II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 5353 

To provide for the admission and protection of refugees, asylum seekers, 

and other vulnerable individuals, to provide for the processing of refugees 

and asylum seekers in the Western Hemisphere, and to modify certain 

special immigrant visa programs, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 21, 2022 

Mr. LEAHY introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To provide for the admission and protection of refugees, 

asylum seekers, and other vulnerable individuals, to provide for the processing of refugees and asylum seekers 

in the Western Hemisphere, and to modify certain special 

immigrant visa programs, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Refugee Protection Act of 2022’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

7 this Act is as follows: 


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Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings; sense of Congress. 

Sec. 3. Definitions. 

TITLE I—ADMISSION AND PROTECTION OF REFUGEES, ASYLUM 

SEEKERS, AND OTHER VULNERABLE INDIVIDUALS 

Subtitle A—Refugees and Asylum Seekers 

Sec. 1101. Modification of definition of refugee. 

Sec. 1102. Multiple forms of relief available to refugees and asylum seekers. 

Sec. 1103. Elimination of time limits on asylum applications. 

Sec. 1104. Safe third country exception. 

Sec. 1105. Consideration of asylum claims. 

Sec. 1106. Transparency in refugee determinations. 

Sec. 1107. Authority to designate certain groups of refugees from countries of 

particular concern and admission of refugees in emergency situations. 

Sec. 1108. Employment authorization for asylum seekers and other individuals. 

Sec. 1109. Admission of refugees and asylees as lawful permanent residents. 

Sec. 1110. Complementary protection. 

Sec. 1111. Internal relocation. 

Sec. 1112. Firm resettlement. 

Subtitle B—Protections for Children and Families 

Sec. 1201. Keeping families together. 

Sec. 1202. Protections for minors seeking asylum. 

Sec. 1203. Fair day in court for kids. 

Subtitle C—Protections for Other Vulnerable Individuals 

CHAPTER 1—STATELESS PROTECTION

Sec. 1311. Protection of stateless persons in the United States. 

Sec. 1312. Prevention of statelessness. 

CHAPTER 2—OTHER INDIVIDUALS

Sec. 1321. Protecting victims of terrorism from being defined as terrorists. 

Sec. 1322. Protection for aliens interdicted at sea. 

Sec. 1323. Enhanced protection for individuals seeking U visas, T visas, and 

protection under VAWA. 

Subtitle D—Protections Relating to Removal, Detention, and Prosecution 

Sec. 1401. Prevention of erroneous in absentia orders of removal. 

Sec. 1402. Scope and standard for review of removal orders. 

Sec. 1403. Presumption of liberty for asylum seekers. 

Sec. 1404. Procedures for ensuring accuracy and verifiability of sworn statements taken pursuant to expedited removal authority. 

Sec. 1405. Inspections by immigration officers. 

Sec. 1406. Study on effect on asylum claims of expedited removal provisions, 

practices, and procedures. 

Sec. 1407. Alignment with Refugee Convention obligations by prohibiting criminal prosecution of refugees. 

Subtitle E—Refugee Resettlement 


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Sec. 1501. Sense of Congress on coordination of refugee program agencies. 

CHAPTER 1—REFUGEE ADMISSIONS

Sec. 1511. Numerical goals for annual refugee admissions. 

Sec. 1512. Reform of refugee admissions consultation process. 

Sec. 1513. United States emergency refugee resettlement contingency fund. 

Sec. 1514. Complementary pathways. 

CHAPTER 2—RESETTLEMENT PROGRAM AND SUPPORT

Sec. 1521. Elevation of Office of Refugee Resettlement. 

Sec. 1522. Refugee resettlement; radius requirements. 

Sec. 1523. Study and report on contributions by refugees to the United States. 

Sec. 1524. Update of reception and placement grants. 

Sec. 1525. Subsidy reception and placement grant to support unanticipated 

economic and public health needs. 

Sec. 1526. Resettlement data. 

Sec. 1527. Refugee assistance. 

Sec. 1528. Stabilizing resettlement site capacity for volunteer coordination, 

housing coordination, and AOR processing. 

Sec. 1529. Community partnerships, civic engagement, and refugee leadership 

development. 

CHAPTER 3—ACCESS TO SERVICES AND BENEFITS

Sec. 1531. Extension of eligibility period for Social Security benefits for certain 

refugees. 

Sec. 1532. In-State tuition rates for refugees, asylees, and certain special immigrants. 

CHAPTER 4—TRAINING, ORIENTATION, AND INCLUSION

Sec. 1541. Pre-departure training for approved refugee applicants. 

Sec. 1542. Domestic refugee resettlement programs on digital and financial literacy; housing and transportation access. 

Sec. 1543. Study and report on digital literacy, equity, and inclusion among 

refugees in the United States. 

CHAPTER 5—DOMESTIC REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT REFORM AND

MODERNIZATION ACT

Sec. 1551. Short title. 

Sec. 1552. Definitions. 

Sec. 1553. Assessment of refugee domestic resettlement programs. 

Sec. 1554. Guidance regarding refugee placement decisions. 

CHAPTER 6—OVERSEAS PROCESSING AND PREPARATION

Sec. 1561. Refugee biometric data and reporting. 

Sec. 1562. Prioritization of family reunification in refugee resettlement process. 

Sec. 1563. Priority 3 family reunification cases. 

Sec. 1564. Creating a Roving Resettlement Support Center. 

Subtitle F—Authorization of Appropriations 

Sec. 1601. Authorization of appropriations. 


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TITLE II—REFUGEE AND ASYLUM SEEKER PROCESSING IN 

WESTERN HEMISPHERE 

Sec. 2101. Expansion of refugee and asylum seeker processing. 

Sec. 2102. Strengthening regional humanitarian responses. 

Sec. 2103. Information campaign on dangers of irregular migration. 

Sec. 2104. Reporting requirement. 

Sec. 2105. Identification, screening, and processing of refugees and other individuals eligible for lawful admission to the United States. 

Sec. 2106. Central American refugee program. 

Sec. 2107. Central American Minors Program. 

Sec. 2108. Central American Family Reunification Parole Program. 

Sec. 2109. Informational campaign; case status hotline. 

TITLE III—SPECIAL IMMIGRANT VISA PROGRAMS 

Sec. 3101. Special immigrant visa program reporting requirement. 

Sec. 3102. Inclusion of certain special immigrants in the annual refugee survey. 

TITLE IV—NONDISCRIMINATION 

Sec. 4101. Expansion of nondiscrimination provision. 

Sec. 4102. Transfer and limitations on authority to suspend or restrict the 

entry of a class of aliens. 

Sec. 4103. Visa applicants report. 

TITLE V—GENERAL PROVISIONS 

Sec. 5101. Authorization of appropriations. 

Sec. 5102. Determination of budgetary effects. 

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

2 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find3 ings: 

4 (1) In 2022, the world is in the midst of the 

5 worst global displacement crisis in history, with 

6 more than 103,000,000 forcibly displaced persons, 

7 including more than 32,500,000 refugees worldwide, 

8 nearly half of whom are children, according to esti9 mates from the United Nations High Commissioner 

10 for Refugees. 

11 (2) In 2023, the United Nations High Commis12 sioner for Refugees estimates that global resettleVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:06 Jan 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5353.IS S5353

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1 ment needs will significantly increase to 2,003,982 

2 individuals, as compared to 2022— 

3 (A) in which 1,473,156 individuals were 

4 estimated to be in need of third-country reset5 tlement; and 

6 (B) during the first 6 months of which 

7 42,300 individuals were resettled worldwide. 

8 (3) The United States refugee admissions pro9 gram is a life-saving solution that— 

10 (A) is critical to global humanitarian ef11 forts; 

12 (B) strengthens global security; 

13 (C) leverages United States foreign policy 

14 interests, including diplomatic and strategic in15 terests of supporting allies who often host a sig16 nificant and disproportionate share of refugees 

17 per capita; and 

18 (D) stabilizes sensitive regions impacted by 

19 forced migration by ensuring that the United 

20 States shares responsibility for global refugee 

21 protection; 

22 (E) leverages refugee resettlement in the 

23 United States to encourage other countries to 

24 uphold the human rights of refugees, including 

25 by ensuring that refugees— 


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1 (i) have the right to work, the right to 

2 an education, and freedom of movement; 

3 and 

4 (ii) are not returned to a place in 

5 which their life or freedom is at risk; 

6 (F) serves individuals and families in need 

7 of resettlement; 

8 (G) provides economic and cultural bene9 fits to cities, States, and the United States as 

10 a whole; and 

11 (H) aligns with the international obliga12 tions of the United States, including under— 

13 (i) the Convention Relating to the 

14 Status of Refugees, done at Geneva July 

15 28, 1951 (as made applicable by the Pro16 tocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, 

17 done at New York January 31, 1967 (19 

18 UST 6223)), of which the United States is 

19 a party; 

20 (ii) the Convention against Torture 

21 and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading 

22 Treatment or Punishment, done at New 

23 York December 10, 1984, of which the 

24 United States is a party; 


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1 (iii) the Convention relating to the 

2 Status of Stateless Persons, done at New 

3 York September 28, 1954; and 

4 (iv) the Convention on the Reduction 

5 of Statelessness, done at New York August 

6 30, 1961. 

7 (4) The United States has historically been, 

8 and should continue to be, a global leader in— 

9 (A) responding to displacement crises 

10 around the world, including through the provi11 sion of robust humanitarian support; 

12 (B) promoting the safety, health, and well13 being of refugees and displaced persons; 

14 (C) welcoming asylum seekers who seek 

15 safety and protecting other at-risk migrants, in16 cluding survivors of torture, victims of traf17 ficking, climate displaced persons, and stateless 

18 people; and 

19 (D) working alongside other countries to 

20 strengthen protection systems and support. 

21 (5) The United States has steadily reduced ac22 cess to asylum protection through administrative 

23 policy and programmatic changes, including policies 

24 and operational decisions aimed at reducing or stopVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:06 Jan 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5353.IS S5353

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1 ping the ability of asylum seekers to access the 

2 United States border. 

3 (6) Refugees are— 

4 (A) the most vetted travelers to enter the 

5 United States; and 

6 (B) subject to extensive screening checks, 

7 including in-person interviews, biometric data 

8 checks, and multiple interagency checks. 

9 (7) For the sake of refugees, asylum seekers, 

10 other migrants, United States national diplomatic 

11 and strategic interests, and local communities that 

12 benefit from the presence of refugees, asylees, and 

13 other migrants, it is crucial for the United States to 

14 better protect refugees and asylum seekers through 

15 reforms, including— 

16 (A) asylum reforms that ensure access to 

17 territory and due process; 

18 (B) reforms to border migration enforce19 ment, management, and adjudication systems 

20 that integrate stronger protection of, and en21 sure due process for, asylum seekers, children, 

22 victims of trafficking, climate displaced persons, 

23 stateless people, and other migrants, includ24 ing— 


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1 (i) community-based alternatives to 

2 detention for asylum seekers and other vul3 nerable migrants; 

4 (ii) improved detention conditions and 

5 reduced reliance on immigrant detention; 

6 (iii) monitoring to ensure fairness in 

7 the arrest and adjudication process; 

8 (iv) increased access to legal informa9 tion and representation; and 

10 (v) a stronger commitment to child 

11 welfare in staffing and processes; and 

12 (C) refugee reforms that— 

13 (i) ensure that the United States 

14 meets the annual refugee admissions goal; 

15 (ii) prevent refugee policy that dis16 criminates based on race or religion; 

17 (iii) improve opportunities for refu18 gees to achieve family unity; and 

19 (iv) update and strengthen support 

20 for refugees and the communities that wel21 come refugees. 

22 (8) The people of the United States, and com23 munities across the United States, overwhelmingly 

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1 ple of faith, members of the Armed Forces, veterans, 

2 elected officials, and retired high-ranking officials. 

3 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con4 gress that— 

5 (1) the global refugee crisis is dire and requires 

6 international and regional cooperation and action; 

7 and 

8 (2) the United States should— 

9 (A) assert strong leadership in multilateral 

10 fora, such as the United Nations, by collabo11 rating and cooperating with other countries and 

12 international and regional organizations to de13 velop a comprehensive and coordinated response 

14 to the global refugee crisis; and 

15 (B) exercise leadership in efforts to ad16 dress the global refugee crisis, including 

17 through participation in the Global Refugee 

18 Forum. 

19 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

20 In this Act: 

21 (1) ASYLUM SEEKER.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘asylum 

23 seeker’’ means— 


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1 (i) any applicant for asylum under 

2 section 208 of the Immigration and Na3 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1158); 

4 (ii) any alien who indicates— 

5 (I) an intention to apply for asy6 lum under that section; or 

7 (II) a fear of persecution; or 

8 (III) a fear of return because of 

9 a threat to life or physical or mental 

10 integrity; and 

11 (iii) any alien who indicates— 

12 (I) an intention to apply for with13 holding of removal pursuant to— 

14 (aa) section 241 of the Im15 migration and Nationality Act (8 

16 U.S.C. 1231); or 

17 (bb) the Convention against 

18 Torture and Other Cruel, Inhu19 man or Degrading Treatment or 

20 Punishment, done at New York 

21 December 10, 1984; or 

22 (II) a fear that the alien’s life or 

23 freedom would be threatened. 

24 (B) INCLUSION.—The term ‘‘asylum seek25 er’’ includes any individual described in subVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:06 Jan 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5353.IS S5353

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1 paragraph (A) whose application for asylum or 

2 withholding of removal is pending judicial re3 view. 

4 (C) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘‘asylum seek5 er’’ does not include an individual with respect 

6 to whom a final order denying asylum and with7 holding of removal has been entered if such 

8 order is not pending judicial review. 

9 (2) BEST INTEREST DETERMINATION.—The 

10 term ‘‘best interest determination’’ means a formal 

11 process with procedural safeguards designed to give 

12 primary consideration to a child’s best interests in 

13 decision making. 

14 (3) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 

15 means the Department of Homeland Security. 

16 (4) INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS.—The 

17 term ‘‘internally displaced persons’’ means persons 

18 or a group of persons who have been forced to leave 

19 their homes or places of habitual residence, in par20 ticular due to armed conflict, generalized violence, 

21 violations of human rights, or natural or human22 made disasters, and who have not crossed an inter23 nationally recognized state border. 

24 (5) INTERNATIONAL PROTECTION.—The term 

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1 ugee status, protection under the Convention against 

2 Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading 

3 Treatment or Punishment, done at New York De4 cember 10, 1984, and other regional protection sta5 tus available in the Western Hemisphere. 

6 (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

7 the Secretary of Homeland Security. 

8 TITLE I—ADMISSION AND PRO9 TECTION OF REFUGEES, ASY10 LUM SEEKERS, AND OTHER 

11 VULNERABLE INDIVIDUALS 

12 Subtitle A—Refugees and Asylum 

13 Seekers 

14 SEC. 1101. MODIFICATION OF DEFINITION OF REFUGEE. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 101(a)(42) of the Immi16 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(42)) is 

17 amended to read as follows: 

18 ‘‘(42)(A) The term ‘refugee’ means any person who— 

19 ‘‘(i)(I) is outside any country of such person’s 

20 nationality or, in the case of a person having no na21 tionality, is outside any country in which such per22 son last habitually resided; and 

23 ‘‘(II) is unable or unwilling to return to, and is 

24 unable or unwilling to avail himself or herself of the 

25 protection of, that country because of persecution, or 


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1 a well-founded fear of persecution, on account of 

2 race, religion, nationality, membership in a par3 ticular social group, or political opinion; or 

4 ‘‘(ii) in such circumstances as the President 

5 may specify, after appropriate consultation (as de6 fined in section 207(e))— 

7 ‘‘(I) is within the country of such person’s 

8 nationality or, in the case of a person having no 

9 nationality, within the country in which such 

10 person is habitually residing; and 

11 ‘‘(II) is persecuted, or who has a well12 founded fear of persecution, on account of race, 

13 religion, nationality, membership in a particular 

14 social group, or political opinion. 

15 ‘‘(B) The term ‘refugee’ does not include any person 

16 who ordered, incited, assisted, or otherwise participated in 

17 the persecution of any person on account of race, religion, 

18 nationality, membership in a particular social group, or 

19 political opinion. A person who establishes that his or her 

20 actions were committed under duress or while the person 

21 was younger than 18 years of age shall not be considered 

22 to have ordered, incited, assisted, or otherwise participated 

23 in persecution under this subparagraph. 

24 ‘‘(C) The term ‘political opinion’ refers to any expres25 sion of support for or dissent from, or imputed support 


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1 for or dissent from, a practice, policy, or ideology of a gov2 ernment entity or of a nonstate group or actor. 

3 ‘‘(D) For purposes of determinations under this 

4 Act— 

5 ‘‘(i) a person who has been forced to abort a 

6 pregnancy or to undergo involuntary sterilization, or 

7 who has been persecuted for failure or refusal to un8 dergo such a procedure or for other resistance to a 

9 coercive population control program, shall be deemed 

10 to have been persecuted on account of political opin11 ion; 

12 ‘‘(ii) a person who has a well-founded fear that 

13 he or she will be forced to undergo such a procedure 

14 or be subject to persecution for such failure, refusal, 

15 or resistance shall be deemed to have a well-founded 

16 fear of persecution on account of political opinion; 

17 ‘‘(iii) the term ‘particular social group’ means, 

18 without any additional requirement not listed below, 

19 any group whose members— 

20 ‘‘(I) share— 

21 ‘‘(aa) a characteristic that is immu22 table or fundamental to identity, con23 science, or the exercise of human rights; or 


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1 ‘‘(bb) a past experience or voluntary 

2 association that, due to its historical na3 ture, cannot be changed; or 

4 ‘‘(II) are perceived as a group by society; 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(iv) a particular social group can be cognizable 

7 regardless of the number of members who belong to 

8 the group. 

9 ‘‘(E)(i) The burden of proof shall be on the applicant 

10 to establish that the applicant is a refugee. 

11 ‘‘(ii) To establish that the applicant is a refugee, per12 secution— 

13 ‘‘(I) shall be on account of race, religion, na14 tionality, membership in a particular social group, or 

15 political opinion; and 

16 ‘‘(II) may be established by demonstrating 

17 that— 

18 ‘‘(aa) a protected ground is at least one 

19 reason for the applicant’s persecution or fear of 

20 persecution; 

21 ‘‘(bb) the persecution or feared persecution 

22 would not have occurred or would not occur in 

23 the future but for a protected ground; or 


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1 ‘‘(cc) the persecution or feared persecution 

2 had or will have the effect of harming the per3 son because of a protected ground. 

4 ‘‘(F) Where past or feared persecution by a nonstate 

5 actor is unrelated to a protected asylum ground, the caus6 al nexus link is established if the state’s failure to protect 

7 the asylum applicant from the nonstate actor is on account 

8 of a protected asylum ground.’’. 

9 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 208(b)(1) 

10 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

11 1158(b)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘section 

12 101(a)(42)(A)’’ each place such term appears and insert13 ing ‘‘section 101(a)(42)(A)(i)’’. 

14 SEC. 1102. MULTIPLE FORMS OF RELIEF AVAILABLE TO 

15 REFUGEES AND ASYLUM SEEKERS. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—An applicant for admission as a 

17 refugee may simultaneously pursue admission under any 

18 visa category for which the applicant may be eligible. 

19 (b) ASYLUM APPLICANTS ELIGIBLE FOR DIVERSITY

20 VISAS.—Section 204(a)(1)(I) of the Immigration and Na21 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1154(a)(1)(I)) is amended by add22 ing at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(iii)(I) An asylum seeker in the United States who 

24 is notified that he or she is eligible for an immigrant visa 

25 pursuant to section 203(c) may file a petition with the 


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1 district director that has jurisdiction over the district in 

2 which the asylum seeker resides (or, in the case of an asy3 lum seeker who is or was in removal proceedings, the im4 migration court in which the removal proceeding is pend5 ing or was adjudicated) to adjust status to that of an alien 

6 lawfully admitted for permanent residence. 

7 ‘‘(II) A petition under subclause (I) shall— 

8 ‘‘(aa) be filed not later than 30 days before the 

9 end of the fiscal year for which the petitioner re10 ceives notice of eligibility for the visa; and 

11 ‘‘(bb) contain such information and be sup12 ported by such documentary evidence as the Sec13 retary of State may require. 

14 ‘‘(III) The district director or immigration court shall 

15 attempt to adjudicate each petition under this clause be16 fore the last day of the fiscal year for which the petitioner 

17 was selected. Notwithstanding clause (ii)(II), if the district 

18 director or immigration court is unable to complete such 

19 adjudication during such fiscal year, the adjudication and 

20 adjustment of status of the petitioner may take place after 

21 the end of such fiscal year.’’. 

22 SEC. 1103. ELIMINATION OF TIME LIMITS ON ASYLUM AP23 PLICATIONS. 

24 Section 208(a)(2) of the Immigration and Nationality 

25 Act (8 U.S.C. 1158(a)(2)) is amended— 


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1 (1) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘or the 

2 Secretary of Homeland Security’’ after ‘‘Attorney 

3 General’’ each place such term appears; 

4 (2) by striking subparagraphs (B) and (D); 

5 (3) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as sub6 paragraph (B); 

7 (4) in subparagraph (B), as redesignated, by 

8 striking ‘‘subparagraph (D)’’ and inserting ‘‘sub9 paragraphs (C) and (D)’’; 

10 (5) by inserting after subparagraph (B), as re11 designated, the following: 

12 ‘‘(C) CHANGED CIRCUMSTANCES.—Not13 withstanding subparagraph (B), an application 

14 for asylum of an alien may be considered if the 

15 alien demonstrates, to the satisfaction of the 

16 Attorney General or the Secretary of Homeland 

17 Security, the existence of changed cir18 cumstances that materially affect the appli19 cant’s eligibility for asylum. 

20 ‘‘(D) MOTION TO REOPEN CERTAIN MERI21 TORIOUS CLAIMS.— 

22 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 

23 year after the date of the enactment of this 

24 subparagraph, the Secretary of Homeland 

25 Security shall provide to each individual 


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1 described in clause (ii), in the best lan2 guage of such individual— 

3 ‘‘(I) notice of their eligibility for 

4 asylum; and 

5 ‘‘(II) guidance with respect to fil6 ing a motion to reopen their immigra7 tion case in order to be granted asy8 lum. 

9 ‘‘(ii) INDIVIDUAL DESCRIBED.—An in10 dividual described in this clause is an indi11 vidual who— 

12 ‘‘(I) was denied asylum based 

13 solely on a failure to meet the 1-year 

14 application filing deadline in effect on 

15 the date on which the application was 

16 filed; 

17 ‘‘(II) was granted withholding of 

18 removal to the alien’s country of na19 tionality (or, in the case of a person 

20 having no nationality, to the country 

21 of last habitual residence) under sec22 tion 241(b)(3); 

23 ‘‘(III) has not obtained lawful 

24 permanent residence in the United 


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1 States pursuant to any other provision 

2 of law; and 

3 ‘‘(IV)(aa) is not subject to the 

4 safe third country exception under 

5 subparagraph (A) or to a bar to asy6 lum under subsection (b)(2); and 

7 ‘‘(bb) was not denied asylum as a 

8 matter of discretion. 

9 ‘‘(iii) DATE OF GRANT.— 

10 ‘‘(I) ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS.— 

11 For purposes of applications for ad12 justment of status submitted by an in13 dividual described in clause (ii) who 

14 was granted after the date of the en15 actment of this subparagraph, an in16 dividual granted asylum under this 

17 subsection shall be considered to have 

18 been so granted on the date on which 

19 the individual was granted with20 holding of removal under section 

21 241(b)(3). 

22 ‘‘(II) PETITIONS FOR REL23 ATIVES.—An individual granted asy24 lum under this subsection may, during 

25 the 2-year period beginning on the 


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1 date on which the individual is grant2 ed asylum under this subsection, sub3 mit a petition for the admission of a 

4 spouse or child who is accompanying 

5 or following to join.’’; and 

6 (6) by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(F) OTHER MOTIONS TO REOPEN.—Not8 withstanding section 240(c)(7), an individual 

9 who was denied asylum may file a motion to re10 open an asylum claim during the 2-year period 

11 beginning on the date of the enactment of this 

12 subparagraph if the individual was denied asy13 lum based solely on the implementation of— 

14 ‘‘(i) the policy memorandum of the 

15 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services 

16 entitled ‘Guidance for Processing Reason17 able Fear, Credible Fear, Asylum, and 

18 Refugee Claims in Accordance with Matter 

19 of A–B–’ (PM–602–0162), dated July 11, 

20 2018; 

21 ‘‘(ii) the memorandum of the Office of 

22 the Principal Legal Advisor of U.S. Immi23 gration and Customs Enforcement entitled 

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1 cution Claims Following Matter of A–B–’, 

2 dated July 11, 2018; 

3 ‘‘(iii) the interim final rule of the De4 partment of Homeland Security and the 

5 Department of Justice entitled ‘Aliens 

6 Subject to a Bar on Entry Under Certain 

7 Presidential Proclamations; Procedures for 

8 Protection Claims’ (83 Fed. Reg. 55934 

9 (November 9, 2019)); 

10 ‘‘(iv) Presidential Proclamation 9822, 

11 issued on November 9, 2018 (83 Fed. Reg. 

12 57661); 

13 ‘‘(v) the migrant protection protocols 

14 announced by the Secretary of Homeland 

15 Security on December 20, 2018 (or any 

16 successor protocols); 

17 ‘‘(vi) the policy memorandum of the 

18 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services 

19 entitled ‘Guidance for Implementing Sec20 tion 235(b)(2)(C) of the Immigration and 

21 Nationality Act and the Migrant Protec22 tion Protocols’ (PM–602–0169), dated 

23 January 28, 2019; or 

24 ‘‘(vii) any other policy memorandum 

25 of the Department of Homeland Security 


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•S 5353 IS

1 to implement the protocols described in 

2 subclause (V).’’. 

3 SEC. 1104. SAFE THIRD COUNTRY EXCEPTION. 

4 Subsection 208(a)(2) of the Immigration and Nation5 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1158(a)(2)(A)), as amended by section 

6 1103, is further amended— 

7 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘or equiv8 alent’’ and all that follows through the period at the 

9 end and inserting ‘‘with effective protection, includ10 ing access to a durable solution, for individuals who 

11 are refugees, or equivalent temporary protection.’’; 

12 and 

13 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(G) LIMITATION ON BILATERAL AND

15 MULTILATERAL AGREEMENTS.—No bilateral or 

16 multilateral agreement proposed under this sec17 tion shall take effect until the agreement is ap18 proved as a treaty by the Senate or approved 

19 as an executive agreement by the Senate, the 

20 House of Representatives, and the President of 

21 the United States.’’. 

22 SEC. 1105. CONSIDERATION OF ASYLUM CLAIMS. 

23 (a) CONDITIONS FOR GRANTING ASYLUM.— 


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•S 5353 IS

1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 208(b)(1)(B) of the 

2 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

3 1158(b)(1)(B)) is amended— 

4 (A) in clause (ii), by striking the last sen5 tence and inserting the following: ‘‘If the trier 

6 of fact determines that the applicant should 

7 provide evidence that corroborates otherwise 

8 credible testimony, the trier of fact shall pro9 vide notice and allow the applicant a reasonable 

10 opportunity to file such evidence. The trier of 

11 fact may not require such evidence if the appli12 cant does not have the evidence and dem13 onstrates that he or she cannot reasonably ob14 tain the evidence. Evidence shall not be consid15 ered reasonably obtainable if procurement of 

16 such evidence would reasonably endanger the 

17 life or safety of any person.’’; 

18 (B) by striking clause (iii); and 

19 (C) by inserting after clause (ii) the fol20 lowing: 

21 ‘‘(iii) SUPPORTING EVIDENCE ACCEPT22 ED.— 

23 ‘‘(I) DIRECT AND CIRCUMSTAN24 TIAL EVIDENCE.—Direct or cir25 cumstantial evidence, including eviVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:06 Jan 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00025 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5353.IS S5353

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•S 5353 IS

1 dence that the government of the ap2 plicable country is unable or unwilling 

3 to protect individuals of the appli4 cant’s race, religion, nationality, par5 ticular social group, or political opin6 ion, or that the legal or social norms 

7 of the country tolerate persecution 

8 against individuals of the applicant’s 

9 race, religion, nationality, particular 

10 social group, or political opinion, may 

11 establish that persecution is on ac12 count of race, religion, nationality, 

13 membership in a particular social 

14 group, or political opinion. 

15 ‘‘(II) EXPERT WITNESS TESTI16 MONY.— 

17 ‘‘(aa) IN GENERAL.—Except 

18 as provided in item (bb), an asy19 lum officer or immigration judge, 

20 as applicable, shall— 

21 ‘‘(AA) accept expert 

22 witness testimony with re23 spect to the human rights 

24 conditions in a country and 

25 evidence relating to the 


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•S 5353 IS

1 physical and mental condi2 tion or history of an appli3 cant for asylum; and 

4 ‘‘(BB) give substantial 

5 weight to such testimony 

6 and evidence. 

7 ‘‘(bb) EXCEPTION.—An asy8 lum officer or an immigration 

9 judge, as applicable, may reject 

10 expert witness testimony only if 

11 the asylum officer or immigration 

12 judge makes a finding on the 

13 record, supported by specific rea14 sons, that— 

15 ‘‘(AA) the witness is 

16 not qualified to provide an 

17 opinion regarding the condi18 tions in the country con19 cerned; or 

20 ‘‘(BB) the testimony of 

21 the witness is rebutted by 

22 contrary evidence. 

23 ‘‘(iv) CREDIBILITY DETERMINA24 TION.— 


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•S 5353 IS

1 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Subject to 

2 subclause (II), a trier of fact may con3 duct a credibility assessment in the 

4 context of evaluating an applicant’s 

5 claim for asylum. 

6 ‘‘(II) PROCEDURAL AND SUB7 STANTIVE REQUIREMENTS.— 

8 ‘‘(aa) OBJECTIVITY.—Deci9 sions regarding credibility shall 

10 be made objectively, impartially, 

11 and individually. 

12 ‘‘(bb) MATERIAL FACTS.—A 

13 credibility assessment under this 

14 clause may only be conducted on 

15 the material facts of the appli16 cant’s claim. The perception of 

17 the trier of fact with respect to 

18 the applicant’s general truthful19 ness or trustworthiness shall not 

20 be relevant to assessing credi21 bility of material facts. 

22 ‘‘(cc) DETAIL AND SPECI23 FICITY.—In assessing credibility, 

24 a trier of fact may consider the 

25 detail and specificity of informaVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:06 Jan 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00028 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5353.IS S5353

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•S 5353 IS

1 tion provided by the applicant, 

2 the internal consistency of the 

3 applicant’s statements, and the 

4 consistency of the applicant’s 

5 statements with available exter6 nal information. In considering 

7 such information and statements, 

8 the trier of fact shall consider the 

9 applicant’s contextual cir10 cumstances, including— 

11 ‘‘(AA) exposure to trau12 ma; 

13 ‘‘(BB) age; 

14 ‘‘(CC) gender, sexual 

15 orientation, or gender iden16 tity; 

17 ‘‘(DD) educational 

18 background; 

19 ‘‘(EE) physical or men20 tal health issues; 

21 ‘‘(FF) shame, stigma, 

22 or denial; 

23 ‘‘(GG) communication 

24 difficulties; 


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•S 5353 IS

1 ‘‘(HH) intercultural 

2 barriers; and 

3 ‘‘(II) the circumstances 

4 under which such statements 

5 were made. 

6 ‘‘(dd) DUTY TO ASSIST.—A 

7 trier of fact shall have an affirm8 ative duty to assist the applicant 

9 in providing credible testimony. 

10 ‘‘(ee) CONSISTENCY WITH

11 SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE.—A 

12 credibility assessment conducted 

13 under this clause, and any credi14 bility finding made, shall be con15 sistent with current scientific lit16 erature relating to behavioral in17 dicators of truth-telling, the na18 ture of traumatic memories, and 

19 the ability of trauma survivors to 

20 recall aspects of, and sur21 rounding, a traumatic event. 

22 ‘‘(ff) TIMING.—A credibility 

23 assessment under this clause may 

24 not be made until after— 


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•S 5353 IS

1 ‘‘(AA) an interview of 

2 the applicant; and 

3 ‘‘(BB) all relevant evi4 dence has been collected and 

5 considered. 

6 ‘‘(gg) OPPORTUNITY TO RE7 SPOND.—If a trier of fact doubts 

8 the credibility of the applicant, 

9 the trier of fact shall specify any 

10 such doubt to the applicant and 

11 provide the applicant a meaning12 ful opportunity to respond. 

13 ‘‘(hh) CLEAR FINDINGS.— 

14 The result of a credibility assess15 ment under this clause shall in16 clude clear findings based on and 

17 supported by evidence, after con18 sideration of all of the relevant 

19 evidence consistent with items 

20 (cc) and (dd), that describes the 

21 material facts that are accepted 

22 as credible and the material facts 

23 that are rejected as not credible, 

24 and the reason for such accept25 ance or rejection. 


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•S 5353 IS

1 ‘‘(ii) REBUTTABLE PRE2 SUMPTION.—If an adverse credi3 bility determination is not explic4 itly made, the applicant shall 

5 have a rebuttable presumption of 

6 credibility on appeal. 

7 ‘‘(jj) ORAL TESTIMONY.—An 

8 applicant for asylum who is in re9 moval proceedings shall have the 

10 right to testify orally before an 

11 immigration judge.’’. 

12 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

13 241(b)(3)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality 

14 Act (8 U.S.C. 1231(b)(3)(C)) is amended by striking 

15 ‘‘and (iii)’’ and inserting ‘‘through (iv)’’. 

16 (b) CLARIFICATION ON ASYLUM ELIGIBILITY.—Sec17 tion 208(b)(2) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

18 U.S.C. 1158(b)(2)) is amended by striking subparagraph 

19 (C) and inserting the following: 

20 ‘‘(C) CLARIFICATION ON ASYLUM ELIGI21 BILITY.—Notwithstanding any other provision 

22 of law, the eligibility of an alien for asylum 

23 shall be governed solely by this section.’’. 

24 (c) THIRD COUNTRY TRANSIT.—Section 208(b)(2) of 

25 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 


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•S 5353 IS

1 1158(b)(2)) is amended by adding at the end the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(E) THIRD COUNTRY TRANSIT.— 

4 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—An applicant’s 

5 entry to, attempt to enter, or arrival or 

6 stay in a third country shall not be— 

7 ‘‘(I) considered to amount to the 

8 applicant being firmly resettled; 

9 ‘‘(II) grounds or a basis for a de10 nial of an asylum application or the 

11 issuance of a negative credible fear 

12 determination; or 

13 ‘‘(III) a factor for otherwise ren14 dering the applicant ineligible for asy15 lum. 

