitioner under the Violence Against Women Act) or for a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident family member. Authorizes parents of U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents to apply for a waiver of inadmissibility for unlawful presence. Places a three-year limit on immigration-related misrepresentations rendering aliens inadmissible. Revises the definition "conviction" for INA purposes. Authorizes an immigration judge in specified circumstances, including family separation hardship, but with certain exceptions, to decline to order an alien removed, deported, or excluded and terminate related proceedings or grant permission to reapply for admission or for relief from removal.

Accuracy for Adoptees Act

United States · United States Congress · 30 October 2013

Accuracy for Adoptees Act - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to require that a certificate of citizenship or other federal document issued, or requested to be amended, reflect the child's name and date of birth as indicated on a state court order, birth certificate, certificate of foreign birth, certificate of birth abroad, or similar state vital records document issued by the child's U.S. state of residence after the child has been adopted or readopted in that state.

Fraudulent Overseas Recruitment and Trafficking Elimination Act of 2013

United States · United States Congress · 28 October 2013

Fraudulent Overseas Recruitment and Trafficking Elimination Act of 2013 - Amends the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 to require the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Department of State to incorporate anti-trafficking and anti-slavery priorities into other aspects of foreign assistance to ensure that assistance programs do not contribute to vulnerability to, or the prevalence of, human trafficking and slavery. Requires a foreign labor contractor to disclose in writing in English and in the primary language of the worker being recruited specified information, including the identity of the employer and the recruiter, worker protections, and a signed copy of the work contract. Prohibits a foreign labor contractor from providing related false or misleading information. Prohibits certain recruitment fees. Requires a foreign labor contractor to obtain from the Secretary of Labor a certificate of registration which shall be valid for two years. Provides for a registration fee. Exempts from such certificate requirement an employer who engages in foreign labor contracting solely to find workers for the employer's own use without the participation of any other foreign labor contractor. Directs the Secretary of Labor to: (1) maintain a list of all registered foreign labor contractors and a list of all such ontractors whose registration has been revoked; and (2) establish a process for receipt, investigation, and disposition of complaints. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to require a consular officer, before issuing specified work visas, to: (1) provide the alien with certain trafficking information, and (2) review and include in the alien's visa file the foreign labor recruiter's disclosures. Directs the Secretary of State to ensure that: (1) each U.S. diplomatic mission has a person responsible for receiving information from any worker who has been subject to violations of this Act, and (2) consulates maintain and make public any information regarding the identities of foreign labor contractors and the employers to whom those contractors supply workers. Sets forth administrative and civil action enforcement requirements.

Border Security and Enforcement Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2014

United States · United States Congress · 3 October 2013

Border Security and Enforcement Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2014 - Makes appropriations for FY2014 for continuing projects or activities not otherwise specifically provided for that were conducted in FY2013 and for which appropriations, funds, or other authority were made available by the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2013 (division D of P.L. 113-6) under the headings "Security, Enforcement, and Investigations--U.S. Customs and Border Protection," "Security, Enforcement, and Investigations--U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement," "Security, Enforcement, and Investigations--Coast Guard," "Protection, Preparedness, Response, and Recovery--National Protection and Programs Directorate--Office of Biometric Identity Management," and "Research and Development, Training, and Services--United States Citizenship and Immigration Services." Requires the rate of operations for each such account to be calculated to reflect the full amount of any reduction required in FY2013 pursuant to: (1) the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2013 (P.L. 113-6), and (2) the presidential sequestration order dated March 1, 2013, except as attributable to budget authority made available by the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act, 2013 (P.L. 113-2). Makes appropriations and funds made available and authority granted under this joint resolution available until whichever of the following first occurs: (1) enactment into law of an appropriation for any project or activity provided for in this joint resolution, (2) enactment into law of the applicable appropriations Act for FY2014 without any provision for such project or activity, or (3) December 15, 2013. Requires implementation of this joint resolution so that only the most limited funding action be taken in order to provide for continuation of projects and activities. Authorizes amounts made available for civilian personnel compensation and benefits to be apportioned up to the rate for operations necessary to avoid furloughs, consistent with the applicable appropriations Act for FY2013, except that such authority shall not be used until after the agency has taken all necessary actions to reduce or defer non-personnel-related administrative expenses. Expresses the sense of Congress that this joint resolution may also be referred to as the Border Safety & Security Act.

To extend the period during which Iraqis who were employed by the United States Government in Iraq may be granted special immigrant status and to temporarily increase the fee or surcharge for processing machine-readable nonimmigrant visas.

United States · United States Congress · 2 October 2013

Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 to provide that the total number of aliens eligible for special immigrant status (Iraqis who were employed by or on behalf of the U.S. government in Iraq) during the first three months of FY2014 shall be the sum of: (1) the number of such aliens whose applications were pending on September 30, 2013, and (2) 2000. Imposes a deadline of December 15, 2013, for applications for special immigrant status. Directs the Secretary of State to increase the fee or surcharge authorized under the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1994 and 1995 by $1 for processing machine-readable nonimmigrant visas and machine-readable combined border crossing identification cards and nonimmigrant visas. Requires amounts collected as a result of the fee increase to be deposited in the general fund of the Treasury.

Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act

United States · United States Congress · 2 October 2013

Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act - States that passage of this Act recognizes that the primary tenets of its success depend on securing U.S. sovereignty and establishing a coherent and just system for integrating those who seek to join American society. States that the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) border security goal is to gain situational awareness and operational control of high traffic areas and operational control along the Southwest border of the United States. Establishes a Southern Border Security Commission if border security goals have not been achieved within five years. Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHA) to: (1) implement metrics to measure security effectiveness at and between ports of entry and in the maritime environment, (2) submit to Congress a comprehensive strategy for gaining situational awareness and operational control of high traffic areas and operational control along the Southwest border of the United States, and (3) submit to Congress a plan to implement a biometric exit capability at ports of entry under the US-VISIT program. Prohibits the Secretary from processing applications for registered provisional immigrant status (RPI) until 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. Prohibits the Secretary from adjusting RPI aliens to lawful permanent resident status until the Secretary certifies to the President and Congress that: (1) the Comprehensive Southern Border Security Strategy is operational, (2) the Southern Border Fencing Strategy has been implemented, (3) a mandatory employment verification system to be used by all employers has been implemented, and (4) the mandatory electronic exit data system is in use at U.S. air and sea ports of entry. Directs the Secretary to implement: (1) a Comprehensive Southern Border Security Strategy for achieving and maintaining effective control between and at the ports of entry in all border sectors along the Southern border, and (2) a Southern Border Fencing Strategy to identify where fencing and technology should be deployed along the Southern border. Establishes in the Treasury: (1) the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Trust Fund, and (2) the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Startup Account. Title I: Border Security - Increases the number of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers and CBP Air and Marine unmanned aircraft systems crew, marine agent, and personnel. Authorizes the transfer of officers and agents from the Northern border to the Southern border. Authorizes permanent funding for the Corporation for Travel Promotion. Establishes a program to recruit Armed Forces reservists and former members of the Armed Forces to serve in CBP and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Authorizes the governor of a state, with the approval of the Secretary of Defense (DOD), to order National Guard units or personnel to perform operations in the Southwest border region to assist CBP in securing the southern border. Increases funding for additional attorneys, support staff, interpreters, pre-trial services, and U.S. marshals in order to increase the number of border crossing prosecutions in the Tucson sector of the Southwest border region. Directs the Secretary to enhance border infrastructure by: (1) constructing additional Border Patrol stations in the Southwest border region, (2) upgrading and establishing additional Border Patrol operating bases, and (3) establishing a grant program with the Secretary of Transportation (DOT) to construct transportation improvements at international border crossings. Directs the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to enhance law enforcement and operational readiness along the U.S. borders through Operation Stonegarden. Directs the President to appoint additional district judges for Arizona, California, and Texas. Increases the fee for filing a civil action in U.S. district court to $360. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) or the Secretary of the Interior to provide CBP personnel with security-related access to federal lands in the Southwest border region in Arizona. Requires CBP to deploy additional mobile, video, and portable surveillance systems, and unarmed, unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) in the Southwest border region. Establishes a grant program to improve emergency communications in the Southwest border region. Directs the Attorney General (DOJ) to reimburse state, county, tribal, and municipal governments for costs associated with the prosecution and pre-trial detention of federally initiated criminal cases declined by local offices of the United States Attorneys. Authorizes appropriations for the state criminal alien assistance program (SCAAP). Directs the Secretary to: (1) provide training for CBP officers, U.S. Border Patrol officers, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, U.S. Air and Marine Division agents, and agriculture specialists stationed within 100 miles of any U.S. land or marine border, or at any U.S. port of entry; (2) provide training for border community liaison officers; and (3) establish CBP child custody guidelines. Establishes the Department of Homeland Security Border Oversight Task Force. Terminates the Task Force 60 days after submission of a required report. Establishes within DHS an Ombudsman for Immigration Related Concerns. Directs the Secretary to consider safety and family concerns in any action related to the repatriation or prosecution of individuals apprehended for immigration violations. Prohibits the Secretary from establishing border crossing fees for individuals at land ports of entry along the Southern and Northern borders. Human Trafficking Reporting Act of 2013 - Includes severe forms of trafficking in persons among "part 1 violent crimes" required to be reported by states for the Uniform Crime Reports of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for purposes of Bureau of Justice Assistance Grants and Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grants. Directs the Secretary to certify to Congress every six months that DHS has only deported or otherwise removed a migrant from the United States through an entry or exit point on the Southern border during daylight hours. Revises restrictions on payment of senior executives' compensation under contracts relating to border security. Title II: Immigrant Visas - Subtitle A: Registration and Adjustment of Registered Provisional Immigrants - Authorizes the Secretary, after conducting the required national security and law enforcement clearances, to grant RPI status to an alien unlawfully in the United States who: (1) meets specified eligibility requirements, (2) applies before the end of the application period, (3) has paid the required fee and penalty if applicable, and (4) has been physically present in the United States since December 31, 2011, and maintains such presence until RPI status has been granted. Establishes a processing fee for persons 16 years or older. Sets forth bars to eligibility based upon criminal convictions, terrorist activity, and grounds for excludability. Provides derivative RPI status to a qualifying spouse or child of an RPI alien. Authorizes a dependent spouse or child to apply for RPI status if the legal relationship between such person and the RPI alien ended due to death, divorce, or domestic violence. Grants RPI status for an initial six-year period, which may be extended under specified conditions. Permits an RPI alien to work and travel outside the United States under specified conditions. Enumerates the grounds under which the Secretary may revoke RPI status. Makes an RPI alien ineligible for any federal means-tested benefit, and considers such person to be a noncitizen for certain other federal benefits. Authorizes an RPI alien to: (1) be issued a Social Security number, and (2) enlist in the Armed Forces. Authorizes the Secretary to adjust the status of an RPI alien to that of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence if such person meets specified eligibility requirements. Prohibits an RPI alien from applying for lawful permanent resident status until the Secretary of State certifies that immigrant visas have become available for all approved petitions filed before the date of enactment of this Act. Establishes a processing fee. States that an RPI alien may only adjust status under the merit-based system provided for by this Act. States that a lawful permanent resident who was lawfully present in the United States and eligible for work authorization for not less than 10 years before becoming a lawful permanent resident may be naturalized in three years upon compliance with specified requirements. Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act of 2013 or DREAM Act 2013 - Authorizes the Secretary to adjust the status of an RPI alien to that of a lawful permanent resident if the person demonstrates that he or she: (1) has been in RPI status for at least five years; (2) was younger than age 16 when he or she entered the United States; (3) has earned a high school diploma or obtained a general education development certificate in the United States; (4) has acquired a degree from an institution of higher education or has completed at least two years in a program for a bachelor's or higher degree in the United States, or has served in the Uniformed Services for at least four years and, if discharged, received an honorable discharge; and (5) has provided a list of each secondary school attended in the United States. Prohibits the Secretary from adjusting the status of an RPI alien to lawful permanent resident status unless the person: (1) satisfies citizenship requirements, (2) submits appropriate biometric and biographic data, and (3) undergoes security and law enforcement background checks. Repeals the denial of an unlawful alien's eligibility for higher education benefits based on state residence unless a U.S. national is similarly eligible without regard to such state residence. Sets forth RPI program requirements regarding: (1) prohibited and required disclosures, (2) employer protections, (3) audits and information evaluation, (4) administrative review, (5) privacy and civil liberties, (6) judicial review, and (7) federal education benefits. Sets forth prohibitions on federal agency use or publishing of information furnished in a lawful status application pursuant to the DREAM ACT or the RPI programs. Establishes a criminal penalty for a person who knowingly misuses or publishes or permits the improper use of RPI application information. Establishes within U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services a program to award grants to eligible nonprofit organizations to assist RPI applicants. Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) and part E (Foster Care and Adoption Assistance) of title IV of the Social Security Act regarding: (1) state termination of parental rights, (2) children separated from parents and caregivers, and (3) proof of authorization to work in the United States for purposes of OASDI insured status. Extends authority to waive the termination of annuity payments for re-employed Foreign Service annuitants. Establishes a Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands-only lawful permanent resident status for certain long-term Commonwealth legal residents. Authorizes such aliens to receive an immigrant visa or to adjust to lawful permanent (U.S.) resident status. Subtitle B: Agricultural Worker Program - Agricultural Worker Program Act of 2013 - Confers "blue card status" upon an alien who: (1) has performed specified periods of U.S. agricultural employment or is a qualifying alien's spouse or child, (2) applied for such status during the application period, and (3) is not ineligible under the grounds applicable to RPI aliens. Sets forth protections for aliens apprehended before or during the application period, or in removal proceedings. Permits qualified nonimmigrants who have participated in the H-2A temporary agricultural worker program to apply from outside the United States. Prohibits the Secretary from granting blue card status unless the individual submits eligibility-related security and law enforcement biometric and biographic data. States that blue card status expires eight years after the date on which final blue card regulations are published. Establishes a processing fee for persons 16 years or old. Enumerates grounds under which the Secretary may revoke blue card status. Makes a blue card alien ineligible for any federal means-tested benefit. Authorizes the Secretary to adjust to RPI the status of an alien who has been granted blue card status if the alien is unable to fulfill the agricultural service requirement. Directs the Secretary to adjust a blue card alien (and spouse and children) to permanent resident status if the alien has fulfilled specified periods of agricultural employment. Requires payment of: (1) a $400 fine, and (2) any federal tax liability. Establishes criminal penalties for false application statements. Authorizes a blue card alien to correct certain social security records. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to create: (1) a W-3 nonimmigrant visa for an alien to perform agricultural services who has a written contract that specifies the wages, benefits, and working conditions of such full-time employment with a designated agricultural employer for a specified period of time; and (2) a W-4 nonimmigrant visa for an alien to perform agricultural services who has a full-time employment offer from a designated agricultural employer for such employment. Establishes the nonimmigrant agricultural (W-3 and W-4 visa) worker program. Establishes a program limit for the first five years which may be adjusted annually based upon demand and economic factors. Provides for a three-year period of admission with specified extension periods. Provides for worker portability. Prohibits derivative status for the spouses and children of program aliens. Excludes W-3 and W-4 workers from need-based federal financial assistance programs. Directs the Secretary to monitor program workers through E-Verify and an electronic monitoring system. Establishes a cut-off date for petitioning for H-2A temporary agricultural workers that is one year after the effective date of the regulations implementing the agricultural worker program under this Act. Subjects specified benefits programs to quarterly fraud investigations. Subtitle C: Future Immigration - Establishes a merit-based and points immigrant admissions system. Provides for: (1) 120,000 admissions per fiscal year, annual increases based upon specified admissions and employment conditions, and a maximum admissions cap of 250,000; (2) recapture of unused visas; and (3) lawful permanent resident status for such entrants. Provides that: (1) for FY2015-FY2017 the worldwide level of merit-based immigrant visas shall be available for skilled workers, professionals, and certain other workers; and (2) for subsequent fiscal years preference will be given to tier 1 and tier 2 aliens based upon a point allocation system. Awards tier 1 and tier 2 points to applicants for specified criteria. Establishes a $1,500 visa fee in addition to any application processing fee. Makes specified employment- and family-based applicants and long-term workers eligible for merit-based immigrant visas. Repeals the diversity immigrant program as of October 1, 2014. Permits aliens selected for FY2013 or FY2014 to retain program eligibility. Sets forth worldwide levels of employment- and family-based immigrants. Includes the spouse or minor child of a lawful permanent resident alien in the definition of "immediate family." Eliminates the per-country limit for employment-based immigrants and increases the per-country limit for family-based immigrants. Revises family-based immigrant visa allocations for: (1) unmarried sons and daughters of U.S. citizens, (2) married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens (requires that they be under 31 years old at time of filing), and (3) unmarried sons and daughters of U.S. lawful permanent residents. Eliminates the visa category for brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens. Exempts certain aliens from numerical limitations. Includes a community adversely affected by a recommendation of the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission as a targeted employment area for purposes of certain employment creation visa set-asides. Revises nonimmigrant V-visa (spouses and children of lawful permanent residents coming to the United States to wait for completion of the immigrant visa process) requirements. Makes fiances of lawful permanent residents eligible for a nonimmigrant K-visa (fiance or fiancee). Redefines "child" for purposes of titles I and II of INA to include a stepchild under 21 years old. Permits children under 18 years old to be adopted. Provides specified relief for orphans and spouses. Authorizes an immigration judge to terminate removal proceedings. Revises waiver of inadmissibility requirements, including waiving inadmissibility for certain persons who entered the United States before age 16 who have earned a degree from a U.S. institution of higher education. Considers a lawful permanent resident alien (and spouse or child) who is a doctor or health care worker residing in an eligible country and working in such capacity to be physically present and residing in the United States for naturalization purposes. Extends the Iraqi special immigrant visa program and the Afghan special immigrant visa program. Makes the special immigrant non-minister religious worker and the EB-5 regional center programs permanent. Provides discretionary special immigrant status for the surviving spouse or child of a U.S. government employee killed abroad in the line of duty who had performed faithful service for at least 15 years. Filipino Veterans Family Reunification Act - Exempts from worldwide or numerical limitations on immigrant visas the sons and daughters of a U.S. citizen and a parent who was a Filipino World War II veteran who was naturalized under the Immigration Act of 1990 or other specified federal law. Subtitle D: Conrad State 30 and Physician Access - Makes permanent the J-1 visa waiver program (Conrad state 30/medical services in underserved areas). Excludes from numerical immigration limitations any alien physicians who have completed national interest waiver requirements by working in a health care shortage area (including alien physicians who completed such service before enactment of this Act and their spouse and children). Sets forth specified employment protections and contract requirements for alien physicians working in underserved areas. Increases the number of alien physicians that may be allocated to a state. Provides for: (1) additional increases or decreases based upon demand, and (2) up to three visa waivers per fiscal year per state for physicians in academic medical centers. Subtitle E: Integration - Renames the DHS Office of Citizenship as the Office of Citizenship and New Americans. Revises Office functions. Establishes a Task Force on New Americans which shall establish a coordinated federal program and policy response to immigrant integration issues. Authorizes the Secretary, through U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, to: (1) establish the United States Citizenship Foundation to expand citizenship preparation programs, and (2) award grants to eligible nonprofit organizations for immigration integration programs. Establishes a pilot program of grants to states, local governments, or other qualifying entities to carry out immigrant integration programs, or to establish New Immigrant Councils to carry out such programs. Waives with respect to naturalization: (1) English language and civics requirements for persons over age 65 who have lived in the United States for at least 5 years as lawful permanent residents, and (2) the English language requirement for persons over age 60 who have lived in the United States for at least 10 years as lawful permanent residents. Prohibits the Secretary, before October 1, 2020, from requiring an applicant or petitioner for permanent residence or citizenship to use an electronic method to file an application or access a customer account. Makes certain battered aliens eligible for housing assistance. Amends the Child Citizenship Act of 2000, regarding naturalization of an alien child adopted by a U.S. citizen, to: (1) apply its requirements to any individual who satisfies requirements for naturalization, regardless of the date on which they were satisfied; (2) permit one parent to satisfy the preadoption visitation requirement; (3) grant automatic citizenship to a child in the legal custody of the citizen parent pursuant to a lawful admission; and (4) provide for the naturalization of adopted children who lack legal status or physical presence in the United States. Applies these amendments to any child adopted by a U.S. citizen regardless of the date of the adoption. Title III: Interior Enforcement - Subtitle A: Employment Verification System - Prohibits an employer from: (1) hiring, recruiting, or referring for a fee any alien who is not authorized to work in the United States; (2) failing to comply with E-Verify or document requirements; or (2) continuing to employ an unauthorized alien. Provides a good faith defense for an employer who has complied with document and E-Verify requirements. Sets forth: (1) employer and employee document requirements, and (2) employer penalties and civil rights protections. Sets forth E-Verify participation deadlines for federal agencies and departments, federal contractors, employers, agricultural laborers, tribal employers, and all other employers. Sets forth E-Verify program requirements. Declares that failure to participate in E-Verify shall constitute a civil violation. States that E-Verify remains in effect during the period of transition as provided for by this Act. Requires that within five years all Social Security cards issued shall be fraud-, tamper-, wear-, and identity theft-resistant. Makes specified forms of Social Security fraud punishable by fine, up to five years' imprisonment, or both. Directs the Commissioner of Social Security (SSA) to establish a secure method to check specified employee data against SSA data in order to confirm identity and employment eligibility. Prohibits the release of tax return information except as authorized by the Internal Revenue Code. Makes it an unfair immigration-related employment practice, with specified exceptions, for a person, entity, or employment agency to discriminate based upon an individual's national origin or citizenship status with respect to hiring, firing, or verifying employment eligibility. Establishes within U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services the Office of the Small Business and Employee Advocate to assist small businesses and individuals comply with alien employment requirements. Subtitle B: Protecting United States Workers - Expands the U-visa (crime victims) category to include aliens who have suffered substantial physical or mental abuse or harm, or who would suffer extreme hardship upon removal, as a result of having been a victim of the following covered violations: (1) certain workplace abuses, (2) slavery or trafficking in persons, or (3) deprivation of due process or constitutional rights. Subtitle C: Other Provisions - Establishes in the Treasury the Interior Enforcement Account. Establishes: (1) a mandatory exit data system that shall include data collection from machine-readable visas, passports, and other travel and entry documents for all aliens exiting the United States from air and sea ports of entry; (2) a mandatory biometric exit data system at the 10 U.S. airports that support the highest volume of international air travel; and (3) a mandatory biometric exit data system at the Core 30 international airports in the United States. Directs the Secretary to implement an interoperable electronic data system to access database information from federal law enforcement agencies and the intelligence community for purposes of visa issuance, admissibility, or deportability. Requires an appropriate official of each commercial aircraft or vessel departing from the United States to any port or place outside the United States to ensure transmission to CBP of identity-theft resistant departure manifest information covering alien passengers, crew, and non-crew. Prohibits, with national security and specific suspect exceptions, federal law enforcement officers from using race or ethnicity in making routine law enforcement decisions. Increases penalties for cultivating or manufacturing controlled substances on federal property. Provides additional penalties under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines for: (1) the use of hazardous substances on federal land, and (2) the use or possession of firearms in connection with drug offenses on federal land. Subtitle D: Asylum and Refugee Provisions - Eliminates the one-year time limit for filing an asylum claim. Permits reopening a claim denied because of failure to file within one year. Authorizes the spouse or child of a refugee or asylee to bring his or her accompanying or joining child into the United States as a refugee or asylee. Terminates the waiver of specified visa requirements for certain aliens who were born and reside in Vietnam and who were fathered by a U.S. citizen. Authorizes the President to designate refugee groups. Authorizes: (1) the Secretary to designate specific groups of individuals as stateless persons, and (2) the Secretary or the Attorney General to provide conditional lawful status to a qualifying stateless person and adjust such person to lawful permanent resident status after one year. Sets forth protections for stateless persons in the United States. Increases the number of annual U-visas. Provides employment authorization for nonimmigrant U-visa and T-visa (trafficking victim) aliens whose applications are pending. Prohibits an alien from being admitted as a refugee or asylee until such person's identity has been checked against all appropriate databases. Tibetan Refugee Assistance Act of 2013 - Makes 5,000 immigrant visas available in FY2014-FY2016 for individuals born in Tibet who have been continuously residing in India or Nepal. Terminates the refugee or asylee status of an alien who: (1) without good cause returns to the alien's country of nationality or, in the case of an alien having no nationality, returns to the country in which the alien last habitually resided; and (2) applied for such status because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion. Makes such provision inapplicable to an alien eligible for adjustment to lawful permanent resident status pursuant to the Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966. Subtitle E: Shortage of Immigration Court Resources for Removal Proceedings - Directs the Attorney General to: (1) increase the number of immigration court judges, support staff, and Immigration Board of Appeals staff attorneys; and (2) appoint counsel in certain removal proceedings involving an unaccompanied child, an individual with a serious mental disability, or a particularly vulnerable individual. Establishes within the Executive Office for Immigration Review an Office of Legal Access Programs to educate aliens regarding administrative procedures and legal rights. Subtitle F: Prevention of Trafficking in Persons and Abuses Involving Workers Recruited Abroad - Requires any person who engages in foreign labor contracting to disclose in writing in English and in the primary language of the worker being recruited specified information, including the identity of the employer and the recruiter, worker protections, and a signed copy of the work contract. Prohibits any person who engages in foreign labor contracting from discriminating in hiring. Prohibits certain recruitment fees. Requires a foreign labor contractor to register with the Secretary of Labor. Establishes a registration fee. Directs the Secretary of Labor to: (1) maintain a list of all foreign labor contractors registered and a list of all foreign labor contractors whose registration has been revoked, and (2) establish a process for complaint investigation. Sets forth administrative and civil action enforcement requirements. Child Trafficking Victims Protection Act - Directs the Secretary to require the appropriate training of all personnel who come into contact with unaccompanied alien children. Sets forth child protection requirements. Directs the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to implement a best practices program to ensure the safe repatriation and reintegration of unaccompanied alien children into their country of nationality or of last habitual residence. Subtitle G: Interior Enforcement - Makes an alien who has been convicted of an offense for which an element was active and knowing participation in a criminal street gang inadmissible and deportable. Makes an alien: (1) inadmissible who is physically outside the United States and since the age of 18 knowingly participated in a criminal street gang, or (2) who is at least 18 years old ineligible for RPI status for criminal street gang activities. Makes an alien who has been convicted three or more times for driving under the influence or driving while intoxicated inadmissible and deportable. Revises the definition of "aggravated felony" regarding the evidentiary determination of minority in instances of murder, rape, or sexual abuse of a minor. Revises criminal penalty and related affirmative defense requirements regarding illegal entry and reentry. Increases monetary penalties for owners and operators of vessels and aircraft regarding stowaways and execution of removal orders. Amends the federal criminal code to revise and increase criminal penalties for passport, visa, and immigration fraud. Authorizes the Attorney General to commence a civil action to enjoin any fraudulent immigration service provider from continuing to provide services that substantially interfere with the administration of the immigration laws or from continuing to willfully misrepresent such provider's legal authority to provide representation. Makes an alien convicted of a passport or visa violation under the federal criminal code inadmissible and removable. Makes certain aliens inadmissible who: (1) refuse to comply with a lawful request for biometric information; or (2) have been convicted of a crime of domestic violence, stalking, child abuse, or are in violation of a domestic protection order. Prohibits an individual acting for financial gain from directing or participating in an effort to bring or attempt to bring five or more persons unlawfully into the United States. Establishes and increases monetary and/or prison penalties for such actions. Makes it a crime to transmit to another person the location, movement, or activities of law enforcement agents while intending to further an immigration-related crime. Prohibits the carrying or use of a firearm in an alien smuggling crime. Eliminates the provision permitting a U.S. national to renounce his or her citizenship during wartime. Authorizes special agents of the Department and the Foreign Service to investigate illegal passport or visa issuance or use, identity theft, document fraud, human trafficking, peonage, and federal offenses committed within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States. Authorizes the Secretary to use secure alternatives programs to maintain custody over detained aliens, except for terrorist aliens. Sets forth detention facility oversight requirements. Revises bond hearing and notice to appear requirements. Limits the use of solitary confinement, prohibiting it for persons younger than age 18. Directs the Secretary of State to prohibit visas to persons of a country whose government denies or unreasonably delays accepting back their citizens, subjects, nationals, or residents. Makes inadmissible an alien who has committed acts of torture, extrajudicial killings, war crimes, or systematic attacks on civilians. Subtitle H: Protection of Children Affected by Immigration Enforcement - Humane Enforcement and Legal Protections for Separated Children Act or HELP Separated Children Act - Sets forth apprehension procedures for DHS and cooperating entity immigration enforcement-related activities. Requires DHS detention centers to provide for access to children, child welfare agencies, courts, and consular officials. Title IV: Reforms to Nonimmigrant Visa Programs - Subtitle A: Employment-based Nonimmigrant Visas - Establishes: (1) a nonimmigrant H-1B visa (specialty occupation) cap of 115,000 for the fiscal year after the date of enactment of this Act, and (2) a minimum of 115,000 visas and a maximum of 180,000 visas in subsequent years based upon market conditions. Sets forth fiscal year cap increases and decreases. Limits the exemption from H-1B numerical limitations to STEM occupations and increases the annual STEM allocation to 25,000. Authorizes an H-1B or L-visa (intra-company transferee) spouse to work if he or she is the national of a country that permits reciprocal employment. Provides deference to prior H-1B or L-visa adjudications involving the same employer and nonimmigrant absent material error, changed circumstances, or new information adversely affecting eligibility. Provides a 60-day lawful status period for an H-1B alien whose employment is terminated. Authorizes: (1) visa revalidation within the United States for specified nonimmigrant visa categories, and (2) waiver of consular interviews for low-risk applicants. Establishes in the Treasury the STEM Education and Training Account. Requires employers to submit a $1,000 fee along with an application for a certification. Sets aside specified amounts for: (1) a low-income STEM scholarship program, (2) K-12 STEM education, and (3) STEM capacity building at minority-serving institutions. Authorizes grants to eligible entities for American Dream Accounts for a group of low-income students. Requires an employer (except for nonprofit research institutions and nonprofit educational institutions) filing a petition to hire H-1B or L-visa aliens to pay a fee of: (1) $1,250 for each petition filed by any employer with not more than 25 full-time U.S. employees, and (2) $2,500 for each petition filed by any employer with more than 25 such employees. Subtitle B: H-1B Visa Fraud and Abuse Protections - Revises H-1B requirements for employer applications and application reviews. Revises requirements regarding (H-1C visa) nonimmigrant nurses in health professional shortage areas to: (1) permit a one-time three-year extension of admission, (2) reduce the maximum number of visas per fiscal year, and (3) authorize such a nonimmigrant to accept new employment as a registered nurse at any H-1C-qualifying facility. Prohibits an employer (other than an educational or research employer) that employs 50 or more employees in the United States from hiring additional H-1B or L-visa employees if the number of such employees exceeds specified limits. Revises H-1B employer complaint requirements. Directs the Secretary of Labor to establish an H-1B recruitment website. Establishes: (1) specified filing fees for H-1B-dependent employers, and (2) a fee for premium processing of employment-based immigrant petitions. Revises portability requirements for beneficiaries of immigrant petitions. Subtitle C: L Visa Fraud and Abuse Protections - Prohibits outplacement of L-1 visa workers (employees of an international company with offices in the United States and abroad) by certain employers. Authorizes and enumerates the requirements for: (1) outplacement of L-visa nonimmigrants, including payment of a $500 fee; and (2) 12-month approvals of new office L-visa petitions. Sets forth L-visa filing fee requirements for certain employers. Authorizes the Secretary to initiate complaints against L-visa employers. Sets forth related penalty requirements. Requires DHS to report to Congress regarding the use of L-visa blanket petitions. Subtitle D: Other Nonimmigrant Visas - Authorizes dual intent for F-1 visa foreign students, including students who commute from Canada or Mexico to study in the United States. Revises the nonimmigrant E-visa (treaty trader) category to: (1) include aliens seeking to enter the United States pursuant to a bilateral investment treaty or a free trade agreement, (2) establish an E-4 visa for specialty occupation workers (other than from Chile, Singapore, or Australia) to enter the United States pursuant to a free trade agreement, (3) establish an E-5 visa for specialty occupation workers who are nationals of the Republic of Korea (South Korea), and (4) establish an E-6 visa for qualifying workers who are nationals of certain sub-Saharan African or Caribbean Basin countries. Includes in the nonimmigrant E-3 visa category certain nationals of Ireland coming to the United States under a treaty of commerce to perform specialty occupation services. Extends portability to certain nonimmigrant O-1 visa holders (extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics, or extraordinary achievement in the motion picture or television industry). Permits specified nonimmigrant aliens granted employment authorization to continue employment with the same employer while an extension of stay application is adjudicated. Eliminates the 12-month attendance limit for elementary and secondary foreign students. Requires employers/sponsors to pay a $500 fee for each J-1 visa (cultural exchange visitor) alien admitted under the summer work travel program. Includes in the J-1 visa category persons coming to the United States to perform work involving a specialized knowledge or skill that requires proficiency in a language spoken in countries of which fewer than 5,000 nationals were lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the previous year. Establishes a $100 nonimmigrant F-1 (foreign student) visa fee. Directs the Secretary of State to develop a pilot program for processing B-visas (business or tourist visitors) using secure remote videoconferencing technology to conduct applicant interviews. Grants the Secretary of State access to all terrorism records and databases maintained by any U.S. agency or department in order to determine whether an applicant for admission poses a security threat. Authorizes the head of an agency or department to withhold such access if necessary to prevent the unauthorized disclosure of information that identifies intelligence or sensitive law enforcement sources, methods, or activities. Requires every alien applying for U.S. admission to submit to biographic and biometric screening to determine whether the alien is listed in any U.S. terrorist watch list or database. Prohibits, with specified exceptions, the entry of a listed person. Requires that notice of a revoked visa be immediately provided to the relevant consular officers, law enforcement, terrorist screening databases, and DHS port inspectors. Defines "abused derivative alien" as the spouse or child accompanying or joining a principal alien who has been subjected to the principal alien's battery or extreme cruelty. Directs the Secretary to grant or extend the admission status of an abused derivative alien for the longer of the same period for which the principal alien was admitted, or three years. Authorizes the Secretary to adjust the status of an abused derivative alien to that of a lawful permanent resident. Considers an alien crewman to have departed from Hawaii, Guam, or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands after leaving its territorial waters without regard to whether the alien arrives in a foreign state before returning to Hawaii, Guam, or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Makes citizens of the Compact of Free Association States (Federated States of Micronesia, Republic of the Marshall Islands, and Republic of Palau) lawfully residing in the United States eligible for Medicaid. Subtitle E: JOLT Act - Jobs Originated through Launching Travel Act of 2013 or JOLT Act of 2013 - Establishes a pilot fee-based premium processing service to expedite visa interview appointments. Authorizes the admission into the United States of a qualifying Canadian citizen over age 55 and spouse (who is not required to be over age 55) for a period not to exceed 240 days in any 365-day period who maintains a Canadian residence and owns a U.S. residence or has rented a U.S. accommodation for the duration of such stay. Prohibits U.S. employment. Establishes a nonimmigrant Y-visa for: (1) an alien who invests (and maintains) at least $500,000 in U.S. residential real estate, of which at least $250,000 must be for a U.S. primary residence where such person will reside for more than 180 days per year; and (2) such alien's accompanying or joining spouse and children. Requires a Y-visa alien to: (1) be at least 55 years old, (2) have purchased a qualifying residence, (3) not need public assistance, (4) possess health insurance, (5) live in the United States for more than 180 days per year, and (6) pay a $1,000 fee. Limits U.S. employment. Directs the Secretary to make available each month data for the previous two years regarding visa appointment availability for each visa processing post to allow applicants to identify periods when wait times may be shorter. Revises the visa waiver program to authorize the Secretary (in lieu of the Attorney General) to designate any country as a program country if it provides machine-readable passports and the visa refusal rate and overstay rate for nationals of that country were both not more than 3% in the previous fiscal year. Directs: (1) the Comptroller General (GAO) to review the Secretary's methods of tracking entering and exiting aliens and detecting overstays, and (2) the Secretary to evaluate the security risks of aliens entering the United States without an approved Electronic System for Travel Authorization verification. Expresses the sense of Congress that the Secretary, in conducting evaluations of visa waiver countries, should prioritize reviews of countries in which such review is necessary or desirable. Makes the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China (PRC) eligible for program country designation. Authorizes the inclusion in registered traveler programs of individuals who meet security requirements and are employed and sponsored by an international organization which maintains a strong working relationship with the United States. Prohibits enrollment of an individual who is a citizen of a state sponsor of terror. Requires U.S. diplomatic and consular missions to: (1) conduct nonimmigrant visa application interviews expeditiously, consistent with national security and resource allocation considerations; and (2) explore expanding visa processing capacity in China and Brazil. Establishes a $5 B-visa fee. Subtitle F: Reforms to the H-2B Visa Program - Exempts returning workers from the nonimmigrant H-2B visa (temporary nonagricultural services) annual numerical limitations through FY2018. Sets forth H-2B employer requirements, including payment of a $500 labor certification application fee. Authorizes the temporary nonimmigrant admission of: (1) multinational executives, managers, and multinational company employees coming for work-related purposes; and (2) certain relief workers coming in response to a federal or state declared disaster. Authorizes a B-visa alien to accept certain honorarium payments and associated incidental expenses. Establishes a temporary nonimmigrant Z-visa for certain aliens coming to perform health and safety-related maintenance or repairs for common carriers on equipment or machinery manufactured outside of the United States. Establishes a $500 fee for each such alien. American Jobs in American Forests Act of 2013 - Directs the Secretary of Labor, as a component of the H-2B (temporary nonagricultural workers) labor certification process for forestry employment, to take specified actions to recruit U.S. workers before hiring H-2B workers. Subtitle G: W Nonimmigrant Visas - Establishes the Bureau of Immigration and Labor Market Research which shall devise a methodology to: (1) determine the annual change to the nonimmigrant W-visa cap and use such methodology to set such caps, and and (2) designate shortage occupations by job zone. Establishes: (1) a nonimmigrant W-1 visa for an alien having a foreign residence who is coming to the United States to perform services or labor for a registered employer in a registered position, and (2) a nonimmigrant W-2 visa for such alien's accompanying or joining spouse or children. Provides that: (1) a certified alien may be granted W-visa status for an initial three-year period, with additional three-year extensions which may be made while in the United States; and (2) a W-visa alien must leave the United States if unemployed for more than 60 consecutive days. Requires an employer to pay a registered employer application fee. Sets forth requirements regarding: (1) employer eligibility, registration, U.S. worker recruitment requirements,and related requirements; (2) W-visa nonimmigrant protections; (3) eligible and ineligible occupations; (4) fees; (5) enforcement; and (6) annual admission limits. Subtitle H: Investing in New Venture, Entrepreneurial Startups, and Technologies - Establishes a nonimmigrant X-visa for a qualified entrepreneur: (1) who has secured at least $100,000 in investments from an accredited investor, venture capitalist, or government entity for such alien's U.S. business; or (2) whose U.S. business has created at least three qualified jobs during the previous two years and has generated at least $250,000 in annual revenue in the United States. Provides for an initial three-year period of authorized admission with specified extension periods. Establishes a $1,000 X-visa fee. Establishes an EB-6 immigrant investor visa (capped at 10,000 per year) for qualifying entrepreneur aliens (including aliens with advanced STEM degrees) living in the United States whose U.S. business has met specified job creation, revenue, and/or venture capital or investment requirements. Makes the EB-5 visa (alien investor) regional center program permanent. Authorizes a commercial enterprise affiliated with a regional center to file a preapproval petition. Authorizes a related premium processing (and fee) option. Authorizes termination of a previously approved regional center if persons in positions of authority have been involved in criminal, trafficking, espionage, or terrorist activity. Requires regional center compliance with securities laws. Terminates the status of an alien (and the alien's spouse and children) with conditional permanent resident status who is an employee of a federal national security, science and technology laboratory, center, or agency if the Secretary determines within one year of granting such status that: (1) the qualifying employment was intended as a means to evade U.S. immigration laws; (2) the alien has not completed, or is not likely to complete, the 12-month employment requirement; or (3) the alien was not meeting status requirements. Authorizes the Secretary to require an employment-based immigrant to pay an additional fee for a petition that includes the alien's spouse and child or children. Exempts spouses and children of EB-5 employment-based immigrants from EB-5 admissions limits. Increases the fiscal year EB-5 set-aside for qualified immigrants who invest in a new commercial enterprise which is investing capital and will create employment in a targeted employment area (TEA). Designates TEAs for a five-year renewable period. Authorizes concurrent filing of EB-5 petitions and applications for status adjustment to conditional lawful permanent resident Subtitle I: Student and Exchange Visitor Programs - Student Visa Integrity Act - Subjects to fine and a 15-year prison term an owner, official, employee, or agent of an educational institution who commits fraud or misuse of visas, permits, and other immigration documents in connection with the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP). Requires academic institutions (other than seminaries or other religious institutions) to be accredited for F-visa purposes if: (1) the institution is not already required to be accredited, and (2) an accrediting agency recognized by the Secretary of Education is able to provide such accreditation. Authorizes the Secretary to impose a monetary fine and suspend authority to issue a Form I-20 with regard to an institution that fails to comply with the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVIS) reporting requirements. Authorizes the Secretary, upon reasonable suspicion that an owner of, or a designated school official at, an approved institution of higher education, another educational institution, or a designated exchange visitor program, has committed SEVP-related fraud, to suspend: (1) SEVP certification, and (2) such official's or such school's SEVIS access. Disqualifies permanently an owner or school official who is convicted of SEVP-related fraud from filing future petitions and from having an ownership interest or a management role in any U.S. educational institution that enrolls nonimmigrant alien students or nonimmigrant alien vocational students. Prohibits an individual from serving as a designated school official or from being granted SEVIS access unless the individual: (1) is a U.S. national or a lawful permanent resident alien who, during the most recent three-year period, has undergone a specified background check; and (2) has completed SEVP and SEVIS training. Authorizes the Secretary to collect a fee for each such security check. Prohibits any U.S. flight school from accessing SEVIS or issuing a Form I-20 to an alien seeking a student or vocational student visa if the flight school has not been certified to the satisfaction of the Secretary and by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Requires: (1) an accrediting agency, at the time it is required to notify the Secretary of Education and the appropriate state licensing agency of the final denial, withdrawal, suspension, or termination of an institution's accreditation, to notify the Secretary of such determination; and (2) the Secretary to withdraw the school from SEVP and prohibit the school from accessing SEVIS. Directs the Secretary to implement both phases of the second generation Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS II) within two years.

