Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of SB0032
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Full Text of SB0032  100th General Assembly

SB0032sam001 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Sen. John J. Cullerton

Filed: 5/26/2017

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 32

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 32 by replacing
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
4    "Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
5Illinois TRUST Act.
 
6    Section 5. Definitions. In this Act:
7    "Certification form" means any law enforcement
8certification form or statement required by federal
9immigration law certifying that a person is a victim of
10qualifying criminal activity including, but not limited to, the
11information required by Section 1184(p) of Title 8 of the
12United States Code (including current United States
13Citizenship and Immigration Service Form I-918, Supplement B,
14or any successor form) for purposes of obtaining a U visa, or
15by Section 1184(o) of Title 8 of the United States Code
16(including current United States Citizenship and Immigration

 

 

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1Service Form I-914, Supplement B, or any successor form) for
2purposes of obtaining a T visa.
3    "Certifying agency" means a State or local law enforcement
4agency, prosecutor, or other public authority that has
5responsibility for the detection, investigation, or
6prosecution of criminal activity including an agency that has
7criminal investigative jurisdiction in its respective areas of
8expertise. "Certifying agency" also includes the Department of
9Labor, the Department of Children and Family Services, the
10Department of Human Services, and the Illinois Workers'
11Compensation Commission. "Certifying agency" does not include
12any State court.
13    "Certifying official" means the head of a certifying agency
14as defined in this Section, or a person within the agency
15performing a supervisory role who is specifically designated by
16the head of the certifying agency to respond to requests for
17certification forms or a person within another certifying
18agency specifically designated by agreement between the heads
19of the agencies to respond to requests for certification forms.
20    "Qualifying criminal activity" means any activity,
21regardless of the stage of detection, investigation, or
22prosecution, designated in Section 1101(a)(15)(U)(iii) of
23Title 8 of the United States Code and any implementing federal
24regulations, and includes one or more of the following or any
25similar activity in violation of federal, State, or local
26criminal law: rape; torture; trafficking; incest; domestic

 

 

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1violence; sexual assault; abusive sexual contact;
2prostitution; sexual exploitation; stalking; female genital
3mutilation; being held hostage; peonage; involuntary
4servitude; slave trade; kidnapping; abduction; unlawful
5criminal restraint; false imprisonment; blackmail; extortion;
6manslaughter; murder; felonious assault; witness tampering;
7obstruction of justice; perjury; fraud in foreign labor
8contracting (as defined in Section 1351 of Title 18 of the
9United States Code); or attempt, conspiracy, or solicitation to
10commit any of the above mentioned crimes; and any criminal
11activity that has an articulable similarity to any activity
12listed under this definition, but is not specifically listed
13under this definition. "Qualifying criminal activity" also
14means any qualifying criminal activity that occurs during the
15commission of non-qualifying criminal activity, regardless of
16whether or not criminal prosecution was sought for the
17qualifying criminal activity. Criminal activity may be
18considered qualifying criminal activity regardless of how much
19time has elapsed since its commission.
20    "Victim of qualifying criminal activity" means a person
21who:
22        (1)(A)(i) has reported qualifying criminal activity to
23    a law enforcement agency or certifying agency; or (ii) has
24    otherwise participated in the detection, investigation, or
25    prosecution of qualifying criminal activity; and
26        (B) has suffered direct and proximate harm as a result

 

 

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1    of the commission of any qualifying criminal activity,
2    including, but not limited to: (i) an indirect victim
3    regardless of the direct victim's immigration or
4    citizenship status, who, in any case in which the direct
5    victim is deceased, incompetent, or incapacitated, is the
6    direct victim's spouse, the direct victim's child under 21
7    years of age, or if the direct victim is under 21 years of
8    age, the direct victim's unmarried sibling under 18 years
9    of age or parent; or (ii) a bystander victim who suffers
10    direct physical or mental harm as a result of the
11    qualifying criminal activity, or
12        (2) was a victim of a severe form of trafficking in
13    persons as defined in Section 7102 of Title 22 of the
14    United States Code and Section 10-9 of the Criminal Code of
15    2012.
16    More than one victim may be identified and provided with a
17certification form depending upon the circumstances. For
18purposes of the definition of "victim of qualifying criminal
19activity", the term "incapacitated" means unable to interact
20with the law enforcement agency or certifying agency personnel
21as a result of a cognitive impairment or other physical
22limitation, because of physical restraint or disappearance, or
23because the victim was a minor at the time the crime was
24committed and reported.
 