16 ‘‘(ii) APPLICABILITY.—Clause (i) shall 

17 apply regardless of whether the appli18 cant— 

19 ‘‘(I) applied for asylum or was 

20 denied or granted asylum in the third 

21 country concerned; 

22 ‘‘(II) is a victim of 1 or more se23 vere forms of trafficking in persons 

24 (as defined in section 103 of the TrafVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:06 Jan 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00033 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5353.IS S5353

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•S 5353 IS

1 ficking Victims Protection Act of 

2 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7102)); or 

3 ‘‘(III) the third country con4 cerned is a party to the Convention 

5 Relating to the Status of Refugees, 

6 done at Geneva July 28, 2951, (as 

7 made applicable by the Protocol Re8 lating to the Status of Refugees, done 

9 at New York January 31, 1967 (19 

10 UST 6223)), or other similar treaty 

11 or protocol.’’. 

12 (d) INITIAL JURISDICTION OVER ASYLUM APPLICA13 TIONS.—Section 208(b) of the Immigration and Nation14 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1158(b)) is amended— 

15 (1) in paragraph (3), by striking subparagraph 

16 (C); and 

17 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(4) INITIAL JURISDICTION.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An asylum officer (as 

20 defined in section 235(b)(1)(E)) shall have ini21 tial jurisdiction over any asylum application re22 gardless of whether filed in accordance with this 

23 section or section 235(b) or section 240. 

24 ‘‘(B) FINAL ORDER OF REMOVAL EN25 TERED.—In the case of an alien with respect to 


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•S 5353 IS

1 whom a final order of removal was previously 

2 entered, an asylum officer shall have initial ju3 risdiction over any application for withholding 

4 of removal under section 241(b)(3) or protec5 tion under the Convention against Torture and 

6 Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment 

7 or Punishment, done at New York December 

8 10, 1984, regardless of whether such an appli9 cation is filed in accordance with this section or 

10 section 235(b) or section 240.’’. 

11 (e) LIMITATION ON IMPOSITION OF FEES.—Section 

12 208(d)(3) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

13 U.S.C. 1158(d)(3)) is amended to read as follows: 

14 ‘‘(3) LIMITATION ON IMPOSITION OF FEES.— 

15 ‘‘(A) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the 

16 sense of Congress that the Secretary of Home17 land Security should not impose fees for the 

18 consideration of an application for asylum, em19 ployment authorization under this section, ad20 justment of status under section 209, the collec21 tion of biometrics in conjunction with applica22 tions under this section, petitions for family re23 unification, or the issuance of refugee travel 

24 documents. 

25 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.— 


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•S 5353 IS

1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary of 

2 Homeland imposes a fee for the consider3 ation of an application for asylum, employ4 ment authorization under this section, ad5 justment of status under section 209, the 

6 collection of biometrics in conjunction with 

7 applications under this section or section 

8 209, petitions for family reunification, or 

9 the issuance of refugee travel documents— 

10 ‘‘(I) such fee shall not exceed the 

11 Secretary of Homeland Security’s 

12 costs in adjudicating such applica13 tions, processing such biometrics, or 

14 issuing such document, as applicable; 

15 ‘‘(II) the applicant shall be eligi16 ble for a fee waiver; and 

17 ‘‘(III) the applicant shall be per18 mitted to pay such fee over a period 

19 of time or in installments. 

20 ‘‘(C) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing 

21 in this paragraph may be construed to require 

22 the Secretary of Homeland Security to charge 

23 fees for adjudication services provided to asy24 lum applicants.’’. 


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•S 5353 IS

1 (f) CONSIDERATION OF ASYLUM APPLICATIONS.— 

2 Section 208(d)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

3 (8 U.S.C. 1158(d)(5)) is amended— 

4 (1) by striking subparagraph (B); and 

5 (2) in subparagraph (A)— 

6 (A) by striking ‘‘(A) PROCEDURES.—’’; 

7 and 

8 (B) by redesignating clauses (i) through 

9 (v) as subparagraphs (A) through (E), respec10 tively, and moving such subparagraphs 2 ems to 

11 the left. 

12 (g) CONFIDENTIALITY OF ASYLUM APPLICATIONS.— 

13 Section 208(d) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

14 U.S.C. 1158(d)) is amended by adding at the end the fol15 lowing: 

16 ‘‘(8) CONFIDENTIALITY OF ASYLUM APPLICA17 TIONS AND PROCEEDINGS.—An employee of the 

18 United States may not disclose to any individual 

19 other than an immigration or law enforcement offi20 cial of the United States information in an asylum 

21 application or from an asylum proceeding without 

22 the consent of the applicant.’’. 

23 (h) TRANSPARENCY OF STATISTICAL INFORMA24 TION.—Section 208 of the Immigration and Nationality 


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•S 5353 IS

1 Act (8 U.S.C. 1158) is amended by adding at the end the 

2 following: 

3 ‘‘(f) TRANSPARENCY OF STATISTICAL INFORMA4 TION.— 

5 ‘‘(1) DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY.— 

6 ‘‘(A) CREDIBLE FEAR AND REASONABLE

7 FEAR ADJUDICATIONS DATABASE.—The Sec8 retary of Homeland Security shall develop, 

9 maintain, and make available to the public a 

10 database reflecting adjudications of credible 

11 fear or reasonable fear under section 235 that 

12 includes, for each such adjudication that occurs 

13 not later than 90 days after the date of the en14 actment of this subsection, the following: 

15 ‘‘(i) An anonymized code number or 

16 sequence of characters for the asylum ap17 plicant. 

18 ‘‘(ii) The month and year in which the 

19 applicant was apprehended. 

20 ‘‘(iii) The month and year in which 

21 the applicant was interviewed under sec22 tion 235. 

23 ‘‘(iv)(I) Whether the applicant was in 

24 the custody of the Secretary of Homeland 

25 Security on the date of such interview. 


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•S 5353 IS

1 ‘‘(II) In the case of an applicant who 

2 was in the custody of the Secretary of 

3 Homeland Security on such date— 

4 ‘‘(aa) the component of the De5 partment of Homeland Security re6 sponsible for the applicant’s detention; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(bb) the name of the facility in 

9 which the applicant was held. 

10 ‘‘(v) The age of the applicant on the 

11 date of such interview. 

12 ‘‘(vi) The nationality of the applicant. 

13 ‘‘(vii) The gender of the applicant. 

14 ‘‘(viii)(I) Whether the applicant en15 tered at a port of entry. 

16 ‘‘(II) In the case of an applicant who 

17 entered at a port of entry, the name of the 

18 port of entry. 

19 ‘‘(ix)(I) Whether the applicant in20 cluded one or more derivative beneficiaries 

21 in their asylum application. 

22 ‘‘(II) In the case of an applicant who 

23 included one or more derivative bene24 ficiaries in their asylum application, the 


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•S 5353 IS

1 age and relationship to the applicant of 

2 each such beneficiary. 

3 ‘‘(x) An anonymized code number for 

4 the officer conducting the interview and, if 

5 the officer’s decision was reviewed by a su6 pervisor, an anonymized code number for 

7 the supervisor. 

8 ‘‘(xi)(I) Whether such interview was 

9 conducted in person, by telephone, or by 

10 videoconference. 

11 ‘‘(II) In the case of an interview con12 ducted in person, the location of the inter13 view. 

14 ‘‘(xii) Whether such interview was 

15 conducted with the assistance of an inter16 preter. 

17 ‘‘(xiii) The regional asylum office to 

18 which the officer conducting such interview 

19 was assigned. 

20 ‘‘(xiv) Whether the asylum application 

21 was based on— 

22 ‘‘(I) past persecution; 

23 ‘‘(II) a well-founded fear of per24 secution; or 


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•S 5353 IS

1 ‘‘(III) past persecution and a 

2 well-founded fear of persecution. 

3 ‘‘(xv) Whether— 

4 ‘‘(I) the alleged persecutor was 

5 the government of a country or a pri6 vate entity; or 

7 ‘‘(II) in the case of 1 or more al8 leged persecutors, the persecutors in9 cluded both a government of a coun10 try and a private entity. 

11 ‘‘(xvi) Whether the applicant was as12 sisted by an attorney or other legal service 

13 provider during the interview. 

14 ‘‘(xvii) Whether the adjudicator deter15 mined that the applicant was credible. 

16 ‘‘(xviii) Whether the adjudicator found 

17 that the applicant— 

18 ‘‘(I) established— 

19 ‘‘(aa) a credible fear; 

20 ‘‘(bb) a reasonable fear; or 

21 ‘‘(cc) a likelihood of torture; 

22 or 

23 ‘‘(II) did not establish any such 

24 fear or likelihood. 


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•S 5353 IS

1 ‘‘(xix) In the case of an applicant who 

2 was determined not to have established a 

3 credible fear or a reasonable fear, whether 

4 the applicant appealed such determination 

5 to an immigration judge. 

6 ‘‘(xx) Any other data that the Sec7 retary of Homeland Security considers 

8 helpful to the government or the public in 

9 understanding or analyzing the operation 

10 of asylum adjudication. 

11 ‘‘(B) MERITS ADJUDICATIONS DATA12 BASE.—The Secretary of Homeland Security 

13 shall develop, maintain, and make available to 

14 the public a database reflecting asylum adju15 dications on the merits, that includes, for each 

16 such adjudication that occurs not later than 90 

17 days after the date of the enactment of this 

18 subsection, the following: 

19 ‘‘(i) An anonymized code number or 

20 sequence of characters for the asylum ap21 plicant, which shall be the same code num22 ber or sequence assigned to the applicant 

23 if such a number or sequence was assigned 

24 during an earlier stage of proceedings 

25 under section 235. 


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•S 5353 IS

1 ‘‘(ii) The date on which the appli2 cant’s asylum application was filed or con3 sidered to have been filed. 

4 ‘‘(iii) The age of the applicant on the 

5 date on which such application was filed. 

6 ‘‘(iv) The date on which the applicant 

7 entered the United States or, in the case 

8 of an applicant for whom the date of entry 

9 is unknown, an indication that such date is 

10 unknown. 

11 ‘‘(v)(I) Whether the applicant in12 cluded in their asylum application 1 or 

13 more derivative beneficiaries who are in 

14 the United States. 

15 ‘‘(II) In the case of an applicant who 

16 included such a derivative beneficiary in 

17 their asylum application, the age and rela18 tionship to the applicant of each such ben19 eficiary. 

20 ‘‘(vi) The nationality of the applicant. 

21 ‘‘(vii) The gender of the applicant. 

22 ‘‘(viii) Whether the asylum application 

23 was based on— 

24 ‘‘(I) past persecution; 


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•S 5353 IS

1 ‘‘(II) a well-founded fear of per2 secution; or 

3 ‘‘(III) past persecution and a 

4 well-founded fear of persecution. 

5 ‘‘(ix) Whether— 

6 ‘‘(I) the alleged persecutor was 

7 the government of a country or a pri8 vate entity; or 

9 ‘‘(II) in the case of 1 or more al10 leged persecutors, the persecutors in11 cluded both a government of a coun12 try and a private entity. 

13 ‘‘(x) Whether the applicant’s applica14 tion for asylum included a claim of perse15 cution on account of gender. 

16 ‘‘(xi) Whether the applicant was proc17 essed under this section or section 235. 

18 ‘‘(xii) Whether the applicant had en19 tered the United States— 

20 ‘‘(I) pursuant to a visa; 

21 ‘‘(II) through the visa waiver 

22 program; or 

23 ‘‘(III) without inspection. 

24 ‘‘(xiii) Whether the applicant— 


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•S 5353 IS

1 ‘‘(I) was assisted in the comple2 tion of their asylum application by— 

3 ‘‘(aa) an attorney; 

4 ‘‘(bb) an accredited rep5 resentative; 

6 ‘‘(cc) a law student; or 

7 ‘‘(dd) an individual other 

8 than an individual described in 

9 items (aa) through (cc); or 

10 ‘‘(II) was not represented. 

11 ‘‘(xiv) Whether the applicant— 

12 ‘‘(I) was represent during their 

13 asylum interview by— 

14 ‘‘(aa) an attorney; 

15 ‘‘(bb) an accredited rep16 resentative; 

17 ‘‘(cc) a law student; or 

18 ‘‘(dd) an individual other 

19 than an individual described in 

20 items (aa) through (cc); or 

21 ‘‘(II) was not represented. 

22 ‘‘(xv) Whether the asylum interview 

23 was conducted with the assistance of an in24 terpreter. 


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•S 5353 IS

1 ‘‘(xvi) An anonymized code number or 

2 sequence of characters for the asylum offi3 cer who adjudicated the case. 

4 ‘‘(xvii) An anonymized code number 

5 or sequence of characters for any officer 

6 who reviewed the asylum officer’s decision. 

7 ‘‘(xviii) The regional office or sub-of8 fice to which the asylum officer was as9 signed. 

10 ‘‘(xix) The date of the adjudication. 

11 ‘‘(xx) Whether the applicant was— 

12 ‘‘(I) granted asylum; 

13 ‘‘(II) denied asylum; 

14 ‘‘(III) referred to immigration 

15 court for further consideration; or 

16 ‘‘(IV) considered by the immigra17 tion court under some other proce18 dure. 

19 ‘‘(xxi) Any other data that the Sec20 retary of Homeland Security considers 

21 helpful to the government or the public in 

22 understanding or analyzing the operation 

23 of asylum adjudication. 

24 ‘‘(2) DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE.— 


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•S 5353 IS

1 ‘‘(A) DATABASE ON APPEALS OF CRED2 IBLE FEAR AND REASONABLE FEAR DETER3 MINATIONS.—The Attorney General shall de4 velop, maintain, and make available to the pub5 lic a database reflecting appeals from credible 

6 fear determinations and reasonable fear deter7 minations that include, for each such appeal 

8 that occurs not later than 90 days after the 

9 date of the enactment of this subsection, the 

10 following: 

11 ‘‘(i) An anonymized code number or 

12 sequence of characters for the asylum ap13 plicant, which shall be the same 

14 anonymized code number or sequence of 

15 numbers assigned to the applicant by the 

16 Department of Homeland Security. 

17 ‘‘(ii) The name of the immigration 

18 judge who adjudicated the appeal. 

19 ‘‘(iii) The location of the immigration 

20 judge on the date on which a decision on 

21 the appeal was made. 

22 ‘‘(iv) Whether the appeal was con23 ducted in person, by telephone, or by vid24 eoconference. 

25 ‘‘(v) Whether the applicant— 


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•S 5353 IS

1 ‘‘(I) was represented in the ap2 peal by— 

3 ‘‘(aa) an attorney; 

4 ‘‘(bb) an accredited rep5 resentative; 

6 ‘‘(cc) a law student; or 

7 ‘‘(dd) an individual other 

8 than an individual described in 

9 items (aa) through (cc); or 

10 ‘‘(II) was not represented. 

11 ‘‘(vi) Whether the appeal was con12 ducted with the assistance of an inter13 preter. 

14 ‘‘(vii) The outcome of the appeal. 

15 ‘‘(viii) Any other data that the Attor16 ney General considers helpful to the gov17 ernment or the public in understanding or 

18 analyzing the operation of asylum adju19 dication. 

20 ‘‘(B) MERITS DECISIONS DATABASE.—The 

21 Attorney General shall develop, maintain, and 

22 make available to the public a database reflect23 ing decisions by immigration judges on the mer24 its of asylum claims (including applications for 

25 withholding of removal under section 241(b)(3) 


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•S 5353 IS

1 and protection under the Convention against 

2 Torture and Other Cruel, Inhumane or Degrad3 ing Treatment or Punishment, done at New 

4 York December 10, 1984) that includes, for 

5 each such claim filed with the Attorney General 

6 not later than 90 days after the date of the en7 actment of this subsection, the following: 

8 ‘‘(i) An anonymized code number or 

9 sequence of characters for the respondent, 

10 which shall be the same as any anonymized 

11 code number or sequence of number as12 signed by the Department of Homeland 

13 Security at a previous stage of adjudica14 tion of the claim. 

15 ‘‘(ii) The date on which the respond16 ent entered the United States or, in the 

17 case of a respondent for whom the date of 

18 entry is unknown, an indication that such 

19 date is unknown. 

20 ‘‘(iii) The age of the respondent on 

21 the date on which the respondent entered 

22 the United States. 

23 ‘‘(iv) The initial date on which the re24 spondent submitted the asylum application 

25 to the Secretary of Homeland Security. 


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•S 5353 IS

1 ‘‘(v) In the case of a respondent who 

2 submitted an asylum application to the 

3 Secretary of Homeland Security, the date 

4 on which an asylum officer issued a deci5 sion on such application. 

6 ‘‘(vi) The age of the respondent on 

7 the date on which the immigration judge 

8 rendered a decision on the merits of the 

9 claim. 

10 ‘‘(vii) The gender of the respondent. 

11 ‘‘(viii) Whether the respondent en12 tered the United States at a port of entry. 

13 ‘‘(ix)(I) Whether the respondent in14 cluded in their asylum application 1 or 

15 more derivative beneficiaries who are in 

16 the United States. 

17 ‘‘(II) In the case of a respondent who 

18 included such a derivative beneficiary in 

19 their asylum application, the age and rela20 tionship to the respondent of each such 

21 beneficiary. 

22 ‘‘(x) The nationality of the respond23 ent. 


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•S 5353 IS

1 ‘‘(xi) The name and location of the 

2 immigration judge who adjudicated the 

3 claim. 

4 ‘‘(xii) Whether the merits hearing was 

5 conducted in person, by telephone, or by 

6 videoconference. 

7 ‘‘(xiii)(I) Whether the respondent was 

8 detained on the date on which the merits 

9 hearing occurred. 

10 ‘‘(II) In the case of a respondent who 

11 was detained, the name of the detention 

12 facility. 

13 ‘‘(xiv) Whether the merits hearing was 

14 conducted with the assistance of an inter15 preter. 

16 ‘‘(xv) Whether the respondent— 

17 ‘‘(I) was represented in the mer18 its hearing by— 

19 ‘‘(aa) an attorney; 

20 ‘‘(bb) an accredited rep21 resentative; 

22 ‘‘(cc) a law student; or 

23 ‘‘(dd) an individual other 

24 than an individual described in 

25 items (aa) through (cc); or 


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•S 5353 IS

1 ‘‘(II) was not represented. 

2 ‘‘(xvi) In the case of an application 

3 for asylum or withholding of removal under 

4 section 241(b)(3), whether the application 

5 was based on— 

6 ‘‘(I) past persecution; 

7 ‘‘(II) a well-founded fear of per8 secution; or 

9 ‘‘(III) past persecution and a 

10 well-founded fear of persecution. 

11 ‘‘(xvii) Whether— 

12 ‘‘(I) the alleged persecutor was 

13 the government of a country or a pri14 vate entity; or 

15 ‘‘(II) in the case of 1 or more al16 leged persecutors, the persecutors in17 cluded both a government of a coun18 try and a private entity. 

19 ‘‘(xviii) Whether the respondent’s ap20 plication for asylum included a claim of 

21 persecution on account of gender. 

22 ‘‘(xix) The outcome of the case, in23 cluding— 

24 ‘‘(I) whether the case the was 

25 terminated without a decision; 


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•S 5353 IS

1 ‘‘(II) whether the respondent was 

2 granted asylum, withholding of re3 moval under section 241(b)(3), protec4 tion under the Convention against 

5 Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or 

6 Degrading Treatment or Punishment, 

7 done at New York December 10, 

8 1984, voluntary departure, or other 

9 relief; and 

10 ‘‘(III) whether the respondent 

11 was ordered removed from the United 

12 States. 

13 ‘‘(xx) Any other data that the Attor14 ney General considers helpful to the gov15 ernment or the public in understanding or 

16 analyzing the operation of asylum adju17 dication. 

18 ‘‘(C) BOARD OF IMMIGRATION APPEALS

19 DATABASE.—The Attorney General shall de20 velop, maintain, and make available to the pub21 lic a database reflecting decisions by the Board 

22 of Immigration Appeals on appeals of immigra23 tion judge denials of asylum, withholding of re24 moval, or protection under the Convention 

25 against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or 


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•S 5353 IS

1 Degrading Treatment or Punishment, done at 

2 New York December 10, 1984, that includes, 

3 for each such appeal filed with the Board of 

4 Immigration Appeals not later than 90 days 

5 after the date of the enactment of this sub6 section, the following: 

7 ‘‘(i) An anonymized code number or 

8 sequence of characters for the appellant, 

9 which shall be the same anonymized code 

10 number or sequence of numbers that was 

11 assigned at a previous stage of the pro12 ceedings by the Secretary of Homeland Se13 curity or the Attorney General. 

14 ‘‘(ii) The date on which the appeal 

15 was filed with the Board of Immigration 

16 Appeals. 

17 ‘‘(iii) The date on which the Board of 

18 Immigration Appeals issued a decision on 

19 the appeal. 

20 ‘‘(iv) The names of the members of 

21 the Board of Immigration Appeals who 

22 participated in the decision. 

23 ‘‘(v) Whether any member of the 

24 Board of Immigration Appeals dissented 

25 from a decision of a panel or of the entire 


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•S 5353 IS

1 Board of Immigration Appeals, and the 

2 name of each such member. 

3 ‘‘(vi) Whether the appellant— 

4 ‘‘(I) was represented in the ap5 peal by— 

6 ‘‘(aa) an attorney; 

7 ‘‘(bb) an accredited rep8 resentative; 

9 ‘‘(cc) a law student; or 

10 ‘‘(dd) an individual other 

11 than an individual described in 

12 items (aa) through (cc); or 

13 ‘‘(II) was not represented. 

14 ‘‘(vii) The outcome of the appeal. 

15 ‘‘(viii) Any other data that the Attor16 ney General considers helpful to the gov17 ernment or the public in understanding or 

18 analyzing the operation of asylum adju19 dication.’’. 

20 (i) FURTHER CONSIDERATION OF APPLICATION FOR

21 ASYLUM.—Section 235(b)(1)(B)(ii) of the Immigration 

22 and Nationalities Act (8 U.S.C. 1225 (b)(1)(B)(ii)) is 

23 amended by inserting ‘‘, which shall include a hearing 

24 under section 240 on the alien’s claim for asylum, with25 holding of removal, or protection under the Convention 


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•S 5353 IS

1 against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading 

2 Treatment or Punishment, done at New York December 

3 10, 1984, unless the Secretary of Homeland Security has 

4 granted the alien’s claim’’ before the period at the end. 

5 (j) MODIFICATION OF DEFINITION OF ASYLUM OFFI6 CER.—Section 235(b)(1)(E) of the Immigration and Na7 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1225(b)(1)(E)) is amended to read 

8 as follows: 

9 ‘‘(E) ASYLUM OFFICER DEFINED.— 

10 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In this paragraph, 

11 the term ‘asylum officer’ means an immi12 gration officer who— 

13 ‘‘(I) has had professional training 

14 in country conditions, asylum law, and 

15 nonadversarial interviewing techniques 

16 necessary for adjudication of applica17 tions under section 208; 

18 ‘‘(II) adjudicates applications 

19 under that section on a full-time 

20 basis; and 

21 ‘‘(III) is supervised by an officer 

22 who— 

23 ‘‘(aa) meets the condition 

24 described in subclause (I); and 


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•S 5353 IS

1 ‘‘(bb) has had substantial 

2 experience adjudicating asylum 

3 applications. 

4 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTIONAL CIR5 CUMSTANCES.— 

6 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—The Sec7 retary of Homeland Security may, 

8 only in exceptional circumstances and 

9 to protect national security, designate 

10 one or more individuals who do not 

11 meet the condition described in clause 

12 (i)(III) to act as temporary asylum of13 ficers. 

14 ‘‘(II) LIMITATION.—An indi15 vidual designated as a temporary asy16 lum officer under subclause (I) may 

17 not hold or have held in the preceding 

18 3 years a position the central function 

19 of which is immigration enforcement, 

20 including Border Patrol agents, Cus21 toms and Border Protection officers, 

22 and Immigration and Customs En23 forcement officers. 

24 ‘‘(III) ANNUAL REPORT.—Dur25 ing any period in which the Secretary 


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•S 5353 IS

1 of Homeland Security designates one 

2 or more temporary asylum officers, 

3 not later than 30 days after such des4 ignation, the Secretary of Homeland 

5 Security shall submit to Congress a 

6 report that includes— 

7 ‘‘(aa) a justification for the 

8 designation; 

9 ‘‘(bb) the number of officers 

10 designated; 

11 ‘‘(cc) the duration of service 

12 of such officers; 

13 ‘‘(dd) the number of inter14 views conducted by such officers; 

15 ‘‘(ee) with respect to appli16 cations for asylum, withholding 

17 of removal under section 

18 241(b)(3), and protection under 

19 the Convention against Torture 

20 adjudicated by such officers, the 

21 rate of grants, denials, referrals, 

22 and otherwise closed applications; 

23 and 

24 ‘‘(ff) with respect to credible 

25 fear determinations carried out 


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•S 5353 IS

1 by such officers, the rate of posi2 tive, negative, and otherwise 

3 closed determinations.’’. 

4 (k) REMOVAL PROCEEDINGS.—Section 240(c)(4) of 

5 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

6 1229a(c)(4)) is amended— 

7 (1) in subparagraph (B), by striking the last 

8 sentence and inserting the following: ‘‘If the trier of 

9 fact determines that the applicant should provide 

10 evidence that corroborates otherwise credible testi11 mony, the trier of fact shall provide notice and allow 

12 the applicant a reasonable opportunity to file such 

13 evidence. The trier of fact may not require such evi14 dence if the applicant does not have the evidence 

15 and demonstrates that he or she cannot reasonably 

16 obtain the evidence. Evidence shall not be considered 

17 reasonably obtainable under this subparagraph if 

18 procurement of such evidence would reasonably en19 danger the life or safety of any person in the appli20 cant’s home country.’’; and 

21 (2) in subparagraph (C), in the first sentence, 

22 by striking ‘‘, without regard to whether an incon23 sistency, inaccuracy, or falsehood goes to the heart 

24 of the applicant’s claim, or any other relevant fac25 tor’’ and inserting ‘‘If the trier of fact determines 


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•S 5353 IS

1 that there are inconsistencies or omissions, the alien 

2 shall be given an opportunity to explain and provide 

3 support or evidence to clarify such inconsistencies or 

4 omissions.’’. 

5 (l) REINSTATEMENT OF REMOVAL.—Section 241(a) 

6 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

7 1231(a)) is amended— 

8 (1) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘If the Attor9 ney General’’ and inserting the following: 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

11 subparagraph (B), if the Secretary of Home12 land Security’’; and 

13 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(B) APPLICABILITY.—Subparagraph (A) 

15 shall not apply to an alien who is otherwise eli16 gible for asylum.’’. 

17 SEC. 1106. TRANSPARENCY IN REFUGEE DETERMINATIONS. 

18 Section 207(c) of the Immigration and Nationality 

19 Act (8 U.S.C. 1157(c)) is amended by adding at the end 

20 the following: 

21 ‘‘(5) The adjudicator of an application for refugee 

22 status under this section shall consider all relevant evi23 dence and maintain a record of the evidence considered. 

24 ‘‘(6) An applicant for refugee status may be rep25 resented, including at a refugee interview, at no expense 


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•S 5353 IS

1 to the Government, by an attorney or accredited rep2 resentative who— 

3 ‘‘(A) was chosen by the applicant; and 

4 ‘‘(B) is authorized by the Secretary of Home5 land Security to be recognized as the representative 

6 of such applicant in an adjudication under this sec7 tion. 

8 ‘‘(7)(A) A decision to deny an application for refugee 

9 status under this section— 

10 ‘‘(i) shall be in writing; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) shall cite the specific applicable provisions 

12 of this Act upon which such denial was based, in13 cluding— 

14 ‘‘(I) the facts underlying the determina15 tion; and 

16 ‘‘(II) whether there is a waiver of inadmis17 sibility available to the applicant. 

18 ‘‘(B) The basis of any negative credibility finding 

19 shall be part of the written decision. 

20 ‘‘(8)(A) An applicant who is denied refugee status 

21 under this section may file a request with the Secretary 

22 for a review of his or her application not later than 120 

23 days after such denial. 

24 ‘‘(B) A request filed under subparagraph (A) shall 

25 be adjudicated by refugee officers who have received trainVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:06 Jan 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00061 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5353.IS S5353

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•S 5353 IS

1 ing on considering requests for review of refugee applica2 tions that have been denied. 

3 ‘‘(C) The Secretary shall publish the standards ap4 plied to a request for review under this paragraph. 

5 ‘‘(D) A request for review under this paragraph may 

6 result in the decision being granted, denied, or reopened 

7 for a further interview. 

8 ‘‘(E) A decision on a request for review under this 

9 paragraph shall— 

10 ‘‘(i) be in writing; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) provide, to the maximum extent prac12 ticable, information relating to the reason for the de13 nial.’’. 

14 SEC. 1107. AUTHORITY TO DESIGNATE CERTAIN GROUPS 

15 OF REFUGEES FROM COUNTRIES OF PAR16 TICULAR CONCERN AND ADMISSION OF REF17 UGEES IN EMERGENCY SITUATIONS. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 207(c)(1) of the Immigra19 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1157(c)(1)) is amend20 ed— 

21 (1) by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ before ‘‘Subject to the 

22 numerical limitations’’; and 

23 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

24 ‘‘(B)(i) The President, after a recommendation 

25 of the Secretary of State made in consultation with 


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•S 5353 IS

1 the Secretary of Homeland Security, and after ap2 propriate consultation, may designate specifically de3 fined groups of aliens within a category of aliens es4 tablished under clause (ii) whose resettlement in the 

5 United States is justified by humanitarian concerns 

6 or is otherwise in the national interest and who 

7 share common characteristics that identify such 

8 aliens as targets of persecution on account of race, 

9 religion, nationality, membership in a particular so10 cial group, or political opinion or who otherwise have 

11 a shared need for resettlement due to a specific vul12 nerability. 

13 ‘‘(ii) For purposes of clause (i), the President 

14 shall designate one or more groups or one or more 

15 categories of aliens who are or were nationals or ha16 bitual residents of the Islamic Republic of Iran or 

17 countries from the former Soviet Union, who, as 

18 members of a religious minority, share common 

19 characteristics that identify them as targets of per20 secution in that state on account of race, religion, 

21 nationality, membership in a particular social group, 

22 or political opinion. At the discretion of the Presi23 dent, the President may designate additional groups 

24 of one or more categories of aliens who are of were 

25 nationals or habitual residents of any other country 


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•S 5353 IS

1 which is designated as a country of particular con2 cern under section 402(b)(1)(A) of the International 

3 Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6442). 

4 ‘‘(iii) An alien who is outside his or her country 

5 of origin or last habitual residence who establishes 

6 membership in a group designated under clause (i) 

7 to the satisfaction of the Secretary of Homeland Se8 curity shall establish, for purposes of admission as 

9 a refugee under this section, that such alien has a 

10 well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, 

11 religion, nationality, membership in a particular so12 cial group, or political opinion, unless the Secretary 

13 determines that such alien ordered, incited, assisted 

14 or otherwise participated in the persecution of any 

15 person on account of race, religious, membership in 

16 a particular social group, or political opinion. 

17 ‘‘(iv) A designation under clause (i)— 

18 ‘‘(I) may be revoked by the President at 

19 any time after notification to Congress; 

20 ‘‘(II) if not revoked, shall expire at the end 

21 of each fiscal year; and 

22 ‘‘(III) may be renewed by the President 

23 after appropriate consultation. 


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•S 5353 IS

1 ‘‘(v) An alien’s admission under this subpara2 graph shall count against the refugee admissions 

3 goal under subsection (a). 

4 ‘‘(vi) A designation under clause (i) shall not 

5 influence decisions to grant, to any alien, asylum 

6 under section 208, withholding of removal section 

7 241(b)(3), or protection under the Convention 

8 against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or De9 grading Treatment or Punishment, done at New 

10 York December 10, 1984. 

11 ‘‘(vii) Each decision to deny an application for 

12 refugee status of an alien who is within a category 

13 established under this subparagraph shall be in writ14 ing and shall state, to the maximum extent feasible, 

15 the reason for the denial.’’. 

16 (b) ADMISSION OF REFUGEES EXPERIENCING EMER17 GENCY SITUATIONS.—Section 207(c) of the Immigration 

18 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1157(c)(1)), as amended 

19 by section 1106, is further amended by adding at the end 

20 the following: 

21 ‘‘(9) ADMISSION OF REFUGEES EXPERIENCING

22 EMERGENCY SITUATIONS.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the numerical 

24 established under subparagraphs (A) and (B) of 

25 paragraph (1), the Secretary of Homeland Security 


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•S 5353 IS

1 may, in the Secretary’s discretion and pursuant to 

2 such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, 

3 admit any refugee who is not firmly resettled in any 

4 foreign country, is determined to be of special hu5 manitarian concern to the United States, and is ad6 missible (except as provided under section 209) as 

7 an immigrant under this Act. Notwithstanding any 

8 numerical limitations specified in this Act, any alien 

9 admitted under this paragraph shall be regarded as 

10 lawfully admitted to the United States for perma11 nent residence as of the date of such alien’s admis12 sion to the United States. 

13 ‘‘(B) DESIGNATION.—The President, upon a 

14 recommendation of the Secretary of State made in 

15 consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Secu16 rity, and after appropriate consultation, may des17 ignate specifically defined groups of aliens— 

18 ‘‘(i) whose resettlement in the United 

19 States is justified by humanitarian concerns or 

20 is otherwise in the national interest; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) who— 

22 ‘‘(I) share common characteristics 

23 that identify them as targets of— 

24 ‘‘(aa) persecution on account of 

25 race, religion, nationality, membership 


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•S 5353 IS

1 in a particular social group, or polit2 ical opinion; or 

3 ‘‘(bb) other serious harm; or 

4 ‘‘(II) having been identified as targets 

5 as described in subclause (I), share a com6 mon need for resettlement due to a specific 

7 vulnerability. 

8 ‘‘(C) MEMBERSHIP IN A DESIGNATED GROUP.— 

9 An alien who establishes membership in a group des10 ignated under this paragraph to the satisfaction of 

11 the Secretary of Homeland Security shall be consid12 ered a refugee for purposes of admission as a ref13 ugee under this paragraph, unless the Secretary de14 termines that such alien ordered, incited, assisted, or 

15 otherwise participated in the persecution of any per16 son on account of race, religion, nationality, mem17 bership in a particular social group, or political opin18 ion. 

19 ‘‘(D) REVOCATION.—A designation under this 

20 paragraph is for purposes of adjudicatory efficiency 

21 and may be revoked by the President at any time 

22 after notification to Congress. 

23 ‘‘(E) EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS.—Categories of 

24 aliens established under section 599D of the Foreign 

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•S 5353 IS

1 grams Appropriations Act, 1990 (Public Law 101– 

2 167; 8 U.S.C. 1157 note)— 

3 ‘‘(i) shall be designated under subpara4 graph (B) until the end of the first fiscal year 

5 commencing after the date of the enactment of 

6 this paragraph; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) shall be eligible for designation there8 after at the discretion of the President. 

