S. 2135 amends title 18 of the United States Code to create a criminal provision under U.S. law aimed at those who recruit or conscript children under the age of 15 into armed conflict. It establishes criminal penalties for up to 20 years in prison and up to life imprisonment if death results from the crime. The bill also makes it a violation of immigration law for any person seeking admission to the United States to have committed such acts. Finally. the bill would extend United States jurisdiction to perpetrators of this crime who are present in the United States. regardless of their nationality or where the crime takes place. so that those who commit these crimes cannot use this country as a safe haven from prosecution. This type of jurisdiction exists for similar crimes such as laws on torture and genocide. which allow for extraterritorial jurisdiction for crimes committed outside of the United States.
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immigration