Protecting Religious Minorities Persecuted by ISIS Act of 2015

Summary: Protecting Religious Minorities Persecuted by ISIS Act of 2015 This bill directs the Secretary of State to establish or use existing refugee processing mechanisms in Iraq and in other countries through which aliens from Iraq or Syria who have been persecuted, or have a credible fear of being persecuted, by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS/ISIL), or a similar group, based on gender or religious or ethnic membership may apply directly to the United States Refugee Admissions Program for priority 2 refugee admission to the United States.  The processing mechanisms shall ensure that background and security checks are conducted, including the use of biographic and biometric data.  The Secretary of State shall: (1) report to Congress a plan to expedite the processing of refugee admissions applications for such aliens, and (2) implement the plan within 180 days of enactment of this Act. It is U.S. policy that when conflict arises the United States should:    undertake efforts with the international community to protect local populations and enable them to remain safely in their home countries or in neighboring host countries until they can be safely repatriated; and   facilitate third country resettlement if necessary, including U.S. resettlement when such refugees are of special humanitarian concern to the United States.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Protecting Religious Minorities 
Persecuted by ISIS Act of 2015''.

SEC. 2. PROCESSING MECHANISMS.

    Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland 
Security, shall establish or use existing refugee processing mechanisms 
in Iraq and in other countries determined appropriate by the Secretary, 
through which aliens described in section 3(a) may apply and interview 
for admission to the United States as refugees. Such processing 
mechanisms shall ensure that background and security checks of such 
aliens are conducted, which shall include the use of biographic and 
biometric data to check an alien's identity against all appropriate 
records and databases maintained by the Secretary of Homeland Security, 
the Attorney General, the Secretary of State, and any other Federal 
agency determined appropriate by the Secretary of Homeland Security in 
order to determine any whether an alien may be inadmissible to the 
United States.

SEC. 3. UNITED STATES REFUGEE PROGRAM PROCESSING PRIORITIES.

    (a) In General.--Refugees of special humanitarian concern eligible 
for Priority 2 processing under the refugee resettlement priority 
system who may apply directly to the United States Refugee Admissions 
Program shall include aliens who are or were nationals or residents of 
Iraq or Syria who have been persecuted or have a credible fear of being 
persecuted by the group commonly known as the Islamic State of Iraq and 
the Levant (or any successor name), or by a similar group, based on--
            (1) the alien's membership in a minority group, including a 
        religious or ethnic minority group;
            (2) the alien's gender; or
            (3) other characteristics identified by the Secretary of 
        State, or the designee of the Secretary.
    (b) Eligibility for Admission as a Refugee.--No alien shall be 
denied the opportunity to apply for admission under this section solely 
because such alien--
            (1) qualifies as an immediate relative;
            (2) is eligible for any other immigrant classification; or
            (3) was referred to apply for admission to the United 
        States as a refugee by a United States nonprofit organization 
        that is exempt from Federal income taxes under section 
        501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
    (c) Permitting Certain Aliens Within Categories To Reapply for 
Refugee Status.--Each alien described in subsection (a) who after, June 
1, 2014, and before the date of the enactment of this Act was denied 
refugee status shall be permitted to reapply for such status. Such an 
application shall be determined taking into account the application of 
this Act.
    (d) Protection of Aliens.--In the case that the Secretary of State, 
in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security, determines 
that an alien who is described in subsection (a) and who has applied 
for admission to the United States as a refugee under section 207 of 
the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1157) using the processes 
under section 2 is in imminent danger, the Secretary shall make a 
reasonable effort to provide such alien with protection or the 
immediate removal from that country.

SEC. 4. DETERMINATIONS OF REFUGEE APPLICATIONS.

    (a) Record of Determination.--The adjudicator of an application for 
admission to the United States as a refugee under section 207 of the 
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1157) submitted by an alien 
who is described in section 3(a) using the processes under section 2 
shall consider all relevant evidence and maintain a record of the 
evidence considered.
    (b) Legal Representation.--An applicant described in subsection (a) 
may be represented, including at a refugee interview, at no expense to 
the Government, by an attorney or accredited representative who--
            (1) was chosen by the applicant; and
            (2) is authorized by the Secretary of Homeland Security to 
        be recognized as the representative of such applicant in an 
        adjudication under this section.
    (c) Written Decision Required.--A decision to deny an application 
of an alien described in subsection (a)--
            (1) shall be in writing; and
            (2) shall provide, to the maximum extent feasible, 
        information on the reason for the denial, including--
                    (A) the facts underlying the determination;
                    (B) the basis of any negative credibility finding; 
                and
                    (C) whether there is a waiver of inadmissibility 
                available to the applicant.
    (d) Review of Denials of Refugee Status.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 120 days after being denied 
        admission to the United States as a refugee under section 207 
        of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1157), an 
        applicant described in subsection (a) may file a request with 
        the Secretary of Homeland Security for review of such denial.
            (2) Review by trained refugee officers.--Not later than 90 
        days after receiving a request for review under paragraph (1), 
        a refugee officer who has received training on reviewing a 
        denial described in paragraph (1), other than the refugee 
        officer who adjudicated the alien's application for admission, 
        shall review such denial.
            (3) Standard for review.--The Secretary shall publish on 
        the Internet website of the Department of Homeland Security the 
        standard to be applied to the review of a denial described in 
        paragraph (1).
            (4) Decisions of requests for review.--A refugee officer 
        reviewing a denial described in paragraph (1) may, upon 
        review--
                    (A) affirm the denial;
                    (B) reverse the denial; or
                    (C) reopen the application and conduct further 
                investigation and interviews to determine whether the 
                denial should be affirmed or reversed.
            (5) Written decision required for affirmed denials.--In the 
        case that the refugee officer reviewing the denial described in 
        paragraph (1) affirms the denial, the decision affirming such 
        denial shall--
                    (A) be in writing; and
                    (B) provide, to the maximum extent feasible, 
                information relating to the reason for the denial, 
                including the information described in subsection 
                (c)(2).

