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CITE

    8 USC Sec. 1253                                             01/05/2009

EXPCITE

    TITLE 8 - ALIENS AND NATIONALITY
    CHAPTER 12 - IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY
    SUBCHAPTER II - IMMIGRATION
    Part V - Adjustment and Change of Status

HEAD

    Sec. 1253. Penalties related to removal

STATUTE

    (a) Penalty for failure to depart
      (1) In general
        Any alien against whom a final order of removal is outstanding
      by reason of being a member of any of the classes described in
      section 1227(a) of this title, who -
          (A) willfully fails or refuses to depart from the United
        States within a period of 90 days from the date of the final
        order of removal under administrative processes, or if judicial
        review is had, then from the date of the final order of the
        court,
          (B) willfully fails or refuses to make timely application in
        good faith for travel or other documents necessary to the
        alien's departure,
          (C) connives or conspires, or takes any other action,
        designed to prevent or hamper or with the purpose of preventing
        or hampering the alien's departure pursuant to such, or
          (D) willfully fails or refuses to present himself or herself
        for removal at the time and place required by the Attorney
        General pursuant to such order,
      shall be fined under title 18, or imprisoned not more than four
      years (or 10 years if the alien is a member of any of the classes
      described in paragraph (1)(E), (2), (3), or (4) of section
      1227(a) of this title), or both.
      (2) Exception
        It is not a violation of paragraph (1) to take any proper steps
      for the purpose of securing cancellation of or exemption from
      such order of removal or for the purpose of securing the alien's
      release from incarceration or custody.
      (3) Suspension
        The court may for good cause suspend the sentence of an alien
      under this subsection and order the alien's release under such
      conditions as the court may prescribe. In determining whether
      good cause has been shown to justify releasing the alien, the
      court shall take into account such factors as -
          (A) the age, health, and period of detention of the alien;
          (B) the effect of the alien's release upon the national
        security and public peace or safety;
          (C) the likelihood of the alien's resuming or following a
        course of conduct which made or would make the alien
        deportable;
          (D) the character of the efforts made by such alien himself
        and by representatives of the country or countries to which the
        alien's removal is directed to expedite the alien's departure
        from the United States;
          (E) the reason for the inability of the Government of the
        United States to secure passports, other travel documents, or
        removal facilities from the country or countries to which the
        alien has been ordered removed; and
          (F) the eligibility of the alien for discretionary relief
        under the immigration laws.
    (b) Willful failure to comply with terms of release under
      supervision
      An alien who shall willfully fail to comply with regulations or
    requirements issued pursuant to section 1231(a)(3) of this title or
    knowingly give false information in response to an inquiry under
    such section shall be fined not more than $1,000 or imprisoned for
    not more than one year, or both.
    (c) Penalties relating to vessels and aircraft
      (1) Civil penalties
        (A) Failure to carry out certain orders
          If the Attorney General is satisfied that a person has
        violated subsection (d) or (e) of section 1231 of this title,
        the person shall pay to the Commissioner the sum of $2,000 for
        each violation.
        (B) Failure to remove alien stowaways
          If the Attorney General is satisfied that a person has failed
        to remove an alien stowaway as required under section
        1231(d)(2) of this title, the person shall pay to the
        Commissioner the sum of $5,000 for each alien stowaway not
        removed.
        (C) No compromise
          The Attorney General may not compromise the amount of such
        penalty under this paragraph.
      (2) Clearing vessels and aircraft
        (A) Clearance before decision on liability
          A vessel or aircraft may be granted clearance before a
        decision on liability is made under paragraph (1) only if a
        bond approved by the Attorney General or an amount sufficient
        to pay the civil penalty is deposited with the Commissioner.
        (B) Prohibition on clearance while penalty unpaid
          A vessel or aircraft may not be granted clearance if a civil
        penalty imposed under paragraph (1) is not paid.
    (d) Discontinuing granting visas to nationals of country denying or
      delaying accepting alien
      On being notified by the Attorney General that the government of
    a foreign country denies or unreasonably delays accepting an alien
    who is a citizen, subject, national, or resident of that country
    after the Attorney General asks whether the government will accept
    the alien under this section, the Secretary of State shall order
    consular officers in that foreign country to discontinue granting
    immigrant visas or nonimmigrant visas, or both, to citizens,
    subjects, nationals, and residents of that country until the
    Attorney General notifies the Secretary that the country has
    accepted the alien.

SOURCE

    (June 27, 1952, ch. 477, title II, ch. 5, Sec. 243, 66 Stat. 212;
    Pub. L. 89-236, Sec. 11(f), Oct. 3, 1965, 79 Stat. 918; Pub. L. 95-
    549, title I, Sec. 104, Oct. 30, 1978, 92 Stat. 2066; Pub. L. 96-
    212, title II, Sec. 203(e), Mar. 17, 1980, 94 Stat. 107; Pub. L.
    97-116, Sec. 18(i), Dec. 29, 1981, 95 Stat. 1620; Pub. L. 101-649,
    title V, Sec. 515(a)(2), title VI, Sec. 603(b)(3), Nov. 29, 1990,
    104 Stat. 5053, 5085; Pub. L. 104-132, title IV, Sec. 413(a), (f),
    Apr. 24, 1996, 110 Stat. 1269; Pub. L. 104-208, div. C, title III,
    Sec. 307(a), Sept. 30, 1996, 110 Stat. 3009-612.)

