Sponsors (39)
Bars removal/detention of Cambodian, Laotian, and Vietnamese nationals who entered by Jan 1, 2008 and continuously resided in the U.S.; grants work authorization, reopens past removal orders, and provides notice and travel assistance.
The bill prioritizes protecting long‑term Southeast Asian nationals from removal, restoring eligibility for relief, and expanding work and judicial remedies — providing stability and access to services for affected communities — while imposing meaningful administrative, fiscal, and litigation burdens and raising enforcement, verification, and stigmatization risks.
Long-term nationals of Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam (who arrived by Jan 1, 2008 and remained continuously) would be protected from detention and removal, giving them immediate stability and preventing family separations.
People from Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam who were removed between Apr 24, 1996 and enactment can reopen proceedings and be treated as never removed, with government-funded travel documentation and potential admission or parole back to the U.S., restoring eligibility for immigration relief.
Eligible nationals get permanent work authorization (a renewable 5-year endorsement), enabling lawful employment and steady income opportunities.
Federal agencies and taxpayers would likely face increased administrative and fiscal costs to reopen cases, process returns, provide travel and parole, implement work-authorization systems, and carry out outreach and notices.
Expanded judicial review (de novo district-court review), private causes of action, and class-action litigation would increase court caseloads and litigation costs, risking backlogs and longer timelines for decisions.
Exempting a category of noncitizens from deportation and limiting removals could be perceived as weakening interior immigration enforcement or rule‑of‑law norms, raising national‑security and public‑safety concerns among some localities and officials.
Based on analysis of 6 sections of legislative text.
Official title: To halt removal of certain nationals of Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam, and for other purposes.
Introduced February 20, 2026 by Judy Chu · Last progress February 20, 2026
Bars detention and deportation of nationals of Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam who entered the United States on or before January 1, 2008 and have continuously lived here since that entry, and requires DHS to authorize permanent work rights with a renewable 5‑year endorsement. It also directs prosecutors and immigration courts to reopen certain past removal orders for eligible people, provides government-funded travel and reentry assistance, requires DHS notice to impacted noncitizens, and creates a private right of action for enforcement.