A bill to extend the period during which Iraqis who were employed by the United States Government in Iraq may be granted special immigrant status and to temporarily increase the fee or surcharge for processing machine-readable nonimmigrant visas.

United States · United States Congress · 30 September 2013

Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 to provide that the total number of aliens eligible for special immigrant status (Iraqis who were employed by or on behalf of the U.S. government in Iraq) during the first three months of FY2014 shall be the sum of: (1) the number of such aliens whose applications were pending on September 30, 2013, and (2) 2000. Imposes a deadline of December 15, 2013, for applications for special immigrant status. Directs the Secretary of State to increase the fee or surcharge authorized under the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1994 and 1995 by $1 for processing machine-readable nonimmigrant visas and machine-readable combined border crossing identification cards and nonimmigrant visas. Requires amounts collected as a result of the fee increase to be deposited in the general fund of the Treasury.

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that there should be established a "National Americans of African Immigrant Heritage Month" in September to celebrate the great contributions of Americans of African immigrant heritage in the United States who have enriched the history of the Nation.

United States · United States Congress · 30 September 2013

Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that a National Americans of African Immigrant Heritage Month should be established to celebrate the significant contributions of Americans of recent African immigrant heritage to the history of the United States.

CIR ASAP Act of 2013

United States · United States Congress · 20 September 2013

Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America's Security and Prosperity Act of 2013, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform ASAP Act of 2013, or CIR ASAP Act of 2013 - Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) (Secretary) to: (1) develop and submit to Congress a National Strategy for Border Security; (2) increase the number of Customs and Border Protection officers, agriculture specialists, and border security support personnel, and enhance related equipment, assets, and technology; (3) develop a comprehensive land and maritime border surveillance plan, including aerial and integrated surveillance demonstration programs; (4) issue a rule for electronic device searches and related agent training; (5) improve coordination efforts to combat human smuggling; (6) establish a Border Communities Liaison Office in every Border Patrol sector at the southern and northern borders; (7) carry out a ports of entry technology demonstration program; and (8) establish a Southern Border Security Task Force. Authorizes appropriations for border security improvements at U.S. ports of entry. Authorizes border relief grants for tribal, state, or local law enforcement and related agencies in proximity to the border or in a designated High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area. Provides reimbursement for state and county prosecutors in border states for prosecuting federally initiated and referred drug cases. Suspends the Operation Streamline program pending an evaluation of its viability. Expands resources for Project Gunrunner and for Operation Armas Cruzadas along the U.S.-Mexico border. Establishes the United States-Mexico Border Enforcement Commission. Prohibits the U.S. Armed Forces, including the National Guard, from assisting in non-emergency federal, state, local, and civilian law enforcement of immigration laws. Directs the Secretaries of DHS, the Interior, Agriculture (USDA), Defense (DOD), and Commerce to develop: (1) a land border protection strategy, and (2) a borderlands environmental monitoring plan. Provides for: (1) enhanced border cooperation with Mexico, and (2) expansion of Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism programs. Sets forth detention conditions. Directs the Secretary to appoint an Immigration Detention Commission. Prescribes requirements for: (1) immigration enforcement protections, (2) protections against unlawful detentions, (3) protections for vulnerable populations, (4) apprehension procedures for families and family detention, (5) welfare services for children separated from detained or removed parents, (6) unaccompanied alien children, and (7) female detainees. Provides a stay of removal and work authorization for detained alien workers who are witnesses or necessary for workplace prosecution claims. Eliminates, with specified exceptions, DHS authority to enter into agreements with state and local law enforcement agencies to perform immigration law enforcement functions. Establishes in DHS an Immigration and Customs Enforcement Ombudsman. Eliminates the one-year asylum filing requirement. Provides for federal court review of DHS orders of removal currently exempt from such review. Establishes an alien employment verification system which requires employers to comply with: (1) document verification requirements, and (2) a phased-in electronic employment verification system. Sets forth backlog reduction requirements respecting family-sponsored and employment-based immigrant levels. Revises the definition of "immediate relative" to: (1) include the spouse and child of a lawful permanent resident, and (2) permit a qualifying widow/widower and the child or parent of a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident to maintain such status while filing for permanent resident status. Increases: (1) per-country limits for family-sponsored and employment-based immigrants, and (2) specified family-unity exceptions to unlawful presence-based inadmissibility. Prohibits the removal from the United States of an individual who: (1) fled his or her homeland while under the age of 12; and (2) was later admitted to the United States as a refugee, parolee, or asylee. Exempts the sons and daughters of certain naturalized Filipino World War II veterans from worldwide or numerical immigrant visa limits. Makes a minor child of an alien fiancee/fiance or of an alien spouse of a U.S. citizen eligible for derivative K-visa status under specified circumstances. Redefines "child" to include a stepchild under 21 years old. Amends the Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act of 1998 to: (1) require determinations with respect to children to be made using the age and status of an individual on October 21, 1998, and (2) permit an application based upon child status to be filed by a parent or guardian if the child is present in the United States on such filing date. Permits new status adjustment applications to be filed for a limited time period. Reduces the required support level for immigrant sponsorship. Establishes the Prevent Unauthorized Migration Visa (PUM Visa) program which shall provide for: (1) 100,000 PUM conditional permanent resident visas annually, for three years, to persons from countries (transitional visa admission states) which represent at least 5% of the total unauthorized migration population to the United States for the past five years; and (2) a process to adjust to permanent resident status. Exempts specified categories of U.S.-educated aliens from employment-based immigration limits. Permits a nonimmigrant alien whose employer has petitioned for an employment-based green card for the alien to file an application for adjustment of status, regardless of whether an immigrant visa is immediately available. (Requires visa availability before such application may be approved.) Return of Talent Act - Establishes the Return of Talent Program to permit an eligible alien (and certain family members) to return to the alien's country of citizenship for up to two years in order to contribute to such country's postconflict or natural disaster reconstruction activities. (During such absence the alien and family members shall be considered to be continuously present and residing in the United States for naturalization purposes.) Establishes a conditional nonimmigrant status for qualifying aliens and their dependents who are illegally present or out of status in the United States and who register and meet the requirements for such status. Authorizes: (1) adjustment from conditional to permanent resident status at the earlier of six years after enactment of this Act or 30 days after specified immigrant visas become available (with exceptions to this time frame for certain students, military personnel, and employed individuals), and (2) naturalization three years after permanent resident status adjustment. Agricultural Job Opportunities, Benefits, and Security Act of 2013 or AgJOBS Act of 2013 - Confers "blue card status" upon an alien who: (1) during the 24-month period ending on December 31, 2013, has performed specified lengths of, or earned a specified amount from, agricultural employment in the United States; (2) applied for such status during the 18-month application period; (3) is otherwise admissible to the United States; and (4) has not been convicted of specified felonies or misdemeanors. Limits the number of blue cards that may be issued during the five-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act. Provides for adjustment of blue card status to permanent resident status based upon completed periods of agricultural employment. Revises H-2A visa (agricultural labor or temporary or seasonal services) provisions. Replaces the existing labor certification requirement with a labor attestation requirement containing: (1) a description of the nature and location of the job, (2) the job's expected beginning and ending dates, (3) the number of jobs, and (4) specified labor assurances respecting job opportunities covered by collective bargaining agreements and non-covered job opportunities. Establishes: (1) the Commission on Immigration and Labor Markets, and (2) the Security and Prosperity Account in the Treasury. Requires each State Workforce Agency (SWA) to establish an Internet-based American Worker Recruit and Match program. Requires employers and foreign labor contractors to provide workers recruited abroad with specified employment-related information. Amends H-1B visa (specialty occupation) employer application requirements to: (1) revise wage determination requirements; (2) require Internet posting and description of employment positions; (3) lengthen U.S. worker displacement protection; (4) apply certain requirements to all H-1B employers rather than only to H-1B dependent employers; (5) prohibit employer advertising that makes a position available only to, or gives priority to, H-1B nonimmigrants; and (6) limit the number of H-1B and L-1 visa (intracompany transfer) employees that an employer of 50 or more workers in the United States may hire. Authorizes the Department of Labor (DOL) to: (1) investigate applications for fraud, and (2) conduct H-1B compliance audits. Prohibits an employer from hiring an L-1 nonimmigrant for more than one year who will: (1) serve in a capacity involving specialized knowledge, and (2) be stationed primarily at the worksite of another employer. Specifies L-1: (1) employer petition requirements for employment at a new office, (2) wage rates and working conditions, and (3) employer penalties. Authorizes: (1) DOL to enforce federal labor laws with respect to employers of H-2B nonagricultural temporary workers, and (2) a private right of action against such employers. Specifies employer actions to recruit U.S. workers before filing for H-2B admissions. Sets forth H-2B and U.S. worker protections. Amends EB-5 visa (alien investor) requirements to: (1) increase EB-5 eligibility, (2) make the regional center program permanent, (3) establish $2,500 regional center designation and premium processing fees, (4) permit concurrent filing for EB-5 petitions and status adjustment applications, (5) establish in the Treasury the Immigrant Entrepreneur Regional Center Account, and (6) increase employment creation-related visas. Revises requirements regarding: (1) immigration service fees, (2) the naturalization age-based English language proficiency exemption, and (3) citizenship application background checks. Establishes the New Americans Initiative grants program to assist lawful permanent resident aliens to become citizens. Authorizes grants for: (1) public education and community training regarding the provisions of this Act; (2) community-based organizations to assist naturalization applicants (initial entry, adjustment, and citizenship assistance grants); and (3) states to form New American Councils. Provides for the naturalization of certain graduates of U.S. high schools who are under 25 years of age on the date of application for naturalization. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish: (1) a tax credit and a deduction for certification expenses for teachers of English language learners, and (2) a tax credit for employer-provided adult English literacy and basic education programs. Makes funds available for oath of allegiance ceremonies.

Protect Family Values at the Border Act

United States · United States Congress · 18 September 2013

Protect Family Values at the Border Act - Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to: (1) consider safety and family concerns in any action related to the repatriation or prosecution of individuals apprehended for immigration violations, and (2) provide related training for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and cooperating entity personnel. Directs the Secretary, with certain exceptions, to submit to Congress every 180 days written certification that DHS has deported or otherwise removed an apprehended individual from the United States through an entry or exit point on the southern border only during daylight hours. Directs the Secretary to promulgate regulations establishing short-term custody standards providing for basic minimums of care at all CBP facilities holding individuals in CBP custody.

Nutrition Reform and Work Opportunity Act of 2013

United States · United States Congress · 16 September 2013

Nutrition Reform and Work Opportunity Act of 2013 - Amends the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to prohibit the payment of a deposit fee in excess of any state fee reimbursement to recipients of supplemental nutrition assistance (SNAP, formerly known as the food stamp program) for the return of empty bottles and cans used to contain food purchased with SNAP benefits. Requires participating retail food stores to: (1) offer perishable goods in at least three staple food categories, and (2) provide adequate electronic benefit transfer (EBT) service. Requires participating retail food stores (including restaurants participating in a state option restaurant program intended to serve the elderly, disabled, and homeless), with certain exceptions, to pay 100% of the costs of acquiring and arranging for the implementation of EBT point-of-sale equipment and supplies. Prohibits a state from issuing manual vouchers unless the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) determines that such vouchers are necessary. Restricts categorical SNAP eligibility to only those households receiving cash assistance through other low-income assistance programs. Includes as eligible retailers governmental or nonprofit food purchasing delivery services that serve elderly or disabled individuals who are unable to shop for food. Reauthorizes the Indian reservation food distribution program. Excludes medical marijuana as an excess medical expense deduction. Requires a household to receive a low-income heating and energy assistance program payment of $20 or more annually in order to receive the SNAP utility allowance deduction. Limits SNAP employment and training programs only to: (1) college students enrolled in specific career and technical education courses; or (2) those in basic adult education, remedial, and literacy, or English as a second language courses. Repeals state work program waiver authority. Makes any household in which a member receives substantial lottery or gambling winnings ineligible for SNAP benefits. States that, if a household makes excessive requests for replacement of its EBT card, the Secretary may require a state agency to decline to issue a replacement card unless the household provides an explanation for the card's loss. Requires states in implementing this practice to protect vulnerable persons. Requires a pilot program to allow retailers to accept SNAP benefits through mobile transactions. Authorizes the use of SNAP benefits for shares of community-supported agriculture. Sets forth additional responsibilities for state agencies before restaurants may participate in a restaurant meals program. Prohibits a private establishment that contracts with a state agency to offer meals at concessional prices from being authorized to accept SNAP benefits unless the Secretary determines that the establishment's participation is required to meet a documented need. Requires a state agency to use an income and eligibility, or an immigration status, verification system. Prescribes requirements for: (1) data exchange standardization, and (2) pilot projects to improve federal-state cooperation in reducing SNAP fraud. Prohibits: (1) federal funds from being used to recruit SNAP recipients, and (2) recruitment activities by entities that receive SNAP funds. Repeals the performance bonus program. Reduces funding for employment and training programs. Requires pilot projects to: (1) identify best practices for employment and training programs to increase the number of work registrants who obtain unsubsidized employment and reduce public assistance dependence, and (2) permit states to run a work program to increase employment and self-sufficiency through increased accountability. Authorizes SNAP appropriations through FY2018. Prohibits funds for Puerto Rico from being used to provide nutrition assistance in cash. Provides funds for: (1) community food projects, and (2) emergency food assistance. Reduces FY2014 funding for nutrition education. Provides funding for the prevention of retailer trafficking. Requires: (1) a study to assess the capabilities of the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) to operate the SNAP program in the same manner it is operated in the states, and (2) establishment of a pilot program if the study determines that it is feasible for the CNMI to operate such a SNAP program. Terminates the U.S-Mexico partnership for nutrition assistance initiative. Authorizes the donation to and serving of traditional food through a food service program at a public facility, nonprofit facility, including facilities operated by an Indian tribe or tribal organization. Authorizes a state, at its own expense, to provide for testing any individual who is a member of a household applying for SNAP benefits for the unlawful use of controlled substances as a condition for receiving such benefits. Disqualifies certain convicted felons from SNAP eligibility. Requires a state agency to expunge from a household's EBT account any benefits that are not used within 60 days. Extends: (1) the commodity distribution program, (2) the commodity supplemental food program, (3) the distribution of surplus commodities to special nutrition projects, and (4) the farmers' market nutrition program. Repeals the nutrition information and awareness pilot program. Requires a five-state grant pilot program to purchase locally grown fresh fruits and vegetables for distribution to schools and service institutions participating in specified food service programs. Permits each school food authority with a low annual commodity entitlement value to substitute locally and regionally grown and raised food for the authority's allotment of commodity assistance for the school lunch program. Authorizes farm-to-school demonstration programs to source local food in lieu of commodity assistance for school meal programs. Requires a review of: (1) the economic and public health benefits of white potatoes on low-income families at nutritional risk, and (2) sole-source contracts in federal nutrition programs. Establishes a healthy food financing initiative to improve access to healthy foods in underserved areas, create quality jobs, and revitalize low-income communities by providing loans and grants to fresh food retailers to overcome higher entry costs in such areas. Directs the Secretary to finalize and implement a plan for the increased purchase of kosher and halal food if such food is cost-neutral as compared to food that is not from food manufacturers with a kosher or halal certification.

Recognizing the National Hellenic Museum in Chicago, Illinois, and the contributions of Hellenism to the United States and celebrating Greek and American democracy.