9 ‘‘(F) EFFECT ON REFUGEE ADMISSIONS

10 GOAL.—The admission of an alien under this para11 graph shall count against the refugee admissions 

12 goal under section 207(a). 

13 ‘‘(G) OTHER FORMS OF PROTECTION.—A des14 ignation under this paragraph shall not influence de15 cisions to grant to any alien asylum under section 

16 208, withholding of removal under section 241(b)(3), 

17 or protection under the Convention against Torture 

18 and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment 

19 or Punishment, done at New York December 10, 

20 1984. 

21 ‘‘(H) DENIALS.—A decision to deny admission 

22 under this paragraph to an alien who establishes to 

23 the satisfaction of the Secretary that the alien is a 

24 member of a group designated under subparagraph 

25 (B)— 


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•S 5353 IS

1 ‘‘(i) shall be in writing; and 

2 ‘‘(ii) shall cite the specific applicable provi3 sion of this Act upon which such denial is 

4 based, including— 

5 ‘‘(I) the facts underlying the deter6 mination; and 

7 ‘‘(II) whether there is a waiver of in8 admissibility available to the alien.’’. 

9 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

10 this section shall take effect on the first day of the first 

11 fiscal year that begins after the date of the enactment of 

12 this Act. 

13 SEC. 1108. EMPLOYMENT AUTHORIZATION FOR ASYLUM 

14 SEEKERS AND OTHER INDIVIDUALS. 

15 Section 208(d)(2) of the Immigration and Nationality 

16 Act (8 U.S.C. 1158(d)(2)) is amended to read as follows: 

17 ‘‘(2) EMPLOYMENT AUTHORIZATION.— 

18 ‘‘(A) ELIGIBILITY.—The Secretary of 

19 Homeland Security shall authorize employment 

20 for an applicant for asylum, withholding of re21 moval under section 241(b)(3)(B), or with22 holding or deferral of removal under the Con23 vention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhu24 man or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, 

25 done at New York December 10, 1984, not 


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•S 5353 IS

1 later than 30 days after the date on which such 

2 an applicant files an application for such relief. 

3 ‘‘(B) APPLICATION.—An applicant for asy4 lum, withholding of removal under section 

5 241(b)(3)(B), or withholding or deferral of re6 moval under the Convention against Torture 

7 and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treat8 ment or Punishment, done at New York De9 cember 10, 1984, who is prima facie eligible for 

10 such relief shall be granted employment author11 ization not later than 60 days after the date on 

12 which the applicant files an application for em13 ployment authorization. 

14 ‘‘(C) TERM.—Employment authorization 

15 under this paragraph shall be valid until the 

16 date on which an applicant is issued a final de17 nial of the applicable application, including ad18 ministrative and judicial review.’’. 

19 SEC. 1109. ADMISSION OF REFUGEES AND ASYLEES AS LAW20 FUL PERMANENT RESIDENTS. 

21 (a) TREATMENT OF ALIENS ADMITTED AS REFU22 GEES AND OF ALIENS GRANTED ASYLUM.—Section 209 

23 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1159) 

24 is amended to read as follows: 


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•S 5353 IS

1 ‘‘SEC. 209. TREATMENT OF ALIENS ADMITTED AS REFU2 GEES AND OF ALIENS GRANTED ASYLUM. 

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 

4 ‘‘(1) TREATMENT OF REFUGEE FAMILIES.— 

5 Any alien may be lawfully admitted to the United 

6 States for permanent residence at the time of initial 

7 admission to the United States if the alien— 

8 ‘‘(A) has been approved for admission to 

9 the United States— 

10 ‘‘(i) under section 207 or 208; or 

11 ‘‘(ii) under section 208(b)(3) as the 

12 spouse or child of an alien granted asylum 

13 under section 208(b)(1); and 

14 ‘‘(B) is admissible under section 212 (ex15 cept as otherwise provided in subsections (b) 

16 and (c)). 

17 ‘‘(2) ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of 

19 Homeland Security or the Attorney General, in 

20 the discretion of the Secretary or the Attorney 

21 General, and under such regulations as the Sec22 retary or the Attorney General may prescribe, 

23 may adjust, to the status of an alien lawfully 

24 admitted to the United States for permanent 

25 residence, the status of any alien who, while in 

26 the United States— 


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•S 5353 IS

1 ‘‘(i) is granted— 

2 ‘‘(I) asylum under section 208(b) 

3 (as a principal alien or as the spouse 

4 or child of an alien granted asylum); 

5 or 

6 ‘‘(II) refugee status under section 

7 207 as the spouse or child of a ref8 ugee; 

9 ‘‘(ii) applies for such adjustment of 

10 status at any time after being granted asy11 lum or refugee status; 

12 ‘‘(iii) is not firmly resettled in any 

13 foreign country; and 

14 ‘‘(iv) is admissible (except as other15 wise provided under subsections (b) and 

16 (c)) as an immigrant under this Act at the 

17 time of examination for adjustment of such 

18 alien. 

19 ‘‘(B) APPLICABILITY.—This paragraph 

20 shall apply to any alien lawfully admitted for 

21 permanent residence under section 207 or 208 

22 before the date of the enactment of the Refugee 

23 Protection Act of 2022. 

24 ‘‘(3) RECORD.—Upon approval of an applica25 tion under this subsection, the Secretary of HomeVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:06 Jan 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00072 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5353.IS S5353

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•S 5353 IS

1 land Security or the Attorney General shall establish 

2 a record of the alien’s admission for lawful perma3 nent residence as of the date such alien was granted 

4 asylum or refugee status. 

5 ‘‘(b) INAPPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN INADMISSIBILITY

6 GROUNDS TO REFUGEES, ALIENS GRANTED ASYLUM, 

7 AND SUCH ALIENS SEEKING ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS TO

8 LAWFUL PERMANENT RESIDENT.—Paragraphs (4), (5), 

9 and (7)(A) of section 212(a) shall not apply to— 

10 ‘‘(1) any refugee under section 207; 

11 ‘‘(2) any alien granted asylum under section 

12 208; or 

13 ‘‘(3) any alien seeking admission as a lawful 

14 permanent resident pursuant to a grant of refugee 

15 or asylum status. 

16 ‘‘(c) WAIVER OF INADMISSIBILITY OR DEPORT17 ABILITY FOR REFUGEES, ALIENS GRANTED ASYLUM, AND

18 SUCH ALIENS SEEKING ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS TO

19 LAWFUL PERMANENT RESIDENT.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para21 graph (2), the Secretary of Homeland Security or 

22 the Attorney General may waive any ground under 

23 section 212 or 237 for aliens admitted pursuant to 

24 section 207 or 208, or seeking admission as a lawful 

25 permanent resident pursuant to subsection (a), if 


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•S 5353 IS

1 such a waiver is justified by humanitarian purposes, 

2 to ensure family unity, or is otherwise in the public 

3 interest. 

4 ‘‘(2) INELIGIBILITY.—Aliens admitted pursuant 

5 to section 207 or 208, or seeking admission as a 

6 lawful permanent resident pursuant to subsection 

7 (a), shall be ineligible for a waiver under paragraph 

8 (1) if it has been established that the alien is— 

9 ‘‘(A) inadmissible under section 

10 212(a)(2)(C) or subparagraph (A), (B), (C), or 

11 (E) of section 212(a)(3); 

12 ‘‘(B) deportable under section 

13 237(a)(2)(A)(iii) for an offense described in 

14 section 101(a)(43)(B); or 

15 ‘‘(C) deportable under subparagraph (A), 

16 (B), (C), or (D) of section 237(a)(4).’’. 

17 (b) CLARIFICATION.—Aliens admitted for lawful per18 manent residence pursuant to paragraph (1) of section 

19 209(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amend20 ed by subsection (a), or who adjust their status pursuant 

21 to paragraph (2) of such section, as amended by sub22 section (a), shall be considered to be refugees and aliens 

23 granted asylum for purposes of sections 402, 403, 412, 

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1 tunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1612, 1613, 

2 1622, and 1641). 

3 (c) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

4 (1) ALIENS NOT SUBJECT TO DIRECT NUMER5 ICAL LIMITATIONS.—Section 201(b)(1)(B) of the 

6 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

7 1151(b)(1)(B)) is amended to read as follows: 

8 ‘‘(B) Aliens who are admitted to the 

9 United States as permanent residents under 

10 section 207 or 208 or whose status is adjusted 

11 under section 209.’’. 

12 (2) TRAINING.—Section 207(f)(1) of such Act 

13 (8 U.S.C. 1157(f)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘At14 torney General’’ and inserting ‘‘Secretary of Home15 land Security’’. 

16 (3) COMMONWEALTH OF THE NORTHERN MAR17 IANA ISLANDS.—Section 208(e) of such Act (8 

18 U.S.C. 1158(e)) is amended by striking ‘‘section 

19 209(b)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 209(a)(2)’’. 

20 (4) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of con21 tents for such Act is amended by striking the item 

22 relating to section 209 and inserting the following: 

‘‘Sec. 209. Treatment of aliens admitted as refugees and of aliens granted asylum.’’. 


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1 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section, and the amend2 ments made by this section, shall take effect on the earlier 

3 of— 

4 (1) the date that is 180 days after the date of 

5 the enactment of this Act; or 

6 (2) the date on which a final rule is promul7 gated to implement this section and the amendments 

8 made by this section. 

9 SEC. 1110. COMPLEMENTARY PROTECTION. 

10 The Secretary of Homeland Security or the Attorney 

11 General may grant asylum to an alien who has applied 

12 for asylum if the Secretary of Homeland Security or the 

13 Attorney General determines that such alien is a refugee 

14 within the meaning of section 101(a)(42)(A) of the Immi15 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(42)(A)) or 

16 would face a threat to life or physical integrity if returned 

17 because of a reasonable possibility of— 

18 (1) violence; or 

19 (2) exceptional situations, such as environ20 mental or other crises or disasters, including from 

21 the effects of climate change, for which there is no 

22 adequate remedy in the country of origin. 


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1 SEC. 1111. INTERNAL RELOCATION. 

2 (a) BURDEN OF PROOF.— The Government bears the 

3 burden of establishing the reasonableness of internal relo4 cation. 

5 (b) CASE-BY-CASE ANALYSIS.—Consistent with the 

6 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, done at 

7 Geneva July 28, 1951, it shall be considered unreasonable 

8 to presume applicants are able to internally relocate with9 out first conducting an individualized determination apply10 ing a totality of circumstances test on a case-by-case basis. 

11 (c) DETERMINATIONS IN MERITS HEARINGS.—Inter12 nal relocation determinations— 

13 (1) may only be made in asylum merits pro14 ceedings; and 

15 (2) shall not occur at an earlier stage of proc16 essing. 

17 (d) PROHIBITION.—The mere possibility of internal 

18 relocation shall not be the sole grounds for a discretionary 

19 denial of asylum, issuance of a negative credible fear de20 termination, or a factor to otherwise bar asylum eligibility. 

21 SEC. 1112. FIRM RESETTLEMENT. 

22 The Government bears the burden of establishing 

23 whether an applicant is firmly resettled and applicants 

24 may rebut this under a preponderance of the evidence 

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1 ment and shall not be fulfilled by an offer of temporary, 

2 transitory, or unauthorized time in another country. 

3 Subtitle B—Protections for 

4 Children and Families 

5 SEC. 1201. KEEPING FAMILIES TOGETHER. 

6 (a) MODIFICATION OF DEFINITION OF CHILD.—Sec7 tion 101(b)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

8 U.S.C. 1101(b)(1)) is amended— 

9 (1) in subparagraph (E)(ii), by striking ‘‘; or’’ 

10 and inserting a semicolon; 

11 (2) in subparagraph (F)(ii), by striking the pe12 riod at the end and inserting a semicolon; 

13 (3) in subparagraph (G)(iii)(III), by striking 

14 the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

15 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(H)(i) a child under the age of 18 at the time 

17 an application is filed to accord a principal alien ref18 ugee status— 

19 ‘‘(I) who is an orphan because of the death 

20 or disappearance of, abandonment or desertion 

21 by, or separation or loss from, both parents; or 

22 ‘‘(II) for whom the sole or surviving parent 

23 is incapable of providing the proper care and 

24 has, in writing, irrevocably released the child 

25 for emigration and adoption; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) who has been living in a country of asylum 

2 under the care of such principal alien; and 

3 ‘‘(iii) for whom the Secretary of Homeland Se4 curity is satisfied that proper care will be furnished 

5 if the child is admitted to the United States.’’. 

6 (b) ADMISSION OF REFUGEE FAMILIES AND TIMELY

7 ADJUDICATION.—Section 207(c)(2) of the Immigration 

8 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1157(c)(2)) is amended to 

9 read as follows: 

10 ‘‘(2)(A)(i) Irrespective of the date on which such ref11 ugee was admitted to the United States, the spouse or a 

12 child (as defined in section 101(b)(1)) of any refugee, or 

13 the parent or de facto guardian (as determined by the Sec14 retary of Homeland Security) of such a child who qualifies 

15 for admission under paragraph (1), if not otherwise enti16 tled to admission under such paragraph and not described 

17 in section 101(a)(42)(B), shall be entitled to the same ad18 mission status as such refugee if— 

19 ‘‘(I) accompanying, or following to join, such 

20 refugee; and 

21 ‘‘(II) admissible (except as otherwise provided 

22 under paragraph (3)) as an immigrant under this 

23 chapter. 

24 ‘‘(ii) The admission to the United States of a spouse, 

25 child, parent, or guardian described in clause (i) shall not 


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•S 5353 IS

1 be charged against the numerical limitation established in 

2 accordance with the appropriate subsection under which 

3 the refugee’s admission is charged. 

4 ‘‘(B) A mother or father who seeks to accompany, 

5 or follow to join, an alien granted admission as a refugee 

6 under this subsection shall continue to be classified as a 

7 mother or father for purposes of this paragraph if the 

8 alien attained 21 years of age while such application was 

9 pending. 

10 ‘‘(C) The parent or de facto guardian (as determined 

11 by the Secretary of Homeland Security) of a refugee child 

12 admitted under this section and was admitted under the 

13 Unaccompanied Refugee Minors program (as described in 

14 subparagraph (D), (E), or (H) of section 101(b)(1) shall 

15 be treated in accordance with subparagraph (A) if such 

16 parent or guardian seeks to follow to join such refugee 

17 child and the minor consents to being joined by such indi18 vidual. 

19 ‘‘(D)(i) Not later than 1 year after the date on which 

20 an application for refugee status is filed under this para21 graph— 

22 ‘‘(I) required screenings and background checks 

23 shall be completed; and 

24 ‘‘(II) the application shall be adjudicated. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) The adjudication of an application may exceed 

2 the timeframe under clause (i) only in exceptional cir3 cumstances in which additional time to process an applica4 tion is necessary to satisfy national security concerns, if 

5 the Secretary of Homeland Security has— 

6 ‘‘(I) made a determination that the applicant 

7 meets the requirements for refugee status under this 

8 section; and 

9 ‘‘(II) notified the applicant of such determina10 tion.’’. 

11 (c) TREATMENT OF ASYLEE FAMILIES AND TIMELY

12 ADJUDICATION.—Section 208(b)(3) of the Immigration 

13 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1158(b)(3)), as amended 

14 by section 1105(d), is further amended— 

15 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘or fol16 lowing to join, such alien’’ and inserting, ‘‘or fol17 lowing to join, such alien, irrespective of the date on 

18 which such alien was granted asylum’’; and 

19 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(C) CHILDREN OF ASYLEE SPOUSES.—A 

21 child (as defined in subparagraph (A), (B), (C), 

22 (D), or (E) of section 101(b)(1)) born to the 

23 asylee spouse who qualifies for admission under 

24 paragraph (A) shall, if not otherwise eligible for 

25 asylum under this section, be granted the same 


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1 status as such asylee spouse if accompanying, 

2 or following to join, such asylee spouse. 

3 ‘‘(D) APPLICATION PROCESS.— 

4 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 

5 year after the date on which an application 

6 for refugee status is filed under this para7 graph— 

8 ‘‘(I) required screenings and 

9 background checks shall be completed; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(II) the application shall be ad12 judicated. 

13 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTION.—The adjudication 

14 of an application may exceed the time15 frame under clause (i) only in exceptional 

16 circumstances in which additional time to 

17 process an application is necessary to sat18 isfy national security concerns, if the Sec19 retary of Homeland Security has— 

20 ‘‘(I) made a determination that 

21 the applicant meets the requirements 

22 for refugee status under this section; 

23 and 

24 ‘‘(II) notified the applicant of 

25 such determination. 


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1 ‘‘(iii) PROHIBITION ON DENIALS DUE

2 TO PROCESSING DELAYS.—An application 

3 for asylum under this paragraph shall not 

4 be denied, in whole or in part, on the basis 

5 that processing could not be completed 

6 within the timeframe under clause (i).’’. 

7 SEC. 1202. PROTECTIONS FOR MINORS SEEKING ASYLUM. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 208 of the Immigration 

9 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1158) is amended— 

10 (1) in subsection (a)(2), as amended by sections 

11 1103 and 1104, by amending subparagraph (E) to 

12 read as follows: 

13 ‘‘(E) APPLICABILITY TO MINORS.—Sub14 paragraphs (A) and (B) shall not apply to an 

15 applicant who is younger than 18 years of age 

16 on the earlier of— 

17 ‘‘(i) the date on which the asylum ap18 plication is filed; or 

19 ‘‘(ii) the date on which any notice to 

20 appear is issued.’’; and 

21 (2) in subsection (b)(4), as added by section 

22 1105, by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(C) APPLICANTS YOUNGER THAN 18

24 YEARS OF AGE.—An asylum officer (as defined 

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1 diction over any asylum application filed by an 

2 applicant who is younger than 18 years of age 

3 on the earlier of— 

4 ‘‘(i) the date on which the asylum ap5 plication is filed; or 

6 ‘‘(ii) the date on which any notice to 

7 appear is issued.’’. 

8 (b) TREATMENT OF SPOUSE, CHILDREN, MOTHER, 

9 AND FATHER SEEKING ASYLUM.—Section 208(b)(3) of 

10 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1158), as 

11 amended by section 1105, is further amended— 

12 (1) in the paragraph heading, by striking ‘‘AND

13 CHILDREN’’ and inserting ‘‘, CHILDREN, MOTHERS, 

14 AND FATHERS’’; 

15 (2) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘(as de16 fined in section 101(b)(1)(A), (B), (C), (D), or (E)) 

17 of an alien’’ and inserting ‘‘(as defined in subpara18 graph (A), (B), (C), (D), (E), or (H) of section 

19 101(b)(1)) of an alien, or the mother or father of an 

20 alien who is such a child,’’; and 

21 (3) by amending subparagraph (B) to read as 

22 follows: 

23 ‘‘(B) CONTINUED CLASSIFICATION OF CER24 TAIN ALIENS AS CHILDREN.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) UNMARRIED ALIENS.—An un2 married alien who seeks to accompany, or 

3 follow to join, a mother or father granted 

4 asylum under this subsection, and any 

5 child of such unmarried alien, shall con6 tinue to be classified as a child for pur7 poses of this paragraph and shall be con8 sidered a refugee, if— 

9 ‘‘(I) the alien was younger than 

10 21 years of age on the date on which 

11 such mother or father applied for asy12 lum under this section; and 

13 ‘‘(II) the alien attained 21 years 

14 of age while such application was 

15 pending. 

16 ‘‘(ii) EFFECT ON MOTHERS AND FA17 THERS.—A mother or father who seeks to 

18 accompany, or follow to join, an alien 

19 granted asylum under this subsection shall 

20 continue to be classified as a mother or fa21 ther for purposes of this paragraph, and 

22 together with the spouse or child of such 

23 mother or father, be considered a refugee, 

24 if the alien attained 21 years of age while 

25 such application was pending.’’. 


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1 (c) REPEAL OF CONTIGUOUS COUNTRY EXCEP2 TION.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 235(a) of the Wil4 liam Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Re5 authorization Act of 2008 (8 U.S.C. 1232(a)) is 

6 amended— 

7 (A) by striking paragraph (2); 

8 (B) by amending paragraph (3) to read as 

9 follows: 

10 ‘‘(3) RULE FOR ALL UNACCOMPANIED CHIL11 DREN.—The custody of unaccompanied alien chil12 dren who are apprehended at the border of the 

13 United States or at a United States port of entry 

14 shall be treated in accordance with subsection (b).’’; 

15 (C) by amending paragraph (4) to read as 

16 follows: 

17 ‘‘(4) SCREENING.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Within 48 hours of 

19 the apprehension of a child who is believed to 

20 be an unaccompanied alien child, the child shall 

21 be transferred to the Secretary of Health and 

22 Human Services and treated in accordance with 

23 subsection (b). 


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1 ‘‘(B) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing 

2 in this paragraph may be construed to preclude 

3 an earlier transfer of a child.’’; 

4 (D) by amending paragraph (5) to read as 

5 follows: 

6 ‘‘(5) PLACEMENT IN REMOVAL PRO7 CEEDINGS.—Any unaccompanied alien child sought 

8 to be removed by the Department of Homeland Se9 curity shall be— 

10 ‘‘(A) placed in removal proceedings under 

11 section 240 of the Immigration and Nationality 

12 Act (8 U.S.C. 1229a); 

13 ‘‘(B) eligible for relief under section 240B 

14 of that Act (8 U.S.C. 1229c) at no cost to the 

15 child; and 

16 ‘‘(C) provided access to counsel in accord17 ance with subsection (c)(5).’’; and 

18 (E) by redesignating paragraphs (3) 

19 through (5) as paragraphs (2) through (4), re20 spectively. 

21 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 235 

22 of the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Pro23 tection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (8 U.S.C. 1232) 

24 is amended— 


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1 (A) in subsection (c)(5), by striking ‘‘, and 

2 who are not described in subsection (a)(2)(A),’’; 

3 and 

4 (B) in subsection (e), by striking ‘‘, includ5 ing children described in subsection (a)(2)’’. 

6 (d) DURATION OF UNACCOMPANIED CHILD DES7 IGNATION.—Section 235(a) of the William Wilberforce 

8 Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 

9 2008 (8 U.S.C. 1232(a)), as amended by subsection (c), 

10 is further amended by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(5) DURATION OF UNACCOMPANIED ALIEN

12 CHILD DETERMINATION.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Upon identification as 

14 an unaccompanied alien child, a child shall be 

15 afforded all substantive and procedural protec16 tions provided for unaccompanied alien children 

17 under this section and any other Federal law 

18 for the duration of the child’s removal pro19 ceedings. 

20 ‘‘(B) REEVALUATION AND REVOCATION

21 PROHIBITED.—The head of a Federal agency 

22 may not— 

23 ‘‘(i) reevaluate or revoke a determina24 tion that an individual is an unaccom25 panied alien child; or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) deny or impede access to any 

2 protections provided for unaccompanied 

3 alien children by Federal law, including on 

4 the basis of the individual’s reunification 

5 with a parent or legal guardian or the indi6 vidual having attained 18 years of age.’’. 

7 (e) CHILD PROTECTIVE MEASURES FOR ALL CHIL8 DREN IN U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION CUS9 TODY.— 

10 (1) PURPOSE.—The purposes of this subsection 

11 are— 

12 (A) to ensure the safety and access to pro13 tection of children temporarily in the custody of 

14 U.S. Customs and Border Protection by requir15 ing the Secretary of Homeland Security to hire 

16 child welfare professionals; and 

17 (B) to prevent unnecessary family separa18 tion through the deployment of officials of the 

19 Department of Health and Human Services to 

20 U.S. Customs and Border Protection facilities 

21 to evaluate unaccompanied children arriving 

22 with non-parent, adult family members for re23 unification within 72 hours. 

24 (2) CHILD WELFARE PROFESSIONALS.— 


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1 (A) DEFINITION OF CHILD WELFARE PRO2 FESSIONAL.—The term ‘‘child welfare profes3 sional’’ means an individual who— 

4 (i) is State-licensed in social work; 

5 (ii) has direct experience working with 

6 children; 

7 (iii) has expertise in— 

8 (I) child development; and 

9 (II) culturally competent, trau10 ma-centered, and developmentally ap11 propriate interviewing skills; 

12 (iv) has knowledge of Federal and 

13 State child welfare laws and standards; 

14 and 

15 (v) is proficient in 1 or more of the 

16 most common languages spoken by chil17 dren apprehended at the southern border 

18 of the United States. 

19 (B) STAFFING OF CHILD WELFARE PRO20 FESSIONALS AT U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER

21 PROTECTION FACILITIES.—The Secretary of 

22 Homeland Security shall ensure that 1 or more 

23 child welfare professionals is available at each 

24 port of entry and Border Patrol station along 

25 the southern land border of the United States 


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1 to accomplish the duties described in this sub2 section. 

3 (i) HIRING.—The Secretary of Home4 land Security, in consultation with the Sec5 retary of Health and Human Services, 

6 shall hire, or seek to enter into contracts 

7 with, child welfare professionals who 

8 shall— 

9 (I) work onsite on a full-time 

10 basis at ports of entry or Border Pa11 trol stations that have had not fewer 

12 than 25 children in custody— 

13 (aa) on any day during the 

14 preceding fiscal year; or 

15 (bb) during the fiscal year in 

16 which this Act is enacted based 

17 on a review of monthly statistical 

18 reports during the such fiscal 

19 year; 

20 (II) remain available by tele21 phone and videoconference on an on22 call basis to U.S. Customs and Border 

23 Protection personnel at ports of entry 

24 or Border Patrol stations that are not 

25 described in subclause (I). 


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1 (ii) INTERPRETER REQUIRED.—In the 

2 case of a child welfare professional who 

3 does not speak the best language of a child 

4 in the custody of U.S. Customs and Bor5 der Protection at a port of entry or Border 

6 Patrol station along the southern land bor7 der of the United States, the Secretary of 

8 Homeland Security shall provide an inter9 preter. 

10 (C) DUTIES.—In accordance with the 

11 timeframe under subsections (a)(4) and (b)(3) 

12 of section 235 of the William Wilberforce Traf13 ficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act 

14 of 2008 (8 U.S.C. 1232), as amended by this 

15 Act, child welfare professionals placed as ports 

16 of entry and Border Patrol stations under sub17 paragraph (B) shall— 

18 (i) conduct screening of each child in 

19 the custody of U.S. Customs and Border 

20 Protection in accordance with such sub21 section (a)(4); 

22 (ii) ensure appropriate care of each 

23 child in the custody of U.S. Customs and 

24 Border Protection; 


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1 (iii) ensure that any allegation of 

2 abuse or mistreatment of a child in the 

3 custody of U.S. Customs and Border Pro4 tection is referred to the appropriate Fed5 eral and State authorities; 

6 (iv) with respect to a child who may 

7 meet the notification and transfer require8 ments under subsections (a) and (b) of sec9 tion 235 of the William Wilberforce Traf10 ficking Victims Protection Reauthorization 

11 Act of 2008 (8 U.S.C. 1232), including a 

12 child for whom a determination cannot be 

13 made, notify the Secretary of Homeland 

14 Security and the Assistant Secretary of the 

15 Office of Refugee Resettlement of the pres16 ence of such child at the port of entry or 

17 Border Patrol station; 

18 (v) conduct an initial family relation19 ship and trafficking assessment for each 

20 child in the custody of U.S. Customs and 

21 Border Protection; and 

22 (vi) perform other duties as appro23 priate. 

24 (D) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days 

25 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and 


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1 every quarter thereafter, the Secretary of 

2 Homeland Security shall submit to the Com3 mittee on the Judiciary, the Committee on 

4 Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, 

5 and the Committee on Health, Education, 

6 Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the 

7 Committee on the Judiciary, the Committee on 

8 Homeland Security, the Committee on Over9 sight and Reform, and the Committee on Edu10 cation and Labor of the House of Representa11 tives a report that, for the preceding fiscal 

12 quarter— 

13 (i) describes the activities carried out 

14 by child welfare professionals under this 

15 subsection; 

16 (ii) assesses the effectiveness of such 

17 activities; and 

18 (iii) includes non-personally identifi19 able data on all children screened by child 

20 welfare professionals under this subsection, 

21 including— 

22 (I) the number and location of 

23 children in the physical custody of the 

24 Department of Homeland Security; 


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1 (II) the number of children 

2 transferred to the custody of the Sec3 retary of Health and Human Services; 

4 and 

5 (III) the number of children re6 moved from the United States, and 

7 the countries of nationality of such 

8 children. 

9 (3) EXPEDITED REUNIFICATION AT THE BOR10 DER.— 

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—Unaccompanied chil12 dren encountered by the Commissioner of U.S. 

13 Customs and Border Protection together with 1 

14 or more adult family members who are not their 

15 parents or legal guardians shall be— 

16 (i) transferred, along with those adult 

17 family members, to the nearest U.S. Cus18 toms and Border Protection reception cen19 ter where field staff of the Department of 

20 Health and Human Services are onsite; 

21 and 

22 (ii) screened, along with the 1 or more 

23 adult family members, by such field staff 

24 shall to assess— 


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•S 5353 IS

1 (I) the validity of the relationship 

2 between the child and 1 or more adult 

3 family members; 

4 (II) the ability of the 1 or more 

5 adult family members to care for 

6 child; and 

7 (III) any risk of trafficking or 

8 abuse from the 1 or more adult family 

9 members. 

10 (B) INTERVIEW.—In conducting the 

11 screening under subparagraph (A)(ii), the field 

12 staff of the Department of Health and Human 

13 Services shall interview the child— 

14 (i) together with the 1 or more adult 

15 family members; and 

16 (ii) separately from the adult family 

17 member(s). 

18 (C) OBSERVATION.—In the case of young 

19 children and infants screened under this para20 graph, in addition to evaluating the documen21 tary evidence of relationship provided, the field 

22 staff of the Department of Health and Human 

23 Services shall observe the interactions between 

24 the children and their 1 or more adult family 

25 members. 


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1 (D) U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTEC2 TION CUSTODY.—During the screening required 

3 by this paragraph, an unaccompanied child de4 scribed in subparagraph (A) shall remain in the 

5 legal custody of the Commissioner of U.S. Cus6 toms and Border Protection for not more than 

7 72 hours. 

8 (E) SAFE SPONSOR DETERMINATION.— 

9 (i) IN GENERAL.—If field staff of the 

10 Health and Human Services determine 

11 that an adult family member is a safe 

12 sponsor, the Commissioner of U.S. Cus13 toms and Border Protection, absent exi14 gent circumstances, shall approve the spon15 sor for release and transfer custody of the 

16 child from the Commissioner to the Sec17 retary of Health and Human Services in a 

18 designated space so that the Office of Ref19 ugee Resettlement may promptly reunify 

20 the child directly with the adult sponsor. 

21 (ii) REFERRAL FOR LEGAL SERV22 ICES.—The Assistant Secretary of the Of23 fice of Refugee Resettlement shall ensure 

24 that any child approved for release with 

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•S 5353 IS

1 graph is referred to a legal services pro2 vider funded by the Department of Health 

3 and Human Services to represent the child 

4 post-release. 

5 (F) DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND

6 HUMAN SERVICES CUSTODY.—In any case in 

7 which Department of Health and Human Serv8 ices field staff cannot approve a child’s reunifi9 cation not later than 72 hours after the time at 

10 which the child is apprehended— 

11 (i) the Commissioner of U.S. Customs 

12 and Border Protection shall transfer cus13 tody of the child to the Secretary of Health 

14 and Human Services for placement in Of15 fice of Refugee Resettlement care in the 

16 least restrictive setting in the child’s best 

17 interest, as required by section 235 of the 

18 William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims 

19 Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008; 

20 and 

21 (ii) the Secretary of Health and 

22 Human Services shall appoint an inde23 pendent child advocate to the child upon 

24 the child’s arrival in Office of Refugee Re25 settlement care. 


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1 (G) LEGAL ORIENTATION PRESENTATIONS

2 IN RECEPTION CENTERS.—The Secretary of 

3 Health and Human Services shall work with 

4 stakeholders to ensure that legal staff are de5 tailed to U.S. Customs and Border Protection 

6 reception centers sites to provide legal orienta7 tion presentations to unaccompanied children 

8 while their 1 or more adult family members are 

9 evaluated by Department of Health and Human 

10 Services field staff. 

11 (4) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 

12 subsection may be construed to modify— 

13 (A) the definition of the term ‘‘unaccom14 panied alien child’’ under section 462(g)(2) of 

15 the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 

16 279(g)(2)); 

17 (B) the obligation of the Secretary of 

18 Health and Human Services to take a child into 

19 custody, and if the child cannot be reunified 

20 with the adult family member as set forth in 

21 paragraph (3)(E) to place the child in the least 

22 restrictive setting in their best interests, con23 sistent with section 279(g) of the Homeland Se24 curity Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 279(g)) or section 

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1 tims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (8 

2 U.S.C. 1232); or 

3 (C) the duration of the unaccompanied 

4 alien child determination and associated legal 

5 protections under section 235 of the William 

6 Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Re7 authorization Act of 2008 (8 U.S.C. 1232). 

8 (f) ELIMINATION OF SPECIAL IMMIGRANT JUVENILE

9 VISA CAP.— 

10 (1) ALIENS NOT SUBJECT TO DIRECT NUMER11 ICAL LIMITATIONS.—Section 201(b)(1)(A) of the Im12 migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

13 1151(b)(1)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘subpara14 graph (A) or (B)’’ and inserting ‘‘subparagraph (A), 

15 (B), or (J)’’. 

16 (2) PREFERENCE ALLOCATION FOR EMPLOY17 MENT-BASED IMMIGRANTS.—Section 203(b)(4) of 

18 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

19 1153(b)(4)) is amended by striking ‘‘subparagraph 

20 (A) or (B)’’ and inserting ‘‘subparagraph (A), (B), 

21 or (J)’’. 

