I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4078 

To authorize the Governor of any State in which it is proposed to place 

or resettle a Syrian refugee to refuse such placement or resettlement 

if the Governor makes certain certifications, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 18, 2015 

Mr. YOHO (for himself, Mr. JONES, and Mr. POSEY) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To authorize the Governor of any State in which it is proposed to place or resettle a Syrian refugee to refuse 

such placement or resettlement if the Governor makes 

certain certifications, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Give States a Chance 

5 Act of 2015’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds as follows: 


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1 (1) On November 13, 2015, 3 teams of radical 

2 Islamic terrorists staged coordinated attacks at 6 lo3 cations throughout Paris. 

4 (2) ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi ordered 

5 this cowardly attack on innocent civilians. 

6 (3) At least one of the attackers carried a fake 

7 Syrian passport and arrived among the refugees 

8 from the Syrian conflict. 

9 (4) The recent attacks in Paris illustrate the se10 riousness of the threats posed by extreme radical Is11 lamic terrorists groups and those sympathetic to 

12 their cause. 

13 (5) President Obama has stated that the 

14 United States will take in at least 10,000 Syrian ref15 ugees. 

16 (6) The potential of ISIS and other terrorist 

17 groups inserting terrorists in the flow of refugees is 

18 high, as demonstrated by the attacks in Paris. 

19 (7) The governors of Alabama, Arizona, Arkan20 sas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, 

21 Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, 

22 Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, 

23 New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, 

24 Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Wis25 consin, Wyoming, South Dakota, and Maryland alVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:13 Nov 21, 2015 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4078.IH H4078

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1 ready have stated that they are opposed to receiving 

2 Syrian refugees in their States. 

3 (8) The primary responsibility of the Federal 

4 Government is to provide for the common defense of 

5 our Nation. 

6 SEC. 3. AUTHORITY OF STATES TO REFUSE RECEIPT OF 

7 REFUGEES. 

8 (a) STATES AUTHORIZED TO ACT.—The Governor of 

9 any State in which it is proposed to place or resettle a 

10 refugee (as defined in section 101(a)(42) of the Immigra11 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(42))) who is 

12 an alien described in subsection (b) may refuse such place13 ment or resettlement if the Governor certifies that the 

14 Governor— 

15 (1) has not properly been informed of the in16 tended sponsorship process for the refugee; 

17 (2) has determined that the proposed location 

18 for the refugee within the State is inappropriate be19 cause the proportion of refugees and comparable en20 trants in the population in the location area is too 

21 high; or 

22 (3) is not reasonably satisfied that the refugee 

23 does not post a security threat. 

24 (b) ALIENS DESCRIBED.—An alien is described in 

25 this subsection if the alien— 


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1 (1) is a national of Syria; or 

2 (2) has no nationality and the country in which 

3 the alien last habitually resided is Syria. 

4 (c) LIMITATION ON LIABILITY.—A State may not be 

5 held liable in any Federal civil action for any decision de6 scribed in subsection (a). 

7 SEC. 4. REVIEW OF REFUGEES TO IDENTIFY SECURITY 

8 THREATS. 

9 (a) CERTIFICATION.—A covered refugee may not be 

10 admitted to the United States until the Secretary of 

11 Homeland Security, in consultation with the Attorney 

12 General, the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investiga13 tion, and the Director of National Intelligence, certifies 

14 to Congress that that covered refugee is not a security 

15 threat to the United States. 

16 (b) INSPECTOR GENERAL REVIEW OF CERTIFI17 CATIONS.—The Inspector General of the Department of 

18 Homeland Security shall review 20 percent of all certifi19 cations made under subsection (a) each fiscal year. 

20 (c) FBI BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION.—The Direc21 tor of the Federal Bureau of Investigation shall take all 

22 actions necessary to ensure that each covered refugee re23 ceives a thorough background investigation prior to admis24 sion. A covered refugee may not be admitted until the DiVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:30 Nov 24, 2015 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4078.IH H4078

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1 rector certifies that the covered refugee has received such 

2 a background investigation. 

3 (d) DEFINITION.—The term ‘‘covered refugee’’ 

4 means any alien applying for admission to the United 

5 States as a refugee who— 

6 (1) is a national or resident of Iraq or Syria; 

7 (2) has no nationality and whose last habitual 

8 residence was in Iraq or Syria; or 

9 (3) has been present in Iraq or Syria at any 

10 time on or after March 1, 2011. 

Æ 


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