
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
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[Laws in effect as of January 2, 2001]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 2, 2001 and January 28, 2002]
[CITE: 8USC1253]

 
                     TITLE 8--ALIENS AND NATIONALITY
 
                 CHAPTER 12--IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY
 
                       SUBCHAPTER II--IMMIGRATION
 
                 Part V--Adjustment and Change of Status
 
Sec. 1253. Penalties related to removal


(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.

(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.


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)).''

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in sections 1228, 1252, 1324d, 1330, 
1356, 1612, 1613, 1622, 1641 of this title.