22 SEC. 1203. FAIR DAY IN COURT FOR KIDS. 

23 (a) IMPROVING IMMIGRATION COURT EFFICIENCY

24 AND REDUCING COSTS BY INCREASING ACCESS TO LEGAL

25 INFORMATION.— 


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•S 5353 IS

1 (1) APPOINTMENT OF COUNSEL IN CERTAIN

2 CASES; RIGHT TO REVIEW CERTAIN DOCUMENTS IN

3 REMOVAL PROCEEDINGS.—Section 240(b) of the Im4 migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1229a(b)) 

5 is amended— 

6 (A) in paragraph (4)— 

7 (i) in the matter preceding subpara8 graph (A), by inserting ‘‘, or in the case of 

9 an unaccompanied alien child (as defined 

10 in section 462(g)(2) of the Homeland Se11 curity Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 279(g)(2))), 

12 under regulations of the Secretary of 

13 Health and Human Services’’ after ‘‘Attor14 ney General’’; 

15 (ii) in subparagraph (A)— 

16 (I) by striking ‘‘, at no expense 

17 to the Government,’’; and 

18 (II) by striking the comma at the 

19 end and inserting a semicolon; 

20 (iii) by redesignating subparagraphs 

21 (B) and (C) as subparagraphs (D) and 

22 (E), respectively; 

23 (iv) by inserting after subparagraph 

24 (A) the following: 


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1 ‘‘(B) the Attorney General, or in the case 

2 of an unaccompanied alien child, the Secretary 

3 of Health and Human Services, may appoint or 

4 provide counsel, at Government expense, to the 

5 alien; 

6 ‘‘(C) the alien, at the beginning of such 

7 proceedings or as expeditiously as possible, shall 

8 automatically receive a complete copy of all rel9 evant documents in the possession of the De10 partment of Homeland Security (unless the 

11 alien waives the right to receive such documents 

12 by executing a knowing and voluntary written 

13 waiver in a language that he or she under14 stands fluently), including— 

15 ‘‘(i) all documents (other than docu16 ments protected from disclosure by privi17 lege and documents containing national se18 curity information referred to in subpara19 graph (D), law enforcement sensitive infor20 mation, or information prohibited from dis21 closure pursuant to any other provision of 

22 law) contained in the file maintained by 

23 the Government that includes information 

24 with respect to all transactions involving 


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•S 5353 IS

1 the alien during the immigration process 

2 (commonly referred to as an ‘A-file’); and 

3 ‘‘(ii) all documents pertaining to the 

4 alien that the Department of Homeland 

5 Security has obtained or received from 

6 other government agencies;’’; and 

7 (v) in subparagraph (D), as redesig8 nated, by striking ‘‘, and’’ and inserting ‘‘; 

9 and’’; and 

10 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(8) FAILURE TO PROVIDE ALIEN REQUIRED

12 DOCUMENTS.—In the absence of a waiver under 

13 paragraph (4)(C), a removal proceeding may not 

14 proceed until the alien— 

15 ‘‘(A) has received the documents required 

16 under such paragraph; and 

17 ‘‘(B) has been provided meaningful time to 

18 review and assess such documents.’’. 

19 (2) CLARIFICATION REGARDING THE AUTHOR20 ITY OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL AND THE SEC21 RETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES TO AP22 POINT COUNSEL TO ALIENS IN IMMIGRATION PRO23 CEEDINGS.—Section 292 of the Immigration and 

24 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1362) is amended— 


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1 (A) by striking ‘‘In any’’ and inserting the 

2 following: 

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In any proceeding conducted 

4 under section 235, 236, 238, 240, or 241, or under any 

5 other section of this Act, including’’; 

6 (B) in subsection (a), as redesignated— 

7 (i) by striking ‘‘(at no expense to the 

8 Government)’’; and 

9 (ii) by striking ‘‘he shall’’ and insert10 ing ‘‘the person shall’’; and 

11 (iii) by adding at the end the fol12 lowing: 

13 ‘‘(b) ACCESS TO COUNSEL.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General may 

15 appoint or provide counsel to aliens in any pro16 ceeding conducted under section 235, 236, 238, 240, 

17 or 241, or under any other section of this Act. 

18 ‘‘(2) UNACCOMPANIED ALIEN CHILDREN.—The 

19 Secretary of Health and Human Services may ap20 point or provide counsel to unaccompanied alien chil21 dren (as defined in section 462(g)(2) of the Home22 land Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 279(g)(2))) in 

23 any applicable proceeding conducted pursuant to any 

24 section of this Act. 


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1 ‘‘(3) IMMIGRATION DETENTION AND BORDER

2 FACILITIES.—The Secretary of Homeland Security 

3 shall ensure that aliens have access to counsel inside 

4 all immigration detention and border facilities.’’. 

5 (3) APPOINTMENT OF COUNSEL FOR CHILDREN

6 AND VULNERABLE ALIENS.— 

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—Section 292 of the Im8 migration and Nationality Act, as amended by 

9 subsection (b), is further amended by adding at 

10 the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(c) UNACCOMPANIED ALIEN CHILDREN.—Notwith12 standing subsection (b), the Secretary of Health and 

13 Human Services shall appoint or provide counsel at Gov14 ernment expense, if necessary, at the beginning of immi15 gration proceedings, or as expeditiously as possible, to rep16 resent in such proceedings unaccompanied alien children. 

17 ‘‘(d) OTHER VULNERABLE ALIENS.—Notwith18 standing subsection (b), the Attorney General shall ap19 point or provide counsel at Government expense, if nec20 essary, at the beginning of immigration proceedings or as 

21 expeditiously as possible, to represent in such proceedings 

22 any alien who has been determined by the Secretary of 

23 Homeland Security or the Attorney General to be— 

24 ‘‘(1) a child who is not an unaccompanied alien 

25 child; 


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1 ‘‘(2) a person with a disability; 

2 ‘‘(3) a victim of abuse, torture, or violence; 

3 ‘‘(4) an individual whose income is at or below 

4 200 percent of the poverty line (as defined by the 

5 Office of Management and Budget and revised an6 nually in accordance with section 673(2) of the 

7 Community Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 

8 9902(2))) applicable to a family of the size involved; 

9 or 

10 ‘‘(5) an individual whose circumstances require 

11 the appointment of counsel to help ensure the fair 

12 resolution and efficient adjudication of the pro13 ceedings. 

14 ‘‘(e) EXTENSION TO CONSOLIDATED CASES.—If the 

15 Attorney General has consolidated the case of an alien for 

16 whom counsel was appointed under subsection (c) or (d) 

17 with the case of another alien who does not have counsel, 

18 the counsel appointed under subsection (c) or (d), as appli19 cable, shall be appointed to represent such other alien. 

20 ‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

21 is authorized to be appropriated to the Office of Refugee 

22 Resettlement of the Department of Health and Human 

23 Services and to the Executive Office for Immigration Re24 view of the Department of Justice, such sums as may be 

25 necessary to carry out this section.’’. 


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1 (B) RULEMAKING.— 

2 (i) UNACCOMPANIED ALIEN CHIL3 DREN.—The Secretary of Health and 

4 Human Services shall promulgate regula5 tions to implement section 292(c) of the 

6 Immigration and Nationality Act, as added 

7 by subparagraph (A), in accordance with 

8 the requirements set forth in section 

9 3006A of title 18, United States Code. 

10 (ii) OTHER VULNERABLE ALIENS.— 

11 The Attorney General shall promulgate 

12 regulations to implement section 292(d) of 

13 the Immigration and Nationality Act, as 

14 added by subparagraph (A), in accordance 

15 with the requirements set forth in section 

16 3006A of title 18, United States Code. 

17 (b) ACCESS BY COUNSEL AND LEGAL ORIENTATION

18 AT DETENTION FACILITIES.— 

19 (1) ACCESS TO COUNSEL.—The Secretary of 

20 Homeland Security shall facilitate access to counsel 

21 for all aliens detained in facilities under the super22 vision of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforce23 ment or of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, in24 cluding providing information to such aliens regard25 ing legal services programs at detention facilities. 


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1 (2) ACCESS TO LEGAL ORIENTATION PRO2 GRAMS.— 

3 (A) PROCEDURES.—The Secretary of 

4 Homeland Security, in consultation with the At5 torney General, shall establish procedures— 

6 (i) to ensure that legal orientation 

7 programs are available for all detained 

8 aliens, including aliens held in U.S. Cus9 toms and Border Protection facilities; and 

10 (ii) to inform such aliens of— 

11 (I) the basic procedures of immi12 gration hearings; 

13 (II) their rights relating to such 

14 hearings under Federal immigration 

15 laws; 

16 (III) information that may deter 

17 such aliens from filing frivolous legal 

18 claims; and 

19 (iii) any other information that the 

20 Attorney General considers appropriate, 

21 such as a contact list of potential legal re22 sources and providers. 

23 (B) UNIVERSAL AVAILABILITY.—Access to 

24 legal orientation programs under subparagraph 

25 (A) may not be limited by the alien’s current 


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•S 5353 IS

1 immigration status, prior immigration history, 

2 or potential for immigration relief. 

3 (c) REPORT ON ACCESS TO COUNSEL.— 

4 (1) REPORT.—Not later than December 31 

5 each year, the Secretary of Homeland Security, in 

6 consultation with the Attorney General and the Sec7 retary of Health and Human Services, shall submit 

8 a report to the Committee on the Judiciary of the 

9 Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary of the 

10 House of Representatives regarding the extent to 

11 which aliens described in subsections (c) and (d) of 

12 section 292 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 

13 as added by subsection (a)(3)(A), have been pro14 vided access to counsel. 

15 (2) CONTENTS.—Each report submitted pursu16 ant to paragraph (1) shall include, for the imme17 diately preceding 1-year period— 

18 (A) the number and percentage of aliens 

19 described in section 292(c) of the Immigration 

20 and Nationality Act and in paragraphs (1), (2), 

21 (3), and (4), respectively, of section 292(d) of 

22 such Act who were represented by counsel, in23 cluding information specifying— 

24 (i) the stage of the legal process at 

25 which the alien was represented; and 


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1 (ii) whether the alien was in govern2 ment custody; and 

3 (B) the number and percentage of aliens 

4 who received legal orientation presentations. 

5 (d) MOTIONS TO REOPEN.—Section 240(c)(7)(C) of 

6 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

7 1229a(c)(7)(C)) is amended by adding at the end the fol8 lowing: 

9 ‘‘(v) SPECIAL RULE FOR ALIENS EN10 TITLED TO APPOINTMENT OF COUNSEL.— 

11 If the Secretary of Health and Human 

12 Services or the Attorney General fail to ap13 point counsel for an alien in accordance 

14 with subsection (c) or (d) of section 292, 

15 as applicable— 

16 ‘‘(I) no limitation under this 

17 paragraph pertaining to the filing of 

18 any motion under this paragraph by 

19 such alien shall apply; and 

20 ‘‘(II) the filing of such a motion 

21 shall stay the removal of the alien.’’. 


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1 Subtitle C—Protections for Other 

2 Vulnerable Individuals 

3 CHAPTER 1—STATELESS PROTECTION 

4 SEC. 1311. PROTECTION OF STATELESS PERSONS IN THE 

5 UNITED STATES. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 5 of title II of the Immi7 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1255 et seq.) is 

8 amended by inserting after section 245A the following: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 245B. PROTECTION OF STATELESS PERSONS IN THE 

10 UNITED STATES. 

11 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

12 ‘‘(1) COMPETENT AUTHORITY.—With respect to 

13 a foreign country, the term ‘competent authority’— 

14 ‘‘(A) means the authority responsible for— 

15 ‘‘(i) conferring nationality on, or with16 drawing nationality from, individuals; or 

17 ‘‘(ii) in the case of nationality having 

18 been acquired or withdrawn automatically, 

19 clarifying the nationality status of an indi20 vidual; and 

21 ‘‘(B) includes a Federal, local, or regional 

22 government entity, a consular official, and a 

23 government official at any level, notwith24 standing any process by which a decision by 


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•S 5353 IS

1 such an entity or official may later be over2 ridden. 

3 ‘‘(2) NATIONAL; NATIONALITY.—The terms ‘na4 tional’ and ‘nationality’— 

5 ‘‘(A) refer to a formal link, of a political 

6 and legal character, between an individual and 

7 a country; and 

8 ‘‘(B) do not include the concept of nation9 ality relating to membership in a religious, lin10 guistic, or ethnic group. 

11 ‘‘(3) NONCITIZEN.—The term ‘noncitizen’ has 

12 the meaning given the term ‘alien’ in section 101(a). 

13 ‘‘(4) OPERATION OF LAW; OPERATION OF ITS

14 LAW.—The terms ‘operation of law’ and ‘operation 

15 of its law’— 

16 ‘‘(A) refer to the consideration by a com17 petent authority of a country with respect to an 

18 individual in practice, including under the legis19 lation, ministerial decrees, regulations, orders, 

20 judicial case law, and customary practices of 

21 the competent authority; and 

22 ‘‘(B) include situations in which the posi23 tion of the competent authority differs from the 

24 law as written, if the position of the competent 


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•S 5353 IS

1 authority that an individual is not a national of 

2 the country is determinative. 

3 ‘‘(5) RELEVANT ASSOCIATION.—The term ‘rel4 evant association’ means a natural person’s connec5 tion to a country through— 

6 ‘‘(A) birth on the territory of the country; 

7 ‘‘(B) descent from 1 or more individuals 

8 who are nationals of the country; 

9 ‘‘(C) marriage to an individual who is a 

10 national of the country; 

11 ‘‘(D) adoption by an individual who is a 

12 national of the country; or 

13 ‘‘(E) habitual residence in the country. 

14 ‘‘(6) STATELESS PERSON.—The term ‘stateless 

15 person’ means an individual who is not considered as 

16 a national by any state under the operation of its 

17 law. 

18 ‘‘(b) MECHANISMS FOR REGULARIZING THE STATUS

19 OF STATELESS PERSONS.— 

20 ‘‘(1) STATELESS PROTECTED STATUS.— 

21 ‘‘(A) PRINCIPAL APPLICANTS.—Notwith22 standing any other provision of law, the Sec23 retary of Homeland Security shall provide 

24 stateless protected status to a noncitizen who— 


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1 ‘‘(i) is a stateless person present in 

2 the United States; 

3 ‘‘(ii) applies for such relief; 

4 ‘‘(iii) has not formally renounced his 

5 or her nationality as a result of voluntary, 

6 affirmative, and intentional action after ar7 rival in the United States and after the 

8 date of the enactment of this section, un9 less the renunciation was the result of du10 ress, coercion, or a reasonable expectation 

11 that the noncitizen had acquired or would 

12 acquire another nationality or citizenship; 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(iv) is not inadmissible under 

15 212(a)(3), except as provided in paragraph 

16 (2) of this subsection; and 

17 ‘‘(v) is not described in section 

18 241(b)(3)(B)(i). 

19 ‘‘(B) TREATMENT OF SPOUSE AND CHIL20 DREN.—Notwithstanding any other provision of 

21 law, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall 

22 provide stateless protected status to a noncit23 izen who— 

24 ‘‘(i) is the spouse or child of a noncit25 izen described in subparagraph (A), if such 


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1 spouse or child is not otherwise eligible for 

2 admission under that subparagraph; 

3 ‘‘(ii) is accompanying, or following to 

4 join, such noncitizen; 

5 ‘‘(iii) established the qualifying rela6 tionship to such noncitizen before the date 

7 on which such noncitizen applied for state8 less protected status; 

9 ‘‘(iv) is not inadmissible under 

10 212(a)(3), except as provided in paragraph 

11 (2) of this subsection; and 

12 ‘‘(v) is not described in section 

13 241(b)(3)(B)(i). 

14 ‘‘(C) STATELESS PROTECTED STATUS.— 

15 Noncitizens with stateless protected status— 

16 ‘‘(i) shall— 

17 ‘‘(I) receive relevant protections 

18 against deportation, removal, and de19 tention, as described in paragraph (3); 

20 ‘‘(II) be authorized for employ21 ment, as described in paragraph (4); 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(III) be eligible to apply for a 

24 travel document, as described in para25 graph (5); and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) shall not face limitations from 

2 immigration enforcement officials on their 

3 domestic travel. 

4 ‘‘(D) CONCURRENT GRANT OF LAWFUL

5 PERMANENT RESIDENCE.— 

6 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro7 vided in clause (ii), notwithstanding any 

8 other provision of law, immediately on 

9 granting stateless protected status to a 

10 noncitizen, the Secretary of Homeland Se11 curity shall adjust the status of the noncit12 izen to that of a noncitizen lawfully admit13 ted for permanent residence. 

14 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTION.—The Secretary of 

15 Homeland Security may not adjust the sta16 tus of a noncitizen with stateless protected 

17 status who is inadmissible under section 

18 212(a)(2). 

19 ‘‘(2) WAIVERS.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any 

21 other provision of law, the Secretary of Home22 land Security may, for humanitarian purposes, 

23 in the interests of access to fundamental or en24 abling rights, to ensure family unity, or when it 

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1 eration of the grounds of inadmissibility set 

2 forth in paragraphs (2) and (3) of section 

3 212(a), for relief under this section. 

4 ‘‘(B) FACTORS.—In making a determina5 tion under subparagraph (A), the Secretary of 

6 Homeland Security shall consider all relevant 

7 factors, including— 

8 ‘‘(i) mitigating and aggravating fac9 tors of the basis for inadmissibility; 

10 ‘‘(ii) the duration of the noncitizen’s 

11 residence in the United States; and 

12 ‘‘(iii) the degree to which the nonciti13 zen’s removal, or denial of the noncitizen’s 

14 application, would adversely affect the non15 citizen or the noncitizen’s United States 

16 citizen or lawful permanent resident family 

17 members. 

18 ‘‘(3) RELEASE FROM POST-REMOVAL DETEN19 TION.—A grant of stateless protected status under 

20 this section shall— 

21 ‘‘(A) trigger immediate release of an indi22 vidual from post-removal detention; 

23 ‘‘(B) be considered to establish that there 

24 is no significant likelihood of the individual’s re25 moval in the reasonably foreseeable future; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) establish a presumption that travel 

2 documents are not available for the individual. 

3 ‘‘(4) EMPLOYMENT AUTHORIZATION.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An individual granted 

5 stateless protected status under this section 

6 shall receive employment authorization for a re7 newable period not less than 5 years. 

8 ‘‘(B) PENDING APPLICATION.— 

9 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—During the 150- 

10 day period after the date on which an ap11 plication for status under this section is 

12 submitted, the Secretary of Homeland Se13 curity may authorize the applicant to en14 gage in employment in the United States. 

15 ‘‘(ii) MANDATORY EMPLOYMENT AU16 THORIZATION.—If the Secretary of Home17 land Security has not issued a decision 

18 within the 150-day period beginning on the 

19 date on which an application for status 

20 under this section is submitted, the Sec21 retary of Homeland Security shall author22 ize the applicant to engage in employment 

23 in the United States until the date on 

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1 tion for lawful permanent residence or 

2 stateless protected status. 

3 ‘‘(5) TRAVEL DOCUMENTS.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—On request, the Sec5 retary of Homeland Security shall provide to 

6 any noncitizen granted relief under this section, 

7 a travel document that facilitates the nonciti8 zen’s ability to travel abroad and to be admitted 

9 to the United States upon return. 

10 ‘‘(B) VALIDITY.—The minimum period of 

11 validity for a document issued under subpara12 graph (A) shall be 10 years. 

13 ‘‘(6) NATURALIZATION.—Notwithstanding any 

14 other provision of law, an individual granted lawful 

15 permanent residence status under paragraph (1)(D) 

16 may apply for naturalization after having resided 

17 continuously in the United States for at least 3 

18 years beginning on the date on which such individual 

19 is granted lawful permanent resident status. 

20 ‘‘(c) EVIDENTIARY MATTERS.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In determining if an indi22 vidual is a stateless person under this section, the 

23 Secretary of Homeland Security shall consider and 

24 obtain any credible evidence relevant to the applica25 tion, including information from— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the Department of State, particularly 

2 the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Mi3 gration and the Bureau of Democracy, Human 

4 Rights, and Labor; and 

5 ‘‘(B) relevant international and foreign 

6 bodies, such as the United Nations High Com7 missioner for Refugees, nongovernmental orga8 nizations, and the competent authorities of 

9 other countries. 

10 ‘‘(2) DESIGNATION OF SPECIFIC GROUPS OF

11 STATELESS PERSONS.—The Secretary of Homeland 

12 Security, in consultation with the Secretary of State, 

13 may designate 1 or more specific groups of individ14 uals who shall be considered stateless persons for 

15 purposes of this section, and a noncitizen who be16 longs to a group so designated shall be considered 

17 a stateless person. 

18 ‘‘(3) BURDEN OF PROOF.—The burden of proof 

19 with respect to evidentiary matters relating to an 

20 application under this section shall be shared be21 tween the Secretary of Homeland Security and the 

22 applicant. 

23 ‘‘(4) STANDARD OF PROOF.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A noncitizen shall be 

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1 lished to a reasonable degree that the noncit2 izen meets the definition of the term ‘stateless 

3 person’ under this section. 

4 ‘‘(B) ASSESSMENT OF NATIONALITY.—The 

5 nationality of an individual shall be assessed as 

6 of the date on which a determination of eligi7 bility under this section is made. 

8 ‘‘(5) SUBMISSION OF DOCUMENTARY EVI9 DENCE.— 

10 ‘‘(A) SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS FROM AP11 PLICANT.—An applicant for relief under this 

12 section shall submit, as part of the application 

13 for such relief— 

14 ‘‘(i) a full and truthful account, to the 

15 best of the noncitizen’s knowledge, of such 

16 noncitizen’s legal status with regard to any 

17 country in which the applicant was born or 

18 resided before entering the United States 

19 or to which the applicant has a relevant as20 sociation; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) all evidence reasonably available, 

22 including any valid or expired travel docu23 ment. 

24 ‘‘(B) EVIDENCE AVAILABLE TO SEC25 RETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY.—The SecVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:06 Jan 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00121 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5353.IS S5353

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1 retary of Homeland Security shall obtain and 

2 submit to the immigration officer or immigra3 tion judge and the applicant or, as applicable, 

4 the applicant’s counsel, all available evidence re5 garding the legal status of the applicant in the 

6 applicant’s country of birth or prior residence 

7 or any country to which the applicant has a rel8 evant association, including information on the 

9 relevant laws and practices of the countries con10 cerned. 

11 ‘‘(C) CONSIDERATION OF RESPONSE.—The 

12 Secretary of Homeland Security may consider 

13 as substantial evidence that an individual is not 

14 considered by a country to be a national of the 

15 country the following: 

16 ‘‘(i) After 120 days have elapsed after 

17 the Secretary of Homeland Security has 

18 requested information from the country 

19 with respect to the nationality status of the 

20 individual, the lack of response from the 

21 competent authority of the country. 

22 ‘‘(ii) A pro forma response from the 

23 country that lacks an application of the 

24 law or facts to the particular individual. 


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1 ‘‘(iii) The refusal of the country to ac2 cept the individual for deportation or re3 moval. 

4 ‘‘(d) FEES.—The Secretary of Homeland Security 

5 may not charge a noncitizen any fee in connection with 

6 an application for, or issuance of, lawful status under this 

7 section, employment authorization, or travel documents. 

8 ‘‘(e) JURISDICTION AND REVIEW.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of U.S. Citi10 zenship and Immigration Services shall have juris11 diction over an application for stateless protected 

12 status and adjustment of status filed by a noncitizen 

13 under this section. 

14 ‘‘(2) REVIEW.—A denial by the Secretary of 

15 Homeland Security of an application for relief under 

16 this section shall be subject to review by the Admin17 istrative Appeals Office of U.S. Citizenship and Im18 migration Services. 

19 ‘‘(f) EFFECT ON REMOVAL PROCEEDINGS.—With re20 spect to a noncitizen in removal proceedings who files an 

21 application for relief under this section, the Attorney Gen22 eral shall postpone the removal proceedings pending the 

23 adjudication of the application. 

24 ‘‘(g) APPLICANTS WITH FINAL ORDERS OF RE25 MOVAL.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) MOTIONS TO REOPEN.— 

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A noncitizen whose 

3 removal, deportation, or exclusion proceedings 

4 were concluded before the date of the enact5 ment of this section, and who is eligible for re6 lief under this section, may file 1 motion to re7 open proceedings to apply for such relief not 

8 later than 1 year after the date of the enact9 ment of this section. 

10 ‘‘(B) EFFECT OF LIMITATIONS.—A time or 

11 numerical limitation on motions to reopen re12 moval, deportation, or exclusion proceedings 

13 may not be construed to restrict the filing of a 

14 motion to reopen under this paragraph if such 

15 limitation is based on previously unavailable evi16 dence or facts, or on changed facts or cir17 cumstances, including a discovery by a noncit18 izen that the noncitizen may be a stateless per19 son. 

20 ‘‘(2) STAY OF REMOVAL.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An applicant for relief 

22 under this section who has been issued a final 

23 order of removal, deportation, or exclusion may 

24 request a stay of removal, deportation, or exclu25 sion. 


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1 ‘‘(B) CONSIDERATION OF REQUEST.—With 

2 respect to an individual who requests a stay 

3 under subparagraph (A), if the Secretary of 

4 Homeland Security determines that the applica5 tion for relief is bona fide, the Secretary shall 

6 automatically stay the execution of the final 

7 order of deportation, exclusion, or removal, and 

8 the stay will remain in effect until a final deci9 sion is made on the applications. 

10 ‘‘(C) EFFECT OF DENIAL.—If the applica11 tion is denied, the stay of the final order is 

12 deemed lifted as of the date of such denial, 

13 without regard to whether the noncitizen ap14 peals the decision. 

15 ‘‘(3) TERMINATION.—On the grant of an appli16 cation for relief under this section to a noncitizen 

17 with a final order of removal, deportation, or exclu18 sion, the final order shall be deemed canceled by op19 eration of law as of the date of the approval. 

20 ‘‘(h) EXCLUSION FROM NUMERICAL LIMITATIONS.— 

21 Individuals provided status under this section shall not be 

22 counted against any numerical limitation under sections 

23 201(d), 202(a), or 203(b)(4). 


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1 ‘‘(i) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec2 tion may be construed to authorize or require the admis3 sion of any noncitizen to the United States. 

4 ‘‘(j) REPORTS.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 days 

6 after the date of the enactment of this section, and 

7 every 90 days thereafter, the Secretary of Homeland 

8 Security shall submit to the Committee on the Judi9 ciary of the Senate and the Committee on the Judi10 ciary of the House of Representatives a report on— 

11 ‘‘(A) the number of applications submitted 

12 under each of paragraphs (1), (4), and (5) of 

13 subsection (b) since the date of the enactment 

14 of this section, disaggregated by the country of 

15 birth of the applicants; and 

16 ‘‘(B) average timelines for processing each 

17 such application. 

18 ‘‘(2) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The Secretary of 

19 Homeland Security shall publish each report sub20 mitted under paragraph (1) on the internet website 

21 of the Department of Homeland Security, respec22 tively. 

23 ‘‘(k) PUBLICATION OF GUIDANCE.—Not later than 

24 120 days after the date of the enactment of this section, 

25 the Secretary of Homeland Security shall publish all policy 


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1 manuals, guidance, and application instructions relating 

2 to applications under this section on the internet website 

3 of the Department of Homeland Security. 

4 ‘‘(l) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary of Homeland Se5 curity may issue such regulations as the Secretary of 

6 Homeland Security considers appropriate to carry out this 

7 section.’’. 

8 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

9 (1) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of con10 tents for the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

11 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.) is amended by inserting after 

12 the item relating to section 245A the following: 

‘‘Sec. 245B. Protection of stateless persons in the United States.’’. 

13 (2) EXCEPTION FOR UNLAWFUL PRESENCE OF

14 STATELESS PERSONS.—Section 212(a)(9)(B)(iii) of 

15 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

16 1182(a)(9)(B)(iii)) is amended by adding at the end 

17 the following: 

18 ‘‘(V) STATELESS PERSONS.— 

19 Clause (i) shall not apply to a noncit20 izen who demonstrates that he or she 

21 is a stateless person (as defined in 

22 section 245B(a)).’’. 


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1 SEC. 1312. PREVENTION OF STATELESSNESS. 

2 (a) BIRTHS TO UNITED STATES CITIZENS OVER3 SEAS.—Section 301 of the Immigration and Nationality 

4 Act (8 U.S.C. 1401) is amended— 

5 (1) in subsection (g), by striking ‘‘; and’’ and 

6 inserting a semicolon; 

7 (2) in subsection (h), by striking the period at 

8 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

9 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(i) a person born to a citizen of the United States 

11 outside the United States or in an outlying possession of 

12 the United States, if such person is born as a stateless 

13 person (as defined in section 245B(a)).’’. 

14 (b) FOUNDLINGS.—Section 301 of the Immigration 

15 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1401) is further amended 

16 by striking subsection (f) and inserting the following: 

17 ‘‘(f) a person of unknown parentage found in the 

18 United States while under the age of 18 years, until 

19 shown, prior to the person attaining the age of 21 years, 

20 not to have been born in the United States;’’. 

21 (c) STATELESS SAFEGUARDS FOR DERIVATIVE CITI22 ZENSHIP AND INTERNATIONAL ADOPTIONS.— 

23 (1) STATELESS SAFEGUARDS.—Section 320 of 

24 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

25 1431) is amended by adding at the end the fol26 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(e)(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 

2 a person born outside the United States or in an outlying 

3 possession who is or becomes a stateless person (as defined 

4 in section 245B(a)) automatically becomes a citizen of the 

5 United States on the date on which one of the following 

6 conditions has been fulfilled: 

7 ‘‘(A) One parent is or was a citizen of the 

8 United States. 

9 ‘‘(B) The person was adopted by— 

10 ‘‘(i) a citizen of the United States; or 

11 ‘‘(ii) an individual who became a citizen of 

12 the United States after the date of such adop13 tion. 

14 ‘‘(2) This subsection applies to any person who meets 

15 the criteria under paragraph (1) at any time.’’. 

16 (2) AGE.—Section 320(a) of the Immigration 

17 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1431(a)) is amended 

18 by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the fol19 lowing: 

20 ‘‘(2) The child is under the age of 21 years.’’. 

21 (3) ENTRY AND CUSTODY.—Section 320(a) of 

22 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

23 1431(a)) is further amended by striking paragraph 

24 (3) and inserting the following: 


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1 ‘‘(3) The child is residing in the United States, 

2 and provided such child is under the legal age of 

3 adulthood in the State in which the parent of the 

4 child or the child resides, is in the legal and physical 

5 custody of the citizen parent.’’. 

6 (d) PROGRAMS TO PREVENT STATELESSNESS.—The 

7 Secretary of Homeland Security and Secretary of State 

8 shall jointly establish and carry out initiatives to prevent 

9 statelessness from occurring, which may include— 

10 (1) an assessment of United States citizenship 

11 law to determine and amend any provision of law 

12 that results in statelessness or a delayed acquisition 

13 of nationality that increases the risk of statelessness; 

14 (2) studies on the profiles and number of state15 less people living in the United States; 

16 (3) programs to promote inclusive and non17 discriminatory nationality laws and practices in 

18 other countries, with particular attention to the pre19 vention of atrocity crimes; 

20 (4) programs to encourage other countries to 

21 establish stateless status determination and protec22 tion legislation; and 

23 (5) grants to universities and nongovernmental 

24 organizations to accelerate research, education, curVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:06 Jan 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00130 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5353.IS S5353

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1 ricula, and knowledge on nationality law and prac2 tice and statelessness. 

3 CHAPTER 2—OTHER INDIVIDUALS 

4 SEC. 1321. PROTECTING VICTIMS OF TERRORISM FROM 

5 BEING DEFINED AS TERRORISTS. 

6 (a) SECURITY AND RELATED GROUNDS.—Section 

7 212(a)(3)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(3)(B)) is amended to read as follows: 

9 ‘‘(B) TERRORIST ACTIVITIES.— 

10 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Any alien who— 

11 ‘‘(I) has engaged in a terrorist 

12 activity; 

13 ‘‘(II) a consular officer, the At14 torney General, or the Secretary of 

15 Homeland Security knows, or has rea16 sonable grounds to believe, is engaged 

17 in or is likely to engage after entry in 

18 any terrorist activity (as defined in 

19 clause (ii)); 

20 ‘‘(III) has, under circumstances 

21 indicating an intention to cause death 

22 or serious bodily harm, incited ter23 rorist activity; 

24 ‘‘(IV) is a representative (as de25 fined in clause (v)) of— 


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1 ‘‘(aa) a terrorist organiza2 tion described in subclause (I) or 

3 (II) of clause (vi)); and 

4 ‘‘(bb) a political, social, or 

5 other group that endorses or es6 pouses terrorist activity; 

7 ‘‘(V) is a member of a terrorist 

8 organization described in subclause (I) 

9 or (II) of clause (vi); 

10 ‘‘(VI) endorses or espouses ter11 rorist activity or persuades others to 

12 endorse or espouse terrorist activity or 

13 to support a terrorist organization de14 scribed in subclause (I) or (II) of 

15 clause (vi); or 

16 ‘‘(VII) has received military-type 

17 training (as defined in section 2339D 

18 (c)(1) of title 18, United States Code) 

19 from or on behalf of any organization 

20 that, at the time the training was re21 ceived, was a terrorist organization 

22 described in subclause (I) or (II) of 

23 clause (vi)), or was a terrorist organi24 zation described in subclause (III) of 

25 such clause and there are reasonable 


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1 grounds for regarding the alien as a 

2 danger to the security of the United 

3 States, 

4 is inadmissible. An alien who is an officer, 

5 official, representative, or spokesman of 

6 the Palestine Liberation Organization is 

7 considered, for purposes of this Act, to be 

8 engaged in a terrorist activity. 

9 ‘‘(ii) TERRORIST ACTIVITY DE10 FINED.—In this Act, the term ‘terrorist 

11 activity’ means any activity that is unlaw12 ful under the laws of the place in which it 

13 is committed (or which, if it had been com14 mitted in the United States, would be un15 lawful under the laws of the United States 

16 or any State) and that involves any of the 

17 following: 

18 ‘‘(I) The highjacking or sabotage 

19 of any conveyance (including an air20 craft, vessel, or vehicle). 

21 ‘‘(II) The seizing or detaining, 

22 and threatening to kill, injure, or con23 tinue to detain, another individual in 

24 order to compel a third person (in25 cluding a governmental organization) 


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1 to carry out or abstain from carrying 

2 out any act as an explicit or implicit 

3 condition for the release of the indi4 vidual seized or detained. 

5 ‘‘(III) A violent attack upon an 

6 internationally protected person (as 

7 defined in section 1116(b)(4) of title 

8 18, United States Code) or upon the 

9 liberty of such person. 

10 ‘‘(IV) An assassination. 

11 ‘‘(V) The use, with the intent to 

12 endanger the safety of 1 or more indi13 viduals or to cause substantial dam14 age to property, of any— 

15 ‘‘(aa) biological agent, chem16 ical agent, or nuclear weapon or 

17 device; or 

18 ‘‘(bb) explosive, firearm, or 

19 other weapon or dangerous device 

20 (other than for mere personal 

21 monetary gain), with intent to 

22 endanger, directly or indirectly, 

23 the safety of one or more individ24 uals or to cause substantial dam25 age to property. 


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1 ‘‘(VI) A threat, attempt, or con2 spiracy to do any of the foregoing. 

