Presidential Document2023-27630
Suspension of Entry as Immigrants and Nonimmigrants of Persons Enabling Corruption
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
December 14, 2023
Signed
December 11, 2023
Issuing agencies
Executive Office of the President
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 239 (Thursday, December 14, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 239 (Thursday, December 14, 2023)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 86541-86543]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-27630]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 239 / Thursday, December 14, 2023 /
Presidential Documents
___________________________________________________________________
Title 3--
The President
[[Page 86541]]
Proclamation 10685 of December 11, 2023
Suspension of Entry as Immigrants and
Nonimmigrants of Persons Enabling Corruption
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
On June 3, 2021, through National Security Study
Memorandum 1 (NSSM-1), I established the fight against
global corruption as a core national security interest,
stating that corruption threatens United States
national security, economic equity, global anti-poverty
and development efforts, and democracy itself. By
effectively preventing and countering corruption and
demonstrating the advantages of transparent and
accountable governance, we can secure a critical
advantage for the United States and other democracies.
On December 6, 2021, pursuant to NSSM-1, my
Administration issued the first United States Strategy
on Countering Corruption (Strategy), which recognizes
the strategic impact of corruption and directs the
modernization of our efforts to prevent and combat it.
The Strategy also seeks to deepen global partnerships
and commitment to eliminate safe havens for corrupt
actors and their criminal proceeds, including in the
United States.
The Strategy reflects the idea that corruption,
including kleptocracy, cannot thrive without a
supportive network of actors who enable and often
benefit from such conduct. Activity by these
``enablers''--who are often professional service
providers--often occurs through opaque legal structures
and financial mechanisms. This activity can take many
forms, such as supporting corrupt actors in the
performance of, benefitting from, evading
responsibility for, or laundering the proceeds of
corruption.
Collaboration between corrupt public officials and
their enablers is pernicious and facilitates the spread
of corruption across borders and across sectors. The
United States therefore needs to invoke all available
legal, policy, diplomatic, economic, and financial
tools to deter those who perpetuate corruption, whether
they are public officials or private individuals. These
tools include authorities to counter money laundering
and terrorist financing, as well as targeted financial
sanctions--such as those specified in Executive Order
13818 of December 20, 2017 (Blocking the Property of
Persons Involved in Serious Human Rights Abuse or
Corruption)--which can prevent the flow of corrupt
proceeds through United States and international
financial systems.
Other existing authorities, including Presidential
Proclamation 7750 of January 12, 2004 (To Suspend Entry
as Immigrants or Nonimmigrants of Persons Engaged in or
Benefiting From Corruption), and the provision commonly
included at section 7031(c) of the annual Department of
State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs
Appropriations Act (e.g., Public Law 117-328), have
allowed the United States Government to deny safe haven
to certain corrupt actors by restricting their entry
into the United States. However, additional authority
is needed to fully address the supporting networks of
enablers of corruption, including those who may seek
entry into the United States.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of
the United States of America, by the authority vested
in me by the Constitution and the
[[Page 86542]]
laws of the United States, including sections 212(f)
and 215(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8
U.S.C. 1182(f) and 1185(a), and section 301 of title 3,
United States Code, hereby find that the unrestricted
immigrant and nonimmigrant entry into the United States
of persons described in section 1 of this proclamation,
except as provided for in section 4 of this
proclamation, would be detrimental to the interests of
the United States, and that their entry should be
subject to certain restrictions, limitations, and
exceptions. I therefore hereby proclaim the following:
Section 1. Suspension and Limitation on Entry. The
entry into the United States, as immigrants or
nonimmigrants, of the following persons is hereby
suspended:
(a) Persons who have enabled, facilitated, or
otherwise been involved in significant corruption,
including through the laundering of its proceeds or
obstruction of judicial or investigative processes,
among other acts; and
(b) The immediate family members of the persons
described in subsection (a) of this section.
Sec. 2. Authority of the Secretary of State to Identify
Covered Individuals. Persons covered by section 1 of
this proclamation shall be identified by the Secretary
of State, or the Secretary's designee, in the
Secretary's sole discretion, pursuant to such
procedures as the Secretary may establish.
Sec. 3. Implementation of Suspension and Limitation on
Entry. The Secretary of State shall implement this
proclamation as it applies to visas pursuant to such
procedures as the Secretary of State, in consultation
with the Secretary of Homeland Security, may establish.
The Secretary of Homeland Security shall implement this
proclamation as it applies to the entry of noncitizens
pursuant to such procedures as the Secretary of
Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary
of State, may establish.
Sec. 4. Scope of Suspension and Limitation on Entry.
Section 1 of this proclamation shall not apply to:
(a) any lawful permanent resident of the United
States;
(b) any individual who has been granted asylum by
the United States, any refugee who has already been
admitted to the United States, or any individual
granted withholding of removal or protection under the
Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or
Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and nothing in this
proclamation shall be construed to affect any
individual's eligibility for asylum, refugee status,
withholding of removal, or protection under the
Convention Against Torture, consistent with the laws
and regulations of the United States; and
(c) any person otherwise covered by section 1 of
this proclamation, upon determination by the Secretary
of State that the person's entry would not be contrary
to the interests of the United States, including when
the Secretary of State so determines, based on a
recommendation of the Attorney General, that the
person's entry would further important United States
law enforcement objectives. In exercising this
responsibility, the Secretary of State shall consult
the Secretary of Homeland Security on matters related
to admissibility or inadmissibility within the
authority of the Secretary of Homeland Security.
Sec. 5. Termination. This proclamation shall remain in
effect until terminated by the President. The Secretary
of State shall, as circumstances warrant, recommend
whether the President should continue, modify, or
terminate this proclamation.
Sec. 6. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this
proclamation shall be construed to impair or otherwise
affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or
the head thereof; or
(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) This proclamation shall be implemented
consistent with applicable law and subject to the
availability of appropriations.
[[Page 86543]]
(c) Nothing in this proclamation shall be construed
to derogate from United States Government obligations
under applicable international agreements, or to
suspend entry based solely on a noncitizen's ideology,
opinions, or beliefs. Nothing in this proclamation
shall be construed to limit the authority of the United
States to admit or to suspend the admission or entry of
particular individuals into the United States under the
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.)
or under any other provision of United States law.
(d) This proclamation is not intended to, and does
not, create any right or benefit, substantive or
procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any
party against the United States, its departments,
agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or
agents, or any other person.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
eleventh day of December, in the year of our Lord two
thousand twenty-three, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the two hundred and forty-
eighth.
<GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT>
(Presidential Sig.)
[FR Doc. 2023-27630
Filed 12-13-23; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F4-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on December 14, 2023.
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