United States · United States Congress · 10 September 2013

Recognizes: (1) the significant contributions of Hellenism and the Greek community in the United States; (2) the rich history of Greek immigration to the United States; and (3) the National Hellenic Museum in Chicago, Illinois, for its role in the documentation, study, perpetuation, and presentation of the Greek-American story.

REVIVE Act of 2013

United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2013

Rural Economy Vital Investment Visa Encouragement Act of 2013 or REVIVE Act of 2013 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to obligate at least 3,000 employment creation immigrant visas each fiscal year for qualified immigrants who: (1) have treaty investor nonimmigrant status and have been present in the United States for two years continuously, and (2) invest in a commercial enterprise which will create full time rural employment for at least five U.S. citizens or lawful permanent resident aliens or other immigrants lawfully authorized to be employed in the United States.

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that any immigration reform proposal adopted by Congress should not legalize, grant amnesty for, or confer any other legal status condoning the otherwise unlawful entry or presence in the United States of any individual.

United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2013

Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that any immigration reform proposal adopted by Congress should not legalize, grant amnesty for, or confer any other legal status condoning the otherwise unlawful U.S. entry or presence of any individual.

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that until the United States southern border is secured as confirmed by the governors and the legislatures jointly of the four southern border states, the House of Representatives shall not bring any legislation including any conference report regarding immigration to the floor of the House for a vote.

United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2013

Prohibits the House of Representatives from bringing any legislation including any conference report regarding immigration to the House floor for a vote until the U.S. southern border is secured, as confirmed by the governors and the legislatures jointly of the four southern border states.

Protecting Immigrants From Legal Exploitation Act of 2013

United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2013

Protecting Immigrants From Legal Exploitation Act of 2013 - Amends the federal criminal code to subject a person to fine, imprisonment, or both, who: (1) knowingly or recklessly executes a scheme in connection with any federal immigration law-related matter to defraud a person, or to obtain money or anything else of value from a person by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises; or (2) knowingly and falsely represents that such person is an attorney or an accredited representative in any federal immigration law-related matter. Directs the Attorney General (DOJ) and the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS), to promulgate regulations, forms, and procedures defining the circumstances in which: (1) persons submitting immigration-related applications, petitions, motions, or other written materials must identify who (other than immediate family members) assisted them in preparing or translating such submissions; and (2) any person who received compensation (other than a normal fee for copying, mailing, or similar services) in connection with the preparation or submission of such materials must sign the form as a preparer and provide identifying information. Authorizes the Attorney General to bring a civil injunction against an immigration service provider engaging in fraudulent conduct that substantially interferes with the administration of the immigration laws or who willfully misrepresents such provider's legal authority to provide representation before DOJ or DHS. Authorizes an alien to withdraw an immigration-related application or other submission if the alien: (1) submits information indicating that the application or submission was prepared or submitted by an individual engaged in the unauthorized practice of law or immigration practitioner fraud, and (2) attests that he or she had no prior knowledge that the application or submission was prepared or submitted by such an individual. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to waive the bar on reentry for an alien who left the United States based on the erroneous advice of an individual engaged in the unauthorized practice of law or immigration practitioner fraud. Directs the Secretary and the Attorney General, through the Director of the Office for Immigration Review, to carry out an outreach program to educate aliens regarding who may provide legal services and representation in immigration proceedings. Directs the Secretary and the Attorney General to establish, within the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the Executive Office for Immigration Review, programs to award grants to eligible nonprofit organizations for direct legal services to aliens.

OPTION Act of 2013

United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2013

Offering Patients True Individualized Options Now Act of 2013 or OPTION Act of 2013 - Repeals Title I of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (relating to health insurance and health coverage expansion) and any amendments to it made by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010. Restores provisions of law amended or repealed by such provisions. Amends the Internal Revenue Code with respect to health savings accounts (HSAs) to: (1) eliminate the high deductible health plan coverage requirement for HSA participants, (2) increase to $10,000 the maximum dollar amount of the tax deduction for payments to an HSA, and (3) permit Medicare (title XVIII of the Social Security Act) eligible individuals to contribute to an HSA. Allows an HSA rollover to a Medicare Advantage Medical Savings Account (MSA). Repeals the additional tax on HSA distributions not used for qualified medical expenses. Eliminates the 10% floor and the 2% miscellaneous itemized deduction floor on itemized medical expense deductions, and the prescribed drug limitation on certain tax benefits for medical expenses. Allows physicians a tax credit for providing charity care and anyone a tax credit for contributions or gifts for medical care for the indigent. Extends continuation coverage under COBRA (health insurance continuation benefits under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985). Excludes from gross income HSA distributions for charitable purposes. Amends title II (Federal Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance Benefits) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish a procedure to enroll a Medicare Part A beneficiary in the Medicare Reform Premium Assistance Program (established by this Act) to buy private health insurance. Directs the Secretary to begin phasing out, over ten years, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Office of the Administrator of such Centers and eventually transfer their duties and responsibilities to an office and official within the Department of the Treasury. Amends SSA title XVIII (Medicare) and the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) to allow certified medical professionals to assess the nature and extent of an emergency room patient's illness or injury to determine whether an emergency medical condition exists (triage). Amends the Public Health Service Act to allow the sale and purchase of individual and group health insurance policies across state lines. Sets forth requirements for and restrictions on such policies. State Health Flexibility Act of 2013 - Amends SSA titles XIX (Medicaid) and XIX (Children's Health Insurance Program) (CHIP) to repeal and replace these programs with a program of block grants to states for health care services to indigent individuals. Requires states receiving such block grants to pay for health-care-related items and services provided to a citizen, legal resident, or an alien not lawfully admitted for permanent residence or otherwise permanently residing in the United States under color of law, if: (1) such health-care-related items and services are necessary for the treatment of an emergency medical condition, (2) the individual meets all necessary eligibility requirements for health-care-related items and services under the block grant program except for any immigration status requirement, and (3) such items and services are not related to an organ transplant procedure.

BEST Act of 2013

United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2013

Border Enforcement, Security, and Technology Act of 2013 and BEST Act of 2013 - Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to develop: (1) a comprehensive technology plan for the security of the international borders of the United States, and (2) a National Strategy for Border Security to achieve operational control over all ports of entry into the United States and the international borders of the United States. Directs the Secretary to address Border Patrol and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recruitment and retention challenges. Authorizes the Secretary to increase the number of CBP officers. Directs the Secretary to conduct a pilot program to provide a tactical cellular testbed on the southwest U.S. border that serves as a communications platform and an intelligence data transport layer between a dismounted team and the nearest communications node. Directs the Secretary to establish: (1) a mandatory exit data system by December 31, 2015, that includes data collection from machine-readable visas, passports, and other travel and entry documents for all categories of aliens who are exiting from air and sea ports of entry; and (2) a mandatory biometric exit data system within two years at the ten U.S. airports that support the highest volume of international air travel. Directs the Comptroller General (GAO) to report to Congress regarding: (1) registered traveler programs, and (2) the number and country of origin of non-deportable aliens who have been released into the United States over the past 10 years. Directs the Secretary to issue a rule regarding the procedural and record keeping requirements associated with border security searches of electronic devices. Directs the Inspector General (of DHS) to report to Congress regarding CBP-Coast Guard coordination of land and maritime border enforcement efforts. Establishes the Department of Homeland Security Border Oversight Task Force. Directs the Secretary to: (1) work with Canadian and Mexican government officials to assess the needs of Central American countries to maintain their border security and to determine the related support needed by such countries from the United States, Canada, and Mexico; (2) provide Mexico with assistance to help secure its southern border from undocumented aliens, drugs, weapons, and other contraband; and (3) work with government officials of Caribbean countries to address maritime border security. Directs the Secretary to establish standards for appropriate treatment of immigration detainees, including guidelines for children at family detention centers. Authorizes appropriations for detention program alternatives. Directs the Secretary, with respect to aliens apprehended and detained by the Border Patrol, to: (1) ensure adequate access to food and water; (2) ensure that information is provided concerning such alien's rights, including the right to contact a representative of his or her government; and (3) establish a database containing family member, medical, and location information.

Workforce Investment Act of 2013

United States · United States Congress · 24 July 2013

Workforce Investment Act of 2013 - Amends the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA) to revise requirements and reauthorize appropriations for: (1) WIA title I (title II under this Act), workforce investment systems for job training and employment services; and (2) WIA title II (title III under this Act), adult education and family literacy education programs. Establishes a new WIA title I, system alignment and innovation. Defines "core programs" to mean: (1) youth workforce investment activities and adult and dislocated worker employment and training activities, (2) adult education and literacy activities, (3) employment services, and (4) vocational rehabilitation services. Revises member composition of state and local workforce development boards to require at least 20% of a board be composed of representatives of the workforce within the state. Requires states to have approved unified state plans with a four-year strategy for the core programs. Allows a state to develop for approval a combined state plan for the core programs and one or more of the programs and activities from a specified list. Revises requirements for local workforce development (currently, investment) areas, boards, and plans. Directs the Secretary of Labor to develop guidelines for qualifications of directors of state and local workforce development (currently, investment) boards. Establishes state and local performance accountability measures for the core programs. Directs the Secretary of Labor and the Secretary of Education to make competitive awards of: (1) workforce innovation and replication grants to state partnerships or regional entities for innovative strategies and activities to improve the education and employment outcomes for adults and youth and services provided to employers in the workforce system, and (2) youth innovation and replication grants to states or local boards and other specified entities for innovative new strategies and activities to improve education and employment outcomes for eligible youth. Revises requirements for: (1) one-stop delivery systems; (2) the allotment of federal funds among states for youth (including disadvantaged youth) workforce investment activities and statewide workforce investment activities; (3) within state allocations of funds; and (4) the use of funds for state and local employment and training activities, including statewide rapid response. Revises requirements and reauthorizes appropriations for: (1) the youth workforce investment and the adult and dislocated worker employment and training programs; (2) the Job Corps program; (3) the Native American, migrant and seasonal farm worker, veterans' workforce investment programs; and (4) the Youthbuild program. Converts the national emergency grants program into a national dislocated worker grants program. Authorizes the Secretary of Labor to award national dislocated worker grants for workers dislocated due to the economy or emergency or disaster, Department of Defense (DOD) or Department of Energy (DOE) employees employed at military installations that are being closed or realigned, DOE individuals employed in nonmanagerial positions at risk for termination due to reductions in defense funding, or active duty members of the Armed Forces or full-time duty members of the National Guard (or members recently separated from such duties) who are in need of employment and training assistance. Adult Education and Family Literacy Act - Directs the Secretary of Education to award grants to state agencies for adult education and literacy programs, including corrections education and education for other institutionalized individuals, as well as grants for integrated English literacy and civics education. Prescribes requirements for state administration, plans, and activities, as well as distribution of local funds. Directs the Secretary of Education to establish a program of national leadership activities to enhance the quality and outcomes of adult education and literacy activities and programs nationwide. Amends the Wagner-Peyser Act to authorize use of a state's allotment of public employment services funds to provide unemployment insurance claimants and other unemployed individuals with referrals to, and application assistance for, training and education resources and programs, including student assistance under Federal Pell Grants of the Higher Education Act of 1965, educational assistance under the Montgomery GI Bill and the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance, state student higher education assistance, and training and education programs under WIA titles II and III, and title I of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Directs the Secretary of Labor to establish a pilot program of competitive grants to state employment agencies to carry out pilot projects that enhance the professional development and the provision of public employment services by agency staff. Replaces the nationwide employment statistics system, which the Secretary of Labor is required to oversee, with a nationwide workforce and labor market information system. Directs the Secretary of Labor to establish a Workforce Information Advisory Council. Amends the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to establish a Disability Employment Services and Supports Administration (DESSA) within the Office of Disability Employment Policy, Services, and Supports of the Department of Labor. Requires DESSA to be the principal agency to administer vocational rehabilitation services programs under titles I, III, and VI of that Act. (Currently, these are administered by the Rehabilitation Services Administration [RSA] of the Department of Education.) Reauthorizes appropriations for vocational rehabilitation service grants to states for individuals with disabilities. Revises requirements for: (1) state plans for vocational rehabilitation services to individuals with disabilities, (2) eligibility for vocational rehabilitation assistance and individualized plans for employment for disabled individuals, (3) monitoring and review of vocational rehabilitation programs, and (4) state allotments for such programs. Requires: (1) states to make certain funds available to designated state units for pre-employment transition services for students with disabilities who are transitioning to employment from education or training, and (2) each local office of a state unit to designate staff to act as Local Pre-Employment Transition Coordinators for student with disabilities. Directs the Secretary of Labor and the Secretary of Education to each designate a National Pre-Employment Transition Coordinator for Students with Disabilities. Revises American Indian vocational rehabilitation services grant program eligibility requirements to permit grants to be renewed for an additional 5-years, provided certain conditions are met. Directs the Comptroller General (GAO) to study the interaction of vocational rehabilitation programs carried out under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 with the Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency Program, including its impact on beneficiaries, community rehabilitation programs, and designated state agencies. Renames: (1) the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR); and (2) the Rehabilitation Research Advisory Council the Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research Advisory Council (DILRRAC). Revises requirements and reauthorizes appropriations for the NIDILRR and DILRRAC. Establishes the NIDILRR within the Administration for Community Living of HHS (effectively transferring it to HHS from the Department of Education). Requires the NIDILRR Director to be responsible for: (1) coordinating all federal programs and policies for research on disability, independent living, and rehabilitation of individuals with disabilities; and (2) identifying independent living and rehabilitation programs and policies that promote the independence of such individuals and achievement of long-term independent living and employment goals. Requires competitive grants for youths with significant disabilities to transition from education to employment, particularly to competitive integrated employment. Establishes an annual Commissioner's Scholar Program to recognize individuals with significant disabilities who are successfully completing a postgraduate degree in specified curriculums. Directs the RSA Commissioner to award grants to eligible entities for training and technical centers to promote high-quality employment outcomes for individuals receiving vocational rehabilitation services from designated agencies and American Indian vocational rehabilitation service (AIVRS) grantees. Reauthorizes appropriations for: (1) vocational rehabilitation services grants to individuals with disabilities who are migrant or seasonal farmworkers, (2) recreational programs for individuals with disabilities, (3) the National Council on Disability, (4) the Access Board, and (5) employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities. Prohibits an entity (including a contractor or subcontractor) from employing an individual with a disability at a wage less than the federal minimum wage (subminimum wage), unless the entity complies with certain Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 wage requirements for handicapped workers and specified other conditions are met. Authorizes appropriations to assist states in developing collaborative programs to provide supported employment services for individuals (including youth) with the most significant disabilities to enable them to achieve supported employment in competitive integrated employment. Establishes within the HHS Administration for Community Living an Independent Living Administration (ILA). Revises requirements for a state plan for state independent living services for individuals with significant disabilities, including through establishment of additional centers for independent living or focused outreach to serve underserved populations. Directs the ILA Director (currently, the RSA Commissioner) to make allotments to states for independent living services to individuals with significant disabilities. Revises the composition and functions of State Independent Living Councils. Revises requirements and reauthorizes appropriations for: (1) the centers for independent living grant program, and (2) independent living services for older individuals who are blind grant program. Establishes within the Department of Labor an Office of Disability Employment Policy, Services, and Supports. Directs the Secretary of Labor to establish an Advisory Committee on Increasing Competitive Integrated Employment for Individuals with Disabilities. Directs the Secretary of Labor, acting through the Assistant Secretary of Labor and in coordination with the Commissioners of DESSA, of Social Security, and of the Internal Revenue Service, as well as the heads of other relevant federal agencies, to carry out campaigns to educate employers and the general public on the benefits of hiring individuals with disabilities. Transfers all functions of: (1) the RSA Commissioner (other than title VII of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 [RA73]) to DESSA, (2) the RSA Commissioner under title VII [independent living services for individuals with disabilities] of RA73 to the ILA, and (3) the NIDRR Director to NIDILRR. Declares that nothing in this Act shall be construed to permit the development of a national database of personally identifiable information on individuals receiving job training and employment services. Prohibits an entity from using funds made available under the Act unless it agrees to comply with Buy American requirements. Repeals: (1) the youth opportunity grants program, (2) the Twenty-First Century Workforce Commission Act, and (3) the Workforce Investment Act of 1998.