AMENDMENTS

      1996 - Pub. L. 104-208 amended section generally. Prior to
    amendment, section consisted of subsecs. (a) to (h) relating to
    countries to which aliens were to be deported.
      Subsec. (h)(2). Pub. L. 104-132, Sec. 413(a), inserted at end
    "For purposes of subparagraph (D), an alien who is described in
    section 1251(a)(4)(B) of this title shall be considered to be an
    alien for whom there are reasonable grounds for regarding as a
    danger to the security of the United States."
      Subsec. (h)(3). Pub. L. 104-132, Sec. 413(f), added par. (3)
    which read as follows: "Notwithstanding any other provision of law,
    paragraph (1) shall apply to any alien if the Attorney General
    determines, in the discretion of the Attorney General, that -
        "(A) such alien's life or freedom would be threatened, in the
      country to which such alien would be deported or returned, on
      account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a
      particular social group, or political opinion; and
        "(B) the application of paragraph (1) to such alien is
      necessary to ensure compliance with the 1967 United Nations
      Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees."
      1990 - Subsec. (h)(1). Pub. L. 101-649, Sec. 603(b)(3),
    substituted "1251(a)(4)(D)" for "1251(a)(19)".
      Subsec. (h)(2). Pub. L. 101-649, Sec. 515(a)(2), inserted
    sentence at end relating to aliens who have been convicted of
    aggravated felonies.
      1981 - Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 97-116 inserted a comma after
    "subject" in fourth sentence.
      1980 - Subsec. (h). Pub. L. 96-212 substituted provisions
    relating to deportation or return of an alien where the Attorney
    General determines that the return would threaten the life or
    freedom of the alien on account of race, religion, nationality,
    membership in a particular social group, or political opinion, for
    provisions relating to withholding of deportation for any necessary
    period of time where the Attorney General decides the alien would
    be subject to persecution on account of race, religion, or
    political opinion.
      1978 - Subsec. (h). Pub. L. 95-549 inserted "(other than an alien
    described in section 1251(a) of this title)" before "within the
    United States".
      1965 - Subsec. (h). Pub. L. 89-236 substituted "persecution on
    account of race, religion, or political opinion" for "physical
    persecution".
                     EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1996 AMENDMENTS
      Amendment by Pub. L. 104-208 effective, with certain transitional
    provisions, on the first day of the first month beginning more than
    180 days after Sept. 30, 1996, see section 309 of Pub. L. 104-208,
    set out as a note under section 1101 of this title.
      Section 413(g) of Pub. L. 104-132 provided that: "The amendments
    made by this section [amending this section and sections 1254,
    1255, and 1259 of this title] shall take effect on the date of the
    enactment of this Act [Apr. 24, 1996] and shall apply to
    applications filed before, on, or after such date if final action
    has not been taken on them before such date."
                     EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1990 AMENDMENT
      Amendment by section 515(a)(2) of Pub. L. 101-649 applicable to
    convictions entered before, on, or after Nov. 29, 1990, and to
    applications for withholding of deportation made on or after such
    date, see section 515(b)(2) of Pub. L. 101-649, as amended, set out
    as a note under section 1158 of this title.
      Amendment by section 603(b)(3) of Pub. L. 101-649 not applicable
    to deportation proceedings for which notice has been provided to
    the alien before Mar. 1, 1991, see section 602(d) of Pub. L. 101-
    649, set out as a note under section 1227 of this title.
                     EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1981 AMENDMENT
      Amendment by Pub. L. 97-116 effective Dec. 29, 1981, see section
    21(a) of Pub. L. 97-116, set out as a note under section 1101 of
    this title.
                     EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1980 AMENDMENT
      Amendment by Pub. L. 96-212 effective Mar. 17, 1980, and
    applicable to fiscal years beginning with the fiscal year beginning
    Oct. 1, 1979, see section 204 of Pub. L. 96-212, set out as a note
    under section 1101 of this title.
                     EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1965 AMENDMENT
      For effective date of amendment by Pub. L. 89-236, see section 20
    of Pub. L. 89-236, set out as a note under section 1151 of this
    title.

ABOLITION OF IMMIGRATION AND NATURALIZATION SERVICE AND TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS

      For abolition of Immigration and Naturalization Service, transfer
    of functions, and treatment of related references, see note set out
    under section 1551 of this title.

REFERENCES TO ORDER OF REMOVAL DEEMED TO INCLUDE ORDER OF EXCLUSION AND DEPORTATION

      For purposes of carrying out this chapter, any reference in law
    to an order of removal is deemed to include a reference to an order
    of exclusion and deportation or an order of deportation, see
    section 309(d)(2) of Pub. L. 104-208, set out in an Effective Date
    of 1996 Amendments note under section 1101 of this title.
    SENSE OF CONGRESS RESPECTING TREATMENT OF CUBAN POLITICAL PRISONERS
      Pub. L. 99-603, title III, Sec. 315(c), Nov. 6, 1986, 100 Stat.
    3440, as amended by Pub. L. 104-208, div. C, title III, Sec.
    308(g)(7)(C)(i), Sept. 30, 1996, 110 Stat. 3009-623, provided that:
    "It is the sense of the Congress that the Secretary of State should
    provide for the issuance of visas to nationals of Cuba who are or
    were imprisoned in Cuba for political activities without regard to
    section 243(d) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.
    1253(d))."
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