H.R. 2946: Safe Zones Act of 2023

118th Congress · introduced 2023-04-27 · Immigration · Latest: Referred to the Subcommittee on Border Security and Enforcement.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2023-04-27 · official record
Who proposed it: Rep. Gonzalez, Vicente [D-TX-34] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Referred to the Subcommittee on Border Security and Enforcement. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Safe Zones Act of 2023

Plain summary

Safe Zones Act of 2023 This bill makes changes to procedures relating to seeking asylum, including by establishing facilities outside of the United States to accept and process refugee applications to the United States. Specifically, the Department of State must establish safe zones that accept applications for asylum from individuals who are nationals of (1) the country where that safe zone is located, or (2) a country next to the country where the safe zone is located. The State Department must establish at least three safe zones along the U.S.-Mexico border and one safe zone in Guatemala. For each safe zone, the State Department must (1) ensure that it is fortified from danger; (2) provide temporary housing for individuals with pending applications; (3) provide adequate meals; and (4) provide access to various services, including medical services. The bill also imposes various requirements related to safe zones, including deadlines for processing applications. The bill expands the definition of asylum officer (i.e., officers who conduct initial credible fear reviews to determine whether an asylum seeker's application may proceed) to include trained and qualified staff as determined by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). (In 2020, a federal court ruled that DHS may not use U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents to conduct such interviews.) The bill also requires the hiring of additional border patrol agents and immigration judges.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

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A “Nay” vote

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What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Safe Zones Act of 2023

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Gonzalez, Vicente [D-TX-34] · 0 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Sponsor's campaign money: Rep. Gonzalez, Vicente [D-TX-34] reported raising $5.2 million (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (2)

Bill: A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).
Securities: Financial investments that can be bought and sold, such as stocks and bonds.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-118hr2946.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/118/hr>

Record fed-us-cong118-hr2946 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong118 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong118