Presidential Documents

8839 

Federal Register 

Vol. 86, No. 25 

Tuesday, February 9, 2021 

Title 3— 

The President 

Executive Order 14013 of February 4, 2021 

Rebuilding and Enhancing Programs To Resettle Refugees 

and Planning for the Impact of Climate Change on Migration 

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the 

laws of the United States of America, including the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq., I hereby order as follows: 

Section 1. Policy. The long tradition of the United States as a leader in 

refugee resettlement provides a beacon of hope for persecuted people around 

the world, promotes stability in regions experiencing conflict, and facilitates 

international collaboration to address the global refugee crisis. Through the 

United States Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP), the Federal Government, cooperating with private partners and American citizens in communities across the country, demonstrates the generosity and core values of 

our Nation, while benefitting from the many contributions that refugees 

make to our country. Accordingly, it shall be the policy of my Administration 

that: 

(a) USRAP and other humanitarian programs shall be administered in 

a manner that furthers our values as a Nation and is consistent with our 

domestic law, international obligations, and the humanitarian purposes expressed by the Congress in enacting the Refugee Act of 1980, Public Law 

96–212. 

(b) USRAP should be rebuilt and expanded, commensurate with global 

need and the purposes described above. 

(c) Delays in administering USRAP and other humanitarian programs are 

counter to our national interests, can raise grave humanitarian concerns, 

and should be minimized. 

(d) Security vetting for USRAP applicants and applicants for other humanitarian programs should be improved to be more efficient, meaningful, and 

fair, and should be complemented by sound methods of fraud detection 

to ensure program integrity and protect national security. 

(e) Although access to United States humanitarian programs is generally 

discretionary, the individuals applying for immigration benefits under these 

programs must be treated with dignity and respect, without improper discrimination on the basis of race, religion, national origin, or other grounds, 

and should be afforded procedural safeguards. 

(f) United States humanitarian programs should be administered in a 

manner that ensures transparency and accountability and reflects the principle that reunifying families is in the national interest. 

(g) My Administration shall seek opportunities to enhance access to the 

refugee program for people who are more vulnerable to persecution, including 

women, children, and other individuals who are at risk of persecution 

related to their gender, gender expression, or sexual orientation. 

(h) Executive departments and agencies (agencies) should explore the use 

of all available authorities for humanitarian protection to assist individuals 

for whom USRAP is unavailable. 

(i) To meet the challenges of restoring and expanding USRAP, the United 

States must innovate, including by effectively employing technology and 

capitalizing on community and private sponsorship of refugees, while continuing to partner with resettlement agencies for reception and placement. 


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(j) The Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) programs for Iraqi and Afghan allies 

provide humanitarian protection to nationals of Iraq and Afghanistan experiencing an ongoing, serious threat because they provided faithful and valuable 

service to the United States, including its troops serving in those countries. 

The Federal Government should ensure that these important programs are 

administered without undue delay. 

Sec. 2. Revocation, Rescission, and Reporting. (a) Executive Order 13815 

of October 24, 2017 (Resuming the United States Refugee Admissions Program 

With Enhanced Vetting Capabilities), and Executive Order 13888 of September 26, 2019 (Enhancing State and Local Involvement in Refugee Resettlement), are revoked. 

(b) The Presidential Memorandum of March 6, 2017 (Implementing Immediate Heightened Screening and Vetting of Applications for Visas and Other 

Immigration Benefits, Ensuring Enforcement of All Laws for Entry Into the 

United States, and Increasing Transparency Among Departments and Agencies of the Federal Government and for the American People), is revoked. 

(c) Within 90 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of State and 

the Secretary of Homeland Security shall provide a report to the President, 

through the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs (APNSA), 

describing all agency actions, including memoranda or guidance documents, 

that were taken or issued in reliance on or in furtherance of the directives 

revoked by subsections (a) and (b) of this section. This report shall include 

recommendations regarding whether each action should be maintained, reversed, or modified, consistent with applicable law and as appropriate for 

the fair, efficient, and secure administration of the relevant humanitarian 

program or otherwise in the national interest. 

