July 29, 2025
Mr. Panetta (for himself and Ms. Moore of Wisconsin) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to eliminate the annual numerical limitation on visas for certain immigrants, to require the Secretary of Homeland Security to grant work authorization to certain immigrants with a pending application for nonimmigrant status under such Act, and for other purposes.
Section 1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the Immigrant Witness and Victim Protection Act of 2025
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Sec. 2. Purpose; Findings; Sense of Congress
(a) Purpose
The purpose of this Act is to remove barriers for alien survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking, and other crimes who may be eligible for protections under the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (VAWA), the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA), and their subsequent reauthorizations.
(b) Findings
Congress finds the following:
(1)
Threats of deportation are one of the most potent tools abusers and perpetrators of crime use to maintain control over and silence alien victims and to avoid criminal prosecution. Abusers and perpetrators leverage the immigration system in the abuse and exploitation of aliens they victimize.
(2)
A bipartisan majority in Congress created critical immigration protections in VAWA, TVPA and their subsequent reauthorizations in recognition that alien survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking, and other eligible crimes often fear that reaching out for help may lead to their deportation.
(3)
Detention and removal of those with victim-based cases undermines the intent of VAWA, TVPA, and their subsequent reuauthorizations and re-traumatizes victims and their children. Deporting survivors while they await decisions on their cases discourages victims from accessing justice, undermines the usefulness of these forms of relief as tools for law enforcement that seek to keep all communities safe, separates them from their children and support networks, and eliminates the ability of local law enforcement to continue protecting and working with such crime survivors.
(4)
Lack of timely access to employment authorization makes victims more vulnerable and may lead to their need to endure or return to abusive relationships or exploitative conditions. Crime and abuse survivors should have access to work authorization to escape abusive situations, and gain self-sufficiency following victimization so they can support themselves and their families.
(c) Sense of Congress
It is the sense of Congress that the Secretary of Homeland Security should not deport crime victims or neglected, abused, or abandoned youth before their applications for humanitarian relief are fully adjudicated, as it undermines critical bipartisan protections created in VAWA, TVPA, and their subsequent reauthorizations.
Sec. 3. Elimination of annual numerical limitation on U visas
Section 214(p) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(p)) is amended by striking paragraph (2).
Sec. 4. Elimination of annual numerical limitation on special immigrant juvenile visas
(a) Aliens not subject To direct numerical limitations
Section 201(b)(1)(A) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1151(b)(1)(A)) is amended by striking subparagraph (A) or (B)
and inserting subparagraphs (A), (B), or (J)
.
(b) Per country levels
Section 202(a)(2) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1152(a)(2)) is amended by striking (5),
and inserting (5), and except for special immigrants described in subparagraph (J) of section 1101(a)(27) of this title,
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(c) Certain special immigrants
Section 203(b)(4) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(4)) is amended by striking subparagraph (A) or (B)
and inserting subparagraphs (A), (B), or (J)
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Sec. 5. Work authorization while applications and petitions are pending
(a) U visas
Section 214(p) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(p)) is amended—
(1)
in paragraph (6), by striking the last sentence; and
(2)
by adding at the end the following:
(8) Work authorization
Notwithstanding any provision of this Act granting eligibility for employment in the United States, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall grant employment authorization to an alien who has filed an application for nonimmigrant status under section 101(a)(15)(U) on the date that is the earlier of—
(A)
the date on which the alien’s application for such status is approved; or
(B)
a date determined by the Secretary that is not later than 180 days after the date on which the alien filed the application.
(b) T visas
Section 214(o) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(o)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
(8)
Notwithstanding any provision of this Act granting eligibility for employment in the United States, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall grant employment authorization to an alien who has filed a petition for nonimmigrant status under section 101(a)(15)(T) on the date that is the earlier of—
(A)
the date on which the alien’s petition for such status is approved; or
(B)
a date determined by the Secretary that is not later than 180 days after the date on which the alien filed the petition.
(c) VAWA Self-Petitioners
Section 204(a)(1)(K) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1154(a)(1)(K)) is amended to read:
(K)
Notwithstanding any provision of this Act restricting eligibility for employment in the United States, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall grant employment authorization to such an alien in the United States on the date that is the earlier of—
(i)
the date on which the alien’s petition as a VAWA self-petitioner is approved; or
(ii)
a date determined by the Secretary that is not later than 180 days after the date on which the alien filed the petition as a VAWA self-petitioner.
