I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2265 

To provide special immigrant status for certain Iraqis, to assist Iraqi refugees, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 10, 2007 

Mr. BLUMENAUER (for himself, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, and Mr. SHAYS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, for a period 

to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 

concerned 

A BILL 

To provide special immigrant status for certain Iraqis, to 

assist Iraqi refugees, 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 ‘‘Responsibility to Iraqi Refugees Act of 2007’’. 

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

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Expansion of special immigrant status for certain Iraqis. 

Sec. 3. Special Coordinator for Iraqi refugees. 


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Sec. 4. Security and related grounds for inadmissibility. 

Sec. 5. Authorizations of appropriations. 

1 SEC. 2. EXPANSION OF SPECIAL IMMIGRANT STATUS FOR 

2 CERTAIN IRAQIS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi4 sion of law, for purposes of the Immigration and Nation5 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.), subject to subsection 

6 (c)(1), the Secretary of Homeland Security may provide 

7 an alien described in subsection (b) with the status of a 

8 special immigrant under section 101(a)(27) of such Act 

9 (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(27)), if— 

10 (1) the alien, or an agent acting on behalf of 

11 the alien, files with the Secretary of Homeland Secu12 rity a petition under section 204 of such Act (8 

13 U.S.C. 1154) for classification under section 

14 203(b)(4) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(4)); and 

15 (2) the alien is otherwise eligible to receive an 

16 immigrant visa and is otherwise admissible to the 

17 United States for permanent residence, except in de18 termining such admissibility, the grounds for inad19 missibility specified in section 212(a)(4) of such Act 

20 (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(4)) shall not apply. 

21 (b) ALIENS DESCRIBED.— 

22 (1) PRINCIPAL ALIENS.—An alien is described 

23 in this subsection if the alien— 

24 (A) is a national of Iraq; 


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1 (B) worked directly with the United States 

2 Government, the United Nations, certified gov3 ernment or United Nations contractor or sub4 contractor, or United States-based nongovern5 mental organization for a period of at least one 

6 year; and 

7 (C) has a not manifestly unfounded fear of 

8 persecution, violence, or harm to the alien or 

9 the alien’s family on account of the work of the 

10 alien under subparagraph (B). 

11 (2) SPOUSES AND CHILDREN.—An alien is de12 scribed in this subsection if the alien is the spouse 

13 or child of a principal alien described in paragraph 

14 (1), and is following or accompanying to join the 

15 principal alien. 

16 (3) PRESUMPTION.—An alien who is described 

17 in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (1) shall 

18 be presumed to satisfy the requirement described in 

19 subparagraph (C) of such paragraph. 

20 (c) NUMERICAL LIMITATIONS AND BENEFITS.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The total number of prin22 cipal aliens who may be provided special immigrant 

23 status under this section shall not exceed 15,000 for 

24 each of fiscal years 2008 through 2011. 


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1 (2) EXCLUSION FROM NUMERICAL LIMITA2 TIONS.—Aliens provided special immigrant status 

3 under this section shall not be counted against any 

4 numerical limitation under sections 201(d), 202(a), 

5 or 203(b)(4) of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

6 (8 U.S.C. 1151(d), 1152(a), and 1153(b)(4)). 

7 (3) BENEFITS.—Aliens provided special immi8 grant status under this section shall be eligible for 

9 the same resettlement assistance, entitlement pro10 grams, and other benefits as refugees admitted 

11 under section 207 of the Immigration and Natu12 ralization Act (8 U.S.C. 1157). 

13 (d) PROTECTION OF ALIENS.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State, in 

15 consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Secu16 rity, shall provide an alien described in this section 

17 who is applying for a special immigrant visa with 

18 protection if such Secretaries determine that such 

19 alien is in imminent danger. 

20 (2) FORMS OF PROTECTION.—Protection re21 quired under paragraph (1) may include temporary 

22 housing on United States military bases or at pro23 vincial reconstruction team offices or the immediate 

24 removal from Iraq of such alien. 

25 (e) PROCESSING FACILITIES.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 

2 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

3 of State, in consultation with the Secretary of 

4 Homeland Security, shall establish not fewer than 

5 five processing facilities where aliens described in 

6 subsection (b) may apply and interview for admis7 sion to the United States as special immigrants and 

8 where aliens described in section 6(b) may apply and 

9 interview for admission to the United States as refu10 gees. 

11 (2) LOCATIONS.—The processing facilities re12 quired under paragraph (1) shall be established in at 

13 least— 

14 (A) two locations in Baghdad; 

15 (B) one location in southern Iraq; and 

16 (C) two locations in Iraqi Kurdistan. 