3 ‘‘(iii) ENGAGE IN TERRORIST ACTIV4 ITY DEFINED.—In this Act, the term ‘en5 gage in terrorist activity’ means, in an in6 dividual capacity or as a member of an or7 ganization— 

8 ‘‘(I) to commit or to incite to 

9 commit, under circumstances indi10 cating an intention to cause death or 

11 serious bodily injury, a terrorist activ12 ity; 

13 ‘‘(II) to prepare or plan a ter14 rorist activity; 

15 ‘‘(III) to gather information on 

16 potential targets for terrorist activity; 

17 ‘‘(IV) to solicit funds or other 

18 things of value for— 

19 ‘‘(aa) a terrorist activity; or 

20 ‘‘(bb) a terrorist organiza21 tion described in subclause (I) or 

22 (II) of clause (vi)(II); 

23 ‘‘(V) to solicit any individual— 


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1 ‘‘(aa) to engage in conduct 

2 otherwise described in this sub3 section; or 

4 ‘‘(bb) for membership in a 

5 terrorist organization described 

6 in subclause (I) or (II) of clause 

7 (vi); or 

8 ‘‘(VI) to commit an act that the 

9 actor knows, or reasonably should 

10 know, affords material support, in11 cluding a safe house, transportation, 

12 communications, funds, transfer of 

13 funds or other material financial ben14 efit, false documentation or identifica15 tion, weapons (including chemical, bi16 ological, or radiological weapons), ex17 plosives, or training— 

18 ‘‘(aa) for the commission of 

19 a terrorist activity; 

20 ‘‘(bb) to any individual who 

21 the actor knows, or reasonably 

22 should know, has committed or 

23 plans to commit a terrorist activ24 ity; or 


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1 ‘‘(cc) to a terrorist organiza2 tion described in subclause (I) or 

3 (II) of clause (vi) or to any mem4 ber of such an organization. 

5 ‘‘(iv) MATERIAL SUPPORT.—In this 

6 Act, the term ‘material support’ means 

7 support that is significant and of a kind 

8 directly relevant to terrorist activity. 

9 ‘‘(v) REPRESENTATIVE DEFINED.—In 

10 this paragraph, the term ‘representative’ 

11 includes an officer, official, or spokesman 

12 of an organization, and any person who di13 rects, counsels, commands, or induces an 

14 organization or its members to engage in 

15 terrorist activity. 

16 ‘‘(vi) TERRORIST ORGANIZATION DE17 FINED.—In this section, the term ‘terrorist 

18 organization’ means an organization— 

19 ‘‘(I) designated under section 

20 219; or 

21 ‘‘(II) otherwise designated, upon 

22 publication in the Federal Register, by 

23 the Secretary of State in consultation 

24 with or upon the request of the Attor25 ney General or the Secretary of 


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1 Homeland Security, as a terrorist or2 ganization, after finding that the or3 ganization engages in the activities 

4 described in subclauses (I) through 

5 (VI) of clause (iv).’’. 

6 (b) CHILD SOLDIERS.— 

7 (1) INADMISSIBILITY.—Section 212(a)(3)(G) of 

8 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

9 1182(a)(3)(G)) is amended— 

10 (A) by striking ‘‘Any alien’’ and inserting 

11 the following: 

12 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Any alien’’; and 

13 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(ii) APPLICABILITY.—Clause (i) shall 

15 not apply to an alien who establishes that 

16 the actions giving rise to inadmissibility 

17 under such clause were committed under 

18 duress or carried out while the alien was 

19 younger than 18 years of age.’’. 

20 (2) DEPORTABILITY.—Section 237(a)(4)(F) of 

21 such Act (8 U.S.C. 1227(a)(4)(F)) is amended— 

22 (A) by striking ‘‘Any alien’’ and inserting 

23 the following: 

24 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Any alien’’; and 

25 (B) by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(ii) APPLICABILITY.—Clause (i) shall 

2 not apply to an alien who establishes that 

3 the actions giving rise to deportability 

4 under such clause were committed under 

5 duress or carried out while the alien was 

6 younger than 18 years of age.’’. 

7 (c) TEMPORARY ADMISSION OF NONIMMIGRANTS.— 

8 Section 212(d)(3)(B)(i) of the Immigration and Nation9 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(d)(3)(B)(i)) is amended to read 

10 as follows: 

11 ‘‘(B)(i) The Secretary of State, after consulta12 tion with the Attorney General and the Secretary of 

13 Homeland Security, or the Secretary of Homeland 

14 Security, after consultation with the Secretary of 

15 State and the Attorney General, may conclude, in 

16 such Secretary’s sole, unreviewable discretion, that 

17 subsection (a)(3)(B) shall not apply to an alien or 

18 that subsection (a)(3)(B)(iii)(V)(cc) shall not apply 

19 to a group. The Secretary of State may not exercise 

20 discretion under this clause with respect to an alien 

21 after removal proceedings against the alien have 

22 commenced under section 240.’’. 


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1 SEC. 1322. PROTECTION FOR ALIENS INTERDICTED AT SEA. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 241(b)(3) of the Immi3 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1231(b)(3)), as 

4 amended by section 1105, is amended— 

5 (1) in the paragraph heading, by striking ‘‘TO

6 A COUNTRY WHERE ALIEN’S LIFE OR FREEDOM

7 WOULD BE THREATENED’’ and inserting ‘‘OR RE8 TURN IF REFUGEE’S LIFE OR FREEDOM WOULD BE

9 THREATENED OR ALIEN WOULD BE SUBJECTED TO

10 TORTURE’’; 

11 (2) in subparagraph (A)— 

12 (A) by striking ‘‘Notwithstanding’’ and in13 serting the following: 

14 ‘‘(i) LIFE OR FREEDOM THREAT15 ENED.—Notwithstanding’’; and 

16 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(ii) ASYLUM INTERVIEW.—Notwith18 standing paragraphs (1) and (2), a United 

19 States officer may not return any alien 

20 interdicted or otherwise encountered in 

21 international waters or United States 

22 waters who has expressed a fear of return 

23 to his or her country of departure, origin, 

24 or last habitual residence— 

25 ‘‘(I) until such alien has been 

26 granted a confidential interview by an 


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1 asylum officer, in a language the alien 

2 claims to understand, to determine 

3 whether that alien has a well-founded 

4 fear of persecution because of the 

5 alien’s race, religion, nationality, 

6 membership in a particular social 

7 group, or political opinion, or because 

8 the alien would be subject to torture 

9 in that country; or 

10 ‘‘(II) if an asylum officer has de11 termined that the alien has such a 

12 well-founded fear of persecution or 

13 would be subject to torture in his or 

14 her country of departure, origin, or 

15 last habitual residence.’’; 

16 (3) by redesignating subparagraphs (B), (C), 

17 and (D) as subparagraphs (C), (D), and (E), respec18 tively; and 

19 (4) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the fol20 lowing: 

21 ‘‘(B) PROTECTIONS FOR ALIENS INTER22 DICTED IN INTERNATIONAL OR UNITED STATES

23 WATERS.—The Secretary of Homeland Security 

24 shall issue regulations establishing a uniform 


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1 procedure applicable to all aliens interdicted in 

2 international or United States waters that— 

3 ‘‘(i) provides each alien— 

4 ‘‘(I) a meaningful opportunity to 

5 express, through a translator who is 

6 fluent in a language the alien claims 

7 to understand, a fear of return to his 

8 or her country of departure, origin, or 

9 last habitual residence; and 

10 ‘‘(II) in a confidential interview 

11 and in a language the alien claims to 

12 understand, information concerning 

13 the alien’s interdiction, including the 

14 ability of the alien to inform United 

15 States officers about any fears relat16 ing to the alien’s return or repatri17 ation; 

18 ‘‘(ii) provides each alien expressing 

19 such a fear of return or repatriation a con20 fidential interview conducted by an asylum 

21 officer, in a language the alien claims to 

22 understand, to determine whether the 

23 alien’s return to his or her country of de24 parture, origin, or last habitual residence 


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1 is prohibited because the alien has a well2 founded fear of persecution— 

3 ‘‘(I) because of the alien’s race, 

4 religion, nationality, membership in a 

5 particular social group, or political 

6 opinion; or 

7 ‘‘(II) because the alien would be 

8 subject to torture in that country; 

9 ‘‘(iii) ensures that each alien can ef10 fectively communicate with United States 

11 officers through the use of a translator flu12 ent in a language the alien claims to un13 derstand; and 

14 ‘‘(iv) provides each alien who, accord15 ing to the determination of an asylum offi16 cer, has a well-founded fear of persecution 

17 for the reasons specified in clause (ii), or 

18 who would be subject to torture, an oppor19 tunity to seek protection in— 

20 ‘‘(I) a country other than the 

21 alien’s country of departure, origin, or 

22 last habitual residence in which the 

23 alien has family or other ties that will 

24 facilitate resettlement; or 


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1 ‘‘(II) if the alien has no such 

2 ties, a country that will best facilitate 

3 the alien’s resettlement, which may in4 clude the United States.’’. 

5 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

6 (1) Section 240A(c)(5) of the Immigration and 

7 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1229b(c)(5)) is amended 

8 by striking ‘‘section 241(b)(3)(B)(i)’’ and inserting 

9 ‘‘section 241(b)(3)(C)(i)’’. 

10 (2) Section 242(b)(4) of the Immigration and 

11 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1252(b)(4)) is amended, 

12 in the undesignated matter following subparagraph 

13 (D), by striking ‘‘241(b)(3)(C)’’ and inserting 

14 ‘‘241(b)(3)(D)’’. 

15 SEC. 1323. ENHANCED PROTECTION FOR INDIVIDUALS 

16 SEEKING U VISAS, T VISAS, AND PROTECTION 

17 UNDER VAWA. 

18 (a) EMPLOYMENT AUTHORIZATION FOR T VISA AP19 PLICANTS.—Section 214(o) (8 U.S.C. 1184(o)) is amend20 ed by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(8) Notwithstanding any provision of this Act grant22 ing eligibility for employment in the United States, the 

23 Secretary of Homeland Security shall grant employment 

24 authorization to an alien who has filed a petition for nonVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:06 Jan 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00144 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5353.IS S5353

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1 immigrant status under section 101(a)(15)(T) on the date 

2 that is the earlier of— 

3 ‘‘(A) the date on which the alien’s petition for 

4 such status is approved; or 

5 ‘‘(B) a date determined by the Secretary that 

6 is not later than 180 days after the date on which 

7 such alien filed such petition.’’. 

8 (b) INCREASED ACCESSIBILITY AND EMPLOYMENT

9 AUTHORIZATION FOR U VISA APPLICANTS.—Section 

10 214(p) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

11 1184(p)) is amended— 

12 (1) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking ‘‘10,000’’ 

13 and inserting ‘‘20,000’’; 

14 (2) in paragraph (6), by striking the last sen15 tence; and 

16 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(8) EMPLOYMENT AUTHORIZATION.—Notwith18 standing any provision of this Act granting eligibility 

19 for employment in the United States, the Secretary 

20 of Homeland Security shall grant employment au21 thorization to an alien who has filed an application 

22 for nonimmigrant status under section 

23 101(a)(15)(U) on the date that is the earlier of— 

24 ‘‘(A) the date on which the alien’s applica25 tion for such status is approved; or 


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1 ‘‘(B) a date determined by the Secretary 

2 that is not later than 180 days after the date 

3 on which such alien filed such application.’’. 

4 (c) PROHIBITION ON REMOVAL OF CERTAIN VICTIMS

5 WITH PENDING PETITIONS AND APPLICATIONS.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 240 of the Immigra7 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1229a) is amend8 ed— 

9 (A) by redesignating subsection (e) as sub10 section (f); and 

11 (B) by inserting after subsection (d) the 

12 following: 

13 ‘‘(e) PROHIBITION ON REMOVAL OF CERTAIN VIC14 TIMS WITH PENDING PETITIONS AND APPLICATIONS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An alien described in para16 graph (2) shall not be removed from the United 

17 States under this section or any other provision of 

18 law until there is a final denial of the alien’s applica19 tion for status after the exhaustion of administrative 

20 and judicial review. 

21 ‘‘(2) ALIENS DESCRIBED.—An alien described 

22 in this paragraph is an alien who— 

23 ‘‘(A) has a pending application or petition 

24 under— 


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1 ‘‘(i) subparagraph (T) or (U) of sec2 tion 101(a)(15); 

3 ‘‘(ii) section 106; 

4 ‘‘(iii) section 240A(b)(2); or 

5 ‘‘(iv) section 244(a)(3) (as in effect on 

6 March 31, 1997); or 

7 ‘‘(B) is a VAWA self-petitioner, as defined 

8 in section 101(a)(51), and has a pending appli9 cation for relief under a provision referred to in 

10 any of subparagraphs (A) through (G) of such 

11 section.’’. 

12 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

13 240(b)(7) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

14 U.S.C. 1229a(b)(7)) is amended by striking ‘‘sub15 section (e)(1)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (f)’’. 

16 (d) PROHIBITION ON DETENTION OF CERTAIN VIC17 TIMS WITH PENDING PETITIONS AND APPLICATIONS.— 

18 Section 236 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

19 U.S.C. 1226) is amended by adding at the end the fol20 lowing: 

21 ‘‘(f) PROHIBITION ON DETENTION OF CERTAIN VIC22 TIMS WITH PENDING PETITIONS AND APPLICATIONS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) PRESUMPTION OF RELEASE.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any 

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1 sumption that an alien described in paragraph 

2 (2) should be released from detention. 

3 ‘‘(B) REBUTTAL.—The Secretary of 

4 Homeland Security may rebut the presumption 

5 of release based on clear and convincing evi6 dence, including credible and individualized in7 formation, that— 

8 ‘‘(i) the use of alternatives to deten9 tion will not reasonably ensure the appear10 ance of the alien at removal proceedings; 

11 or 

12 ‘‘(ii) the alien is a threat to another 

13 person or the community. 

14 ‘‘(C) PENDING CRIMINAL CHARGE.—A 

15 pending criminal charge against an alien may 

16 not be the sole factor to justify the continued 

17 detention of the alien. 

18 ‘‘(2) ALIEN DESCRIBED.—An alien described in 

19 this paragraph is an alien who— 

20 ‘‘(A) has a pending application under— 

21 ‘‘(i) subparagraph (T) or (U) of sec22 tion 101(a)(15); 

23 ‘‘(ii) section 106; 

24 ‘‘(iii) section 240A(b)(2); or 


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1 ‘‘(iv) section 244(a)(3) (as in effect on 

2 March 31, 1997); or 

3 ‘‘(B) is a VAWA self-petitioner, as defined 

4 in section 101(a)(51), and has a pending peti5 tion for relief under a provision referred to in 

6 any of subparagraphs (A) through (G) of such 

7 section.’’. 

8 Subtitle D—Protections Relating to 

9 Removal, Detention, and Pros10 ecution 

11 SEC. 1401. PREVENTION OF ERRONEOUS IN ABSENTIA OR12 DERS OF REMOVAL. 

13 (a) WRITTEN RECORD OF ADDRESS.—Section 239(a) 

14 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

15 1229(a)) is amended— 

16 (1) in paragraph (1)(F), by inserting ‘‘the Sec17 retary of Homeland Security or’’ before ‘‘the Attor18 ney General’’ each place such term appears; and 

19 (2) in paragraph (2)(A) by striking ‘‘the alien 

20 or to the alien’s counsel of record’’ and inserting 

21 ‘‘the alien and to the alien’s counsel of record.’’. 

22 (b) REMOVAL IN ABSENTIA AND RESCISSION OF RE23 MOVAL ORDERS.—Section 240(b) of the Immigration and 

24 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1229a(b)), as amended by sec25 tion 1203, is further amended— 


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1 (1) in paragraph (5)— 

2 (A) by amending subparagraph (A) to read 

3 as follows: 

4 ‘‘(A) REMOVAL IN ABSENTIA.— 

5 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Any alien who, 

6 after a proceeding under this section is re7 scheduled by an immigration judge due to 

8 the alien’s failure to attend such pro9 ceeding, and written notice required under 

10 paragraph (1) or (2) of section 239(a) has 

11 been provided to the alien and the alien’s 

12 counsel of record, does not attend a pro13 ceeding under this section, may be ordered 

14 removed in absentia if the Department of 

15 Homeland Security establishes by clear, 

16 unequivocal, and convincing evidence 

17 that— 

18 ‘‘(I) sufficient written notice was 

19 so provided; 

20 ‘‘(II) the alien is removable; and 

21 ‘‘(III) in the case of an alien re22 quired to periodically report to the 

23 Department of Homeland Security, 

24 the alien has demonstrated a pattern 

25 of failing to report. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) SUFFICIENT NOTICE.—The writ2 ten notice by the Secretary of Homeland 

3 Security or the Attorney General shall be 

4 considered sufficient for purposes of this 

5 subparagraph if— 

6 ‘‘(I) the notice includes— 

7 ‘‘(aa) the accurate date, 

8 time, and court location at which 

9 the alien is required to appear; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(bb) the date on which the 

12 notice was issued; 

13 ‘‘(II) the notice is provided at the 

14 most recent complete physical address 

15 provided under section 239(a); and 

16 ‘‘(III) the certificate of service 

17 for the notice indicates that oral no18 tice and a recitation of the con19 sequences of failure to appear were 

20 provided— 

21 ‘‘(aa) in the native language 

22 of the alien; or 

23 ‘‘(bb) in a language the 

24 alien understands.’’; and 


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1 (B) by amending paragraph (C) to read as 

2 follows: 

3 ‘‘(C) RESCISSION OF ORDER.— 

4 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Such an order 

5 may be rescinded only— 

6 ‘‘(I) upon a motion to reopen 

7 filed at any time after the date of the 

8 order of removal if the alien dem9 onstrates that the failure to appear 

10 was because of exceptional cir11 cumstances; 

12 ‘‘(II) upon a motion to reopen 

13 filed at any time if the alien dem14 onstrates that the alien did not receive 

15 notice in accordance with paragraph 

16 (1) or (2) of section 239(a) or the 

17 alien demonstrates that the alien was 

18 in Federal or State custody and the 

19 failure to appear was through no fault 

20 of the alien; 

21 ‘‘(III) in the case of an alien who 

22 is a minor child, upon a motion to re23 open filed at any time; or 

24 ‘‘(IV) upon a motion to reopen 

25 filed at any time if the alien has a 


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1 pending application for asylum, with2 holding of removal, or protection 

3 under the Convention against Torture 

4 and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrad5 ing Treatment or Punishment, done 

6 at New York December 10, 1984, or 

7 demonstrates that he or she has a 

8 credible claim to any such protection. 

9 ‘‘(ii) STAY OF REMOVAL.—The filing 

10 of the motion to reopen described in clause 

11 (i) shall stay the removal of the alien pend12 ing disposition of the motion by the immi13 gration judge.’’; and 

14 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(9) CHECK-IN HISTORY.—Before an immigra16 tion judge conducts a proceeding under this section, 

17 the Secretary of Homeland Security shall report to 

18 the immigration judge the extent to which the alien 

19 has complied with any requirement to report periodi20 cally the whereabouts of the alien to the Secretary 

21 of Homeland Security.’’. 

22 SEC. 1402. SCOPE AND STANDARD FOR REVIEW OF RE23 MOVAL ORDERS. 

24 Section 242(b) of the Immigration and Nationality 

25 Act (8 U.S.C. 1252(b)) is amended— 


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1 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

2 (A) by striking ‘‘The petition’’ and insert3 ing the following: 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The petition’’; and 

5 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(B) PROHIBITION ON REMOVAL.—An 

7 alien shall not be removed during such 30-day 

8 period unless the alien indicates in writing that 

9 he or she wishes to be removed before the expi10 ration of such period.’’. 

11 (2) by striking paragraph (4) and inserting the 

12 following: 

13 ‘‘(4) SCOPE AND STANDARD FOR REVIEW.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

15 paragraph (5)(B), the court of appeals shall 

16 sustain a final decision ordering removal unless 

17 it is contrary to law, an abuse of discretion, or 

18 not supported by substantial evidence. 

19 ‘‘(B) DECISION BASED ON ADMINISTRA20 TIVE RECORD.—The court of appeals shall de21 cide the petition based solely on the administra22 tive record on which the order of removal is 

23 based. 

24 ‘‘(C) AVAILABILITY OF REVIEW.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The court of ap2 peals shall maintain jurisdiction to review 

3 discretionary determinations arising in a 

4 claim for asylum. 

5 ‘‘(ii) JURISDICTION OVER DENIALS.— 

6 Notwithstanding section 242(a)(2)(C), the 

7 court of appeals shall maintain jurisdiction 

8 to review all denials of requests for with9 holding of removal under to section 

10 241(b)(3) or protection under the Conven11 tion against Torture and Other Cruel, In12 human or Degrading Treatment or Pun13 ishment, done at New York December 10, 

14 1984.’’. 

15 SEC. 1403. PRESUMPTION OF LIBERTY FOR ASYLUM SEEK16 ERS. 

17 (a) CUSTODY DETERMINATION.— 

18 (1) INITIAL DETERMINATION.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—With respect to an 

20 alien who has expressed fear of returning to his 

21 or her home country or an intent to apply for 

22 asylum in the United States, the Secretary shall 

23 make an initial written custody determination 

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1 mination to the alien not later than 48 hours 

2 after, as applicable— 

3 (i) the Secretary takes the alien into 

4 custody; or 

5 (ii) in the case of an alien already in 

6 the custody of the Secretary, the alien ex7 presses such fear or intent. 

8 (B) LEAST RESTRICTIVE CONDITIONS.—A 

9 custody determination under this paragraph 

10 shall impose the least restrictive conditions if 

11 the Secretary determines that the release of an 

12 alien— 

13 (i) will not reasonably ensure the ap14 pearance of the alien as required; or 

15 (ii) will endanger the safety of any 

16 other person or the community. 

17 (C) APPLICABILITY.—This paragraph shall 

18 not apply to unaccompanied alien children (as 

19 defined in section 462(g) of the Homeland Se20 curity Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 279g)). 

21 (2) PRESUMPTION OF RELEASE.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—In a hearing under this 

23 subsection, there shall be a presumption that 

24 the alien should be released. 


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1 (B) REBUTTAL.—The Secretary may rebut 

2 the presumption of release based on clear and 

3 convincing evidence, including credible and indi4 vidualized information, that— 

5 (i) the use of alternatives to detention, 

6 including release on recognizance or on a 

7 reasonable bond, will not reasonably ensure 

8 the appearance of the alien at removal pro9 ceedings; or 

10 (ii) the alien is a threat to another 

11 person or the community. 

12 (C) PENDING CRIMINAL CHARGE.—A 

13 pending criminal charge against an alien may 

14 not be the sole factor to justify the continued 

15 detention of the alien. 

16 (D) EVIDENCE OF IDENTITY.—The inabil17 ity of an alien to reasonably provide govern18 ment-issued evidence of identity, including the 

19 inability of the alien to contact the government 

20 of the country of nationality of the alien so as 

21 not to alert such government of the where22 abouts of the alien, may not be the sole factor 

23 to justify the continued detention of the alien. 

24 (E) PRE-EXISTING COMMUNITY TIES.—A 

25 lack of pre-existing community ties in the 


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1 United States shall not preclude the release of 

2 an alien. 

3 (b) LEAST RESTRICTIVE CONDITIONS REQUIRED.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary or an immi5 gration judge determines, pursuant to a hearing 

6 under this section, that the release of an alien will 

7 not reasonably ensure the appearance of the alien as 

8 required or will endanger the safety of any other 

9 person or the community, the Secretary or the immi10 gration judge shall order the least restrictive condi11 tions or combination of conditions that the Secretary 

12 or judge determines will reasonably ensure the ap13 pearance of the alien and the safety of any other 

14 person and the community, which may include— 

15 (A) release on recognizance; 

16 (B) secured or unsecured release on bond; 

17 or 

18 (C) participation in a program described in 

19 subsection (d). 

20 (2) MONTHLY REVIEW.—Any condition as21 signed to an alien under paragraph (1) shall be re22 viewed by an immigration judge on a monthly basis. 

23 (c) SPECIAL RULE FOR VULNERABLE PERSONS AND

24 PRIMARY CAREGIVERS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—In the case that the alien 

2 who is the subject of a custody determination under 

3 this section is a vulnerable person or a primary care4 giver, the alien may not be detained unless the Sec5 retary demonstrates, in addition to the requirements 

6 under subsection (a)(2), that it is unreasonable or 

7 not practicable to place the individual in a commu8 nity-based supervision program. 

9 (2) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

10 (A) MATERIAL WITNESS.—The term ‘‘ma11 terial witness’’ means an individual who pre12 sents a declaration to an attorney investigating, 

13 prosecuting, or defending the workplace claim 

14 or from the presiding officer overseeing the 

15 workplace claim attesting that, to the best of 

16 the declarant’s knowledge and belief, reasonable 

17 cause exists to believe that the testimony of the 

18 individual will be relevant to the outcome of the 

19 workplace claim. 

20 (B) PRIMARY CAREGIVER.—The term ‘‘pri21 mary caregiver’’ means a person who is estab22 lished to be a caregiver, parent, or close relative 

23 caring for or traveling with a child. 

24 (C) VULNERABLE PERSON.—The term 

25 ‘‘vulnerable person’’ means an individual who— 


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•S 5353 IS

1 (i) is under 21 years of age or over 60 

2 years of age; 

3 (ii) is pregnant; 

4 (iii) identifies as lesbian, gay, bisex5 ual, transgender, or intersex; 

6 (iv) is a victim or witness of a crime; 

7 (v) has filed a nonfrivolous civil rights 

8 claim in Federal or State court; 

9 (vi) has filed, or is a material witness 

10 to, a bonafide workplace claim; 

11 (vii) has a serious mental or physical 

12 illness or disability; 

13 (viii) has been determined by an asy14 lum officer in an interview conducted 

15 under section 235(b)(1)(B) of the Immi16 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

17 1225(b)(1)(B)) to have a credible fear of 

18 persecution or torture; 

19 (ix) has limited English language pro20 ficiency and is not provided access to ap21 propriate and meaningful language services 

22 in a timely fashion; or 

23 (x) has been determined by an immi24 gration judge or the Secretary of Home25 land Security to be experiencing severe 


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1 trauma or to be a survivor of torture or 

2 gender-based violence, based on informa3 tion obtained during intake, from the 

4 alien’s attorney or legal service provider, or 

5 through credible self-reporting. 

6 (D) WORKPLACE CLAIM.—The term 

7 ‘‘workplace claim’’ means any written or oral 

8 claim, charge, complaint, or grievance filed 

9 with, communicated to, or submitted to the em10 ployer, a Federal, State, or local agency or 

11 court, or an employee representative related to 

12 the violation of applicable Federal, State, and 

13 local labor laws, including laws concerning 

14 wages and hours, labor relations, family and 

15 medical leave, occupational health and safety, 

16 civil rights, or nondiscrimination. 

17 (d) ALTERNATIVES TO DETENTION.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 

19 programs that provide alternatives to detaining 

20 aliens, which shall offer a continuum of supervision 

21 mechanisms and options, including community-based 

22 supervision programs and community support. 

23 (2) CONTRACTS WITH NONGOVERNMENTAL OR24 GANIZATIONS.—The Secretary shall contract with 

25 nongovernmental community-based organizations to 


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1 provide services for programs under paragraph (1), 

2 including case management services, appearance as3 sistance services, and screenings of detained aliens. 

4 (3) INDIVIDUALIZED DETERMINATION RE5 QUIRED.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—In determining whether 

7 to order an alien to participate in a program 

8 under this subsection, the Secretary or an im9 migration judge, as applicable, shall make an 

10 individualized determination with respect to the 

11 appropriate level of supervision for the alien. 

12 (B) LIMITATION.—Participation in a pro13 gram under this subsection may not be ordered 

14 for an alien for whom it is determined that re15 lease on reasonable bond or recognizance— 

16 (i) will reasonably ensure the appear17 ance of the alien as required; and 

18 (ii) will not pose a threat to any other 

19 person or the community. 

20 (e) REGULAR REVIEW OF CUSTODY DETERMINA21 TIONS AND CONDITIONS OF RELEASE.— 

22 (1) TIMING.—In the case of an alien who seeks 

23 to challenge the initial custody determination under 

24 subsection (a)(1), not later than 72 hours after the 

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1 vided with the opportunity for a hearing before an 

2 immigration judge to determine whether the alien 

3 should be detained. 

4 (2) SUBSEQUENT DETERMINATIONS.—An alien 

5 who is detained under this section shall be provided 

6 with a de novo custody determination hearing under 

7 this subsection— 

8 (A) every 60 days; and 

9 (B) on a showing of— 

10 (i) changed circumstances; or 

11 (ii) good cause for such a hearing. 

12 SEC. 1404. PROCEDURES FOR ENSURING ACCURACY AND 

13 VERIFIABILITY OF SWORN STATEMENTS 

14 TAKEN PURSUANT TO EXPEDITED REMOVAL 

15 AUTHORITY. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 

17 quality assurance procedures to ensure the accuracy and 

18 verifiability of signed or sworn statements taken by em19 ployees of the Department exercising expedited removal 

20 authority under section 235(b) of the Immigration and 

21 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1225(b)). 

22 (b) RECORDING OF INTERVIEWS.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any sworn or signed written 

24 statement taken from an alien as part of the record 

25 of a proceeding under section 235(b)(1)(A) of the 


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1 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

2 1225(b)(1)(A)) shall be accompanied by a recording 

3 of the interview that served as the basis for such 

4 sworn statement. 

5 (2) CONTENT.—The recording shall include— 

6 (A) a reading of the entire written state7 ment to the alien in a language that the alien 

8 claims to understand; and 

9 (B) the verbal affirmation by the alien of 

10 the accuracy of— 

11 (i) the written statement; or 

12 (ii) a corrected version of the written 

13 statement. 

14 (3) FORMAT.—The recording shall be made in 

15 video, audio, or other equally reliable format. 

16 (4) EVIDENCE.—Recordings of interviews under 

17 this subsection may be considered as evidence in any 

18 further proceedings involving the alien. 

19 (c) EXEMPTION AUTHORITY.— 

20 (1) EXEMPTED FACILITIES.—Subsection (b) 

21 shall not apply to interviews that occur at detention 

22 facilities exempted by the Secretary under this sub23 section. 

24 (2) CRITERIA.—The Secretary, or a designee of 

25 the Secretary, may exempt any detention facility if 


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1 compliance with subsection (b) at that facility would 

2 impair operations or impose undue burdens or costs. 

3 (3) REPORT.—The Secretary shall annually 

4 submit to Congress a report that identifies the facili5 ties that have been exempted under this subsection. 

6 (4) NO PRIVATE CAUSE OF ACTION.—Nothing 

7 in this subsection may be construed to create a pri8 vate cause of action for damages or injunctive relief. 

9 (d) INTERPRETERS.—The Secretary shall ensure that 

10 a professional fluent interpreter is used if— 

11 (1) the interviewing officer is not certified by 

12 the Department to speak a language understood by 

13 the alien; and 

14 (2) there is no other Federal Government em15 ployee available who is able to interpret effectively, 

16 accurately, and impartially. 

17 SEC. 1405. INSPECTIONS BY IMMIGRATION OFFICERS. 

18 Section 235(a)(3) of the Immigration and Nationality 

19 Act (8 U.S.C. 1225(a)(3)) is amended— 

20 (1) by striking ‘‘All aliens’’ and inserting the 

21 following: 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—All aliens;’’; and 

23 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

24 ‘‘(B) An immigration officer shall accept 

25 for inspection, and may not turn back, expel, 


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1 instruct to return at a later time, refuse to in2 spect, or otherwise reject in any manner what3 soever, an applicant for admission who indi4 cates— 

5 ‘‘(i) an intent to apply for asylum 

6 under section 208; or 

7 ‘‘(ii) a fear of persecution. 

8 ‘‘(C) SPECIAL RULE FOR ASYLUM SEEK9 ERS.—A noncitizen may not be returned to a 

10 contiguous country if the noncitizen indicates 

11 an intent to apply for asylum or a fear of perse12 cution.’’. 

13 SEC. 1406. STUDY ON EFFECT ON ASYLUM CLAIMS OF EXPE14 DITED REMOVAL PROVISIONS, PRACTICES, 

15 AND PROCEDURES. 

16 (a) STUDY.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall con18 duct a study to determine whether immigration offi19 cers are engaging in conduct described in paragraph 

20 (2). 

21 (2) CONDUCT DESCRIBED.—The conduct de22 scribed in this paragraph is the following: 

23 (A) Improperly encouraging an alien to 

24 withdraw or retract an asylum claim. 


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1 (B) Incorrectly failing to refer an alien for 

2 an interview by an asylum officer to determine 

3 whether the alien has a credible fear of persecu4 tion, including failing to record the expression 

5 of an alien of fear of persecution or torture. 

6 (C) Incorrectly removing an alien to a 

7 country in which the alien may be persecuted. 

8 (D) Detaining an alien improperly or 

9 under inappropriate conditions. 

10 (E) Improperly separating a family unit 

11 after a member of the family unit has expressed 

12 a credible fear of persecution. 

13 (F) Improperly referring an alien for proc14 essing under an enforcement or deterrence pro15 gram, such as the consequence delivery system. 

16 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the date 

17 on which the Commission initiates the study under sub18 section (a), the Commission shall submit to the appro19 priate committees of Congress a report describing the re20 sults of the study. 

21 (c) STAFFING.— 

22 (1) AGENCY EMPLOYEES.— 

23 (A) IDENTIFICATION.—The Commission 

24 may identify employees of the Department of 

25 Homeland Security, the Department of Justice, 


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1 and the Government Accountability Office who 

2 have significant expertise and knowledge of ref3 ugee and asylum issues. 

4 (B) DESIGNATION.—At the request of the 

5 Commission, the Secretary, the Attorney Gen6 eral, and the Comptroller General of the United 

7 States shall authorize the employees identified 

8 under subparagraph (A) to assist the Commis9 sion in conducting the study under subsection 

10 (a). 

11 (2) ADDITIONAL STAFF.—The Commission may 

12 hire additional staff and consultants to conduct the 

13 study under subsection (a). 

14 (3) ACCESS TO PROCEEDINGS.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

16 subparagraph (B), the Secretary and the Attor17 ney General shall provide staff designated 

18 under paragraph (1)(B) or hired under para19 graph (2) with unrestricted access to all stages 

20 of all proceedings conducted under section 

21 235(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

22 (8 U.S.C. 1225(b)). 

23 (B) EXCEPTIONS.—The Secretary and the 

24 Attorney General may not permit unrestricted 

25 access under subparagraph (A) if— 


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1 (i) the alien subject to a proceeding 

2 under such section 235(b) objects to such 

3 access; or 

4 (ii) the Secretary or Attorney General 

5 determines that the security of a particular 

6 proceeding would be threatened by such 

7 access. 

8 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

9 (1) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON10 GRESS.—The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Con11 gress’’ means— 

12 (A) the Committee on Homeland Security 

13 and Governmental Affairs, the Committee on 

14 the Judiciary, and the Committee on Foreign 

15 Relations of the Senate; and 

16 (B) the Committee on Homeland Security, 

17 the Committee on the Judiciary, and the Com18 mittee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Rep19 resentatives. 

20 (2) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 

21 means the United States Commission on Inter22 national Religious Freedom. 

23 (3) CREDIBLE FEAR OF PERSECUTION.—The 

24 term ‘‘credible fear of persecution’’ has the meaning 

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1 migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

2 1225(b)(1)(B)(v)). 

