No Alternatives to Detention for Illegals Act of 2022 This bill prohibits the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from enacting any program that provides alternatives to detention for a non-U.S. national ( alien under federal law) who is in DHS custody and housed at an immigration detention center.
Protecting Federal Funds from Human Trafficking and Smuggling Act of 2022 This bill prohibits a nonprofit entity from receiving federal funds (and denies a tax exemption) unless the entity certifies compliance with certain federal laws (e.g., laws with respect to human trafficking and smuggling). It also establishes reporting requirements, including that the Government Accountability Office must annually report to Congress on those nonprofit entities that do not certify their compliance with these laws.
Never Yielding Europe's Territory (NYET) Act of 2022 This bill addresses Russia's actions against Ukraine and other countries in the region. The bill authorizes and expedites the provision of security assistance, including by (1) prioritizing delivering excess defense articles to Ukraine, (2) authorizing the Department of State to waive certain costs for defense articles leased to Ukraine, and (3) authorizing additional Foreign Military Financing for programs in Europe. The bill also provides funding for (1) Foreign Military Financing assistance to Ukraine, (2) the Global Engagement Center to counter foreign-sponsored propaganda and disinformation, (3) the Countering Russian Influence Fund to support Ukraine and other countries in response to Russia's aggression, and (4) International Military Education and Training assistance for Ukraine. Furthermore, the bill imposes sanctions, including on (1) senior Russian military officials responsible for planning or executing military operations that violated Ukraine's sovereignty or territorial integrity, and (2) foreign individuals or entities that acted on behalf of Russia's government to destabilize Ukraine or disrupt Ukraine's critical infrastructure. The bill also addresses additional matters, including (1) prohibiting the National Aeronautics and Space Administration from sponsoring visas for Russian nationals affiliated with ROSCOSMOS, the entity that implements Russia's space program; (2) authorizing Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty to explore opening new bureaus to reach audiences on Russia's periphery; and (3) providing for expedited approval of natural gas exports to qualifying nations, including NATO members, whereas currently expedited approval is only available for exports to countries that are in a free trade agreement relating to natural gas with the United States.
Midland Over Moscow Act This bill imposes sanctions related to the Nord Stream 2 pipeline and revises the expedited approval process for natural gas imports and exports in or out of the United States. (Nord Stream 2 is a pipeline constructed to increase the export of natural gas from Russia to Europe.) Within 10 days of this bill's enactment, the President must impose sanctions on any entity responsible for the planning, construction, maintenance, financing, or operation of Nord Stream 2, as well as any corporate officer or principal shareholder with a controlling interest in such an entity. The bill also revokes the President's authority to waive certain sanctions related to Nord Stream 2 and TurkStream, another Russian natural gas pipeline project. The bill also allows any nation, with specified exclusions, to use an expedited process to receive approval to import or export natural gas in or out of the United States (currently only a nation with a free trade agreement with the United States may use the expedited process). Specifically, the bill excludes any nation (1) subject to U.S.-imposed sanctions or trade restrictions, or (2) excluded by the President or Congress for national security reasons.
Guaranteeing Enemy Nations Omit from Criminalizing, Impeding, or Detaining Exceptional Global Athletes Magnifying Exploitation during Sporting events Act or the GENOCIDE GAMES Act This bill requires the President to impose sanctions on certain foreign individuals who materially supported a gross violation of internationally recognized human rights against a 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games participant. Upon receiving credible evidence of such a human rights violation, the President must impose property- and visa-blocking sanctions on any foreign individual associated with the International Olympic Committee (IOC), including the president of the IOC, who the President determines materially supported the violation of human rights, including by providing to participants false, reckless, or negligent assurances of human rights assurances by the government of China. This bill's requirements shall terminate on March 13, 2023.
Immigration Transparency and Transit Notification Act of 2022 This bill requires notifications to certain officials before an unaccompanied alien child or a non-U.S. national ( alien under federal law) without lawful immigration status may be placed in or transported to a state or local jurisdiction. The bill also authorizes the office of the governor of the relevant state to prohibit the placement or transportation. At least seven calendar days before taking such an action, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) or the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) must notify (1) the relevant state governor's office, (2) the state attorney general's office, (3) the county or municipal government, (4) local law enforcement, and (5) federal and state legislators representing the relevant jurisdiction. The action may not take place if the state governor's office objects no later than three calendar days after receiving the notification. This authority to object shall not apply if the action is to place an unaccompanied child with, or transport the child to, a family member.
Protecting Federal Funds from Human Trafficking and Smuggling Act of 2022 This bill prohibits a nonprofit entity from receiving federal funds unless the entity certifies compliance with certain federal laws (e.g., laws with respect to human trafficking and smuggling). It also establishes reporting requirements, including that the Government Accountability Office must annually report to Congress on those nonprofit entities that do not certify their compliance with these laws.
Stop the Betrayal Act of 2022 This bill prohibits using federal funds to transport an unlawfully present non-U.S. national ( alien under federal law) into a U.S. region that is not within the border jurisdiction of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, unless such transportation is for (1) enforcing immigration laws, or (2) bringing an unaccompanied alien child to a Department of Health and Human Services facility.
Putin Accountability Act This bill imposes sanctions pertaining to Russia and addresses related issues. The President must impose sanctions, with some exceptions, on individuals and entities that knowingly and directly provide specialized financial messaging services to Russia's central bank (or enables access to such services); entities responsible for constructing, financing, or operating Nord Stream 2 (a pipeline constructed to increase Russian natural gas exports) and the corporate officers and controlling shareholders of such entities; individuals and entities in Russia involved in kleptocracy, Russian government activities to subvert U.S. democratic institutions and interests, or Russian government disinformation campaigns against the United States; and entities that are Russian state development corporations, as well as any officials of such an entity. The President must impose property-blocking sanctions on such individuals and entities and also visa-blocking sanctions on the individuals. The President must also (1) issue regulations to prohibit U.S. individuals and entities from dealing in Russian sovereign debt; and (2) issue a determination as to whether certain specified Russian individuals meet the criteria to be subject to sanctions under various authorities, including this bill. The Department of State must (1) designate Russia a state sponsor of terrorism, and (2) report to Congress a determination of whether Russia-affiliated armed entities in the Donbas region of Ukraine meet the criteria to be designated as foreign terrorist organizations. The bill prohibits expending funds to engage with Russia's government on cyber issues or arms control negotiations until certain conditions have been met.
American Tech Workforce Act of 2021 This bill eliminates the Optional Practical Training Program and modifies requirements for H-1B visas (nonimmigrant workers in specialty occupations and fashion models). (The Optional Practical Training Program provides an eligible F-1 student visa holder temporary employment authorization before or after completion of the student's studies, or both.) Under this bill, the employer must pay an H-1B visa holder the greater of (1) the annual wage paid to a U.S. worker who did identical or similar work in the two years before the employer's H-1B application; or (2) $110,000, with this amount to be adjusted annually for inflation. Currently, the H-1B visa holder must be paid the greater of (1) the employer's actual wage for similarly qualified U.S. workers in the specific position, or (2) the local prevailing wage for the occupational classification. The bill also removes a requirement for the employer to provide the visa holder with working conditions such that the working conditions of similarly employed workers will not be affected. The bill imposes limits on assigning H-1B visa holders to third-party work sites, such as limiting the visa validity period to one year if the visa holder performs any part of their assignment at a third-party work site. The bill requires the H-1B applications with the highest listed compensation to be granted before those with lower listed compensation.