SEC. 5. EXPEDITED SYSTEM FOR PRIORITY 2 REFUGEE PROCESSING.

    (a) Report.--Not later than 120 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in consultation with the 
Secretary of Homeland Security, shall submit to the Committee on the 
Judiciary of the House of Representatives, the Committee on Foreign 
Affairs of the House of Representatives, the Committee on the Judiciary 
of the Senate, and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate a 
report containing a plan to expedite the processing of applications for 
admission to the United States as a refugee under section 207 of the 
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1157) of aliens described in 
section 3(a) who apply for admission using the processes under section 
2, which shall include information relating to--
            (1) expediting the processing of such refugees for 
        resettlement, including through temporary expansion of the 
        Refugee Corps of United States Citizenship and Immigration 
        Services;
            (2) increasing the number of personnel of the Department of 
        State and the Department of Homeland Security devoted to the 
        processing of such applications;
            (3) streamlining existing systems for conducting background 
        and security checks of such aliens;
            (4) establishing facilities to process such applications at 
        appropriate locations in or near Erbil or Basrah, Iraq, and the 
        processing of such applications in such facilities; and
            (5) the projections of the Secretary of Homeland Security 
        for the number of refugee interviews that will be conducted 
        pursuant to section 2 for each month of fiscal years 2016 and 
        2017, including the number of interviews that will be conducted 
        pursuant to referrals from the Office of the United Nations 
        High Commissioner for Refugees, and a plan to increase the 
        number of such interviews.
    (b) Expedited Process.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in consultation with 
the Secretary of Homeland Security, shall implement the plan contained 
in the report under subsection (a).

SEC. 6. REPORTS.

    (a) Annual Report.--Not later than 120 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter through 2018, the 
Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland 
Security, shall submit to Congress an unclassified report, with a 
classified annex if necessary, which includes--
            (1) an assessment of the financial, security, and personnel 
        considerations and resources necessary to carry out the 
        provisions of this Act;
            (2) the number of aliens described in section 3(a);
            (3) the number of such aliens who have applied for 
        admission to the United States as a refugee under section 207 
        of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1157) using 
        the processes under section 2; and
            (4) in the case of such applications pending for longer 
        than 180 days, the reason that refugee status has not been 
        granted in each such case.
    (b) Report on Video-Conference Refugee Interviews.--Not later than 
120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 
Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of State, shall 
submit to Congress an unclassified report, with a classified annex if 
necessary, which includes--
            (1) the number of aliens who applied for admission as a 
        refugee under section 207 of the Immigration and Nationality 
        Act (8 U.S.C. 1157) in 2014 who are awaiting interviews in 
        locations inaccessible to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration 
        Services officers;
            (2) the number of locations worldwide to which Refugee 
        Corps Officer circuit rides were suspended in 2014 due to 
        security considerations; and
            (3) a proposal for how to implement interviews via video-
        conference for aliens who applied for admission the United 
        States as a refugee under section 207 of the Immigration and 
        Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1157), who currently reside in 
        locations where Refugee Corps circuit rides have been 
        suspended.

SEC. 7. POLICY OF THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT.

    It is the policy of the United States government that when conflict 
arises, the United States, working in concert with the international 
community, should undertake its best efforts to protect local 
populations and enable them to remain in their home countries or 
neighboring host countries in safety and dignity; that when such 
conflicts produce forced international displacement, the United States 
government should contribute to efforts to provide a safe environment 
for displaced populations in their host countries until they can be 
safely and humanely repatriated once the conflict is over; that, in 
cases where refugees have been allowed by a host country to remain 
permanently in such country, the United States government should 
encourage such countries to integrate such refugees in safety and 
dignity; and that, in the case of refugees facing strong 
vulnerabilities during or after the conflict who determine that their 
best durable solution is third country resettlement, the United States, 
working with the international community, should do all it can to 
facilitate access to resettlement in another country, including 
resettlement to the United States when such refugees are of special 
humanitarian concern to the United States, such as the most vulnerable 
and those with family members in the United States.