SAFER Act of 2026

The Stopping Asylum Fraudsters Enforcement and Removal (SAFER) Act of 2026 aims to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to prevent individuals from maintaining asylum status if they travel back to the country they claim to be fleeing. Under this proposal, the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Attorney General would be prohibited from granting asylum to any applicant who has returned to their country of origin during the application process.

For those already granted asylum, the bill proposes that voluntary travel back to their home country would result in the immediate termination of their asylum status. Such individuals could also face denaturalization, deportation, or being declared inadmissible to the United States. The legislation is intended to ensure that the asylum system is reserved for those with a persistent fear of persecution by penalizing what the sponsor describes as fraudulent claims.

The bill does include limited, case-by-case exceptions for travel. These would require specific authorization from the President for national security reasons or a certification from the Secretary of State that a legitimate transfer of power has occurred in the home country, effectively removing the original threat to the individual.