HEART Act

This Act may be cited as the Hearings are Essential for Asylum Removal to Third-countries Act or the HEART Act .

Section 208(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1158(a)(3) ) is amended— (1) by amending paragraph (3) to read as follows: (3) Judicial review (A) In general Except as provided in subparagraph (B), no court shall have jurisdiction to review any determination of the Attorney General under paragraph (2). (B) Jurisdiction over determination of safe third country (i) In general An alien seeking judicial review of a determination under paragraph (2)(A) that such alien may be removed to a safe third country may present as prima facie evidence that the alien may not be so removed any of the following: (I) The bilateral or multilateral agreement with such third country, pursuant to which the determination under paragraph (2)(A) was made, does not apply to such alien. (II) Such alien’s life or liberty would be threatened in such third country, on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion. (III) Such alien would not have access to a full and fair procedure for determining a claim to asylum or equivalent temporary protection in such third country. (IV) A technical issue related to the implementation of such bilateral or multilateral agreement, would interfere with, prevent, or unduly delay the removal of such alien, regardless of whether such issue is included in the terms of such agreement. (ii) Release pending review An alien who seeks judicial review of a determination under paragraph (2)(A) shall be released from detention for the duration of such review. ; and (2) by adding at the end the following: (4) Rulemaking Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this paragraph, the Secretary of State shall issue a rule setting forth the minimum standards for a country to be designated a safe third country, which shall include— (A) due process for immigrants; (B) a consistent record of faithfully observing the rule of law; (C) an unlikelihood of imminent military conflict or violent domestic unrest; (D) a requirement that the country complies with international refugee and human rights conventions; and (E) a determination that the country independently possesses the economic resources to provide humanely for refugees engaged in the asylum seeking process. (5) Certification The Secretary of State shall submit a certification to Congress that a country meets the requirements of the rule issued pursuant to paragraph (4) before designating such country as a safe third country. .