Sec. 3. Special Immigrant Visas for Iraqi and Afghan Allies. (a) Within 

180 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of State, in consultation 

with the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Homeland Security, 

shall complete a review of the Iraqi and Afghan SIV programs and submit 

a report to the President with recommendations to address any concerns 

identified. The report shall include: 

(i) an assessment of agency compliance with existing law governing the 

SIV programs, including program eligibility requirements and procedures 

for administrative review; 

(ii) an assessment of whether there are undue delays in meeting statutory 

benchmarks for timely adjudication of applications, including due to insufficient staffing levels; 

(iii) a plan to provide training, guidance, and oversight with respect to 

the National Visa Center’s processing of SIV applications; 

(iv) a plan to track the progress of the Senior Coordinators as provided 

under section 1245 of the Refugee Crisis in Iraq Act of 2007 (RCIA), 

subtitle C of title XII of Public Law 110–181, and section 602(b)(2)(D)(ii)(II) 

of the Afghan Allies Protection Act of 2009 (AAPA), title VI of division 

F of Public Law 111–8, as amended; and 

(v) an assessment of whether adequate guidelines exist for reconsidering 

or reopening applications in appropriate circumstances and consistent 

with applicable law. 

(b) The Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, 

shall also direct a review of the procedures for Chief of Mission approval 

of applications with the aim of, as appropriate and consistent with applicable 

law: 

(i) ensuring existing procedures and guidance are sufficient to permit 

prospective applicants a fair opportunity to apply and demonstrate eligibility; 

(ii) issuing guidance that would address situations where an applicant’s 

employer is unable or unwilling to provide verification of the applicant’s 

‘‘faithful and valuable service,’’ and provide for alternative forms of 

verification; 


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(iii) revising requirements to facilitate the ability of applicants to demonstrate the existence of a qualifying contract with the United States 

Government and require that the supervisor verifying the applicant’s 

‘‘faithful and valuable service’’ be a United States citizen or national; 

(iv) ensuring that applicants are not prejudiced by delays in verifying 

their employment; and 

(v) implementing anti-fraud measures to ensure program integrity. 

(c) Within 180 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of State 

shall submit to the President the results of the review described in subsection 

(b) of this section. 

(d) Within 180 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of State, 

in consultation with the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Homeland 

Security, shall conduct a review and submit a report to the President identifying whether additional populations not currently provided for under section 

1059 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2006, Public 

Law 109–163, section 1244 of the RCIA, or section 602 of the AAPA are 

at risk as a result of their faithful and valuable service to the United States 

Government. The review should also evaluate whether it would be appropriate to seek legislation that would create a SIV program for individuals, 

regardless of nationality, who faithfully assisted the United States Government in conflict areas for at least 1 year or made exceptional contributions 

in a shorter period and have experienced or are experiencing an ongoing 

serious threat as a result of their service. 

(e) Within 180 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of State 

and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall ensure that appropriate policies 

and procedures related to the SIV programs are publicly available on their 

respective agency’s websites, and that any revisions to such policies and 

procedures in the future are made publicly available on those websites 

within 30 days of issuance. 

Sec. 4. Steps to Improve the Efficacy, Integrity, Security, and Transparency 

of USRAP. (a) Consistent with the policy set forth in section 1 of this 

order and to facilitate this order’s effective and expeditious implementation: 

(i) The APNSA shall designate a National Security Council Senior Director 

to be responsible for coordinating the agencies and vetting partners involved in USRAP. 

(ii) The Secretary of State shall designate a senior-level employee to have 

primary responsibility for overseeing refugee application processing, consistent with applicable law. 

