To amend title IV of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 to provide for the eligibility of certain aliens suffering from domestic abuse for SSI, food stamps, TANF, Medicaid, SSBG, and certain other public benefit programs, and for other purposes.

To amend title IV of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 to provide for the eligibility of certain aliens suffering from domestic abuse for SSI, food stamps, TANF, Medicaid, SSBG, and certain other public benefit programs, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Women Immigrants Safe Harbor Act of 2001'.

SEC. 2. ELIGIBILITY FOR CERTAIN PUBLIC BENEFITS OF ALIENS SUFFERING FROM DOMESTIC ABUSE.

(a) EXEMPTION FROM SSI AND FOOD STAMPS BAN- Section 402(a)(2) of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1612(a)(2)) is amended by adding at the end the following:

`(L) BATTERED ALIENS- With respect to eligibility for benefits for a specified Federal program (as defined in paragraph (3)), paragraph (1) shall not apply to an alien who--

`(i) is described in section 431(c),

`(ii) is described in section 431(b) and also is described in section 431(c), other than paragraphs (1)(B), (2)(B), and (3)(B), or

`(iii) is described in section 431(b)(8).'.

(b) EXEMPTION FROM TANF, MEDICAID, AND SSBG BAN- Section 402(b)(2) of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1612(b)(2)) is amended by adding after subparagraph (F) the following new subparagraph:

`(G) BATTERED ALIENS- An alien who--

`(i) is described in section 431(c),

`(ii) is described in section 431(b) and also is described in section 431(c), other than paragraphs (1)(B), (2)(B), and (3)(B), or

`(iii) is described in section 431(b)(8).'.

(c) EXEMPTION FROM 5-YEAR BAN FOR FEDERAL MEANS-TESTED PUBLIC BENEFITS- Section 403(b) of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1613(b)) is amended by adding at the end the following:

`(3) BATTERED ALIENS- An alien who--

`(i) is described in section 431(c),

`(ii) is described in section 431(b) and also is described in section 431(c), other than paragraphs (1)(B), (2)(B), and (3)(B),

`(iii) is described in section 431(b)(8).'.

(d) EXPANSION OF DEFINITION OF BATTERED ALIENS-

(1) IN GENERAL- Section 431(c) of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1641(c)) is amended--

(A) in paragraphs (1)(A), (2)(A), and (3)(A) by inserting ` or the benefits to be provided would alleviate the harm from such battery or cruelty or would enable the alien to avoid such battery or cruelty in the future' before the semicolon; and

(B) in the matter following paragraph (3), by inserting ` and for determining whether the benefits to be provided under a specific Federal, State, or local program would alleviate the harm from such battery or extreme cruelty or would enable the alien to avoid such battery or extreme cruelty in the future' before the period.

(2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT REGARDING SPONSOR DEEMING- Section 421(f)(1) of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1631(f)(1)) is amended--

(A) in subparagraph (A), by inserting `or would alleviate the harm from such battery or cruelty, or would enable the alien to avoid such battery or cruelty in the future' before the semicolon; and

(B) in subparagraph (B), by inserting `or would alleviate the harm from such battery or cruelty, or would enable the alien to avoid such battery or cruelty in the future' before the period.

(e) STATUS AS QUALIFIED ALIEN FOR NONIMMIGRANT `U' VISA HOLDERS- Section 431(b) of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1641(b)) is amended--

(A) by striking `or' at the end of paragraph (6);

(B) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (7) and inserting `, or'; and

(C) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

`(8) status as a nonimmigrant under section 101(a)(15)(U) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.'.

(f) CONFORMING DEFINITION OF `FAMILY' USED IN LAWS GRANTING FEDERAL PUBLIC BENEFIT ACCESS FOR BATTERED ALIENS TO STATE FAMILY LAW- Section 431(c) of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1641(c)) is amended--

(1) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking `by a spouse or a parent, or by a member of the spouse or parent's family residing in the same household as the alien and the spouse or parent consented to, or acquiesced in, such battery or cruelty,' and inserting `by a spouse, parent, son, or daughter, or by any individual having a relationship with the alien covered by the civil or criminal domestic violence statutes of the State or Indian country where the alien resides, or the State or Indian country in which the alien, the alien's child, or the alien child's parents received a protection order, or by any individual against whom the alien could obtain a protection order,'; and

(2) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking `by a spouse or parent of the alien (without the active participation of the alien in the battery or cruelty), or by a member of the spouse or parent's family residing in the same household as the alien and the spouse or parent consented or acquiesced to such battery or cruelty,' and inserting `by a spouse, parent, son, or daughter of the alien (without the active participation of alien in the battery or cruelty) or by any individual having a relationship with the alien covered by the civil or criminal domestic violence statutes of the State or Indian county where the alien resides, or the State or Indian country in which the alien, the alien's child, or the alien child's parent received a protection order, or by any individual against whom the alien could obtain a protection order,'.

(g) TREATMENT OF FAMILY-SPONSORED BATTERED ALIENS UNDER THE PUBLIC CHARGE PROVISIONS OF SECTION 212 of the INA- Section 212(a)(4)(A) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(4)(A)) is amended--

(1) by inserting `(i)' before `Any alien';

(2) by adding at the end the following:

`(ii) The provisions of this paragraph shall not apply to an alien who is--

`(I) described in section 431(c) of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996,

`(II) described in section 431(b) of such Act and also is described in section 431(c) of such Act, other than paragraphs (1)(B), (2)(B), and (3)(B), or

`(III) described in section 431(b)(8) of such Act.'; and

(3) by indenting clause (i) (as designated by paragraph (1) of this subsection) and aligning such clause (i) with clause (ii) of such subparagraph (as added by paragraph (2) of this subsection).

(h) BENEFITS PROVIDED TO BATTERED ALIENS NOT SUBJECT TO REIMBURSEMENT- Section 423(d) of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 is amended by adding after paragraph (11) the following:

`(12) Benefits provided to an alien who--

`(i) is described in section 431(c),

`(ii) is described in section 431(b) and also is described in section 431(c), other than paragraphs (1)(B), (2)(B), and (3)(B), or

`(iii) is described in section 431(b)(8).'.

(i) EFFECTIVE DATE- The amendments made by this section apply to public benefits provided on or after the date of enactment of this Act.