25    Section 10. Certifications for victims of qualifying

 

 

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1criminal activity.
2    (a) Upon a receipt of a request from a victim of qualifying
3criminal activity, as defined in Section 5 of this Act, or the
4victim's representative for completion of a certification form
5by a certifying agency, the designated certifying official for
6the agency shall complete and issue the certification form,
7except that the certifying official may decline, by written
8notice to the requesting victim or the victim's representative,
9to complete the certification form requested under this
10subsection only if, after a good faith inquiry, the agency
11cannot determine that the applicant is a victim of qualifying
12criminal activity as defined in Section 5 of this Act. The
13certifying official shall complete and issue the certification
14form within 90 business days of receiving the request, except:
15        (1) if the victim of qualifying criminal activity is in
16    federal immigration removal proceedings or detained, then
17    the certifying official shall complete the certification
18    form no later than 14 business days after the request is
19    received by the agency; and
20        (2) if the victim's children, parents, or siblings
21    would become ineligible for benefits under Sections
22    1184(p) and 1184(o) of Title 8 of the United States Code by
23    virtue of the victim's children having reached the age of
24    21 years, the victim having reached the age of 21 years, or
25    the victim's sibling having reached the age of 18 years
26    within 90 business days from the date that the certifying

 

 

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1    agency receives the certification request, the certifying
2    official shall complete the certification form no later
3    than 14 business days after the request is received by the
4    agency, or if the loss of the benefit would occur less than
5    14 business days of receipt of the certification request,
6    the certifying official shall complete a certification
7    form within 5 business days.
8    Requests for expedited completion of a certification form
9under paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection (a) shall be
10affirmatively raised by the victim or representative of the
11victim in writing by the victim or representative of the victim
12and shall establish that the victim is eligible for expedited
13review.
14    (b) A request for completion of a certification form under
15subsection (a) of this Section may be submitted by a
16representative of the victim, including, but not limited to, an
17attorney, accredited representative, or domestic violence
18service provider.
19    (c) Each certifying agency has independent legal authority
20to complete and issue a certification form. A certifying
21official from each certifying agency shall perform the
22following responsibilities:
23        (1) respond to requests for certifications as required
24    by this Section; and
25        (2) make information regarding the agency's procedures
26    for certification requests publicly available for victims

 

 

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1    of qualifying criminal activity and their representatives.
2    (d) A certifying official shall complete and reissue a
3certification form within 90 business days of receiving a
4request to reissue. If the victim seeking recertification has a
5deadline to respond to a request for evidence from United
6States Citizenship and Immigration Services, the certifying
7official shall complete and issue the form no later than 14
8business days after the request is received by the certifying
9official. Requests for expedited recertification shall be
10affirmatively raised by the victim or representative of the
11victim in writing by the victim or representative of the victim
12and shall establish that the victim is eligible for expedited
13review.
14    (e) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section, a
15certifying official's completion of a certification form shall
16not be considered sufficient evidence that an applicant for a U
17or T visa has met all eligibility requirements for that visa
18and completion of a certification form by a certifying agency
19shall not be construed to guarantee that the victim will
20receive federal immigration relief. It is the exclusive
21responsibility of federal immigration officials to determine
22whether a person is eligible for a U or T visa. Completion of a
23certification form by a certifying official merely verifies
24factual information relevant to the immigration benefit
25sought, including information relevant for federal immigration
26officials to determine eligibility for a U or T visa. By

 

 

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1completing a certification form, the certifying official
2attests that the information is true and correct to the best of
3the certifying official's knowledge. If, after completion of a
4certification form, the certifying official later determines
5the person was not the victim of qualifying criminal activity
6or the victim unreasonably refuses to assist in the
7investigation or prosecution of the qualifying criminal
8activity of which he or she is a victim, then the certifying
9official may notify United States Citizenship and Immigration
10Services in writing.".