(d) Special immigrant juveniles
Section 245 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1255) is amended by adding at the end the following:
(o) Work authorization for certain special immigrants
Notwithstanding any provision of this Act granting eligibility for employment in the United States, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall grant employment authorization to an alien who has filed a petition for special immigrant status under section 101(a)(27)(J) on the date that is the earlier of—
(1)
the date on which the alien’s petition for such status is approved; or
(2)
a date determined by the Secretary that is not later than 180 days after the date on which the alien filed the petition.
(e) Cancellation of removal
Section 240A(b)(2) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1229b(b)(2)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
(E) Work authorization
Notwithstanding any provision of this Act granting eligibility for employment in the United States, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall grant employment authorization to an alien who has filed an application for cancellation of removal under this paragraph on a date that is not later than 180 days after the date on which the alien filed the application.
Sec. 6. Stay of removal
(a) In general
An alien described in subsection (b) shall not be removed from the United States under section 240 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1229a) or any other provision of law until there is a final denial of the alien’s application for status after the exhaustion of administrative and judicial review.
(b) Aliens described
An alien is described in this subsection if the alien—
(1)
has a pending or approved application or petition under section 101(a)(15)(T), 101(a)(15)(U), 101(a)(27)(J), 106, 240A(b)(2), or 244(a)(3) (as in effect on March 31, 1997) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101, 1229a, 1254a); or
(2)
is a VAWA self-petitioner, as defined in section 101(a)(51) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, with a pending application for relief under a provision referred to in one of subparagraphs (A) through (G) of such section.
Sec. 7. Prohibition on detention of certain victims with pending or approved petition or application
Section 236 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1226) is amended by adding at the end the following:
(f) Prohibition on detention of certain victims with pending or approved petitions and applications
(1) In general
Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, there shall be a presumption that the alien described in paragraph (2) should be released from detention. The Secretary of Homeland Security shall have the duty of rebutting this presumption, which may only be shown based on clear and convincing evidence, including credible and individualized information, that the use of alternatives to detention will not reasonably ensure the appearance of the alien at removal proceedings, or that the alien is a threat to another person or the community. The fact that an alien has a criminal charge pending against the alien may not be the sole factor to justify the continued detention of the alien.
(2) Alien described
An alien is described in this paragraph if the alien—
(A)
has a pending or approved application or petition under section 101(a)(15)(T), 101(a)(15)(U), 101(a)(27)(J), 106, 240A(b)(2), or 244(a)(3) (as in effect on March 31, 1997); or
(B)
is a VAWA self-petitioner, as defined in section 101(a)(51), with a pending application for relief under a provision referred to in one of subparagraphs (A) through (G) of such section.
Sec. 8. Penalties for disclosure of information
(a) In general
Section 384 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1367) is amended—
(1)
in subsection (a)—
(A)
in paragraph (1), by striking solely
;
(B)
in paragraph (2)—
(i)
by striking information which relates
and inserting information, files, or records which relate
; and
(ii)
by striking the period at the end and inserting a semicolon; and
(C)
by inserting after paragraph (2) the following new paragraph:
(3)
Except as provided in this paragraph, neither the Department, nor any other official or employee of the Department, or bureau or agency thereof, nor the Department of Justice, nor any official or employee of the Department of Justice, or bureau or agency thereof, may—
(A)
use the information furnished by the applicant pursuant to an application filed under paragraph (15)(T), (15)(U), (27)(J), or (51) of section 101(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a) (15)(T), (15)(U), (27)(J), or (51)), or section 240A(b)(2) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1229b(b)(2)), section 106 (8 U.S.C. 1105a), for any purpose other than to make a determination on the application, or for enforcement of subsection (c) of this section;
(B)
make any publication of information that identifies a particular individual; or
(C)
permit anyone other than the sworn officers and employees of the Department or bureau or agency to examine individual applications. ;
(2)
in subsection (b)—
(A)
in paragraph (2), by striking legitimate law enforcement purpose,
and inserting a criminal investigation or prosecution,
; and
(B)
by striking paragraph (4) and inserting the following new paragraph:
(4)
Paragraphs (2) and (3) of subsection (a) shall not apply if all the individuals in the case are adults and they have all waived the restrictions of such subsections.; and
(3)
in subsection (d), by adding at the end the following: The Attorney General, Secretary of State, and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall provide Congress with an annual report regarding training provided to officers and employees, the number of investigations opened for violations of paragraphs (1) through (3) of subsection (a), and the results of those investigations.
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