3 (4) IMMIGRATION OFFICER.—The term ‘‘immi4 gration officer’’ means an immigration officer per5 forming duties under section 235(b) of the Immigra6 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1225(b)) with re7 spect to aliens who— 

8 (A) are apprehended after entering the 

9 United States; 

10 (B) may be eligible to apply for asylum 

11 under section 208 of that Act (8 U.S.C. 1158); 

12 or 

13 (C) may have a credible fear of persecu14 tion. 

15 SEC. 1407. ALIGNMENT WITH REFUGEE CONVENTION OBLI16 GATIONS BY PROHIBITING CRIMINAL PROS17 ECUTION OF REFUGEES. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—An alien who has expressed a 

19 credible or reasonable fear of persecution, filed an applica20 tion for asylum, withholding of removal, or protection 

21 under the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, 

22 Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, done 

23 at New York December 10, 1984, or expressed an intent 

24 to file such an application, may not be prosecuted under 

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1 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1325(a), 1326(a)) until the earlier 

2 of— 

3 (1) the date on which any such application has 

4 been finally adjudicated and denied, including any 

5 appeals of such denial; or 

6 (2) in the case of an alien who expresses an in7 tent to file such an application, the date on which 

8 any applicable time limitation for the filing of such 

9 an application under section 208 of such Act has 

10 ended with an application being filed. 

11 (b) AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE.—If an alien is pros12 ecuted under section 275(a) or 276(a) of the Immigration 

13 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1325(a) and 1326(a)) in 

14 violation of subsection (a), it shall be a defense that the 

15 alien has expressed a credible or reasonable fear of perse16 cution, has filed an application for asylum or another form 

17 of protection, and such application has not been finally 

18 adjudicated and denied, including any appeals of such de19 nial. 

20 (c) TREATY OBLIGATIONS.—In accordance with the 

21 treaty obligations of the United States under Article 31 

22 of the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, done 

23 at Geneva July 28, 1951 (as made applicable by the Pro24 tocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, done at New 

25 York January 31, 1967 (19 UST 6223)), an alien who 


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1 has been granted asylum or withholding of removal under 

2 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et 

3 seq.) may not be prosecuted under section 275(a) or 

4 276(a) of that Act (8 U.S.C. 1325(a) and 1326(a)). 

5 Subtitle E—Refugee Resettlement 

6 SEC. 1501. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON COORDINATION OF 

7 REFUGEE PROGRAM AGENCIES. 

8 It is the sense of the Congress that— 

9 (1) the President should appoint a White House 

10 Coordinator on Refugee Protection and grant such 

11 official the authority and staff necessary to coordi12 nate, prioritize, and lead efforts to address refugee 

13 protection issues that involve multiple agencies, in14 cluding the refugee admissions program, and to re15 solve interagency differences in a timely, efficient, 

16 and effective manner; and 

17 (2) such position should be at a senior level and 

18 require as a condition for appointment a significant 

19 level of prior experience in the refugee protection 

20 field. 

21 CHAPTER 1—REFUGEE ADMISSIONS 

22 SEC. 1511. NUMERICAL GOALS FOR ANNUAL REFUGEE AD23 MISSIONS. 

24 Section 207 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

25 (8 U.S.C. 1157) is amended— 


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1 (1) in subsection (a)— 

2 (A) by striking paragraph (1); 

3 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and 

4 (4) as paragraphs (1) and (6), respectively; 

5 (C) in paragraph (1), as so redesignated— 

6 (i) by inserting (A) before ‘‘Except as 

7 provided’’; 

8 (ii) by striking ‘‘after fiscal year 

9 1982’’; 

10 (iii) by striking ‘‘is justified’’ and all 

11 that follows through ‘‘interest.’’ and insert12 ing the following: 

13 ‘‘(i) justified by humanitarian con14 cerns or otherwise in the national interest; 

15 and 

16 ‘‘(ii) not fewer than 125,000.’’; and 

17 (iv) by adding at the end the fol18 lowing: 

19 ‘‘(B) If the President does not issue a de20 termination under this paragraph before the be21 ginning of a fiscal year, the number of refugees 

22 who may be admitted under this section shall 

23 be 125,000. 

24 ‘‘(2) Each officer of the Federal Government 

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1 tlement shall treat a determination under paragraph 

2 (1) and subsection (b) as the numerical goals for 

3 refugee admissions under this section for the appli4 cable fiscal year.’’; 

5 (D) by inserting after paragraph (3) the 

6 following: 

7 ‘‘(4) In making a determination under para8 graph (1), the President shall consider the number 

9 of refugees who, during the calendar year beginning 

10 immediately after the beginning of the applicable fis11 cal year, are in need of resettlement in a third coun12 try, as determined by the United Nations High 

13 Commissioner for Refugees in the most recently 

14 published projected global resettlement needs report. 

15 ‘‘(5) The President shall determine regional al16 locations for admissions under this subsection, 

17 that— 

18 ‘‘(A) shall consider the projected needs 

19 identified by the United Nations High Commis20 sioner for Refugees in the projected global re21 settlement needs report for the calendar year 

22 beginning immediately after the beginning of 

23 the applicable fiscal year; and 

24 ‘‘(B) shall include an unallocated reserve 

25 that the Secretary of State, after notifying the 


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1 Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and 

2 the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of 

3 Representatives, may use for 1 or more regions 

4 in which the need for additional refugee admis5 sions arises.’’; 

6 (E) in paragraph (6), as so redesignated, 

7 by striking ‘‘(beginning with fiscal year 1992)’’; 

8 and 

9 (F) by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(7) All officers of the Federal Government re11 sponsible for refugee admissions or refugee resettle12 ment shall treat the determinations made under this 

13 subsection and subsection (b) as the refugee admis14 sions goal for the applicable fiscal year.’’; and 

15 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(g) QUARTERLY REPORTS ON ADMISSIONS.—Not 

17 later than 15 days after the last day of each quarter, the 

18 President shall submit to the Committee on the Judiciary 

19 of the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary of the 

20 House of Representatives a report that includes the fol21 lowing: 

22 ‘‘(1) REFUGEES ADMITTED.— 

23 ‘‘(A) The number of refugees admitted to 

24 the United States during the preceding quarter. 


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1 ‘‘(B) The number of refugees admitted to 

2 the United States during the preceding quarter, 

3 expressed as a percentage of the number of ref4 ugees authorized to be admitted in accordance 

5 with the determinations under subsections (a) 

6 and (b) for the applicable fiscal year. 

7 ‘‘(C) The cumulative number of refugees 

8 admitted to the United States during the appli9 cable fiscal year, as of the last day of the pre10 ceding quarter. 

11 ‘‘(D) The number of refugees to be admit12 ted to the United States during the remainder 

13 of the applicable fiscal year so as to achieve the 

14 numerical goals set forth in the determinations 

15 under subsections (a) and (b) for such fiscal 

16 year. 

17 ‘‘(E) The number of refugees from each 

18 region admitted to the United States during the 

19 preceding quarter, expressed as a percentage of 

20 the allocation for each region under subsection 

21 (a)(5) for the applicable fiscal year. 

22 ‘‘(2) ALIENS WITH SECURITY ADVISORY OPIN23 IONS.— 

24 ‘‘(A) The number of aliens, by nationality, 

25 for whom a Security Advisory Opinion has been 


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1 requested who were security-cleared during the 

2 preceding quarter, expressed as a percentage of 

3 all cases successfully adjudicated by the Direc4 tor of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Serv5 ices in the applicable fiscal year. 

6 ‘‘(B) The number of aliens, by nationality, 

7 for whom a Security Advisory Opinion has been 

8 requested who were admitted to the United 

9 States during the preceding quarter. 

10 ‘‘(3) CIRCUIT RIDES.— 

11 ‘‘(A) For the preceding quarter— 

12 ‘‘(i) the number of Refugee Corps of13 ficers deployed on circuit rides, expressed 

14 as a percentage of the overall number of 

15 Refugee Corps officers; 

16 ‘‘(ii) the number of individuals inter17 viewed— 

18 ‘‘(I) on each circuit ride; and 

19 ‘‘(II) at each circuit ride location; 

20 ‘‘(iii) the number of circuit rides; and 

21 ‘‘(iv) for each circuit ride— 

22 ‘‘(I) the duration of the circuit 

23 ride; 


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1 ‘‘(II) the average number of 

2 interviews conducted daily on the cir3 cuit ride; and 

4 ‘‘(III) the percentages of inter5 views conducted for— 

6 ‘‘(aa) individuals who re7 quire Security Advisory Opinions; 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(bb) individuals who do not 

10 require Security Advisory Opin11 ions. 

12 ‘‘(B) For the subsequent quarter— 

13 ‘‘(i) the number of circuit rides sched14 uled; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) the number of circuit rides 

16 planned. 

17 ‘‘(4) PROCESSING.—For the preceding quar18 ter— 

19 ‘‘(A) the average number of days be20 tween— 

21 ‘‘(i) the date on which an individual is 

22 identified by the United States Govern23 ment as a refugee; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the date on which such individual 

2 is interviewed by the Secretary of Home3 land Security; 

4 ‘‘(B) the average number of days be5 tween— 

6 ‘‘(i) the date on which an individual 

7 identified by the United States Govern8 ment as a refugee is interviewed by the 

9 Secretary of Homeland Security; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) the date on which such individual 

11 is admitted to the United States; and 

12 ‘‘(C) with respect to individuals identified 

13 by the United States Government as refugees 

14 who have been interviewed by the Secretary of 

15 Homeland Security, the approval, denial, and 

16 hold rates for the applications for admission of 

17 such individuals, by nationality. 

18 ‘‘(5) PLAN AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.— 

19 ‘‘(A) A plan that describes the procedural 

20 or personnel changes necessary to ensure the 

21 admission of the number of refugees authorized 

22 to be admitted to the United States in accord23 ance with determinations under subsections (a) 

24 and (b), including a projection of the number of 

25 refugees to be admitted to the United States 


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1 each month so as to achieve the numerical goals 

2 set forth in such determinations. 

3 ‘‘(B) Additional information relating to the 

4 pace of refugee admissions, as determined by 

5 the President. 

6 ‘‘(h) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec7 tion may be construed— 

8 ‘‘(1) to inhibit the expeditious processing of ref9 ugee and asylum applications; 

10 ‘‘(2) to restrict the authority of the Secretary of 

11 Homeland Security to admit aliens to the United 

12 States under any other Act; or 

13 ‘‘(3) to prevent the executive branch from in14 creasing the numerical goal of refugee admissions or 

15 regional allocations based on emerging or identified 

16 resettlement needs during and throughout the fiscal 

17 year.’’. 

18 SEC. 1512. REFORM OF REFUGEE ADMISSIONS CONSULTA19 TION PROCESS. 

20 Section 207(e) of the Immigration and Nationality 

21 Act (8 U.S.C. 1157(e)) is amended— 

22 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through 

23 (7) as subparagraphs (A) through (G), respectively; 

24 (2) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), 

25 as so redesignated— 


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1 (A) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(e)’’; and 

2 (B) by inserting ‘‘, which shall be com3 menced not later than May 1 of each year and 

4 continue periodically throughout the remainder 

5 of the year, if necessary,’’ after ‘‘discussions in 

6 person’’; 

7 (3) in the undesignated matter following sub8 paragraph (G), as so redesignated, by striking ‘‘To 

9 the extent possible,’’ and inserting the following: 

10 ‘‘(2) To the extent possible’’; and 

11 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(3)(A) The plans referred to in paragraph (1)(C) 

13 shall include estimates of— 

14 ‘‘(i) the number of refugees the President ex15 pects to have ready to travel to the United States 

16 at the beginning of the fiscal year; 

17 ‘‘(ii) the number of refugees and the stipulated 

18 populations the President expects to admit to the 

19 United States in each quarter of the fiscal year; and 

20 ‘‘(iii) the number of refugees the President ex21 pects to have ready to travel to the United States 

22 at the end of the fiscal year. 

23 ‘‘(B) The Secretary of Homeland Security shall en24 sure that an adequate number of refugees are processed 


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1 during the fiscal year to fulfill the refugee admissions 

2 goals under subsections (a) and (b). 

3 ‘‘(C) In fulfilling the requirements of this subsection, 

4 the President shall— 

5 ‘‘(i) establish specific objectives or measure6 ments for the integration of refugees admitted to the 

7 United States; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) submit an annual report to Congress on 

9 the integration of resettled refugees on the basis of 

10 such objectives or measurements.’’. 

11 SEC. 1513. UNITED STATES EMERGENCY REFUGEE RESET12 TLEMENT CONTINGENCY FUND. 

13 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

14 Treasury of the United States a fund, to be known as the 

15 ‘‘Domestic Emergency Refugee Resettlement Contingency 

16 Fund’’ (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Fund’’), to be 

17 administered by the Assistant Secretary of the Office of 

18 Refugee Resettlement (referred to in this section as the 

19 ‘‘Assistant Secretary’’) for the purpose described in sub20 section (b) and to remain available until expended. 

21 (b) PURPOSE.—Amounts from the Fund shall be 

22 used to enable the Assistant Secretary to operate pro23 grams and carry out efforts and initiatives to respond to 

24 urgent, unanticipated, or underfunded refugee and entrant 

25 assistance activities under— 


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1 (1) the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

2 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.); 

3 (2) section 602(b) of the Afghan Allies Protec4 tion Act of 2009 (Public Law 111–8; 8 U.S.C. 1101 

5 note); 

6 (3) section 501 of the Refugee Education As7 sistance Act of 1980 (Public Law 96–422; 8 U.S.C. 

8 1522 note); 

9 (4) the Torture Victims Relief Act of 1998 

10 (Public Law 105–320; 22 U.S.C. 2152 note); 

11 (5) the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 

12 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.); 

13 (6) section 1244 of the Refugee Crisis in Iraq 

14 Act of 2007 (Public Law 110–181; 8 U.S.C. 1157 

15 note); 

16 (7) section 235 of the William Wilberforce 

17 Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act 

18 of 2008 (8 U.S.C. 1232); and 

19 (8) section 462 of the Homeland Security Act 

20 of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 279). 

21 (c) USE OF FUNDS.—Amounts from the Fund— 

22 (1) shall be subject to the same limitations set 

23 forth in title V of division H of the Consolidated Ap24 propriations Act, 2021 (Public Law 116–260; 134 

25 Stat. 1619) as are applicable to funds appropriated 


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1 for the Department of Health and Human Services 

2 under such Act; and 

3 (2) may only be used for initiatives that— 

4 (A) replenish any previously appropriated 

5 funds that have been reprogrammed, trans6 ferred, or withheld from programs, projects, or 

7 activities that serve refugees and entrants 

8 under the authorities described in subsection 

9 (b); 

10 (B) stabilize existing programs, projects, 

11 and activities that serve such refugees and en12 trants by augmenting funds previously appro13 priated to serve such refugees and entrants; 

14 (C) identify unmet resettlement or integra15 tion needs of such refugees and entrants and 

16 implement solutions for such needs; and 

17 (D) meet such other needs as the Assistant 

18 Secretary considers appropriate, consistent with 

19 the purpose under subsection (b). 

20 (3) PROTECTION FROM REPROGRAMMING.— 

21 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, none of 

22 the amounts deposited into or made available from 

23 the Fund may be transferred, reprogrammed, or 

24 otherwise made available for any purpose or use not 

25 specified in this section. 


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1 (d) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Amounts in the Fund 

2 shall be available to the Assistant Secretary to meet the 

3 purpose described in subsection (b) in the national interest 

4 of the United States, as determined by the Assistant Sec5 retary. 

6 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

8 there is authorized to be appropriated to the Assist9 ant Secretary from time to time such amounts as 

10 may be necessary for the Fund to carry out the pur11 pose described in subsection (b). 

12 (2) LIMITATION.—No amount of funds may be 

13 appropriated that, when added to amounts pre14 viously appropriated but not yet obligated, would 

15 cause such amount to exceed $300,000,000. 

16 (3) JUSTIFICATION TO CONGRESS.—The Presi17 dent shall provide to the appropriate committees of 

18 Congress a justification for each request for appro19 priations under this section. 

20 SEC. 1514. COMPLEMENTARY PATHWAYS. 

21 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con22 gress that any complementary pathways program de23 scribed in subsection (b) should be in addition to, and not 

24 in lieu of, the United States Refugee Admissions Program. 


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1 (b) STUDY.—Not later than 1 year after the date of 

2 the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the 

3 United States shall conduct a study on, and make rec4 ommendations pertaining to, complementary pathways to 

5 protection in the United States, including scholastic reset6 tlement and labor mobility programs or other parallel sys7 tems for admitting refugees and individuals fleeing vio8 lence and persecution. 

9 CHAPTER 2—RESETTLEMENT PROGRAM 

10 AND SUPPORT 

11 SEC. 1521. ELEVATION OF OFFICE OF REFUGEE RESETTLE12 MENT. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 411(a) of the Immigra14 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1521(a)) is amended 

15 by striking the second sentence and inserting the fol16 lowing: ‘‘The head of the Office of Refugee Resettlement 

17 in the Department of Health and Human Services shall 

18 be an Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services 

19 for Refugee and Asylee Resettlement (hereinafter in this 

20 chapter referred to as the ‘Assistant Secretary’), to be ap21 pointed by the President, and to report directly to the Sec22 retary.’’. 

23 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

24 (1) Section 411(b) of the Immigration and Na25 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1521(b)) is amended by 


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1 striking ‘‘Director’’ and inserting ‘‘Assistant Sec2 retary’’. 

3 (2) Section 412 of the Immigration and Nation4 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1522) is amended by striking 

5 ‘‘Director’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘As6 sistant Secretary’’. 

7 (3) Section 413 of the Immigration and Nation8 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1523) is amended by striking 

9 ‘‘Director’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘As10 sistant Secretary’’. 

11 (4) Section 462 of the Homeland Security Act 

12 of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 279) is amended by striking ‘‘Di13 rector’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘Assist14 ant Secretary’’. 

15 (c) REFERENCES.—Any reference to the Director of 

16 the Office of Refugee Resettlement in any other Federal 

17 law, Executive order, rule, regulation, operating instruc18 tion, or delegation of authority, or any document of or 

19 pertaining to the Department of Health and Human Serv20 ices or the Office of Refugee Resettlement that refers to 

21 the Director of the Office of Refugee Resettlement, shall 

22 be deemed to refer to the Assistant Secretary of Health 

23 and Human Services for Refugee and Asylee Resettle24 ment. 


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1 SEC. 1522. REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT; RADIUS REQUIRE2 MENTS. 

3 The Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration 

4 shall not require a refugee to be resettled within a pre5 scribed radius of a refugee resettlement office. 

6 SEC. 1523. STUDY AND REPORT ON CONTRIBUTIONS BY 

7 REFUGEES TO THE UNITED STATES. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after the 

9 date of the enactment of this Act, and not less frequently 

10 than every 5 years thereafter, the Comptroller General of 

11 the United States shall conduct a study on the economic, 

12 social, and other contributions that refugees make to the 

13 United States. 

14 (b) MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED.—The study con15 ducted under subsection (a) shall include the following: 

16 (1) An assessment of economic contributions 

17 made by refugees, including— 

18 (A) during the first year, 5 years, 10 

19 years, and 20 years following the arrival of a 

20 refugee in the United States— 

21 (i) a description of industries in which 

22 the most refugees work; 

23 (ii) an analysis of the economic and 

24 spending power of refugees; 

25 (iii) the rate of home ownership of 

26 refugees; 


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1 (iv) the estimated net amount of rev2 enue refugees contribute to the United 

3 States, as compared to the cost of govern4 ment benefits accessed by refugees; and 

5 (v) the estimated gross amount of 

6 taxes refugees contribute; 

7 (B) the estimated rate of entrepreneurship 

8 of refugees during the first year, 5 years, 10 

9 years, and 20 years after the arrival of a ref10 ugee; 

11 (C) the number of jobs created by refugee 

12 businesses; and 

13 (D) the labor markets for which refugees 

14 fill critical gaps. 

15 (2) An assessment of the rate of refugee self16 sufficiency and a description of unmet needs and 

17 outcomes, including— 

18 (A) the manner in which the Office of Ref19 ugee Resettlement defines self-sufficiency; 

20 (B) an assessment as to whether such defi21 nition is adequate in addressing refugee needs 

22 in the United States; 

23 (C) an analysis of the unmet needs and 

24 outcomes of refugees; and 


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1 (D) an evaluation of the budgetary re2 sources of the Office of Refugee Resettlement 

3 and a projection of the amount of additional re4 sources necessary to fully address the unmet 

5 needs of refugees and all other populations 

6 within the mandate of the Office of Refugee Re7 settlement, with respect to self-sufficiency. 

8 (3) Recommendations on ways in which the Of9 fice of Refugee Resettlement may improve the rate 

10 of self-sufficiency, outcomes, and the domestic ref11 ugee program with respect to the matters assessed 

12 under paragraphs (1) and (2). 

13 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 30 days after the date 

14 on which a study under subsection (a) is completed, the 

15 Comptroller General shall submit to Congress a report 

16 that describes the results of the study. 

17 SEC. 1524. UPDATE OF RECEPTION AND PLACEMENT 

18 GRANTS. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Beginning with fiscal year 2023, 

20 not later than 30 days before the beginning of each fiscal 

21 year, the Secretary of State shall notify Congress of the 

22 amount of funds that the Secretary of State plans to pro23 vide to national resettlement agencies in reception and 

24 placement grants during the following fiscal year. 


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1 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—In setting the amount of such 

2 grants, the Secretary of State shall ensure that— 

3 (1) the grant amount for each fiscal year is ad4 justed to provide adequately for the anticipated ini5 tial resettlement needs of refugees, including adjust6 ing the amount for inflation and the cost of living; 

7 (2) 100 percent of administrative per capita 

8 based on an approved consolidated placement plan is 

9 provided at the beginning of the fiscal year to each 

10 national resettlement agency to ensure adequate 

11 local and national capacity to serve the initial reset12 tlement needs of the number of refugees the Sec13 retary of State anticipates each such resettlement 

14 agency will resettle during the fiscal year; and 

15 (3) additional amounts are provided to each na16 tional resettlement agency promptly on the arrival of 

17 refugees that, exclusive of the amounts provided 

18 under paragraph (2), are sufficient to meet the an19 ticipated initial resettlement needs of such refugees 

20 and support local and national operational costs in 

21 excess of the estimates described in paragraph (1). 

22 (c) DURATION OF RECEPTION AND PLACEMENT

23 SERVICES.—With respect to individuals eligible to receive 

24 reception and placement grants, the reception and place25 ment period shall be not less than 1 year. 


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1 SEC. 1525. SUBSIDY RECEPTION AND PLACEMENT GRANT 

2 TO SUPPORT UNANTICIPATED ECONOMIC 

3 AND PUBLIC HEALTH NEEDS. 

4 The Secretary of State shall develop and implement 

5 methods and programs to support a subsidizing line item 

6 to supplement the reception and placement grant to ac7 count for unanticipated needs of refugees, such as for eco8 nomic and public health crises that necessitate additional 

9 support. 

10 SEC. 1526. RESETTLEMENT DATA. 

11 Section 412(a) of the Immigration and Nationality 

12 Act (8 U.S.C. 1522(a)) is amended— 

13 (1) in paragraph (2)(A), by inserting ‘‘, and 

14 shall consider data collected under paragraph (11)’’ 

15 before the period at the end; and 

16 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(11)(A) The Assistant Secretary of Health 

18 and Human Services for Refugee and Asylee Reset19 tlement (referred to in this section as the ‘Assistant 

20 Secretary’) shall expand the data analysis, collection, 

21 and sharing activities of the Office of Refugee Reset22 tlement. 

23 ‘‘(B) The Assistant Secretary shall coordinate 

24 with the Centers for Disease Control, national reset25 tlement agencies, community-based organizations, 

26 and State refugee health programs to track national 


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1 and State trends with respect to refugees arriving 

2 with Class A medical conditions and other urgent 

3 medical needs. In collecting information under this 

4 paragraph, the Assistant Secretary shall use initial 

5 refugee health screening data (including any history 

6 of severe trauma, torture, mental health symptoms, 

7 depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress dis8 order) recorded during domestic and international 

9 health screenings, and data on the rate of use of ref10 ugee medical assistance. The Assistant Secretary 

11 shall examine the information sharing process from 

12 country of arrival through refugee resettlement to 

13 determine if access to additional mental health data 

14 could help determine placements and enable agencies 

15 to better prepare to meet refugee mental health 

16 needs. 

17 ‘‘(C) The Assistant Secretary shall partner with 

18 State refugee programs, community-based organiza19 tions, and national resettlement agencies to collect 

20 data relating to the housing needs of refugees, in21 cluding— 

22 ‘‘(i) the number of refugees who rent 

23 apartments or houses and who own condomin24 iums or houses; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the number of refugees who have be2 come homeless and the number at severe risk of 

3 becoming homeless. 

4 ‘‘(D)(i) Beginning on the fifth year after arrival 

5 of a refugee and every 5 years thereafter until the 

6 end of the 20th year after arrival, the Assistant Sec7 retary shall, to the extent practicable, gather longi8 tudinal information relating to refugee self-suffi9 ciency and economic contributions to the United 

10 States including employment status, earnings and 

11 advancement. 

12 ‘‘(ii) The longitudinal study shall consider addi13 tional factors related to self-sufficiency and integra14 tion, including family self-sufficiency and caretaking, 

15 barriers to and opportunities for integration of the 

16 children of refugees and their descendants, and el17 derly resettled refugees. 

18 ‘‘(E) Not less frequently than annually, the As19 sistant Secretary shall— 

20 ‘‘(i) update the data collected under this 

21 paragraph; 

22 ‘‘(ii) submit to Congress a report on such 

23 data; and 

24 ‘‘(iii) not later than 270 days after the end 

25 of the fiscal year following the year for which 


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1 the data was collected, make the data available 

2 to the public on the website of the Office of 

3 Refugee Resettlement.’’. 

4 SEC. 1527. REFUGEE ASSISTANCE. 

5 (a) AMENDMENTS TO SOCIAL SERVICES FUNDING.— 

6 Section 412(c)(1)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality 

7 Act (8 U.S.C. 1522(c)(1)(B)) is amended to read as fol8 lows: 

9 ‘‘(B) The funds available for a fiscal year for 

10 grants and contracts under subparagraph (A) shall 

11 be allocated among the States based on a combina12 tion of— 

13 ‘‘(i) the total number or refugees (includ14 ing children and adults) who arrived in the 

15 United States not more than 36 months before 

16 the beginning of such fiscal year and are actu17 ally residing in each State (taking into account 

18 secondary migration) as of the beginning of the 

19 fiscal year; 

20 ‘‘(ii) the total number of all other eligible 

21 populations served by the Office during the pe22 riod described who are residing in the State as 

23 of the beginning of the fiscal year; and 

24 ‘‘(iii) projections on the number, projec25 tions on regional allocations, and information 


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1 on the nature of incoming refugees and other 

2 populations, such as demographics, case man3 agement or medical needs, served by the Office 

4 during the subsequent fiscal year.’’. 

5 (b) REPORT ON SECONDARY MIGRATION.—Section 

6 412(a)(3) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1522(a)(3)) is amended— 

7 (1) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘a peri8 odic’’ and inserting ‘‘an annual’’; and 

9 (2) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘At the 

10 end of each fiscal year, the Assistant Secretary shall 

11 submit to Congress a report that describes the find12 ings of the assessment, including a list of States and 

13 localities experiencing departures and arrivals due to 

14 secondary migration, likely reasons for migration, 

15 the impact of secondary migration on States receiv16 ing secondary migrants, availability of social services 

17 for secondary migrants in such States, and unmet 

18 needs of those secondary migrants.’’. 

19 (c) ASSISTANCE MADE AVAILABLE TO SECONDARY

20 MIGRANTS.—Section 412(a)(1) of the Immigration and 

21 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1522(a)(1)) is amended by add22 ing at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(C) In providing assistance under this section, 

24 the Assistant Secretary shall ensure that such assist25 ance is also provided to refugees who are secondary 


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1 migrants and meet all other eligibility requirements 

2 for such services.’’. 

3 (d) REFUGEES NEEDING SPECIALIZED MEDICAL

4 CARE OR PREPARATION.—Section 412(b)(4)(B) of the 

5 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

6 1522(b)(4)(B)) is amended by inserting ‘‘requiring spe7 cialized care or preparation before the arrival of such refu8 gees in the United States, or’’ after ‘‘medical conditions’’. 

9 (e) LEGAL ASSISTANCE FOR REFUGEES AND

10 ASYLEES.—Section 412(c)(1)(A) of the Immigration and 

11 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1522(c)(1)(A)) is amended— 

12 (1) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

13 (2) by redesignating clause (iii) as clause (iv); 

14 and 

15 (3) by inserting after clause (ii) the following: 

16 ‘‘(iii) to provide legal services for refu17 gees to assist the refugees in obtaining im18 migration benefits for which the refugees 

19 are eligible; and’’. 

20 (f) NOTICE AND RULEMAKING.—Not later than 90 

21 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, but in 

22 no event later than 30 days before the effective date of 

23 the amendments made by this section, the Assistant Sec24 retary shall— 


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1 (1) issue a proposed rule of the new formula by 

2 which grants and contracts are to be allocated pur3 suant to the amendments made by subsection (c); 

4 and 

5 (2) solicit public comment. 

6 (g) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

7 this section shall take effect on the first day of the first 

8 fiscal year that begins after the date of the enactment of 

9 this Act. 

10 SEC. 1528. STABILIZING RESETTLEMENT SITE CAPACITY 

11 FOR VOLUNTEER COORDINATION, HOUSING 

12 COORDINATION, AND AOR PROCESSING. 

13 In consultation with the Assistant Secretary of the 

14 Office of Refugee Resettlement, the Assistant Secretary 

15 for the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration 

16 shall develop and implement methods for improving volun17 teer coordination, housing coordination, and Affidavit of 

18 Relationship processing to ensure resettlement sites have 

19 the resources and capacity they need. The Assistant Sec20 retary is authorized to make grants to implement this sec21 tion. 


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1 SEC. 1529. COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS, CIVIC ENGAGE2 MENT, AND REFUGEE LEADERSHIP DEVELOP3 MENT. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Secretary for the 

5 Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration shall fund 

6 a full-time employee, to be known as a ‘‘Community Rela7 tions Officer’’, with each State contracted for resettlement 

8 whose position will focus on building community partner9 ships, encouraging diverse attendance at community con10 sultations, and organizing community consultations. 

11 (b) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—The Assistant Secretary 

12 for the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration is 

13 authorized to make grants to, and enter into contracts 

14 with, State and local governments to implement this sec15 tion. 

16 (c) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The responsibilities of a 

17 Community Relations Officer shall be— 

18 (1) to consider opportunities to encourage reg19 ular consultation among diverse stakeholders, such 

20 as by refugees, State Refugee Coordinators and 

21 health coordinators, resettlement agencies, and other 

22 service organizations and Ethnic Community Based 

23 Organizations; 

24 (2) to support civic engagement of refugees and 

25 refugee leadership development; and 


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1 (3) to consider methods to expand outreach to 

2 asylees to ensure asylee access to services. 

3 CHAPTER 3—ACCESS TO SERVICES AND 

4 BENEFITS 

5 SEC. 1531. EXTENSION OF ELIGIBILITY PERIOD FOR SOCIAL 

6 SECURITY BENEFITS FOR CERTAIN REFU7 GEES. 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 402(a)(2)(M)(i) of 

9 the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity 

10 Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 

11 1612(a)(2)(M)(i)) is amended— 

12 (A) in subclause (I), by striking ‘‘9-year’’ 

13 and inserting ‘‘10-year’’; and 

14 (B) in subclause (II), by striking ‘‘2-year’’ 

15 and inserting ‘‘3-year’’. 

16 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The heading 

17 for clause (i) of section 402(a)(2)(M) of such Act is 

18 amended by striking ‘‘TWO-YEAR EXTENSION’’ and 

19 inserting ‘‘EXTENSION’’. 

20 (3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

21 by this subsection shall take effect as of October 1, 

22 2023. 


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1 SEC. 1532. IN-STATE TUITION RATES FOR REFUGEES, 

2 ASYLEES, AND CERTAIN SPECIAL IMMI3 GRANTS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Higher Education Act of 

5 1965 is amended by inserting after section 135 (20 U.S.C. 

6 1015d) the following: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 135A. IN-STATE TUITION RATES FOR REFUGEES, 

8 ASYLEES, AND CERTAIN SPECIAL IMMI9 GRANTS. 

10 ‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT.—In the case of an alien de11 scribed in subsection (b) whose domicile is in a State that 

12 receives assistance under this Act, such State shall not 

13 charge such alien tuition for attendance at a public insti14 tution of higher education in the State at a rate that is 

15 greater than the rate charged for residents of the State. 

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

17 this subsection if the alien was granted— 

18 ‘‘(1) refugee status and admitted to the United 

19 States under section 207 of the Immigration and 

20 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1157); 

21 ‘‘(2) asylum under section 208 of such Act (8 

22 U.S.C. 1158); or 

23 ‘‘(3) special immigrant status under section 

24 101(a)(27) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(27)) pur25 suant to— 


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1 ‘‘(A) section 1244 of the National Defense 

2 Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 (Public 

3 Law 110–181; 8 U.S.C. 1157 note); 

4 ‘‘(B) section 1059 of the National Defense 

5 Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2006 (Public 

6 Law 109–163; 8 U.S.C. 1101 note); or 

7 ‘‘(C) section 602 of the Afghan Allies Pro8 tection Act of 2009 (Public Law 111–8; 8 

9 U.S.C. 1101 note). 

10 ‘‘(c) LIMITATIONS.—The requirement under sub11 section (a) shall apply with respect to an alien only until 

12 the alien has established residency in the State, and only 

13 with respect to the first State in which the alien was first 

14 domiciled after being admitted into the United States as 

15 a refugee or special immigrant or being granted asylum. 

16 ‘‘(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall take ef17 fect at each public institution of higher education in a 

18 State that receives assistance under this Act for the first 

19 period of enrollment at such institution that begins after 

20 July 1, 2024.’’. 

21 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con22 tents for the Higher Education Act of 1965 is amended 

23 by inserting after the item relating to section 135 the fol24 lowing: 

‘‘Sec. 135A. In-State tuition rates for refugees, asylees, and certain special immigrants.’’. 


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1 CHAPTER 4—TRAINING, ORIENTATION, 

2 AND INCLUSION 

3 SEC. 1541. PRE-DEPARTURE TRAINING FOR APPROVED 

4 REFUGEE APPLICANTS. 

5 (a) TRAINING PROGRAMS.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Secretary for 

7 the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, 

8 in consultation with the directors and heads of office 

9 of the Resettlement Support Centers (or the des10 ignees of such directors and heads of office), shall 

11 develop and implement methods for improving over12 seas refugee training programs administered by the 

13 Resettlement Support Centers to offer English as a 

14 second language, work orientation training options, 

15 cultural orientation, civic engagement, and health 

16 and wellness for refugees and Iraqi and Afghan spe17 cial immigrant visa holders and their dependents, 

18 who have been approved for admission to the United 

19 States before their departure for the United States. 

20 (2) COMMUNITY INTEGRATION.—The Assistant 

21 Secretary for the Bureau of Population, Refugees, 

22 and Migration shall develop and implement pre-de23 parture programs for achieving community integra24 tion of refugees resettled in the United States. 


