Preventing Violence Against Women by Illegal Aliens Act

The bill would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act in two ways. First, it would add new inadmissibility grounds barring entry to non-U.S. nationals who have been convicted of, or who admit committing, sex offenses (as defined by the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006), conspiracy to commit a sex offense, stalking, child abuse, child neglect, child abandonment, domestic violence, or violation of a protection order. Second, it would expand deportability grounds by adding conviction for any sex offense or conspiracy to commit a sex offense as a basis for removal, and by broadening the definition of domestic violence to include physical or sexual abuse or a pattern of coercive behavior within certain close relationships — regardless of whether the relevant jurisdiction receives federal grant funding under the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994.

The bill would not create new criminal penalties, alter existing criminal statutes, or affect U.S. citizens. It operates entirely within immigration law by adding to the list of offenses that trigger inadmissibility or deportability for non-U.S. nationals.

Non-U.S. nationals — including visa applicants, lawful permanent residents, and others present in the United States — who have been convicted of or admit to the newly covered offenses. Immigration judges and Department of Homeland Security officers who adjudicate admissibility and removal cases would also apply the new standards. Survivors of domestic violence or abuse who are non-U.S. nationals could also be affected depending on their own immigration history.

If enacted, a broader range of sex offenses, domestic violence conduct, and child-related crimes would trigger both bars on entry and removal proceedings for non-U.S. nationals. Currently, some of these offenses do not automatically make someone deportable or inadmissible; the bill would close those gaps. The expanded domestic violence definition would also reach jurisdictions not receiving federal grant funding, a limitation absent from current law.

The bill is largely self-executing through direct amendments to the Immigration and Nationality Act. Immigration officers at ports of entry and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services would apply the new inadmissibility grounds when adjudicating visa applications and admission requests. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and immigration judges would apply the new deportability grounds in removal proceedings. The definitions of covered offenses cross-reference existing federal statutes — the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act for sex offenses and the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 for domestic violence — so no new rulemaking is required to operationalize the key terms.