Preventing Violence Against Women by Illegal Aliens Act
This bill would tighten immigration law to bar noncitizens who have been convicted of, or who admit to, certain violent offenses from entering the United States and to permit their removal if they are currently in the country. Specifically, it adds new inadmissibility grounds for sex offenses and for domestic violence, stalking, child abuse/neglect/abandonment, or violations of protection orders (including through conspiracy to commit such offenses). It also strengthens deportation grounds by explicitly making sex offenses (and conspiracies to commit them) deportable and by expanding the scope of what counts as a deportable crime related to violence against family or household members. The definitions used rely on existing federal statutes (the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act for sex offenses and the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act for domestic violence) and the protection-order provisions in immigration law. The bill aims to reduce violence against women by targeting noncitizens who commit these offenses, including those who admit to acts that constitute the offenses or conspiracy to commit them.
Key Points
- 1Inadmissibility additions: Creates new inadmissibility grounds for aliens who have been convicted of, admit having committed, or admit committing acts that constitute the essential elements of a sex offense (as defined by the Adam Walsh Act) or of domestic violence, stalking, child abuse/neglect/abandonment, or a violation of a protection order (including some protections against credible threats, harassment, or bodily injury). Conspiracy to commit such offenses is also grounds for inadmissibility.
- 2Deportability additions: Expands deportation triggers to include sex offenses (and conspiracies to commit them) and broadens what counts as a crime of domestic violence for deportation purposes, explicitly tying it to the domestic-violence definitions in related federal law and language about protection orders regardless of grant funding status.
- 3Definitions and cross-references: Uses the Adam Walsh Act’s definition of “sex offense” and the definitions of “domestic violence” and “protection order” from related statutes to determine what offenses trigger inadmissibility or deportation.
- 4Conspiracy language: Adds conspiracy to commit such offenses as a ground for both inadmissibility and deportability.
- 5Scope of impact: Applies to noncitizens seeking admission to the United States or those subject to removal proceedings, with particular emphasis on offenses involving violence against women, children, or those protected by court orders.