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1 (3) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—The Assistant Sec2 retary for the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and 

3 Migration is authorized to make grants to implement 

4 this subsection. 

5 (b) DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION.—In designing 

6 and implementing the programs referred to in subsection 

7 (a), the Secretary of State shall consult with or use— 

8 (1) nongovernmental or international organiza9 tions with direct ties to the United States refugee 

10 resettlement program; and 

11 (2) nongovernmental or international organiza12 tions with appropriate expertise in developing cur13 riculum and teaching English as a second language. 

14 (c) IMPACT ON PROCESSING TIMES.—The Secretary 

15 of State shall ensure that such training programs are 

16 strictly optional, occur within applicable processing times 

17 and do not delay or prevent the departure for the United 

18 States of refugees who have been approved for admission 

19 to the United States. 

20 (d) TIMELINE FOR IMPLEMENTATION.— 

21 (1) INITIAL IMPLEMENTATION.—Not later than 

22 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

23 the Secretary of State shall ensure that the training 

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1 ually operational in at least 3 refugee processing re2 gions. 

3 (2) ADDITIONAL IMPLEMENTATION.—Not later 

4 than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this 

5 Act, the Secretary of State shall notify the Commit6 tees on Appropriations and the Committee on the 

7 Judiciary of the Senate and the Committees on Ap8 propriations and the Committee on the Judiciary of 

9 the House of Representatives that such training pro10 grams are fully and consistently operational in 5 ref11 ugee processing regions. 

12 (e) GAO REPORT.—Not later than 4 years after the 

13 date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 

14 of the United States shall conduct a study on the imple15 mentation of this section, including an assessment of the 

16 quality of English as a second language curriculum and 

17 instruction, the benefits of the work orientation and 

18 English as a second language training program to refu19 gees, and recommendations on whether such programs 

20 should be continued, broadened, or modified, and shall 

21 submit to the Committee on Appropriations and the Com22 mittee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee 

23 on Appropriations and the Committee on the Judiciary of 

24 the House of Representatives a report on the findings of 

25 such study. 


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1 (f) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec2 tion may be construed to require that a refugee participate 

3 in such a training program as a precondition for the ad4 mission to the United States of such refugee. 

5 SEC. 1542. DOMESTIC REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT PRO6 GRAMS ON DIGITAL AND FINANCIAL LIT7 ERACY; HOUSING AND TRANSPORTATION AC8 CESS. 

9 (a) AMENDMENTS TO SOCIAL SERVICES FUNDING.— 

10 Section 412(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

11 U.S.C. 1522(b)) is amended to read as follows: 

12 ‘‘(b) PROGRAMS FOR DIGITAL AND FINANCIAL LIT13 ERACY AND HOUSING AND TRANSPORTATION ACCESS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Secretary of 

15 the Office of Refugee Resettlement, in consultation 

16 with the Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Pop17 ulation, Refugees, and Migration, shall develop and 

18 implement methods— 

19 ‘‘(A) for improving the digital literacy of 

20 refugees, and strengthening their access to dig21 ital devices and broadband; 

22 ‘‘(B) to support refugees with bereavement 

23 costs and financial literacy, such as life insur24 ance, retirement, banking, and other forms of 

25 financial independence; 


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1 ‘‘(C) to support refugees’ access to afford2 able housing, home ownership, public housing, 

3 legal orientation, and public transportation; and 

4 ‘‘(D) to support refugees’ driving orienta5 tion with respect to laws, defensive driving, and 

6 vehicle maintenance classes. 

7 ‘‘(2) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—The Assistant 

8 Secretary of the Office of Refugee Resettlement is 

9 authorized to make grants to, and enter into con10 tracts with, State and local governments and reset11 tlement agencies to implement this section.’’. 

12 (b) IMMEDIATE ELIGIBILITY FOR DRIVER’S LI13 CENSES FOR REFUGEES, ASYLEES, AND CERTAIN SPE14 CIAL IMMIGRANTS.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any State in which a alien 

16 described in paragraph (2) is domiciled shall waive 

17 residency requirements for obtaining a driver’s li18 cense or an identification card in a manner than en19 sure that such an alien is immediately eligible for a 

20 driver’s license or identification card, including 

21 under section 202 of the REAL ID Act of 2005 (di22 vision B of Public Law 109–13; 49 U.S.C. 30301 

23 note), notwithstanding subsection (c)(2)(B) of such 

24 Act. 


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1 (2) ALIEN DESCRIBED.—An alien is described 

2 in this subsection if the alien was granted— 

3 (A) refugee status and admitted to the 

4 United States under section 207 of the Immi5 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1157); 

6 (B) asylum under section 208 of such Act 

7 (8 U.S.C. 1158); or 

8 (C) special immigrant status under section 

9 101(a)(27) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(27)) 

10 pursuant to section 1244 of the National De11 fense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 

12 (Public Law 111–84; 8 U.S.C. 1157 note); sec13 tion 1059 of the National Defense Authoriza14 tion Act for Fiscal Year 2006 (Public Law 

15 109–163; 8 U.S.C. 1101 note); or section 602 

16 of the Afghan Allies Protection Act of 2009 

17 (Public Law 111–8; 8 U.S.C. 1101 note). 

18 (c) ADDITIONAL PROGRAMS.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Secretary for 

20 the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, 

21 in consultation with the Assistant Secretary of the 

22 Office of Refugee Resettlement, shall develop and 

23 implement methods— 


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1 (A) for improving the digital literacy of 

2 refugees, and strengthening their access to dig3 ital devices and broadband; 

4 (B) to support refugees with bereavement 

5 costs and financial literacy, such as life insur6 ance, retirement, banking, and other forms of 

7 financial independence; and 

8 (C) to support refugees’ access to afford9 able housing, home ownership, public housing, 

10 legal orientation, and public transportation. 

11 (2) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—The Assistant Sec12 retary for the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and 

13 Migration is authorized to make grants to, and enter 

14 into contracts with, State and local governments and 

15 resettlement agencies to implement this subsection. 

16 SEC. 1543. STUDY AND REPORT ON DIGITAL LITERACY, EQ17 UITY, AND INCLUSION AMONG REFUGEES IN 

18 THE UNITED STATES. 

19 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

20 (1) DIGITAL EQUITY.—The term ‘‘digital eq21 uity’’ means the condition in which individuals and 

22 communities have the information technology capac23 ity that is needed for full participation in the soci24 ety, democracy, and economy of the United States. 


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1 (2) DIGITAL INCLUSION.—The term ‘‘digital in2 clusion’’— 

3 (A) means the activities that are necessary 

4 to ensure that all individuals in the United 

5 States have access to, and the use of, affordable 

6 information and communication technologies, 

7 such as— 

8 (i) reliable broadband internet service; 

9 (ii) internet-enabled devices that meet 

10 the needs of the user; and 

11 (iii) applications and online content 

12 designed to enable and encourage self-suf13 ficiency, participation, and collaboration, 

14 including applications and online content 

15 that can be rendered accessible in the 

16 user’s preferred language; and 

17 (B) includes— 

18 (i) obtaining access to digital literacy 

19 training; 

20 (ii) the provision of quality technical 

21 support; and 

22 (iii) obtaining basic awareness of 

23 measures to ensure online privacy and cy24 bersecurity. 


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1 (3) DIGITAL LITERACY.—The term ‘‘digital lit2 eracy’’ means the skills associated with using tech3 nology to enable learners to find, evaluate, organize, 

4 create, communicate, and understand information in 

5 the learner’s preferred language. 

6 (b) STUDY.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 

8 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comp9 troller General of the United States shall conduct a 

10 study on the status of digital literacy among refu11 gees resettled to the United States. 

12 (2) MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED.—The study 

13 conducted under paragraph (1) shall include the fol14 lowing: 

15 (A) An assessment of refugee digital lit16 eracy, equity, and inclusion outcomes including 

17 an analysis of— 

18 (i) access to internet service subscrip19 tions as measured by the rates at which 

20 households subscribe to service plans, the 

21 quality of service plans, and the afford22 ability of service plans; 

23 (ii) device access as measured by type, 

24 and number per members of household 

25 school-age and older; 


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1 (iii) digital literacy as measured by a 

2 continuum of proficiency rates and ability 

3 to overcome language barriers; 

4 (iv) availability of technical assistance 

5 and training services; 

6 (v) digital usage patterns (such as 

7 school, work, job applications, or coding); 

8 and 

9 (vi) awareness of, availability of, and 

10 ability to navigate to public access points 

11 (such as schools, libraries and other com12 munity access). 

13 (B) The results of the assessment under 

14 subparagraph (A) disaggregated by socio15 economic factors, including income level, race 

16 and ethnicity, gender, preferred language, age, 

17 disability, and level of education. 

18 (C) An assessment of how digital literacy, 

19 equity, and inclusion limitations impact refugee 

20 integration outcomes across— 

21 (i) employment; 

22 (ii) participation in financial systems; 

23 (iii) participation in democracy; 

24 (iv) civic engagement; 

25 (v) adult education; 


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1 (vi) children’s education; and 

2 (vii) access to health services. 

3 (D) An assessment of whether and how 

4 digital literacy training, free internet service, 

5 and technical support should be incorporated as 

6 part of cultural orientation programs offered to 

7 refugees before their arrival in the United 

8 States and to refugees recently arrived in the 

9 United States. 

10 (E) An assessment of whether and how re11 lated costs to support digital literacy, equity, 

12 and inclusion, should be factored into reception 

13 and placement per capita grant amounts, in14 cluding for— 

15 (i) the 1-time cost of digital device 

16 purchases, ensuring adequate and gender17 equitable distribution of devices per house18 hold; and 

19 (ii) ongoing internet service subscrip20 tion costs. 

21 (F) An assessment of whether and how to 

22 include a measure of digital literacy in the self23 sufficiency metrics used by the Office of Ref24 ugee Resettlement to assess refugee integration 

25 outcomes. 


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1 (G) A survey of existing digital literacy, 

2 equity, and inclusion programming across reset3 tlement agency offices and existing best prac4 tices, including— 

5 (i) technology mentorship programs; 

6 (ii) digital literacy workshops; 

7 (iii) digitally related career pathways; 

8 (iv) device ownership programs; 

9 (v) digital navigator programs; and 

10 (vi) home broadband support. 

11 (H) An evaluation of the budgetary re12 sources of the Office of Refugee Resettlement 

13 and a projection of the amount of additional re14 sources necessary to fully address the unmet 

15 needs of refugees and all other populations 

16 within the mandate of the Office of Refugee Re17 settlement, with respect to digital literacy, eq18 uity, and inclusion. 

19 (I) Recommendations on ways in which the 

20 Office of Refugee Resettlement may improve 

21 digital literacy outcomes and the domestic ref22 ugee resettlement program with respect to dig23 ital literacy, equity, and inclusion. 

24 (J) Recommendations for metrics and cri25 teria for evaluating digital literacy, equity, and 


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1 inclusion in populations within the mandate of 

2 the Office of Refugee Resettlement. 

3 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 30 days after the date 

4 on which a study under subsection (a) is completed, the 

5 Comptroller General shall submit a report to the Com6 mittee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee 

7 on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives that de8 scribes the results of the study. 

9 CHAPTER 5—DOMESTIC REFUGEE RESET10 TLEMENT REFORM AND MODERNIZA11 TION ACT 

12 SEC. 1551. SHORT TITLE. 

13 This chapter may be cited as the ‘‘Domestic Refugee 

14 Resettlement Reform and Modernization Act of 2022’’. 

15 SEC. 1552. DEFINITIONS. 

16 In this chapter: 

17 (1) ASSISTANT SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Assist18 ant Secretary’’ means the Assistant Secretary of the 

19 Office of Refugee Resettlement in the Department of 

20 Health and Human Services. 

21 (2) COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATION.—The 

22 term ‘‘community-based organization’’ means a non23 profit organization providing a variety of social, 

24 health, educational and community services to a popVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:06 Jan 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00215 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5353.IS S5353

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1 ulation that includes refugees resettled into the 

2 United States. 

3 (3) NATIONAL RESETTLEMENT AGENCIES.— 

4 The term ‘‘national resettlement agencies’’ means 

5 voluntary agencies contracting with the Department 

6 of State to provide sponsorship and initial resettle7 ment services to refugees entering the United States. 

8 SEC. 1553. ASSESSMENT OF REFUGEE DOMESTIC RESET9 TLEMENT PROGRAMS. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable after the 

11 date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 

12 of the United States shall conduct a study regarding the 

13 effectiveness of the domestic refugee resettlement pro14 grams operated by the Office of Refugee Resettlement. 

15 (b) MATTERS TO BE STUDIED.—In the study re16 quired under subsection (a), the Comptroller General shall 

17 determine and analyze— 

18 (1) how the Office of Refugee Resettlement de19 fines self-sufficiency and integration and if these 

20 definitions adequately represent refugees’ needs in 

21 the United States; 

22 (2) the effectiveness of Office of Refugee Reset23 tlement programs in helping refugees to meet self24 sufficiency and integration; 


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1 (3) technological solutions for consistently 

2 tracking secondary migration, including opportuni3 ties for interagency data sharing; 

4 (4) the Office of Refugee Resettlement’s budg5 etary resources and project the amount of additional 

6 resources needed to fully address the unmet needs of 

7 refugees with regard to self-sufficiency and integra8 tion; 

9 (5) the role of community-based organizations 

10 in serving refugees in areas experiencing a high 

11 number of new refugee arrivals; 

12 (6) how community-based organizations can be 

13 better utilized and supported in the Federal domes14 tic resettlement process; 

15 (7) recertification processes for high-skilled ref16 ugees, specifically considering how to decrease bar17 riers for refugees and special immigrant visa holders 

18 to use their skills; and 

19 (8) recommended statutory changes to improve 

20 the Office of Refugee Resettlement and the domestic 

21 refugee program in relation to the matters analyzed 

22 under paragraphs (1) through (7). 

23 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the date 

24 of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall 

25 submit a report to the Committee on the Judiciary of the 


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1 Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House 

2 of Representatives that contains the results of the study 

3 conducted under this section. 

4 SEC. 1554. GUIDANCE REGARDING REFUGEE PLACEMENT 

5 DECISIONS. 

6 (a) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary of State shall 

7 provide guidance to national resettlement agencies and 

8 State refugee coordinators on consultation with local 

9 stakeholders pertaining to refugee resettlement. 

10 (b) BEST PRACTICES.—The Secretary of Health and 

11 Human Services, in collaboration with the Secretary of 

12 State, shall collect best practices related to the implemen13 tation of the guidance on stakeholder consultation on ref14 ugee resettlement from voluntary agencies and State ref15 ugee coordinators and disseminate such best practices to 

16 such agencies and coordinators. 

17 CHAPTER 6—OVERSEAS PROCESSING AND 

18 PREPARATION 

19 SEC. 1561. REFUGEE BIOMETRIC DATA AND REPORTING. 

20 (a) The Department of State, in consultation with the 

21 Department of Homeland Security, shall permit United 

22 States Government staff already in-country to travel to 

23 collect the fingerprints and biometric data of refugees, in 

24 absence of circuit rides. 


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1 (b) The Secretary of State, in consultation with the 

2 Secretary of Homeland Security, shall develop and imple3 ment methods to enhance virtual citizenship and virtual 

4 adjudication of citizenship applications, including remote 

5 interviews and ceremonies to expedite the process. 

6 (c) The Secretary of Homeland Security shall 

7 robustly implement the plan to permit the use of video 

8 and audio teleconferencing to conduct refugee interviews 

9 and establish the necessary infrastructure to do so. The 

10 Department of Homeland Security is directed to issue a 

11 report within 90 days of enactment the details of how 

12 many interviews were conducted remotely or by video, 

13 what infrastructure was created to do so, and what the 

14 Department needs to expand the use of remote interviews. 

15 The report shall also include challenges and best practices 

16 in conducting remote interviews and factors that informed 

17 the Department’s decisions around which applicants were 

18 eligible for a remote interview. The report shall further 

19 include recommendations for a significant investment in 

20 internet infrastructure solutions, such as Wi-Fi and 

21 broadband access, in remote processing locations, as fail22 ure to do so will disproportionately impact processing and 

23 departures from certain parts of the world. 


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1 SEC. 1562. PRIORITIZATION OF FAMILY REUNIFICATION IN 

2 REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT PROCESS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State shall 

4 prioritize the cases of persons referred by the United Na5 tions High Commissioner for Refugees, groups of special 

6 humanitarian concern to the United States under section 

7 207(a)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

8 U.S.C. 1157(a)(1)), and refugees seeking reunification 

9 with relatives living in the United States, regardless of the 

10 nationality of such refugees. 

11 (b) REGULATIONS.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State, in 

13 consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Secu14 rity, shall promulgate regulations to ensure that an 

15 individual seeking admission to the United States as 

16 a refugee shall not be excluded from being inter17 viewed for refugee status based on— 

18 (A) a close family relationship to a citizen 

19 or lawful permanent resident of the United 

20 States; 

21 (B) a potential qualification of the indi22 vidual for an immigrant visa; or 

23 (C) a pending application by the individual 

24 for admission to the United States. 

25 (2) SIMULTANEOUS CONSIDERATION.—The reg26 ulations promulgated under paragraph (1) shall enVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:06 Jan 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00220 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5353.IS S5353

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1 sure that an applicant for admission as a refugee is 

2 permitted to pursue simultaneously admission to the 

3 United States— 

4 (A) as a refugee; and 

5 (B) under any visa category for which the 

6 applicant may be eligible. 

7 (c) NOTICE OF SEPARATE TRAVEL.—In the case of 

8 an applicant for admission under section 207 of the Immi9 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1157) the applica10 tion of whom is placed on hold for more than three months 

11 and one or more members of the family of the applicant 

12 have separate pending applications for admission under 

13 such section, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall— 

14 (1) notify any individual on that case who is eli15 gible to travel separately of the option to separate 

16 the case of the individual from the family unit; and 

17 (2) permit the individual to travel based on the 

18 satisfaction by the individual of all security and 

19 other requirements for a refugee application. 

20 (d) USE OF EMBASSY REFERRALS.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State shall 

22 set forth a plan to ensure that each United States 

23 embassy and consulate is equipped and enabled to 

24 refer individuals in need of resettlement to the 

25 United States refugee admissions program. 


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1 (2) TRAINING.—The Secretary of State shall 

2 undertake training for embassy personnel to ensure 

3 that each embassy and consulate has sufficient 

4 knowledge and expertise to carry out this paragraph. 

5 SEC. 1563. PRIORITY 3 FAMILY REUNIFICATION CASES. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Because of the importance of re7 uniting immediate refugee families who have been sepa8 rated while fleeing from persecution, Priority 3 processing 

9 shall be made available to individuals of all nationalities, 

10 including stateless individuals. 

11 (b) UNIVERSAL ELIGIBILITY FOR ALL NATIONALI12 TIES.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Eligible Priority 3 Affidavit 

14 of Relationship filers will include those admitted in 

15 asylum, refugee, or Afghan and Iraqi special immi16 grants admitted under section 1059 of the National 

17 Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2006 

18 (Public Law 109–163; 8 U.S.C. 1101 note), section 

19 1244 of the Refugee Crisis in Iraq Act of 2007 

20 (Public Law 110–181; 8 U.S.C. 1157 note), and sec21 tion 602 of the Afghan Allies Protection Act of 2009 

22 (Public Law 111–8; 8 U.S.C. 1101 note). 

23 (2) ELIGIBLE AFFIDAVIT OF RELATIONSHIP

24 FILES.—Eligible Affidavit of Relationship (referred 

25 to in this section as ‘‘AOR’’) filers include individVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:06 Jan 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00222 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5353.IS S5353

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1 uals who are lawful permanent residents of the 

2 United States or United States citizens who initially 

3 were admitted to the United States in a status de4 scribed in paragraph (1). 

5 (c) REQUIREMENTS.—The United States-based filer 

6 shall be at least 18 years of age at the time that the AOR 

7 is filed. The filer shall file the AOR not later than 5 years 

8 after the date they were admitted as a refugee or special 

9 immigrant or were granted asylum. The Secretary of State 

10 may reject any AOR for a relationship that does not com11 port with public policy, such as under-age or plural mar12 riages. 

13 (d) FAMILY MEMBERS INCLUDED.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The following family mem15 bers of the United States-based family members are 

16 qualified for Priority 3 access: 

17 (A) Spouse. 

18 (B) Unmarried children who are younger 

19 than 21 years of age. 

20 (C) Parents. 

21 (2) PARTNERS.—The Secretary of State may 

22 allow a qualifying individual to file for Priority 3 ac23 cess for a partner of any gender if the filer can pro24 vide evidence of a relationship with the partner for 

25 at least one year overseas prior to the submission of 


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1 the AOR and considered that person to be his or her 

2 spouse or life partner, and that the relationship is 

3 ongoing, together with evidence that legal marriage 

4 was not an obtainable option due to social or legal 

5 prohibitions. 

6 (e) DERIVATIVE REFUGEE STATUS.—In addition to 

7 the qualifying family members of a United States-based 

8 individual identified above, the qualifying family member’s 

9 spouse and unmarried children younger than 21 years of 

10 age may derive refugee status from the principal applicant 

11 for refugee status. 

12 (f) ADDITIONAL QUALIFYING FAMILY MEMBERS.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—On a case-by-case basis, an 

14 individual may be added to a qualifying family mem15 ber’s Priority 3 case if that individual— 

16 (A) lived in the same household as the 

17 qualifying family member in the country of na18 tionality or, if stateless, last habitual residence; 

19 (B) was part of the same economic unit as 

20 the qualifying family member in the country of 

21 nationality or, if stateless, last habitual resi22 dence; and 

23 (C) demonstrates exceptional and compel24 ling humanitarian circumstances that justify in25 clusion on the qualifying family member’s case. 


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1 (2) REFUGEE STATUS INDEPENDENT FROM

2 PRINCIPAL APPLICANT.—To be added to a qualifying 

3 family member’s case under paragraph (1), an indi4 vidual described in paragraph (1) shall independ5 ently establish that they are refugees. 

6 (g) REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after the date 

7 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland 

8 Security, in collaboration with the Secretary of State, shall 

9 submit a report to Congress that— 

10 (1) describes the steps taken by the administra11 tion to re-examine and expedite Priority 3 proc12 essing, including— 

13 (A) reducing lengthy delays in the initial 

14 paper review by the U.S. Citizenship and Immi15 gration Services Refugee Access Verification 

16 Unit (referred to in this subsection as 

17 ‘‘RAVU’’) of the relationship between the an18 chor relative and overseas family member listed 

19 on the Affidavit of Relationship; 

20 (B) reducing inefficiencies in DNA testing; 

21 and 

22 (C) making more efficient other processing 

23 steps that are required only for Priority 3 

24 cases; 


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1 (2) details the resources necessary to improve 

2 RAVU so as to improve Priority 3 processing and 

3 ensure that the number of U.S. Citizenship and Im4 migration Services employees dedicated to RAVU is 

5 consistently not less than 4 full-time dedicated per6 sonnel so as to maintain a capacity to complete 

7 RAVU within 30 days of receipt of each case; and 

8 (3) includes the following data as of the first 

9 day of each fiscal year and each of the 6 fiscal years 

10 preceding the date of the enactment of this Act, 

11 for— 

12 (A) Priority 3 refugee applicants who had 

13 submitted an AOR and were waiting for an ini14 tial interview with the resettlement support cen15 ter; 

16 (B) Priority 3 refugee applicants who had 

17 completed the initial interview at the Refugee 

18 Processing Center and whose applications were 

19 not yet submitted by the Refugee Processing 

20 Center to RAVU; 

21 (C) Priority 3 refugee applicants whose ap22 plications were submitted by the Refugee Proc23 essing Center to RAVU and were pending a de24 cision by RAVU; 


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1 (D) Priority 3 refugee applicants whose 

2 applications were decided by RAVU and were 

3 pending a pre-screening interview at the Ref4 ugee Processing Center; 

5 (E) Priority 3 refugee applicants who com6 pleted a pre-screening interview at the Refugee 

7 Processing Center and who were pending inter8 views with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration 

9 Services; 

10 (F) Priority 3 refugee applicants who had 

11 completed interviews and were pending security 

12 clearance; 

13 (G) Priority 3 refugee applicants who were 

14 ready for departure; and 

15 (H) Priority 3 refugee applicants who have 

16 died or gone missing while in the Priority appli17 cation process without ever being reunited with 

18 their families. 

19 SEC. 1564. CREATING A ROVING RESETTLEMENT SUPPORT 

20 CENTER. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

22 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State 

23 shall establish a Roving Resettlement Support Center to 

24 increase overall operational agility and responsiveness of 

25 the United States Refugee Admissions Program. 


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1 (b) DUTIES.—The Roving Resettlement Support 

2 Center shall— 

3 (1) coordinate and manage refugee processing 

4 for the United States Refugee Admissions Program, 

5 including— 

6 (A) receive and process cases referred to 

7 the United States Refugee Admissions program 

8 by the United Nations High Commissioner for 

9 Refugees, nongovernmental organizations, and 

10 United States embassies; 

11 (B) receive and process resettlement appli12 cations under all Priority categories; and 

13 (2) build the operational capacity for the rapid 

14 deployment of single-site resettlement processing 

15 during unanticipated refugee crises; and 

16 (3) provide support and technical assistance to 

17 the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees 

18 to expand and improve referral capacity as needed. 

19 Subtitle F—Authorization of 

20 Appropriations 

21 SEC. 1601. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

22 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 

23 as may be necessary to carry out this title, including, in 

24 addition to annual funds derived from fee accounts of U.S. 

25 Citizenship and Immigration Services, such sums as may 


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1 be necessary to reduce the humanitarian backlog of ref2 ugee, asylum, and other humanitarian applications to the 

3 Refugee, Asylum and International Operations Direc4 torate. 

5 TITLE II—REFUGEE AND ASY6 LUM SEEKER PROCESSING IN 

7 WESTERN HEMISPHERE 

8 SEC. 2101. EXPANSION OF REFUGEE AND ASYLUM SEEKER 

9 PROCESSING. 

10 (a) STRENGTHENING PROCESSING AND ADJUDICA11 TION CAPACITY.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State, in 

13 consultation with the Secretary, shall collaborate 

14 with international partners, including the United 

15 Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, to sup16 port and strengthen the domestic capacity of coun17 tries in the Western Hemisphere— 

18 (A) to process and accept refugees for re19 settlement; and 

20 (B) to adjudicate asylum claims. 

21 (2) SUPPORT AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— 

22 The Secretary of State, in consultation with the Sec23 retary, shall provide support and technical assistance 

24 to countries in the Western Hemisphere to help such 

25 countries— 


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1 (A) expand and improve their capacity to 

2 identify, process, and adjudicate refugee claims, 

3 adjudicate applications for asylum, or otherwise 

4 accept refugees referred for resettlement by the 

5 United Nations High Commissioner for Refu6 gees or host nations, including by increasing the 

7 number of refugee and asylum officers (as de8 fined in section 235(b)(1)(E) of the Immigra9 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

10 1225(b)(1)(E))) who are trained in the relevant 

11 legal standards for adjudicating claims for pro12 tection; 

13 (B) establish and expand safe and secure 

14 refugee reception centers to facilitate the safe 

15 and orderly movement of individuals and fami16 lies seeking international protection; 

17 (C) improve national refugee and asylum 

18 registration systems to ensure that any person 

19 seeking refugee status, asylum, or other human20 itarian protections— 

21 (i) receives due process and meaning22 ful access to existing humanitarian protec23 tions; 


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1 (ii) is provided with adequate informa2 tion about his or her rights, including the 

3 right to seek protection; 

4 (iii) is properly screened for security, 

5 including biographic and biometric capture; 

6 and 

7 (iv) receives appropriate documents to 

8 prevent fraud and ensure freedom of move9 ment and access to basic social services; 

10 and 

11 (D) develop the capacity to conduct best 

12 interest determinations for unaccompanied chil13 dren with international protection needs to en14 sure that— 

15 (i) such children are properly reg16 istered; and 

17 (ii) their claims are appropriately con18 sidered. 

19 (b) DIPLOMATIC ENGAGEMENT AND COORDINA20 TION.—The Secretary of State, in coordination with the 

21 Secretary, as appropriate, shall— 

22 (1) carry out diplomatic engagement to secure 

23 commitments from governments to resettle refugees 

24 from Central America; and 


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1 (2) take all necessary steps to ensure effective 

2 cooperation among governments resettling refugees 

3 from Central America. 

4 (c) STRENGTHENING OF REFERRAL PATHWAYS.— 

5 The Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary, 

6 shall— 

7 (1) certify and partner with local and national 

8 nongovernmental organizations that operate overseas 

9 to make Priority 1 referrals to the United States 

10 Refugee Admissions Program— 

11 (A) to increase referral pathways for the 

12 United States Refugee Admissions Program; 

13 (B) to diversify referral pathways and pre14 vent program impacts due to operational delays 

15 and capacity limitations in the referral proc16 esses of the United Nations High Commissioner 

17 for Refugees; and 

18 (C) to expand access to the United States 

19 Refugee Admissions Program to particularly 

20 vulnerable refugees, including— 

21 (i) individuals with urgent protection 

22 needs who might otherwise be overlooked; 

23 (ii) individuals who are at risk in 

24 camps, such as LGBTQI individuals; and 


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1 (iii) individuals living in noncamp set2 tings; 

3 (2) work with national nongovernmental organi4 zations to identify referrals from smaller nongovern5 mental organizations to the United States Refugee 

6 Admissions Program; 

7 (3) direct resettlement support centers to facili8 tate and accept such referrals; 

9 (4) provide training for new referral partners to 

10 encourage new nongovernmental organizations to 

11 participate in resettlement; 

12 (5) ensure coordination with partners already 

13 working with refugees in the region; and 

14 (6) continue to implement robust fraud-preven15 tion measures as part of the establishment of refer16 ral structures under this subsection— 

17 (A) to continue to safeguard the integrity 

18 of the United States Refugee Admissions Pro19 gram; and 

20 (B) to prevent corruption through manipu21 lation of the resettlement system. 

22 SEC. 2102. STRENGTHENING REGIONAL HUMANITARIAN RE23 SPONSES. 

24 The Secretary of State, in consultation with the Sec25 retary, and in coordination with international partners, inVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:06 Jan 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00233 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5353.IS S5353

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1 cluding the United Nations High Commissioner for Refu2 gees, shall support and coordinate with the government 

3 of each country hosting a significant population of refu4 gees and asylum seekers from El Salvador, Guatemala, 

5 and Honduras— 

6 (1) to establish and expand temporary shelter 

7 and shelter network capacity to meet the immediate 

8 protection and humanitarian needs of refugees and 

9 asylum seekers, including shelters for families, 

10 women, unaccompanied children, and other vulner11 able populations; 

12 (2) to deliver to refugees and asylum seekers 

13 humanitarian assistance that— 

14 (A) is sensitive to gender identity and sex15 ual orientation, trauma, and age; and 

16 (B) includes access to accurate informa17 tion, legal representation, education, livelihood 

18 opportunities, cash assistance, mental and phys19 ical health care, and other services; 

20 (3) to establish and expand sexual, gender21 based, intimate partner, and intra-family violence 

22 prevention, recovery, and humanitarian program23 ming; 

24 (4) to fund national and community humani25 tarian organizations in humanitarian response; and 


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1 (5) to support local integration initiatives to 

2 help refugees and asylum seekers rebuild their lives 

3 and contribute in a meaningful way to the local 

4 economy in their host country. 

5 SEC. 2103. INFORMATION CAMPAIGN ON DANGERS OF IR6 REGULAR MIGRATION. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State, in con8 sultation with the Secretary, shall design and implement 

9 public information campaigns in El Salvador, Guatemala, 

10 and Honduras— 

11 (1) to disseminate information about the poten12 tial dangers of travel to the United States; 

13 (2) to provide accurate information about 

14 United States immigration law and policy; and 

15 (3) to provide accurate information about the 

16 availability of asylum and other humanitarian pro17 tections in countries in the Western Hemisphere. 

18 (b) ELEMENTS.—To the greatest extent possible, the 

19 information campaigns implemented pursuant to sub20 section (a)— 

21 (1) shall be targeted at regions with high rates 

22 of violence, high levels of out-bound migration, or 

23 significant populations of internally displaced per24 sons; 

25 (2) shall use local languages; 


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1 (3) shall employ a variety of communications 

2 media; and 

3 (4) shall be developed in consultation with pro4 gram officials at the Department of Homeland Secu5 rity, the Department of State, and other govern6 ment, nonprofit, or academic entities in close contact 

7 with migrant populations from El Salvador, Guate8 mala, and Honduras, including repatriated migrants. 

9 SEC. 2104. REPORTING REQUIREMENT. 

10 Not later than 90 days after the date of the enact11 ment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in consultation 

12 with the Secretary, shall submit a report describing the 

13 plans of the Secretary of State to assist in developing the 

14 refugee and asylum processing capabilities described in 

15 this title to— 

16 (1) the Committee on the Judiciary of the Sen17 ate; 

18 (2) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 

19 Senate; 

20 (3) the Committee on Appropriations of the 

21 Senate; 

22 (4) the Committee on the Judiciary of the 

23 House of Representatives; 

24 (5) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 

25 House of Representatives; and 


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1 (6) the Committee on Appropriations of the 

2 House of Representatives. 

3 SEC. 2105. IDENTIFICATION, SCREENING, AND PROCESSING 

4 OF REFUGEES AND OTHER INDIVIDUALS ELI5 GIBLE FOR LAWFUL ADMISSION TO THE 

6 UNITED STATES. 

7 (a) DESIGNATED PROCESSING CENTERS.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 

9 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

10 of State, in consultation with the Secretary, shall 

11 enter into agreements for the Secretary to establish 

12 designated processing centers for— 

13 (A) registering, screening, and processing 

14 refugees and other eligible individuals in North 

15 America and Central America; and 

16 (B) resettling or relocating such individ17 uals to the United States or to other countries. 

18 (2) LOCATIONS.—Not fewer than 1 designated 

19 processing center shall be established in a safe and 

20 secure location identified by the United States and 

21 the host government in— 

22 (A) El Salvador; 

23 (B) Guatemala; 

24 (C) Honduras; 

25 (D) Mexico; 


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1 (E) Costa Rica; and 

2 (F) any other country that the Secretary 

3 of State determines can accept and process re4 quests and applications under this title, includ5 ing any country in North America or Central 

6 America that is hosting significant numbers of 

7 refugees or other displaced individuals. 

8 (b) ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF REGIONAL PROC9 ESSING.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of U.S. Citi11 zenship and Immigration Services shall appoint an 

12 Assistant Director of Regional Processing, who shall 

13 oversee the establishment and operation of all des14 ignated processing centers. 

