HR 1050119th CongressIn Committee

Criminal Alien Gang Member Removal Act

Introduced: Feb 6, 2025

Standard Summary

Comprehensive overview in 1-2 paragraphs

This bill, titled the Criminal Alien Gang Member Removal Act, would drastically expand government tools to target noncitizens associated with criminal gangs. It creates a formal process for the Secretary of Homeland Security (in consultation with the Attorney General) to designate groups of 5 or more people as "criminal gangs" if they meet specific criminal-activity criteria. Once designated, members or participants of these gangs could face altered immigration consequences, including inadmissibility at entry, deportability if already in the U.S., mandatory detention in removal proceedings, and restrictions on certain immigration benefits (such as asylum, temporary protected status, and special immigrant juvenile visas). The bill also broadens the types of offenses that can qualify a group as a gang, imposes annual detention reporting, and provides limited avenues for judicial review of designations. Notably, many of these provisions would apply with retroactive effect from the date of enactment.

Key Points

1Definition and designation of “criminal gang”
2- Adds a new INA definition for “criminal gang” (5+ people) whose members engage in a continuing series of offenses or who are designated as a gang by DHS in consultation with the Attorney General.
3- Offenses include felony drug offenses, human smuggling/harboring, crimes of violence, obstruction of justice, fraud related to identification or access devices, trafficking, racketeering-related offenses, and conspiracy to commit any of these.
4- DHS (with AG) may designate groups as criminal gangs, with a formal process, records, and potential classification of information.
5Inadmissibility and deportability expansions
6- Aliens who are, or have been, members of a designated criminal gang, or who participate in gang activities knowing they promote the gang’s illegal activity, become inadmissible (212(a)(2)(J)).
7- Aliens who are, or have been, members of a designated criminal gang, or who participate in gang activities knowing they promote the gang’s illegal activity, become deportable (237(a)(2)(G)).
8Designation process and review
9- Creates a new Sec. 220 “Designation of criminal gang” with: notice to leaders of Congress before designation, Federal Register publication, and an administrative record.
10- Designations last until revoked or set aside, with procedures for revocation (including petitions for revocation and a 180-day review timeline) and for amendments when a gang changes name or structure.
11- Designations and revocations are subject to limited judicial review in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, based on the administrative record (with allowance for classified information in camera/ex parte review).
12Consequences in removal proceedings
13- Designation, once effective, can be used in removal proceedings, and the alien cannot easily challenge the designation as a defense.
14Mandatory detention
15- Adds a ground to mandatory detention: aliens inadmissible under 212(a)(2)(J) or deportable under 237(a)(2)(G) must be detained in removal proceedings.
16Limitations on immigration benefits
17- Asylum: aliens described in 212(a)(2)(J)(i) or 237(a)(2)(G)(i) become ineligible for asylum; the removal-to-country restriction also extends to these aliens.
18- Temporary Protected Status (TPS): DHS can detain TPS beneficiaries as appropriate, and the law expands the criteria to include gang-associated aliens.
19- Special Immigrant Juvenile Visas (SIJ): No benefit under the SIJ provision for aliens described in the gang-associated sections.
20Parole restrictions
21- Aliens described in 212(a)(2)(J) may only be granted parole under 212(d)(5)(A) if they are assisting the U.S. government in a law enforcement matter and their presence is required for that assistance.
22Effective date and retroactivity
23- All amendments take effect on the date of enactment and apply to acts occurring before, on, or after enactment.

Impact Areas

Primary group/area affected- Noncitizens who are or are believed to be involved with “criminal gangs” (as newly defined) and their families. This includes those designated as gang members or participants in gang activities, potentially expanding detention and removal actions against a broad set of individuals.Secondary group/area affected- U.S. immigration authorities (DHS and the Attorney General) who gain a formal designation process, increased powers to detain, and an expanded set of grounds for inadmissibility and deportability.- The federal courts, specifically the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, which would handle limited challenges to gang designations and revocations.Additional impacts- Asylum, TPS, and certain immigrant-visa pathways (including SIJ) become more restricted for gang-associated individuals, which could affect asylum seekers, TPS recipients, and juveniles seeking immigration relief.- Potential civil liberties and due process considerations due to broad and potentially retroactive designations, use of classified information in designations, and limited judicial review.- Oversight implications include annual detention reporting and congressional notification requirements related to gang designations.

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