(iii) The Secretary of Homeland Security shall designate a senior-level 

employee to have primary responsibility for coordinating the review and 

any revision of policies and procedures regarding the vetting and adjudication of USRAP refugee applicants, including follow-to-join refugee applicants and post-decisional processing, consistent with applicable law. 

(iv) The Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall assign 

a team of technology, process, and data experts from the United States 

Digital Service to assist agencies in streamlining application processing, 

improving the automation and effectiveness of security vetting and fraud 

detection, and strengthening data-driven decision-making. 

(b) Within 30 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of State and 

the Secretary of Homeland Security shall provide the President a report 

on the fraud detection measures in place for USRAP. The report shall 

also include a plan to enhance fraud detection within components at both 

agencies and recommendations for the development of new anti-fraud programs, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law. 

(c) The Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary 

of State, shall promptly consider taking all appropriate actions, consistent 

with applicable law, to expand refugee vetting and adjudication capacity, 

including by: 


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(i) developing more efficient processes to capture and share refugee applicant biometric data; and 

(ii) permitting the use of video and audio teleconferencing to conduct 

refugee interviews and establishing the necessary infrastructure to do so. 

(d) To increase refugee adjudication capacity, the Office of Personnel 

Management shall, consistent with applicable law, support the use of all 

hiring authorities, including expanded use of direct hiring authority, for 

positions associated with the adjudication of refugee applications. 

(e) Within 30 days of the date of this order, the heads of all agencies 

involved in the Security Advisory Opinion process and other inter-agency 

vetting processes for refugee applicants, including follow-to-join refugee applicants, shall submit data to the National Vetting Governance Board on 

the number of staff performing refugee security vetting, the thresholds for 

checks, and the rates at which checks have returned an objection. Such 

data shall be disaggregated by age range, gender, and nationality of the 

refugee applicant. The National Vetting Governance Board shall meet to 

consider if and how agency processes and staffing levels should change 

to improve security reviews and make refugee arrivals more efficient, and 

shall share any conclusions and recommendations with the heads of relevant 

agencies, including the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, 

in order to inform potential resourcing strategies where necessary. 

(f) Within 60 days of the date of this order, agencies responsible for 

the Security Advisory Opinion process shall meet to consider proposals 

from member agencies to adjust the list of countries and other criteria 

that require a Security Advisory Opinion for a refugee case. 

(g) The Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary 

of State, shall consider whether to promulgate regulations and any other 

policies, including internal oversight mechanisms, to ensure the quality, 

integrity, efficiency, and fairness of the adjudication process for USRAP 

applicants, while also taking due account of the challenges facing refugee 

applicants. The Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the 

Secretary of State, should consider adopting regulations or policies, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law, that: 

(i) develop mechanisms to synthesize reliable, detailed, and current country 

conditions that may be relied upon, where appropriate, to make specific 

factual and legal determinations necessary for the adjudication of refugee 

applications from individuals or from individuals within a designated 

group of applicants; 

(ii) ensure that refugee applicants have timely access to their own application records; 

(iii) permit refugee applicants to have a representative at their interview 

at no cost to the United States Government; and 

(iv) ensure, when refugee applications are denied for non-security or nonfraud-based reasons, an applicant is given a short explanation describing 

the basis for the denial, so that the applicant has a meaningful opportunity 

to present additional evidence and to request a review of the decision. 

(h) The Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall 

provide the President, through the APNSA, a report describing any action 

taken pursuant to subsection (g) of this section within 180 days of the 

date such action is taken. 

(i) The Secretary of Homeland Security shall ensure that adjudicators 

are trained in the standards governing refugee claims of women, children, 

and other individuals who are more vulnerable to persecution due to their 

age, gender, gender expression, or sexual orientation. 