ADDRESSING THE IMMIGRATION STATUS OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS BROUGHT TO THE UNITED STATES AS CHILDREN

United States · United States House of Representatives · 23 July 2013

Save Our Seasons Act of 2013

United States · United States Congress · 19 July 2013

Save Our Seasons Act of 2013 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to require that wages paid to H-2B visa temporary nonagricultural workers shall be the greater of: (1) the actual wage level paid by the employer to other employees with similar experience and qualifications for such position, or (2) the prevailing wage level for the occupational classification of the position in the geographic area of the employment.

Visa Overstay Enforcement Act of 2013

United States · United States Congress · 9 July 2013

Visa Overstay Enforcement Act of 2013 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to make it a felony for any alien to be unlawfully present in the United States for a period of 30 consecutive days, except because of illness or any other extenuating circumstance. Requires such an alien to be punished: (1) in the case of a first offense, with a fine of not more than $10,000 or by imprisonment for not more than one year, or both; and (2) in the case of a subsequent offense, with a fine of not more than $15,000 or by imprisonment for not more than five years, or both. Declares that an alien convicted: (1) of a first offense may not be admitted to the United States for 5 years, and may not be granted a visa for 10 years; and (2) of a subsequent offense may not be admitted to the United States, and may not be granted a visa. Directs the the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to: (1) submit to Congress within 90 days a plan to implement a biometric exit capability using a person's fingerprints at all land, sea, and air ports of entry under the US-VISIT program; and (2) establish the biometric entry and exit data system required by the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 within one year at each airport that is a U.S. port of entry, and within two years at all U.S. ports of entry.

1986 Amnesty Transparency Act

United States · United States Congress · 9 July 2013

1986 Amnesty Transparency Act - Directs the Comptroller General (GAO) to submit a report to Congress on the implementation of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 that includes information regarding: (1) implemented employer requirements; (2) federal enforcement of laws prohibiting hiring unlawful or unauthorized aliens; (3) the number of individuals denied employment; (4) sanctioned employers; (5) border enforcement mechanisms that were enhanced to prevent illegal immigration; (6) visa overstays; (7) added costs through social benefits provided to unlawfully present aliens; (8) the Act's impact on U.S. workers, including wages and unemployment; (9) the Act's implementation costs; and (10) fraud rates, including fraudulent amnesty claims.

Child Trafficking Victims Protection Act

United States · United States Congress · 8 July 2013

Child Trafficking Victims Protection Act - Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to: (1) require the appropriate training of all personnel who come into contact with unaccompanied alien children, and (2) hire child welfare professionals. Sets forth related protections for such children regarding: (1) prompt placement with the Office of Refugee Resettlement, (2) qualified resources and child welfare professionals at appropriate ports of entry and stations, (3) confidentiality, (4) notice of rights and access to counsel, and (5) the presence of female officers during the transfer and transport of female detainees. Directs the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to implement a best practices program in the United States and within the country of return to ensure the safe and sustainable repatriation and reintegration of unaccompanied alien children into their country of nationality or of last habitual residence.

Help Separated Families Act of 2013

United States · United States Congress · 28 June 2013

Help Separated Families Act of 2013 - Amends part E (Foster Care and Adoption Assistance) of title IV of the Social Security Act to: (1) require state child protection standards to ensure that the immigration status alone of a parent, legal guardian, or relative shall not disqualify the parent, legal guardian, or relative from being a placement for a child; and (2) require the state procedures for criminal records checks to require the state to accept foreign identification documents as sufficient identification for purposes of initiating a criminal records check or a fingerprint-based check. Requires the state plan for foster care and adoption assistance to notify relatives seeking placement of a child that their immigration status will not be questioned, except to the extent necessary in determining eligibility for relevant services or programs. Includes as a compelling reason for a state not to file for termination of parental rights in foster care cases the removal of an otherwise fit and willing parent from the United States or the parent's involvement in an immigration proceeding (including detention). Requires a state (or local agency), before filing to terminate parental rights, to make reasonable efforts to notify any parent of the child who has been removed from the United States, and any adult relative of the child, including through the diplomatic or consular offices of the country to which the parent was removed, and to reunify the child with any such parent or relative. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to develop and disseminate to state, county, and local child welfare agencies best practice guidance on specified activities that takes into account the best interest of the child, including a preference for family unity whenever appropriate. Requires a state plan for foster care and adoption assistance to require the state to: (1) ensure that the case manager for a separated child is capable of communicating in the native language of the child and the family, or that an interpreter is provided at no cost; (2) coordinate with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to make every effort to ensure that parents who wish for their child to accompany them to their country of origin are given adequate time and assistance to obtain a passport, visa, and all relevant documents and other information; and (3) preserve the privacy and confidentiality of certain information in specified ways.

Timely Repatriation Act

United States · United States Congress · 28 June 2013

Timely Repatriation Act - Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to publish a report every six months listing countries that have: (1) refused or unreasonably delayed repatriation of an alien who is a national of that country, and the total number of such aliens; and (2) an excessive repatriation failure rate. Directs the Secretary of State with respect to a listed country: (1) to not issue visas to attendants, servants, and personal employees of such country's diplomats and officials/employees; and (2) reduce the number of visas available for such country's diplomats and officials/employees by 10% for each six months that a country is listed. Authorizes the Secretary of Homeland Security to exempt a country from inclusion if the total number of nonrepatriations outstanding is less than 10% for the preceding 3-year period.

JUSTICE Act

United States · United States Congress · 28 June 2013

Justice for the Unprotected against Sexually Transmitted Infections among the Confined and Exposed Act or the JUSTICE Act - Requires the Attorney General to direct the Bureau of Prisons to allow community organizations to distribute sexual barrier protection devices and engage in sexually transmitted infection (STI) counseling and prevention education in federal correctional facilities. Expresses the sense of Congress that states should permit the legal distribution of sexual barrier protection devices in state correctional facilities to reduce the prevalence and spread of STIs in those facilities. Amends the Social Security Act to require the automatic enrollment or reinstatement of enrollment of an eligible individual in a state's Medicaid plan (with the individual's affirmative consent) upon such individual's release from incarceration. Defines an "eligible individual" as an inmate who was enrolled before being incarcerated or who is diagnosed with human immunodeficiency virus. Provides for a one-year increase in federal matching payments to states that agree to provide for such enrollment. Directs the Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to conduct an annual survey of all federal and state correctional facilities and immigration detention facilities regarding: (1) STI prevention education and training offered to inmates and staff; (2) inmate access to sexual barrier protection devices; (3) the incidence of sexual violence committed by inmates and staff; (4) required inmate participation in counseling, treatment, and supportive services related to STIs; (5) facility testing of inmates for STIs; (6) pre-release referral to STI-related services; and (7) Medicaid reinstatement assistance upon release. Requires the Attorney General to develop and implement a five-year strategy that includes specified components to reduce the prevalence and spread of STIs in federal and state correctional facilities. Amends the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act to include as a homeless person for purposes of eligibility for housing assistance under such Act an individual who: (1) is being released from any prison or other correctional facility, and (2) has been diagnosed with any STI.

Omnibus Territories Act of 2013

United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2013

Omnibus Territories Act of 2013 - Conveys to the government of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) submerged lands surrounding such Islands and extending three geographical miles outward from their coastlines. Includes the CNMI among the islands where the President may establish naval defensive sea areas and airspace reservations when necessary for national defense. Amends the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007 to add 2013 and 2015 as years in which there shall be no increase in the minimum wage applicable to the CNMI. Revises the treatment of supplemental fees imposed for employment of nonimmigrant workers paid into the Treasury of the CNMI government for the purpose of funding ongoing vocational educational curricula and program development by CNMI educational entities to: (1) require such government to provide to the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) a plan for the expenditure of funds, a projection of the effectiveness of the expenditures in job placement of U.S. workers, and a report on changes in employment of U.S. workers attributable to prior year expenditures; and (2) require a biennial report by the Secretary on the effectiveness of meeting the goals set out in the CNMI's annual plan for the expenditure of funds. Revises the procedure for classification of aliens in the CNMI as long-term investors. Extends through December 31, 2019, a system for allocating and determining the number, terms, and conditions of permits issued to prospective employers for nonimmigrant workers performing work during the transition period (the period for administration of a transition program to regulate immigration to the CNMI) who would not otherwise be eligible for admission under the Immigration and Nationality Act. Requires the Secretary of the Interior to establish a team of technical, policy, and financial experts to: (1) develop an energy action plan addressing the energy needs of each of the insular areas (American Samoa, the CNMI, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands) and Freely Associated States (the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau); and (2) assist each of the insular areas and Freely Associated States in implementing such plan. Requires such plan to include: (1) recommendations to reduce reliance and expenditures on imported fossil fuels, to develop indigenous, nonfossil fuel energy sources, and to improve performance of energy infrastructure and overall energy efficiency; (2) a schedule for implementation of such recommendations and identification and prioritization of specific projects; (3) a financial and engineering plan for implementing and sustaining projects; and (4) benchmarks for measuring progress toward implementation. Requires the Board of Elections of the Virgin Islands, as part of the next regularly scheduled, islands-wide election, to hold a referendum to seek the approval of the people of the Virgin Islands regarding whether the position of Chief Financial Officer of the Government of the Virgin Islands shall be established as a part of the executive branch of such government. Requires the governor of the Virgin Islands to appoint a Chief Financial Officer (CFO), with the advice and consent of the Legislature of the Virgin Islands, from a list required by this Act. Provides a process for appointment of an Acting CFO. Sets forth the CFO's duties. Establishes the Virgin Islands Chief Financial Officer Search Commission to recommend at least three candidates for the CFO position. Terminates the Commission upon the nomination and confirmation of the CFO. Requires the Comptroller General (GAO) to report to Congress an evaluation of whether the annual estimates or forecasts of revenue and expenditure of American Samoa, the CNMI, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands are reasonable and make recommendations for improving the process for developing estimates or forecasts. Makes households located in the Virgin Islands with household income up to 300% of the poverty level eligible for assistance under the low-income home energy assistance program. Establishes the Castle Nugent National Historic Site on the island of St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, as a unit of the National Park System in order to preserve, protect, and interpret a Caribbean cultural landscape spanning over 300 years of agricultural use, significant archaeological resources, an extensive barrier coral reef system, and other outstanding natural features. Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to lease certain lands within the boundary of the Historic Site to the University of the Virgin Islands for the purpose of continuing the University's operations for breeding Senepol cattle. Establishes the St. Croix National Heritage Area in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. Designates St. Croix United for Community, Culture, Environment, and Economic Development (SUCCEED) Inc., as the local coordinating entity for the Area. Requires SUCCEED Inc. to submit a management plan that provides for the protection, enhancement, and interpretation of the natural, cultural, historic, scenic, and recreational resources of the Area. Recognizes the suffering and the loyalty of the residents of Guam during the Japanese occupation of Guam in World War II. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to establish a Fund for the payment of claims submitted by compensable Guam victims and survivors of compensable Guam decedents. Directs the Secretary to make specified payments to: (1) living Guam residents who were raped, injured, interned, or subjected to forced labor or marches, or internment resulting from, or incident to, such occupation and subsequent liberation; and (2) survivors of compensable residents who died in war (such payments to be made after payments have been made to surviving Guam residents). Directs the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission to specify injuries that would constitute a severe personal injury or a personal injury and adjudicate claims and determine payment eligibility. Requires claims to be filed within one year after the Commission publishes notice of the filing period in the Federal Register and in the Guam media. Allows local matching required of an affected jurisdiction (i.e., American Samoa, Guam, the CNMI, or the state of Hawaii) for federal programs to be paid in cash or in-kind services provided by the jurisdiction pursuant to the Compact of Free Association Amendments Act of 2003 (concerning the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshall Islands) and the Palau Compact of Free Association Act. Excepts programs of competitive grants. Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1980, with respect to housing assistance for the benefit of an alien lawfully resident in the United States, to provide that within Guam a citizen or national of the United States shall be entitled to a preference or priority in receiving financial assistance before any such alien who is otherwise eligible for such assistance. Requires the Comptroller General to study the use of benefit-to-cost ratio formulas by departments and agencies for purposes of evaluating projects in American Samoa, assessing in particular its remote locations, transportation costs, airport traffic control towers, and water resources development projects. Requires departments and agencies, in the case of grants to American Samoa, Guam, the Virgin Islands, and the CNMI, to waive any requirement for local matching funds (including in-kind contributions) that the area would otherwise be required to provide, including waiver of an entire matching requirement for a grant requiring matching funds of $500,000 or less. Exempts vessels from the fishery endorsement requirement that they be rebuilt in the United States if they off load in American Samoa and were rebuilt outside of the United States before January 1, 2011. Amends the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007 to require GAO to include in reports assessing the impact of minimum wage increases applicable to American Samoa and the CNMI an analysis of the economic effects on employees and employers of the differentials in minimum wage rates among industries and classifications in American Samoa, including the potential effects of eliminating such differentials prior to the time when such rates are scheduled to equal the minimum wage set forth in the Fair Labor Standards Act. American Samoa Citizenship Plebiscite Act - Requires the Secretary of the Interior to direct the American Samoa Election Office to conduct a plebiscite on the issue of whether persons born in American Samoa desire U.S. citizenship. Expands marine turtle conservation assistance under the Marine Turtle Conservation Act of 2004 to include the United States and its territories.

