III 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 32 

Recognizing January 27, 2019, as the anniversary of the first refugee and 

Muslim ban, and urging the President to demonstrate true leadership 

on refugee resettlement. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 28, 2019 

Mr. BLUMENTHAL (for himself, Mr. CARPER, Mr. MARKEY, Ms. HIRONO, Ms. 

HARRIS, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. BROWN, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. LEAHY, Ms. 

CANTWELL, Ms. SMITH, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, 

Mr. DURBIN, and Ms. DUCKWORTH) submitted the following resolution; 

which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

RESOLUTION 

Recognizing January 27, 2019, as the anniversary of the 

first refugee and Muslim ban, and urging the President 

to demonstrate true leadership on refugee resettlement. 

Whereas the world is in the midst of the worst global displacement crisis in history, with more than 25,400,000 

refugees worldwide, according to estimates from the 

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (referred to in this Resolution as ‘‘UNHCR’’); 

Whereas UNHCR estimated that nearly 1,200,000 refugees 

were in need of resettlement to a third country in 2018, 

and this projection continues to grow in 2019; 


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•SRES 32 IS 

Whereas the United States Refugee Admissions Program (referred to in this Resolution as ‘‘USRAP’’) is a life-saving 

solution critical to global humanitarian efforts, which— 

(1) strengthens global security; 

(2) leverages United States foreign policy goals; 

(3) supports regional host countries; and 

(4) serves individuals and families in need; 

Whereas the United States has been a global leader in— 

(1) responding to displacement crises around the 

world; and 

(2) promoting the safety, health, and well-being of 

refugees and displaced persons; 

Whereas refugees are the most vetted travelers to enter the 

United States and are subject to extensive screening 

checks, including in person interviews, biometric data 

checks, and multiple interagency checks; 

Whereas the United States leverages resettlement to encourage other countries— 

(1) to keep their doors open to refugees; 

(2) to allow refugee children to attend school; and 

(3) to allow refugee adults to work; 

Whereas refugees contribute to their communities by starting 

businesses, paying taxes, sharing their cultural traditions, 

and being good neighbors; 

Whereas refugees contribute more to society than they consume in State-funded services, including costs relating to 

schooling and health care; 

Whereas, for more than 40 years the United States resettled 

up to 200,000 refugees per year, with an average ceiling 

of 95,000 refugees per year, and an average of 80,000 


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refugees per year actually being resettled in the United 

States; 

Whereas the United States has abdicated its leadership by 

setting a record low refugee admissions goal in fiscal year 

2019 of 30,000; 

Whereas, on January 27, 2017, President Donald J. Trump 

issued Executive Order 13769, which placed a 90-day 

suspension on the admission into the United States of individuals from 7 Muslim-majority countries and suspended USRAP for 120 days; and 

Whereas, since issuing that Executive order, President 

Trump has taken further executive and administrative 

actions— 

(1) to restrict the admission into the United States 

of people from certain Muslim-majority countries; and 

(2) to dismantle USRAP, which has lowered the capacity of, and diminished the institutional memory and 

experience in, USRAP: 

Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) reaffirms our Nation’s proud history of ref3 ugee resettlement; 

4 (2) recognizes January 27, 2019, as the second 

5 anniversary of the Executive order that suspended 

6 the admission of refugees and individuals from speci7 fied Muslim-majority countries; 

8 (3) reaffirms the strong bipartisan commitment 

9 of the United States to promote the safety, health, 

10 and well-being of refugees, including by facilitating 


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1 the resettlement in the United States of refugees 

2 who cannot safely return to their homes or rebuild 

3 their lives in countries from which they fled to pre4 serve their lives; 

5 (4) emphasizes the importance of USRAP as a 

6 critical tool for United States global leadership; 

7 (5) recognizes the profound consequences faced 

8 by refugees and their families who have been strand9 ed, separated, and scarred by existing United States 

10 refugee policies, which have stranded many refugees 

11 who were in the middle of the refugee resettlement 

12 process and have left other refugees with little hope 

13 of anticipated entry into the United States; and 

14 (6) calls upon the United States Government— 

15 (A) to resettle a robust number of refugees 

16 to meet its share of the global need during fis17 cal years 2019 and 2020, with an emphasis on 

18 rebuilding USRAP and returning to historic 

19 levels of refugee admissions; 

20 (B) to operate USRAP in good faith in 

21 order to meet the stated objectives of the pro22 gram and to restore historic levels of refugee 

23 arrivals; 

24 (C) to uphold its international leadership 

25 role in responding to displacement crises with 


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1 humanitarian assistance and protection of the 

2 most vulnerable populations; 

3 (D) to improve consultation with Congress 

4 and adherence to the clear congressional intent 

5 of the Refugee Act of 1980; and 

6 (E) to recommit to offering freedom from 

7 oppression and resettling the most vulnerable 

8 refugees regardless of their country of origin or 

9 religious beliefs. 

Æ 


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