(j) The Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall 

consider taking actions, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law, 

to recognize as ‘‘spouses’’ for purposes of derivative status through USRAP 

individuals who are in committed life partnerships but who are unable 


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to marry or to register their marriage due to restrictions in the law or 

practices of their country of origin, including for individuals in same-sex, 

interfaith, or camp-based marriages. The Secretary of State and the Secretary 

of Homeland Security shall provide the President a report, through the 

APNSA, describing any action taken pursuant to this subsection within 

180 days of the date such action is taken. 

(k) Within 120 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of State 

and the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall, as appropriate and 

consistent with applicable law, deliver a plan to the President, through 

the APNSA, to enhance the capacity of USRAP to welcome refugees by 

expanding the use of community sponsorship and co-sponsorship models 

by refugee resettlement agencies, and by entering into new public-private 

partnerships. 

(l) The Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland 

Security, shall consider ways to expand mechanisms under which nongovernmental organizations with direct access to and knowledge of refugees 

abroad in camps or other settings could identify and directly refer to USRAP 

particularly vulnerable individuals who have a strong possibility of qualifying 

for admission to the United States as refugees. 

(m) Within 180 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of State 

and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall take all appropriate steps, 

taking into account necessary safeguards for program integrity, to ensure 

that the current policies and procedures related to USRAP are publicly 

available on their respective websites, and that any new or revised policies 

and procedures are made publicly available on their websites within 30 

days of their adoption. 

(n) Within 180 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of State, 

in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security, and as appropriate 

and consistent with applicable law, shall develop options for improving 

USRAP applicants’ ability to access relevant material from their case files 

on an expedited basis to inform timely appeals from adverse decisions. 

Sec. 5. Improving Performance. (a) The Secretary of State, in consultation 

with the Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security, shall 

develop and ensure adherence to a plan that addresses USRAP processing 

backlogs. In developing this plan, the Secretary of Homeland Security, in 

consultation with the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, and the 

Director of National Intelligence, and in collaboration with the National 

Vetting Governance Board and United States Digital Service, shall conduct 

a review of refugee security vetting processes and develop recommendations 

to increase their efficiency, fairness, and effectiveness, consistent with the 

humanitarian goals of USRAP and the national security and foreign policy 

interests of the United States. 

(b) The plan and review described in subsection (a) of this section shall 

also: 

(i) examine whether existing vetting processes, including the Security 

Advisory Opinion process, can be improved to increase efficiency and 

provide more effective security reviews; and 

(ii) seek to bring national average processing times within the period 

described in 8 U.S.C. 1571(b). 

(c) Within 120 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of State, 

in consultation with the Attorney General, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the Director of National Intelligence, shall submit to the President 

the plan described in subsection (a) of this section, including the Secretary’s 

recommendations for process improvements. 

Sec. 6. Climate Change and Migration. Within 180 days of the date of 

this order, the APNSA, in consultation with the Secretary of State, the 

Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Administrator 

of the United States Agency for International Development, and the Director 

of National Intelligence, shall prepare and submit to the President a report 


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on climate change and its impact on migration, including forced migration, 

internal displacement, and planned relocation. This report shall include, 

at a minimum, discussion of the international security implications of climate-related migration; options for protection and resettlement of individuals 

displaced directly or indirectly from climate change; mechanisms for identifying such individuals, including through referrals; proposals for how these 

findings should affect use of United States foreign assistance to mitigate 

the negative impacts of climate change; and opportunities to work collaboratively with other countries, international organizations and bodies, nongovernmental organizations, and localities to respond to migration resulting 

directly or indirectly from climate change. The APNSA shall work with 

appropriate agencies to ensure that the report, or a summary thereof, is 

made publicly available. 

Sec. 7. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed 

to impair or otherwise affect: 

(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, 

or the head thereof; or 

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget 

relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals. 

(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and 

subject to the availability of appropriations. 

(c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, 

substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party 

against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, 

employees, or agents, or any other person. 

THE WHITE HOUSE, 

February 4, 2021. 

[FR Doc. 2021–02804 

Filed 2–8–21; 11:15 am] 

Billing code 3295–F1–P 


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