15 (2) DUTIES.—The Assistant Director of Re16 gional Processing, in coordination with the Secretary 

17 and the Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigra18 tion Services, shall— 

19 (A) coordinate with the Secretary of State 

20 and the host country to ensure that each des21 ignated processing center is safe, secure, and 

22 reasonably accessible to the public to facilitate 

23 the registration, screening, and processing of 

24 individuals under this title; 


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1 (B) establish standard operating proce2 dures for the registration, screening, and proc3 essing of individuals under this title; 

4 (C) oversee the administration of the pro5 cedures established pursuant to subparagraph 

6 (B); and 

7 (D) carry out other duties and powers pre8 scribed by the Director of U.S. Citizenship and 

9 Immigration Services. 

10 (c) PERSONNEL.— 

11 (1) REFUGEE OFFICERS AND RELATED PER12 SONNEL.—The Secretary, in consultation with the 

13 Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Serv14 ices and the Assistant Director of Regional Proc15 essing, shall ensure that sufficient numbers of ref16 ugee officers and other personnel are assigned to 

17 each designated processing center to fulfill the re18 quirements under this title. 

19 (2) SUPPORT PERSONNEL.—The Secretary and 

20 the Attorney General shall hire and assign sufficient 

21 personnel to ensure that all security and law en22 forcement background checks required under this 

23 title are completed not later than 180 days after a 

24 relevant application is submitted, absent exceptional 

25 circumstances. 


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1 (d) OPERATIONS.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each designated processing 

3 center established pursuant to subsection (a)(2) 

4 shall commence operations not later than 270 days 

5 after the date of the enactment of this Act, absent 

6 extraordinary circumstances. 

7 (2) PRODUCTIVITY.—The Secretary, in coordi8 nation with the Secretary of State, shall— 

9 (A) monitor the activities of each des10 ignated processing center; and 

11 (B) establish metrics and criteria for eval12 uating the productivity of each designated proc13 essing center. 

14 (3) CONTINUING OPERATIONS.—Each des15 ignated processing center— 

16 (A) shall remain in operation for not less 

17 than 5 fiscal years; and 

18 (B) shall continue operating until the Sec19 retary determines, in consultation with the Sec20 retary of State, and using the metrics and cri21 teria established pursuant to paragraph (2)(B), 

22 that the designated processing center has failed 

23 to maintain sufficient productivity for at least 4 

24 consecutive calendar quarters. 


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1 (4) REGISTRATION.—Each designated proc2 essing center shall receive and register individuals 

3 seeking to apply for benefits under this title. 

4 (5) INTAKE.—Consistent with this title, reg5 istered individuals shall be assessed to determine the 

6 benefits for which they may be eligible, including— 

7 (A) refugee resettlement pursuant to the 

8 Central American Refugee Program described 

9 in section 2106; 

10 (B) the Central American Minors Program 

11 described in section 2107; and 

12 (C) the Central American Family Reunifi13 cation Parole Program described in section 

14 2108. 

15 (6) EXPEDITED PROCESSING.—The Secretary 

16 may grant expedited processing of applications and 

17 requests under this title in emergency situations, for 

18 humanitarian reasons, or if other circumstances war19 rant expedited treatment. 

20 (e) CONGRESSIONAL REPORTS.—Not later than Jan21 uary 31 of the first fiscal year immediately following the 

22 conclusion of the fiscal year during which the first des23 ignated processing center commences operations, and 

24 every January 31 thereafter, the Secretary, in consulta25 tion with the Secretary of State, shall submit a report to 


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1 the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate, the Com2 mittee on Foreign Relations of the Senate, the Committee 

3 on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives, and the 

4 Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representa5 tives that identifies, with respect to each designated proc6 essing center during the previous fiscal year— 

7 (1) the number of individuals who were reg8 istered, screened, and processed for benefits under 

9 this title; 

10 (2) the number of benefits requests that were 

11 approved; and 

12 (3) the number of benefits requests that were 

13 denied. 

14 SEC. 2106. CENTRAL AMERICAN REFUGEE PROGRAM. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

16 (1) MINIMUM ANNUAL NUMBER OF CENTRAL

17 AMERICAN REFUGEES.—In addition to any refugees 

18 designated for admission under section 207 of the 

19 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1157), 

20 in each of the fiscal years 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026, 

21 and 2027, not fewer than 100,000 nationals of El 

22 Salvador, Guatemala, or Honduras shall be admitted 

23 into the United States under this section. 

24 (2) ELIGIBILITY.—Any alien described in para25 graph (1) shall be admitted under this section if— 


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1 (A) the alien registers at a designated 

2 processing center on or before September 30, 

3 2027; and 

4 (B) the Secretary of State, in consultation 

5 with the Secretary, determines that the alien is 

6 admissible as a refugee of special humanitarian 

7 concern to the United States in accordance with 

8 this section. 

9 (b) INITIAL PROCESSING.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any alien who, while reg11 istering at a designated processing center, expresses 

12 a fear of persecution or an intention to apply for ref13 ugee status may apply for refugee resettlement 

14 under this section. Each applicant who files a com15 pleted application shall be referred to a refugee offi16 cer for further processing in accordance with this 

17 section. 

18 (2) SUBMISSION OF BIOGRAPHIC AND BIOMET19 RIC DATA.—An applicant described in paragraph (1) 

20 shall submit biographic and biometric data in ac21 cordance with procedures established by the Assist22 ant Director of Regional Processing appointed pur23 suant to section 2105(b), who shall provide an alter24 native procedure for applicants who are unable to 


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1 provide all required biographic and biometric data 

2 due to a physical or mental impairment. 

3 (3) BACKGROUND CHECKS.—The Assistant Di4 rector of Regional Processing shall utilize biometric, 

5 biographic, and other appropriate data to conduct 

6 security and law enforcement background checks of 

7 applicants to determine whether there is any crimi8 nal, national security, or other ground that would 

9 render the applicant ineligible for admission as a 

10 refugee under section 207 of the Immigration and 

11 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1157). 

12 (4) ORIENTATION.—The Assistant Director of 

13 Regional Processing shall provide prospective appli14 cants for refugee resettlement with information on 

15 applicable requirements and legal standards. All ori16 entation materials, including application forms and 

17 instructions, shall be made available in English and 

18 Spanish. 

19 (5) INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS.—The 

20 Secretary of State, in consultation with the Sec21 retary, shall enter into agreements with international 

22 organizations, including the United Nations High 

23 Commissioner for Refugees, to facilitate the proc24 essing and preparation of case files for applicants 

25 under this section. 


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1 (c) ADJUDICATION OF APPLICATIONS.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after 

3 the date on which an applicant is referred for fur4 ther processing pursuant to subsection (b)(1), the 

5 applicant shall be interviewed by a refugee officer, 

6 who shall determine whether the applicant is a ref7 ugee of special humanitarian concern to the United 

8 States (as defined in paragraph (5)). 

9 (2) DECISION.—Not later than 14 days after 

10 the date on which an applicant is interviewed under 

11 paragraph (1), the refugee officer shall issue a writ12 ten decision regarding the application. 

13 (3) APPROVAL OF APPLICATION.—If a refugee 

14 officer approves an application under this section, 

15 the applicant shall be processed for resettlement to 

16 the United States as a refugee in accordance with 

17 section 207 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

18 (8 U.S.C. 1157). The security and law enforcement 

19 background checks required under subsection (b)(3) 

20 shall be completed, to the satisfaction of the Assist21 ant Director of Regional Processing, before the date 

22 on which an approved applicant may be admitted to 

23 the United States. 

24 (4) DENIAL OF APPLICATION.—If the refugee 

25 officer denies an application under this section, the 


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1 officer shall include a reasoned, written explanation 

2 for the denial and refer the applicant for a deter3 mination of eligibility for other benefits under this 

4 title in accordance with section 2105(d)(5). An ap5 plicant who has been denied status as a refugee of 

6 special humanitarian concern under this section may 

7 request review of such decision by a supervisory ref8 ugee officer not later than 30 days after the date of 

9 such denial. The supervisory refugee officer shall 

10 issue a final written decision not later than 30 days 

11 after such request for review. 

12 (5) REFUGEE OF SPECIAL HUMANITARIAN CON13 CERN.—In this section, the term ‘‘refugee of special 

14 humanitarian concern to the United States’’ means 

15 any individual who, in his or her country of nation16 ality has suffered (or in the case of an individual 

17 who remains in his or her country of nationality, has 

18 a well-founded fear of suffering)— 

19 (A) domestic, sexual, or other forms of 

20 gender-based violence, including forced mar21 riage and persecution based on sexual orienta22 tion or gender identity; 

23 (B) violence, extortion, or other forms of 

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1 mitted by gangs or other organized criminal or2 ganizations; 

3 (C) a severe form of trafficking in persons; 

4 (D) a threat to life, physical or psycho5 logical integrity, including from adverse impacts 

6 on livelihoods and exceptional situations, such 

7 as environmental disasters, (including from the 

8 effects of climate change) for which there is no 

9 adequate remedy in the country of origin; or 

10 (E) other serious human rights abuses. 

11 (6) SPOUSES AND MINOR CHILDREN.—The 

12 spouse or child of any applicant who qualifies for ad13 mission under section 207(c) of the Immigration and 

14 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1157(c)) shall be granted 

15 the same status as the applicant if accompanying or 

16 following to join such applicant, in accordance with 

17 such section. 

18 (7) REFUGEE STATUS.—An individual who is 

19 admitted to the United States as a refugee of special 

20 humanitarian concern to the United States under 

21 this section shall enjoy the same rights and privi22 leges, and shall be subject to the same grounds for 

23 termination of refugee status, as provided in sections 

24 207 and 209 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

25 (8 U.S.C. 1157 and 1159). 


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1 (8) FEES.—No fee shall be imposed for the fil2 ing, processing, or adjudication of an application 

3 under this section. 

4 (d) OPTIONAL REFERRAL TO OTHER COUNTRIES.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding subsection 

6 (b), an applicant for refugee resettlement under this 

7 section may be referred to another country for the 

8 processing of the applicant’s refugee claim if— 

9 (A) another country agrees to immediately 

10 process the applicant’s refugee claim in accord11 ance with the terms and procedures of a bilat12 eral agreement under paragraph (2); and 

13 (B) the applicant lacks substantial ties to 

14 the United States as defined in paragraph (3) 

15 or requests resettlement to a country other than 

16 the United States. 

17 (2) BILATERAL AGREEMENTS FOR REFERRAL

18 OF REFUGEES.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara20 graph (B), the Secretary of State, in consulta21 tion with the Secretary, shall enter into bilat22 eral agreements with other countries for the re23 ferral, processing, and resettlement of individ24 uals who— 


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1 (i) register at a designated processing 

2 center; and 

3 (ii) seek to apply for refugee resettle4 ment under this section. 

5 (B) LIMITATION.—Agreements required 

6 under subparagraph (A) may only be entered 

7 into with countries that have the demonstrated 

8 capacity— 

9 (i) to accept and adjudicate applica10 tions for refugee status and other forms of 

11 international protection; and 

12 (ii) to resettle refugees consistent with 

13 obligations under the United Nations Con14 vention Relating to the Status of Refugees, 

15 done at Geneva July 28, 1951, as made 

16 applicable by the Protocol Relating to the 

17 Status of Refugees, done at New York 

18 January 31, 1967 (19 UST 6223). 

19 (C) INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS.— 

20 The Secretary of State, in consultation with the 

21 Secretary, shall enter into agreements with 

22 international organizations, including the 

23 United Nations High Commissioner for Refu24 gees, to facilitate the referral, processing, and 


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1 resettlement of individuals covered under this 

2 paragraph. 

3 (3) DEFINED TERM.—In this subsection, an in4 dividual has ‘‘substantial ties to the United States’’ 

5 if the individual— 

6 (A) has a spouse, parent, son, daughter, 

7 sibling, grandparent, aunt, or uncle who resides 

8 in the United States; 

9 (B) can demonstrate previous residence in 

10 the United States for not less than 2 years; or 

11 (C) can otherwise demonstrate substantial 

12 ties to the United States, as defined by the Sec13 retary. 

14 (e) EMERGENCY RELOCATION COORDINATION.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State, in 

16 consultation with the Secretary, shall enter into bi17 lateral or multilateral agreements with other coun18 tries in the Western Hemisphere to establish safe 

19 and secure emergency transit centers for individuals 

20 who— 

21 (A) register at a designated processing 

22 center; 

23 (B) face an imminent risk of harm; and 


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1 (C) require temporary placement in a safe 

2 location, pending a final decision on an applica3 tion under this section. 

4 (2) CONSULTATION REQUIREMENT.—Agree5 ments required under paragraph (1)— 

6 (A) shall be developed in consultation with 

7 the United Nations High Commissioner for 

8 Refugees; and 

9 (B) shall conform to international humani10 tarian standards. 

11 (f) EXPANSION OF REFUGEE CORPS.—Not later than 

12 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and 

13 subject to the availability of amounts provided in advance 

14 in appropriations Acts, the Secretary shall appoint such 

15 additional refugee officers as may be necessary to carry 

16 out this section. 

17 SEC. 2107. CENTRAL AMERICAN MINORS PROGRAM. 

18 (a) SPECIAL IMMIGRANTS.—Section 101(a)(27) of 

19 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

20 1101(a)(27)) is amended— 

21 (1) in subparagraph (L)(iii), by inserting a 

22 semicolon at the end; 

23 (2) in subparagraph (M), by striking the period 

24 at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

25 (3) by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(N) an immigrant (and any of his or her 

2 children who are accompanying or following to 

3 join such immigrant) who is— 

4 ‘‘(i) a national of El Salvador, Hon5 duras, or Guatemala; 

6 ‘‘(ii) an unmarried child of an indi7 vidual who is lawfully present in the 

8 United States; 

9 ‘‘(iii) otherwise eligible to receive an 

10 immigrant visa; and 

11 ‘‘(iv) otherwise admissible to the 

12 United States (excluding the grounds of 

13 inadmissibility specified in section 

14 212(a)(4)).’’. 

15 (b) NUMERICAL LIMITATIONS.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The total number of aliens 

17 described in section 101(a)(27)(N) of the Immigra18 tion and Nationality Act, as added by subsection 

19 (a)(3), who may be granted special immigrant status 

20 under this section may not exceed 10,000 during 

21 any of the 5 consecutive fiscal years beginning with 

22 the fiscal year during which the first designated 

23 processing center commences operations. 

24 (2) EXCLUSION FROM NUMERICAL LIMITA25 TIONS.—Aliens granted special immigrant status 


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1 under this section shall not be counted against any 

2 numerical limitation under section 201, 202, or 203 

3 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

4 1151, 1152, and 1153). 

5 (3) CARRY FORWARD.—If the numerical limita6 tion described in paragraph (1) is not reached dur7 ing any fiscal year, the numerical limitation under 

8 such paragraph for the following fiscal year shall be 

9 increased by a number equal to the difference be10 tween— 

11 (A) the total number of aliens who may be 

12 granted special immigrant status under this 

13 section during the first fiscal year; and 

14 (B) the number of aliens who were granted 

15 such special immigrant status during the first 

16 fiscal year. 

17 (c) PETITIONS.—If an alien is determined to be eligi18 ble for special immigrant status pursuant to an assess19 ment under section 2105(d)(5), the alien, or a parent or 

20 legal guardian of the alien, may submit a petition for spe21 cial immigrant status under this section at a designated 

22 processing center. 

23 (d) ADJUDICATION.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—If an alien who submits a 

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1 mined to be eligible for special immigrant status 

2 under section 101(a)(27)(N) of the Immigration and 

3 Nationality Act, as added by subsection (a)(3), the 

4 Secretary shall grant such status to such alien. 

5 (2) DEADLINE.—Absent exceptional cir6 cumstances, petitions submitted under this section 

7 shall be adjudicated not later than 180 days after 

8 the date on which they are submitted at a des9 ignated processing center. 

10 (3) APPLICANTS UNDER PRIOR PROGRAM.— 

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of 

12 Homeland Security shall deem an application 

13 filed under the Central American Minors Ref14 ugee Program, established on December 1, 

15 2014, and terminated on August 16, 2017, and 

16 which was not the subject of a final disposition 

17 before January 31, 2018, to be a petition filed 

18 under this section. 

19 (B) NOTIFICATION.—The Secretary 

20 shall— 

21 (i) promptly notify all relevant parties 

22 of the conversion of applications described 

23 in subparagraph (A) into special immi24 grant petitions under this section; and 


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1 (ii) provide instructions for with2 drawing such petitions to such parties if 

3 the alien no longer desires the requested 

4 relief. 

5 (C) DEADLINE.—Absent exceptional cir6 cumstances, the Secretary shall make a final 

7 determination on each petition described in sub8 paragraph (A) that is not withdrawn pursuant 

9 to subparagraph (B)(ii) not later than 180 days 

10 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

11 (4) BIOMETRICS AND BACKGROUND CHECKS.— 

12 (A) SUBMISSION OF BIOMETRIC AND BIO13 GRAPHIC DATA.—Petitioners for special immi14 grant status under this section shall submit bio15 metric and biographic data in accordance with 

16 procedures established by the Assistant Direc17 tor of Regional Processing. The Assistant Di18 rector shall provide an alternative procedure for 

19 applicants who are unable to provide all of the 

20 required biometric data due to a physical or 

21 mental impairment. 

22 (B) BACKGROUND CHECKS.—The Assist23 ant Director shall utilize biometric, biographic, 

24 and other appropriate data to conduct security 

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1 tioners to determine whether there is any crimi2 nal, national security, or other ground that 

3 would render the applicant ineligible for special 

4 immigrant status under this section. 

5 (C) COMPLETION OF BACKGROUND

6 CHECKS.—The security and law enforcement 

7 background checks required under subpara8 graph (B) shall be completed, to the satisfac9 tion of the Assistant Director, before the date 

10 on which a petition for special immigrant status 

11 under this section may be approved. 

12 SEC. 2108. CENTRAL AMERICAN FAMILY REUNIFICATION 

13 PAROLE PROGRAM. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—If an alien is determined to be eli15 gible for parole under subsection (b) pursuant to an as16 sessment under section 2105(d)(5)— 

17 (1) the designated processing center shall ac18 cept a completed application for parole filed by the 

19 alien, or on behalf of the alien by a parent or legal 

20 guardian of the alien; and 

21 (2) the Secretary shall grant parole to the alien, 

22 in accordance with section 212(d)(5) of the Immi23 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(d)(5)). 

24 (b) ELIGIBILITY.—An alien shall be eligible for parole 

25 under this subsection if the alien— 


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1 (1) is a national of El Salvador, Guatemala, or 

2 Honduras; 

3 (2) is the beneficiary of an approved immigrant 

4 visa petition under section 203(a) of the Immigra5 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(a)); 

6 (3) does not have an immigrant visa; and 

7 (4) expects to obtain an immigrant visa not 

8 later than 5 years after the date on which the alien 

9 registers with a designated processing center. 

10 (c) APPLICATION AND ADJUDICATION.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—An alien described in sub12 section (b) may submit an application for parole 

13 under this section during the 90-day period begin14 ning on the date on which the alien is determined 

15 to be eligible for parole pursuant to an assessment 

16 under section 2105(d)(5). 

17 (2) ADJUDICATION DEADLINES.—Absent excep18 tional circumstances, applications submitted under 

19 this section shall be adjudicated not later than 180 

20 days after the date of submission. 

21 (3) BIOMETRICS AND BACKGROUND CHECKS.— 

22 (A) SUBMISSION OF BIOMETRIC AND BIO23 GRAPHIC DATA.—Applicants for parole under 

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1 tablished by the Assistant Director of Regional 

2 Processing. The Assistant Director shall provide 

3 an alternative procedure for applicants who are 

4 unable to provide all required biometric data 

5 due to a physical or mental impairment. 

6 (B) BACKGROUND CHECKS.—The Assist7 ant Director of Regional Processing shall utilize 

8 biometric, biographic, and other appropriate 

9 data to conduct security and law enforcement 

10 background checks of applicants to determine 

11 whether there is any criminal, national security, 

12 or other ground that would render the applicant 

13 ineligible for parole under this section. 

14 (C) COMPLETION OF BACKGROUND

15 CHECKS.—The security and law enforcement 

16 background checks required under subpara17 graph (B) shall be completed to the satisfaction 

18 of the Assistant Director before the date on 

19 which an application for parole may be ap20 proved. 

21 (4) APPROVAL.—Each designated processing 

22 center shall issue appropriate travel documentation 

23 to aliens granted parole under this section. Such 

24 aliens shall present such documentation to U.S. Cus25 toms and Border Protection personnel at a port of 


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1 entry for parole into the United States not later 

2 than 120 days after such documentation is issued. 

3 SEC. 2109. INFORMATIONAL CAMPAIGN; CASE STATUS HOT4 LINE. 

5 (a) INFORMATIONAL CAMPAIGN.—The Secretary 

6 shall implement an informational campaign, in English 

7 and Spanish, in the United States, El Salvador, Guate8 mala, and Honduras to increase awareness of the provi9 sions set forth in this title. 

10 (b) CASE STATUS HOTLINE.—Not later than 90 days 

11 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

12 shall establish a case status hotline providing confidential 

13 processing information on pending cases. 

14 TITLE III—SPECIAL IMMIGRANT 

15 VISA PROGRAMS 

16 SEC. 3101. SPECIAL IMMIGRANT VISA PROGRAM REPORT17 ING REQUIREMENT. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

19 date of the enactment of this Act, the Inspector General 

20 of the Department of State, in consultation with the In21 spector General of the Department of Defense, shall sub22 mit a report, with a classified annex if necessary, to— 

23 (1) the Committee on the Judiciary of the Sen24 ate; 


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1 (2) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 

2 Senate; 

3 (3) the Committee on Armed Services of the 

4 Senate; 

5 (4) the Committee on the Judiciary of the 

6 House of Representatives; 

7 (5) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 

8 House of Representatives; and 

9 (6) the Committee on Armed Services of the 

10 House of Representatives. 

11 (b) PUBLICATION.—The Department of State shall 

12 publish the report submitted under subsection (a) on the 

13 website of the Department of State. 

14 (c) CONTENTS.—The report submitted under sub15 section (a) shall evaluate— 

16 (1) the obstacles to effective protection of Af17 ghan and Iraqi allies through the special immigrant 

18 visa program between 2009 and the present; 

19 (2) measures to improve efficient processing in 

20 the special immigrant visa programs; and 

21 (3) suggestions for improvements in future pro22 grams, including information relating to— 

23 (A) the hiring of locally employed staff and 

24 contractors; 


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1 (B) documenting the identity and employ2 ment of locally employed staff and contractors 

3 of the United States Government, including the 

4 possibility of establishing a central database of 

5 employees of the United States Government 

6 and its contractors; 

7 (C) the protection in and safety of employ8 ees of locally employed staff and contractors; 

9 (D) means of expediting processing at all 

10 stages of the process for applicants, including 

11 consideration of reducing required forms; 

12 (E) appropriate staffing levels for expe13 dited processing domestically and abroad; 

14 (F) the effect of uncertainty of visa avail15 ability on visa processing; 

16 (G) the cost and availability of medical ex17 aminations; and 

18 (H) means to reduce delays in interagency 

19 processing and security checks. 

20 (d) CONSULTATION.—In preparing the report under 

21 subsection (a), the Inspector General shall consult with— 

22 (1) the Visa Office of the Bureau of Consular 

23 Affairs Visa Office of the Department of State; 


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1 (2) the Executive Office of the Bureau of Near 

2 Eastern Affairs and South and Central Asian Af3 fairs of the Department of State; 

4 (3) the Consular Section of the United States 

5 Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan; 

6 (4) the Consular Section of the United States 

7 Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq; 

8 (5) U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services 

9 of the Department of Homeland Security; 

10 (6) the Department of Defense; 

11 (7) nongovernmental organizations providing 

12 legal aid in the special immigrant visa application 

13 process; and 

14 (8) wherever possible, current and former em15 ployees of the offices referred to in paragraphs (1) 

16 through (6). 

17 SEC. 3102. INCLUSION OF CERTAIN SPECIAL IMMIGRANTS 

18 IN THE ANNUAL REFUGEE SURVEY. 

19 Section 413(b)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality 

20 Act (8 U.S.C. 1523(b)(1)) is amended by inserting ‘‘and 

21 individuals who have opted to receive refugee benefits and 

22 who were admitted pursuant to section 1059 of the Na23 tional Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2006 

24 (Public Law 109–163; 8 U.S.C. 1101 note), section 1244 

25 of the Refugee Crisis in Iraq Act of 2007 (Public Law 


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1 110–181; 8 U.S.C. 1157 note), section 602 of the Afghan 

2 Allies Protection Act of 2009 (Public Law 111–8; 8 

3 U.S.C. 1101 note), or section 308 of the Refugee Protec4 tion Act of 2022’’ after ‘‘who have entered the United 

5 States,’’. 

6 TITLE IV—NONDISCRIMINATION 

7 SEC. 4101. EXPANSION OF NONDISCRIMINATION PROVI8 SION. 

9 Section 202(a)(1)(A) of the Immigration and Nation10 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1152(a)(1)(A)) is amended— 

11 (1) by striking ‘‘Except as specifically provided 

12 in paragraph (2) and in sections 101(a)(27), 

13 201(b)(2)(A)(i), and 203, no’’ and inserting ‘‘No’’; 

14 (2) by inserting ‘‘or a nonimmigrant visa, ad15 mission or other entry into the United States, or the 

16 approval or revocation of any immigration benefit’’ 

17 after ‘‘immigrant visa’’; 

18 (3) by inserting ‘‘religion,’’ after ‘‘sex,’’; and 

19 (4) by inserting before the period at the end the 

20 following: ‘‘, except as specifically provided in para21 graph (2), in sections 101(a)(27), 201(b)(2)(A)(i), 

22 and 203, if otherwise expressly required by statute, 

23 or if a statutorily authorized benefit takes into con24 sideration such factors’’. 


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1 SEC. 4102. TRANSFER AND LIMITATIONS ON AUTHORITY TO 

2 SUSPEND OR RESTRICT THE ENTRY OF A 

3 CLASS OF ALIENS. 

4 Section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality 

5 Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(f)) is amended to read as follows: 

6 ‘‘(f) AUTHORITY TO SUSPEND OR RESTRICT THE

7 ENTRY OF A CLASS OF ALIENS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

9 if the Secretary of State, in consultation with the 

10 Secretary of Homeland Security, determines, based 

11 on specific and credible facts, that the entry of any 

12 aliens or any class of aliens into the United States 

13 would undermine the security or public safety of the 

14 United States or the preservation of human rights, 

15 democratic processes or institutions, or international 

16 stability, the President may temporarily— 

17 ‘‘(A) suspend the entry of such aliens or 

18 class of aliens as immigrants or nonimmigrants; 

19 or 

20 ‘‘(B) impose any restrictions on the entry 

21 of such aliens that the President deems appro22 priate. 

23 ‘‘(2) LIMITATIONS.—In carrying out paragraph 

24 (1), the President, the Secretary of State, and the 

25 Secretary of Homeland Security shall— 


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1 ‘‘(A) only issue a suspension or restriction 

2 when required to address specific acts impli3 cating a compelling government interest in a 

4 factor identified in paragraph (1); 

5 ‘‘(B) narrowly tailor the suspension or re6 striction, using the least restrictive means, to 

7 achieve such compelling government interest; 

8 ‘‘(C) specify the duration of the suspension 

9 or restriction; 

10 ‘‘(D) consider waivers to any class-based 

11 restriction or suspension and apply a rebuttable 

12 presumption in favor of granting family-based 

13 and humanitarian waivers; and 

14 ‘‘(E) comply with all provisions of this Act. 

15 ‘‘(3) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Prior to the President 

17 exercising the authority under paragraph (1), 

18 the Secretary of State and the Secretary of 

19 Homeland Security shall consult Congress and 

20 provide Congress with specific evidence sup21 porting the need for the suspension or restric22 tion and its proposed duration. 

23 ‘‘(B) BRIEFING AND REPORT.—Not later 

24 than 48 hours after the President exercises the 

25 authority under paragraph (1), the Secretary of 


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1 State and the Secretary of Homeland Security 

2 shall provide a briefing and submit a written re3 port to Congress that describes— 

4 ‘‘(i) the action taken pursuant to 

5 paragraph (1) and the specified objective 

6 of such action; 

7 ‘‘(ii) the estimated number of individ8 uals who will be impacted by such action; 

9 ‘‘(iii) the constitutional and legislative 

10 authority under which such action took 

11 place; and 

12 ‘‘(iv) the circumstances necessitating 

13 such action, including how such action 

14 complies with paragraph (2), as well as 

15 any intelligence informing such actions. 

16 ‘‘(C) TERMINATION.—If the briefing and 

17 report described in subparagraph (B) are not 

18 provided to Congress during the 48 hours that 

19 begin when the President exercises the author20 ity under paragraph (1), the suspension or re21 striction shall immediately terminate absent in22 tervening congressional action. 

23 ‘‘(D) CONGRESS.—In this paragraph, the 

24 term ‘Congress’ refers to the Select Committee 

25 on Intelligence of the Senate, the Committee on 


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1 Foreign Relations of the Senate, the Committee 

2 on the Judiciary of the Senate, the Committee 

3 on Homeland Security and Governmental Af4 fairs of the Senate, the Permanent Select Com5 mittee on Intelligence of the House of Rep6 resentatives, the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

7 of the House of Representatives, the Committee 

8 on the Judiciary of the House of Representa9 tives, and the Committee on Homeland Security 

10 of the House of Representatives. 

11 ‘‘(4) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary of State 

12 and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall pub13 licly announce and publish an unclassified version of 

14 the report described in paragraph (3)(B) in the Fed15 eral Register. 

16 ‘‘(5) JUDICIAL REVIEW.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any 

18 other provision of law, an individual or entity 

19 who is present in the United States and has 

20 been harmed by a violation of this subsection 

21 may file an action in an appropriate district 

22 court of the United States to seek declaratory 

23 or injunctive relief. 

24 ‘‘(B) CLASS ACTION.—Nothing in this Act 

25 may be construed to preclude an action filed 


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1 pursuant to subparagraph (A) from proceeding 

2 as a class action. 

3 ‘‘(6) TREATMENT OF COMMERCIAL AIRLINES.— 

4 Whenever the Secretary of Homeland Security finds 

5 that a commercial airline has failed to comply with 

6 regulations of the Secretary of Homeland Security 

7 relating to requirements of airlines for the detection 

8 of fraudulent documents used by passengers trav9 eling to the United States (including the training of 

10 personnel in such detection), the Secretary of Home11 land Security may suspend the entry of some or all 

12 aliens transported to the United States by such air13 line. 

14 ‘‘(7) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

15 this section may be construed as authorizing the 

16 President, the Secretary of State, or the Secretary 

17 of Homeland Security to act in a manner incon18 sistent with the policy decisions expressed in the im19 migration laws.’’. 

20 SEC. 4103. VISA APPLICANTS REPORT. 

21 (a) INITIAL REPORTS.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 

23 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

24 of State, in coordination with the Secretary of 

25 Homeland Security and the heads of other relevant 


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1 Federal agencies, shall submit a report to the con2 gressional committees referred to in section 

3 212(f)(3)(D) of the Immigration and Nationality 

4 Act, as amended by section 4102 of this Act, that 

5 describes the implementation of Presidential Procla6 mations 9645, 9822, and 9983 and Executive Order 

7 Nos. 13769, 13780, and 13815, during the effective 

8 period of each such proclamation and order. 

9 (2) PRESIDENTIAL PROCLAMATION 9645 AND

10 9983.—In addition to the content described in para11 graph (1), the report submitted with respect to Pres12 idential Proclamation 9645, issued on September 24, 

13 2017, and Presidential Proclamation 9983, issued 

14 on January 31, 2020, shall include, for each country 

15 listed in such proclamation— 

16 (A) the total number of individuals who 

17 applied for a visa during the time period the 

18 proclamation was in effect, disaggregated by 

19 country and visa category; 

20 (B) the total number of visa applicants de21 scribed in subparagraph (A) who were ap22 proved, disaggregated by country and visa cat23 egory; 

24 (C) the total number of visa applicants de25 scribed in subparagraph (A) who were refused, 


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1 disaggregated by country and visa category, 

2 and the reasons they were refused; 

3 (D) the total number of visa applicants de4 scribed in subparagraph (A) whose applications 

5 remain pending, disaggregated by country and 

6 visa category; 

7 (E) the total number of visa applicants de8 scribed in subparagraph (A) who were granted 

9 a waiver, disaggregated by country and visa 

10 category; 

11 (F) the total number of visa applicants de12 scribed in subparagraph (A) who were denied a 

13 waiver, disaggregated by country and visa cat14 egory, and the reasons such waiver requests 

15 were denied; 

16 (G) the total number of refugees admitted, 

17 disaggregated by country; and 

18 (H) the complete reports that were sub19 mitted to the President every 180 days in ac20 cordance with section 4 of Presidential Procla21 mation 9645 in its original form, and as 

22 amended by Presidential Proclamation 9983. 

23 (b) ADDITIONAL REPORTS.—Not later than 30 days 

24 after the date on which the President exercises the author25 ity under section 212(f) of the Immigration and NationVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:06 Jan 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00270 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5353.IS S5353

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1 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(f)), as amended by section 4102 

2 of this Act, and every 30 days thereafter, the Secretary 

3 of State, in coordination with the Secretary of Homeland 

4 Security and heads of other relevant Federal agencies, 

5 shall submit a report to the congressional committees re6 ferred to in paragraph (3)(D) of such section 212(f) that 

7 identifies, with respect to countries affected by a suspen8 sion or restriction, the information described in subpara9 graphs (A) through (G) of subsection (a)(2) and the spe10 cific evidence supporting the need for the continued exer11 cise of Presidential Authority under such section 212(f), 

12 including the information described in paragraph (3)(B) 

13 of such section 212(f). If the report described in this sub14 section is not provided to such congressional committees 

15 in the time specified, the suspension or restriction shall 

16 immediately terminate absent intervening congressional 

17 action. A final report with such information shall be pre18 pared and submitted to such congressional committees not 

19 later than 30 days after the suspension or restriction is 

20 lifted. 

21 (c) FORM; AVAILABILITY.—The reports required 

22 under subsections (a) and (b) shall be made publicly avail23 able online in unclassified form. 


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1 TITLE V—GENERAL PROVISIONS 

2 SEC. 5101. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

3 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 

4 as may be necessary to carry out this Act, and the amend5 ments made by this Act. 

6 SEC. 5102. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS. 

7 The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of 

8 complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 

9 (Public Law 111–139), shall be determined by reference 

10 to the latest statement titled ‘‘Budgetary Effects of 

11 PAYGO Legislation’’ for this Act, jointly submitted for 

12 printing in the Congressional Record by the Chairmen of 

13 the Senate Budget Committee, provided that such state14 ment has been submitted prior to the vote on passage. 

Æ 


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