Conrad State 30 and Physician Access Act

United States · United States Congress · 25 June 2013

Conrad State 30 and Physician Access Act - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Technical Corrections Act of 1994 to make the J-1 visa waiver (Conrad state 30/medical services in underserved areas) program permanent. Excludes from numerical immigration limitations alien physicians who have completed national interest waiver requirements by working in a health care shortage area (including alien physicians who completed such service before the date of enactment of this Act and any spouses or children of such alien physicians). Sets forth specified employment protections and contract requirements for alien physicians working in underserved areas. Increases the number of alien physicians that a state may be allocated from 30 to 35 per fiscal year in specified circumstances. Provides for additional increases or decreases based upon demand. Provides up to three visa waivers per fiscal year per state for physicians in academic medical centers. Permits dual intent for an alien coming to the United States to receive graduate medical education or training, or to take examinations required for graduate medical education or training. Exempts H-1B nonimmigrant aliens seeking to enter the United States to pursue graduate medical education or training from specified entry limitations.

Remittance Status Verification Act of 2013

United States · United States Congress · 18 June 2013

Remittance Status Verification Act of 2013 - Amends the Electronic Fund Transfer Act to require a remittance transfer provider, before initiating a transfer, to request from the sender of a remittance whose recipient is located in a country other than the United States proof of the sender's status under U.S. immigration laws. Cites admissible documentation attesting to the sender's status, including a state-issued driver's license or federal passport. Directs a remittance transfer provider to impose, upon any sender unable to provide such proof of status, a fine equal to 7% of the U.S. dollar amount to be transferred. Requires submission to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) of all fines imposed and collected by a remittance transfer provider in order to pay the administrative and enforcement costs of implementing this Act. Requires the Comptroller General (GAO) to study the effects of the enactment of this Act.

ENLIST Act

United States · United States Congress · 14 June 2013

Encourage New Legalized Immigrants to Start Training Act or the ENLIST Act - Authorizes the enlistment in the armed forces of aliens unlawfully present in the United States on December 31, 2011, who: (1) have been continuously present in the United States since such date; (2) were younger than 15 years of age when they initially entered the United States; and (3) are otherwise eligible for original enlistment in a regular component of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard. Requires the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to adjust the status of an alien enlisted under such authority to the status of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence under provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act applicable to aliens who entered the United States prior to January 1, 1972. Rescinds such lawful permanent resident status if the alien is separated from the armed forces under other than honorable conditions before serving the term of enlistment.

SAFE Act

United States · United States Congress · 6 June 2013

Strengthen and Fortify Enforcement Act or SAFE Act - Authorizes: (1) states or their political subdivisions to enact and enforce immigration criminal penalties as long as they do not exceed relevant federal criminal penalties; and (2) state or local law enforcement personnel to investigate, apprehend, arrest, or transfer to federal custody aliens for immigration enforcement purposes to the same extent as federal law enforcement personnel. Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to provide the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) of the Department of Justice (DOJ) with all information that the Secretary has regarding any alien: (1) against whom a final order of removal has been issued, (2) who has entered into a voluntary departure agreement, (3) who has overstayed his or her authorized period of stay, or (4) whose visa has been revoked. Requires NCIC to enter such information into its Immigration Violators File. Requires: (1) states to have access to federal programs or technology directed at identifying inadmissible or deportable aliens, and (2) states and their political subdivisions to provide DHS with specified identifying information about each apprehended alien who is believed to be inadmissible or deportable. Directs the Secretary to make grants to states and their political subdivisions for procurement of equipment, technology, and facilities related to investigating, apprehending, arresting, or transporting inadmissible or deportable aliens. Requires the Secretary to construct or acquire additional domestic detention facilities for aliens detained pending removal. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) regarding illegal aliens apprehended by state or local authorities to provide for: (1) federal custody upon state or local request, and (2) state or local compensation for related incarceration and transportation costs. Directs the Attorney General or the Secretary to ensure that an alien subject to removal is detained in an adequate state or local prison, detention center, or other comparable facility. Directs the Secretary to establish immigration-related training for state and local personnel. Provides personal liability immunity to the same extent as corresponding federal immunity for state or local personnel enforcing immigration laws within the scope of their duties. Directs the Secretary to continue to operate a program that: (1) identifies removable criminal aliens in federal and state correctional facilities, (2) ensures that such aliens are not released into the community, and (3) removes them from the United States after the completion of their sentences. Extends such program to all states. Requires states that receive state criminal alien assistance program (SCAAP) funds to comply with program requirements. Authorizes state or local detention of certain aliens, in specified circumstances, after completion of their state or local prison sentence. Authorizes appropriations for SCAAP. Transfers SCAAP jurisdiction from DOJ to DHS. Requires states and localities to: (1) notify the federal government of inadmissible or removable aliens who are encountered by law enforcement personnel, (2) comply with federal law enforcement information requests and with DHS detainers. Denies specified federal law enforcement assistance to a state or a political subdivision that prohibits law enforcement officers from cooperating with federal immigration law enforcement. Revises certain terrorism-related provisions with respect to naturalization, asylum, good moral character, voluntary departure, and cancellation of removal. Authorizes: (1) the denaturalization of a person who participates in terrorist activities or violent or unlawful activities aimed at the overthrow of the United States; and (2) the use or publication by DHS of certain legalization or special agricultural worker status information for any purpose relating to terrorism, national intelligence, or national security. Requires security and background checks and investigations of suspected immigration irregularities to be completed before specified immigration-related statuses and benefits may be granted or adjudicated. Revises and expands the definition of "aggravated felony" under INA. Makes such changes retroactive. Adds new grounds of inadmissibility for: (1) identity fraud or Social Security number misuse; (2) unlawful procurement of citizenship or naturalization; (3) specified firearm offenses; (4) conviction of an aggravated felony; and (5) crimes of domestic violence, stalking, or child abuse. Makes such additions retroactive. Adds new grounds of deportability for: (1) identity fraud or Social Security number misuse, and (2) unlawful procurement of citizenship or naturalization. Makes such additions retroactive. Makes inadmissible an alien who plans to or has engaged in espionage, prohibited export, or other unlawful activities, including activities aimed at the violent overthrow of the U.S. government. Prohibits the sale of or possession of firearms by any alien who is not lawfully admitted for permanent residence. Amends the federal criminal code to place a 10-year statute of limitations on most criminal violations of INA. Makes: (1) aggravated felons ineligible for refugee or asylee adjustment of status, and (2) a second DUI conviction an aggravated felony under INA. Revises requirements regarding: (1) detention and removal of aliens ordered removed, (2) alien smuggling and related offenses, and (3) reentry of removed aliens. Authorizes the Secretary to designate groups as criminal gangs. Requires detention for anyone found inadmissible or deportable for criminal street gang membership. Bars individuals found inadmissible or deportable for criminal gang membership from asylum, withholding of removal, and temporary protected status. Subjects to specified criminal penalties for illegal entry an alien who knowingly: (1) enters or crosses the border at a place other than a designated port of entry; (2) evades inspection by an immigration, customs, or agricultural officer; (3) makes a false or misleading statement or conceals a material fact during examination or inspection while crossing the border; or (4) violates the conditions of U.S. admission or parole for 90 days or more. Increases penalties under the federal criminal code for certain immigration document and passport fraud activities, and authorizes forfeiture of property used in connection with them. Reduces the period during which an alien may seek judicial review of an expedited removal order based on criminal or security grounds. Subjects to such expedited removal procedures an individual inadmissible because of a criminal offense if the individual has not been admitted or paroled, does not have a credible fear of persecution, and is not eligible for relief from removal. Expands the grounds of inadmissibility and deportability to include violation of federal requirements regarding sex offender registration. Prohibits U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents convicted of certain sex offenses from sponsoring an alien for admission unless the Secretary determines that such person poses no risk to the alien. Authorizes the Attorney General to consider evidence extrinsic to an alien's conviction record to determine whether the conviction was based on conduct constituting a crime of moral turpitude or a domestic violence offense (which would make the alien deportable). States that a conviction for which a pardon has been issued shall not be grounds for deportability by reason of such conviction. Revises visa information sharing requirements. Prohibits waiver of a visa interview for an alien the Secretary determines to be a person of concern or in a class of aliens that are security threats. States that the Secretary: (1) shall have exclusive authority to issue regulations, establish policy, and administer all immigration or nationality laws relating to consular functions in connection with visa issuance or denial; and (2) may refuse or revoke any visa to an alien or class of aliens for U.S. security interests. Prohibits judicial review of the Secretary's decision to refuse or revoke a visa. Authorizes a consular surcharge (in addition to immigrant visa fees) to fund the visa security program. Provides for expedited clearance and placement of DHS personnel at overseas embassies and consular posts. Increases criminal penalties for student visa fraud or misuse committed by an owner, official, or employee of a student and exchange visitor program (SEVP)-certified school. Revises accreditation requirements. Limits those individuals who may serve as a designated school official or be granted access to the student and exchange visitor information system (SEVIS). Requires a background check of any person serving in such capacity. Authorizes the Secretary to suspend an institution's SEVP certification for reasonable suspicion of fraud. Makes a person convicted of such fraud permanently ineligible to hold a position of authority or ownership at any such institution. Makes flight schools that are not certified by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ineligible to access SEVIS. Requires SEVIS suspension for a school that loses or is denied accreditation. Directs the Secretary to authorize all DHS immigration enforcement agents and deportation officers who have successfully completed basic immigration law enforcement training to: (1) make arrests for offenses against the United States, for certain felonies, and for bringing in, transporting, or harboring certain aliens; (2) execute warrants of arrest for administrative immigration violations; and (3) carry firearms. Authorizes the Secretary to hire additional Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention enforcement officers. Establishes: (1) an ICE Advisory Council; and (2) a pilot program in at least five of the busiest ICE offices to process electronically and serve charging documents, and process and place detainers while in the field. Directs the Secretary to increase the number of ICE deportation officers, support staff, and prosecutors. Revises provisions regarding: (1) voluntary departure, (2) reentry bars for aliens who remain in the United States after ordered removed, and (3) reinstatement of removal orders. Prohibits the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) from prohibiting or restricting U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) efforts, on land under their respective jurisdictions located within 100 miles of an international land border, to: (1) execute search and rescue operations, and (2) prevent unlawful entries into the United States through the international land borders. Grants CBP access to such lands to conduct: (1) road and barrier construction and maintenance, (2) vehicular patrols, (3) surveillance equipment activities, and (4) deployment of temporary tactical infrastructure.

CLEAR Act of 2013

United States · United States Congress · 5 June 2013

Clear Law Enforcement for Criminal Alien Removal Act of 2013 or the CLEAR Act of 2013 - States that: (1) state and local law enforcement personnel, in the course of their routine duties, have the inherent authority to investigate, apprehend, or transfer to federal custody aliens in the United States (including interstate transportation of such aliens to detention centers) in order to assist in the enforcement of U.S. immigration laws; and (2) effective two years after enactment of this Act, a state that has in effect a statute, policy, or practice prohibiting such law enforcement assistance shall not receive certain federal incarceration assistance. Provides for the listing of immigration violators in the National Crime Information Center database. Directs states and localities to provide the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) with specified information about apprehended aliens who are believed to be in violation of U.S. immigration laws. Provides federal reimbursement for related state and local costs. (States that such provision shall not require state or local enforcement officials to provide DHS with information related to a victim of a crime or witness to a criminal offense.) Directs the Secretary to make grants to states and political subdivisions that enforce immigration laws in the course of their routine law enforcement duties for special equipment and facilities related to arresting, detaining, or transporting illegal aliens. Directs the Secretary to: (1) construct or acquire 20 additional detention facilities for aliens detained pending removal (or a decision on removal); and (2) consider the transfer of military installations under base closure laws for such purposes. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act regarding illegal aliens apprehended by state or local authorities to provide for: (1) federal custody upon state or local request; and (2) state or local compensation for related incarceration and transportation costs. Directs the Attorney General (DOJ) or the Secretary to ensure that the detention of an alien subject to removal is in an adequate state or local prison, detention center, or other comparable facility prior to his or her removal examination. Directs the Secretary to establish immigration-related training for state and local personnel. Provides: (1) personal liability immunity to the same extent as corresponding federal immunity for state or local personnel enforcing immigration laws within the scope of their duties under this Act; and (2) civil rights money damage immunity for state or local agencies enforcing immigration laws unless their personnel violated criminal law in such enforcement. Continues the institutional removal program (IRP), which shall be expanded to all states. Authorizes state or local detention of an illegal alien after completion of such alien's prison sentence for: (1) up to 14 days to facilitate federal transfer; or (2) until transfer to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Authorizes appropriations for FY2014 and subsequent fiscal years for the state criminal alien assistance program (SCAAP).

