4 1 (9) If detained for removal from the United 2 States, a stateless person is often subjected to pro- 3 longed detention and cannot be removed because no 4 country recognizes the person as its citizen. 5 (b) SENSE CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con- OF 6 gress that to resolve statelessness and its related human 7 suffering, lost potential, and societal impacts, the United 8 States should— 9 (1) provide a legal status to protect stateless 10 persons; and 11 (2) urge the international community to take 12 13 strong action to prevent statelessness globally. SEC. 4. PROTECTION OF STATELESS PERSONS IN THE 14 UNITED STATES. 15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 5 of title II of the Immi- 16 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1255 et seq.) is 17 amended by inserting after section 245A the following: 18 ‘‘SEC. 245B. PROTECTION OF STATELESS PERSONS IN THE 19 20 UNITED STATES. ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 21 ‘‘(1) COMPETENT AUTHORITY.—With 22 a foreign country, the term ‘competent authority’— 23 ‘‘(A) means the authority responsible for— 24 ‘‘(i) conferring nationality on, or with- 25 drawing nationality from, individuals; or •S 5330 IS VerDate Sep 11 2014 respect to 16:14 Jan 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5330.IS S5330