Strengthening America's Schools Act of 2013

United States · United States Congress · 4 June 2013

Strengthening America's Schools Act of 2013 - Revises and reauthorizes programs under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA). Title I: College and Career Readiness for All Students - Amends title I of the ESEA to revise the school improvement program under part A. Eliminates the requirement that local educational agencies (LEAs) and schools make adequate yearly progress toward state academic performance standards or be subject to specified improvements, corrective action, or restructuring. Requires states to adopt college and career ready academic content and achievement standards and assessments in reading, mathematics, science, and English language proficiency. Requires states to adopt and implement assessments of student achievement and academic growth toward those standards that: (1) measure the overall performance of students in each public school; and (2) allow for the disaggregation of the results by gender, each major racial and ethnic group, English proficiency status, migrant status, status as a student with a disability, and economically disadvantaged status. Allows states to adopt alternate academic achievement standards and assessments for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities. Allows states to develop and administer computer adaptive assessments that measure student growth above or below grade level. Directs states that use school improvement funds to support early childhood education to establish, or certify the existence of, early learning guidelines for preschool-aged children and early grade standards for children in kindergarten through grade three. Requires states to establish annual performance targets for LEAs and elementary and secondary schools that include targets for student proficiency, academic growth, English language proficiency for English learners, and high school graduation rates. Requires LEAs to ensure that each school that, after two consecutive years, has not met state performance targets for the same student subgroup develops and implements a locally designed intervention to improve student achievement in that subgroup. Subjects schools to improvement strategies if they are identified as: (1) focus schools due to their having among the largest achievement or graduation gaps among student subgroups in the state; or (2) priority schools due to their status as the lowest achieving schools in the state, high schools with graduation rates below 60%, or focus schools for the six preceding consecutive years. Requires each LEA that serves a focus school to develop and implement a measurable and data-driven correction plan to improve the performance of the school's low-achieving subgroups. Requires LEAs to conduct a data-driven needs analysis of each of their priority schools and use it to select and implement, as appropriate for each school: (1) a transformation strategy, (2) a turnaround strategy, (3) a whole school reform strategy, (4) a restart strategy, or (5) a school closure strategy. Requires LEAs to allow students at priority schools to transfer to another of its public schools that has not been identified as a priority school, unless that option is prohibited by state law. Repeals the School Support and Recognition program. Requires teachers teaching a core academic subject in a program supported with school improvement funds to be highly qualified and certified to teach that subject area, but makes this requirement applicable only to new teachers if the state has fully implemented a professional growth and improvement system. Requires LEAs to show that: (1) combined state and local per-pupil expenditures in each of their schools served under part A are not less than the average combined state and local per-pupil expenditures for their schools not served under part A; or (2) the average combined state and local per-pupil expenditures at its high-poverty schools are no less than those expenditures at its low-poverty schools, if LEAs serve all of their schools under part A. Establishes the Blue Ribbon Schools program that allows states to award their highest performing schools with increased autonomy, flexibility in using ESEA funds, and monetary rewards. Directs the Secretary of Education, acting jointly with the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), to designate exemplary early childhood education programs as centers of excellence in early childhood and award each of them a bonus grant to improve the quality of their program and others in their region. Authorizes the Secretary to identify and recognize exemplary schools, programs, and individuals. Directs the Secretary to award grants to states to develop, improve, or administer their college and career ready academic standards and assessments. Replaces part B (Student Reading Skills Improvement Grants) of title I with new Pathways to College grant programs that: (1) assist schools in implementing innovative and effective secondary school reform strategies, and (2) cover part or all of the Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) examination fee low-income students incur. Amends the program, under part C (Education of Migratory Children), providing grants to states for the education of migratory children. Requires migratory children to be given the opportunity to meet the same college and career readiness standards as other children. Amends part D (Prevention and Intervention Programs for Children and Youth Who are Neglected, Delinquent, or At-Risk). Requires states to ensure that students who have been placed in the juvenile justice system are promptly re-enrolled in secondary school or placed in re-entry programs that best meet their educational and social needs. Includes at-risk Indian children and youth in the program. Replaces part E (National Assessment of Subchapter I) with a new part E (Educational Stability of Children in Foster Care) program to facilitate the educational transition of children that move to a new school attendance area as the result of being placed in foster care, changing their foster care placement, or leaving foster care. Eliminates parts F (Comprehensive School Reform), G (Advanced Placement Programs), and H (School Dropout Prevention). Title II: Supporting Teacher and Principal Excellence - Replaces title II (Preparing, Training, and Recruiting High Quality Teachers and Principals) with a new title II (Supporting Teacher and Principal Excellence). Strikes parts A (Teacher and Principal Training and Recruiting Fund), B (Mathematics and Science Partnerships), C (Innovation for Teacher Quality) and D (Enhancing Education Through Technology) of title II. Establishes a new: (1) part A (Continuous Improvement and Support for Teachers and Principals) program to train and increase the number and equitable distribution of high-quality teachers and principals; (2) part B (Teacher Pathways to the Classroom) program to support the recruitment, selection, preparation, placement, retention, and support of teachers in high-need subjects or fields at high-needs schools; (3) part C (Teacher Incentive Fund) program for the development, implementation, improvement, or expansion of strategies to ensure that the most effective teachers and principals are serving in the lowest-performing schools; and (4) part D program (under provisions entitled the "Achievement Through Technology and Innovation Act of 2013" or the "ATTAIN Act") to enhance the use of educational technology. Title III: Language and Academic Content Instruction for English Learners and Immigrant Students - Revises and renames title III (Language and Academic content Instruction for English Learners and Immigrant Students). Changes the current references to "limited English proficient students" to "English learners." Amends part A (English Language Acquisition, Language Enhancement, and Academic Achievement Act), which provides funding to states to improve the education of English learners. Requires each state to establish a performance target for the percentage of English learners they serve who are making progress in achieving English proficiency not more that five years after being identified as English learners. Requires states that fail to meet their performance target for two consecutive years to develop an improvement plan to meet the target. Authorizes Indian tribes or educational entities that receive grants under the part A program to use them for Native American immersion and restoration programs. Revises the professional development grant program for English language instructors. Directs the Secretary to establish an independent commission on the assessment and advancement of English learners to provide the Secretary with advice regarding the education of English learners and their inclusion in state assessment and accountability systems. Requires the Secretary to distribute English language acquisition technology innovation grants for the pursuit of breakthrough research and development in educational technology that benefits English learners. Strikes part B (Improving Language Instruction Educational Programs). Title IV: Supporting Successful, Well-Rounded Students - Replaces title IV (21st Century Schools) with a new title IV (Supporting Successful, Well-Rounded Students). Replaces part A (Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities) with a new part A (under provisions entitled the "Improving Literacy Instruction and Student Achievement Act"), which creates programs that provide funding to: (1) states to improve the literacy of children from birth through grade 12, and (2) LEAs to develop and enhance effective school library programs. Creates a new part B (Improving Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Instruction and Student Achievement), which creates programs that provide funding to: (1) states to improve preschool and elementary and secondary school science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education; and (2) LEAs or states, acting in partnership with institutions of higher education (IHEs) or nonprofit organizations, to establish STEM Master Teacher Corps programs. Establishes a new part C (Increasing Access to a Well-Rounded Education and Financial Literacy), which creates programs that provide funding to states to: (1) increase the access of low-income students to high-quality courses in the arts, civics and government, economics, environmental education, financial literacy, foreign languages, geography, health education, history, music, physical education, or social studies; and (2) integrate financial literacy education into their elementary and secondary schools and train their secondary school financial literacy or entrepreneurship teachers to teach financial literacy in core academic subjects (under provisions entitled the "Financial Literacy for Students Act"). Establishes a new part D (Successful, Safe, and Healthy Students), which provides funding to states to foster comprehensive improvements to school-level conditions for learning. Establishes a new part E (under provisions entitled the "Student Non-Discrimination Act of 2013"), which prohibits public school students from being excluded from participating in, or subject to discrimination under, any federally-assisted educational program on the basis of their actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity or that of their associates. Revises the program under part B (21st Century Community Learning Centers) and places it in a new part F. Includes summer learning and expanded learning time activities in the program. Requires the program to serve students who primarily attend: (1) high-need schools; (2) schools that, after two consecutive years, have not met state performance targets for the same student subgroup; and (3) focus schools. Establishes a new part G (under provisions entitled the "Promise Neighborhoods Act of 2013") awarding: (1) Promise Neighborhood Partnership grants to nonprofit organizations that work in coordination with certain educational and governmental entities to provide education and support services to children who live in distressed neighborhoods, and (2) Promise School grants to high-need LEAs and Indian schools that partner with nonprofit organizations or IHEs to provide education and student support services to children who attend high-poverty schools. Establishes a new part H (Parent and Family Information and Resource Centers), which provides funds to nonprofit organizations to operate state parent and family information and resource centers. Requires part J funds to support nationally significant programs that help all children meet the college and career ready academic content and achievement standards required by this Act. Establishes a new part K (Competency-Based Assessment and Accountability Demonstration Authority), which authorizes the Secretary to provide states with the authority to incorporate competency-based targets for student learning in their title I accountability systems. Title V: Promoting Innovation - Replaces title V (Promoting Informed Parental Choice and Innovative Programs) with a new title V (Promoting Innovation). Creates a new part A (Race to the Top) program that awards grants to states and high-need LEAs to carry out one or more educational goals selected by the Secretary. Lists those goals. Creates a new part B (Investing in Innovation) program to support the school innovation efforts of public schools and LEAs. Revises the Magnet Schools Assistance program under part C, which provides grants to LEAs to establish and operate magnet schools under a court-ordered desegregation plan or voluntary desegregation plan approved by the Secretary. Replaces the existing Public Charter Schools program under part B with a new Public Charter Schools program under part D. Establishes under part D: (1) a subpart 1 (Successful Charter Schools Program), to support the creation, expansion, or replication of high-performing charter schools; and (2) a subpart 2 (Charter School Facility Acquisition, Construction, and Renovation), to improve access to facilities and facilities financing for high-performing charter schools. Revises Voluntary Public School Choice Programs to support the establishment or expansion of inter- or intra-district public school choice programs that enable students attending focus or priority schools to attend high-quality public schools, including charter schools. Title VI: Promoting Flexibility; Rural Education - Redesignates title VI (Flexibility and Accountability) as title VI (Promoting Flexibility; Rural Education). Replaces part A (Improving Academic Achievement) with a new part A (Transferability) program that allows states and LEAs to transfer funds they are allotted for state-level and local-level activities, respectively, by an ESEA formula grant to other state or LEA formula grant programs under the ESEA. Prohibits states from transferring any funds that originate in titles I or III, and prohibits LEAs from transferring any funds that originate in title I, III, VII (part A), or VIII, out of each respective title. Amends part B (Rural Education Initiatives) of title VI to give LEAs that qualify for funding under both the Small, Rural School Achievement (SRSA) and Rural and Low-Income School (RLIS) programs the option to choose the program for which they would prefer to receive funding. Title VII: Indian, Native Hawaiian, and Alaska Native Education - Amends title VII (Indian, Native Hawaiian, and Alaska Native Education). Amends part A (Indian Education) to revise the programs under subparts 1 (Formula Grants to Local Educational Agencies), 2 (Special Programs and Projects to Improve Educational Opportunities for Indian Children and Youth), 3 (National Activities), and 4 (Federal Administration). Provides support for Native American language immersion and restoration programs. Preserves the national research activities under subpart 3, but strikes: (1) the in-service training for teachers of Indian children program, (2) the fellowships for Indian students program, (3) the gifted and talented Indian students program, (4) the grants to tribes for education administrative planning and development program, and (5) the improvement of educational opportunities for adult Indians program. Revises the Native Hawaiian Education program. Includes among the approved uses of grant funds, workforce preparation and training for Native Hawaiian youth. Revises the Alaska Native Education program under provisions entitled the "Alaska Native Educational Equity, Support, and Assistance Act." Title VIII: Impact Aid - Amends title VIII (Impact Aid). Alters calculations made in determining the payments due LEAs for federal ownership of property, or for federally-connected children, within their areas. Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 to make the changes that Act made to the Impact Aid program permanent, including the requirement that the Secretary complete Impact Aid payments to eligible LEAs within three fiscal years of their appropriation. Title IX: General Provisions - Amends title IX (General Provisions) to establish additional definitions for terms that are applicable throughout the ESEA. Allows students who are threatened by, or the victim of, a criminal offense at their public school to attend a safe public school within the LEA's jurisdiction. (Currently, this unsafe school choice option is available only to students attending schools identified as persistently dangerous or to students who become victims of a criminal offense at their public school.) Title X: Commission on Effective Regulation and Assessment Systems for Public Schools - Commission on Effective Regulation and Assessment Systems for Public Schools Act - Establishes a Commission on Effective Regulation and Assessment Systems for Public Schools. Title XI: Amendments to Other Laws; Miscellaneous Provisions - McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Reauthorization Act of 2013- Amends the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act to revise, and reauthorize appropriations for, the Education for Homeless Children and Youth program, which provides funds to states for the education of homeless youth. Amends the Department of Education Organization Act to establish in the Department of Education an Advanced Research Projects Agency-Education (ARPA-ED) to pursue breakthrough research and development in educational technology and provide for its effective use.

Diploma and Accreditation Integrity Protection Act

United States · United States Congress · 4 June 2013

Diploma and Accreditation Integrity Protection Act - Prohibits any accreditor from being considered a reliable authority as to the quality of education or training offered by degree-granting institutions for any purpose related to immigration, federal employment, or any other federal activity, unless the accreditor is recognized by the Secretary of Education. Considers only a degree from a degree-granting institution that is accredited by such an accreditor to be acceptable in situations when a degree from an institution of higher education (IHE) is required or taken into consideration for the purpose of appointing, promoting, or improving the pay of a federal employee. Directs the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to define as an unfair and deceptive act or practice: (1) certain offerings of academic, professional, or occupational degrees by entities that are not IHEs or are not accredited by an accreditor recognized by the Secretary, any other appropriate federal agency, or the Council for Higher Education Accreditation; or (2) the issuing of any accreditation to a degree-granting institution by an accreditor that lacks such recognition.

Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2014

United States · United States Congress · 29 May 2013

Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2014 - Makes appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for FY2014 for: the Offices of the Secretary, the Under Secretary for Management, the Chief Financial Officer, the Chief Information Officer, and the Inspector General; intelligence analysis and operations coordination activities; U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP); U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE); the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), including for surface transportation security activities, screening programs of the Office of Transportation Threat Assessment and Credentialing, transportation security support, and the Federal Air Marshals; the Coast Guard, including for environmental compliance and restoration functions; the U.S. Secret Service; the Office of the Under Secretary and the Offices of the Assistant Secretaries for National Protection and Programs Directorate, including for the Federal Protective Service and the Office of Biometric Identity Management; the Office of Health Affairs; the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), including for the U.S. Fire Administration; U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS), including for the E-Verify program; the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center; the Office of the Under Secretary for Science and Technology; science and technology research; and the Domestic Nuclear Detention Office. Prohibits the use of funds under this Act: to amend the oath of allegiance required under the Immigration and Nationality Act; to prevent an individual not in the business of importing a prescription drug from importing a prescription drug that complies with the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act from Canada for personal use; for planning, testing, piloting, or developing a national identification card; to transfer, release, or assist in the transfer or release to or within the United States Khalid Sheikh Mohammed or any other detainee who is not a U.S. citizen or a member of the U.S. Armed Forces and who is or was held on or after June 24, 2009, at the U.S. Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, by the Department of Defense (DOD); by a federal law enforcement officer to facilitate the transfer of an operable firearm to an agent of a drug cartel unless U.S. law enforcement personnel continuously monitor or control the firearm at all times; to impose, or to conduct any study relating to the imposition of, a border crossing fee for pedestrians or passenger vehicles at land ports of entry along the southern or northern U.S. borders; or to approve a classification petition filed for or by a citizen or national of Brazil in order to render such individual eligible to receive an immigrant visa. Prohibits funds made available under this Act or any prior appropriations Act from being provided to the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, or allied organizations. Prohibits funds appropriated by this Act for ICE from being used to pay for an abortion, with exceptions where the mother's life would be endangered if the fetus were carried to term or in the case of rape or incest, or to require any person to perform or facilitate the performance of an abortion.