17 (3) MINIMIZATION OF SECURITY RISKS.—The 

18 processing facilities shall be established so as to min19 imize to the greatest extent practicable security risks 

20 for aliens described in subsection (b) who are apply21 ing and interviewing for admission to the United 

22 States as special immigrants. 

23 (f) COOPERATION WITH IRAQI GOVERNMENT OFFI24 CIALS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State and 

2 the Secretary of Homeland Security shall seek to co3 operate with appropriate officials from the Govern4 ment of Iraq to— 

5 (A) increase the capacity of the Govern6 ment of Iraq to issue passports to aliens de7 scribed in subsection (b); and 

8 (B) ensure that aliens described in this 

9 section who are issued special immigrant visas 

10 are provided with the appropriate series Iraqi 

11 passport necessary to enter the United States. 

12 (2) PAYMENT OF PASSPORT FEES.—The Secre13 taries shall pay the costs associated with the 

14 issuance of such Iraqi passports. 

15 (g) WAIVER OF VISA FEES.—Neither the Secretary 

16 of State nor the Secretary of Homeland may charge an 

17 alien described in this section any fee in connection with 

18 an application for or issuance of a special immigrant visa. 

19 (h) REPORT.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 

21 the date of the enactment of this Act, the President 

22 shall submit to Congress a report on aliens described 

23 in this section who worked directly with the United 

24 States Government, the United Nations or other 

25 international organizations, certified government or 


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1 international organization contractors or subcontrac2 tors, or international nongovernmental organization 

3 as a translator for a period of at least one year. 

4 (2) CLASSIFIED ANNEX.—The report required 

5 under paragraph (1) may include a classified annex, 

6 containing information relating to personally identi7 fiable information, as necessary, to be used by ap8 propriate United States Government officials for the 

9 purpose of processing applications for special immi10 grant visas under this section. 

11 (i) APPLICATION OF IMMIGRATION AND NATION12 ALITY ACT PROVISIONS.—The definitions in subsections 

13 (a) and (b) of section 101 of the Immigration and Nation14 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101) shall apply in the administration 

15 of this section. 

16 (j) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 90 days after the 

17 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Home18 land Security shall promulgate regulations to carry out the 

19 provisions of this section, including regulations relating to 

20 requirements for background checks. 

21 (k) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

22 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 

23 necessary to carry out this section. 


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1 SEC. 3. SPECIAL COORDINATOR FOR IRAQI REFUGEES. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is established in the De3 partment of State a Special Coordinator for Iraqi Refu4 gees and Internally Displaced Persons. 

5 (b) LOCATION.—The Special Coordinator shall be 

6 based at the embassy of the United States in Baghdad, 

7 Iraq. 

8 (c) DUTIES.—The Special Coordinator shall be re9 sponsible for the development and implementation of ap10 propriate policies and programs concerning Iraqi refugees 

11 and internally displaced persons, and shall establish an 

12 inter-agency task force to coordinate such policies and pro13 grams. 

14 SEC. 4. COUNTRIES OF SIGNIFICANCE. 

15 With respect to each country containing a significant 

16 population of displaced Iraqis, including Iraq, Jordan, 

17 Syria, Turkey, and Lebanon, the Secretary of State 

18 shall— 

19 (1) as appropriate, seek to negotiate a bilateral 

20 refugee resettlement agreement for such populations; 

21 (2) develop mechanisms to ensure the well22 being, safety, and right to work of such populations 

23 in their host environments, including the necessary 

24 financial, material, and political assistance to sup25 port such mechanisms; 


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1 (3) submit to Congress, not later than 90 days 

2 after the date of the enactment of this Act and every 

3 90 days thereafter, a report on the actions taken 

4 and progress made under this subsection. 

5 SEC. 5. STUDY AND REPORT BY GAO. 

6 Not later than one year after the date of the enact7 ment of this Act and annually thereafter, the Comptroller 

8 General of the United States shall submit to Congress a 

9 report on the adequacy and effectiveness of United States 

10 and United Nations programs to protect and assist Iraqi 

11 refugees and internally displaced persons. 

12 SEC. 6. INCREASE IN NUMERICAL LIMITATIONS. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—In addition to the numerical limi14 tations provided for under subsections (a) and (b) of sec15 tion 207 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

16 1157), the number of refugees who may be admitted dur17 ing the remainder of fiscal year 2007 and during fiscal 

18 year 2008 under subsection (c) of such section shall be 

19 increased by not fewer than 20,000 for the purpose of ad20 mitting refugees from Iraq. 

21 (b) PRIORITIZATION.—The following groups shall me 

22 considered Priority 2 refugees of special humanitarian 

23 concern under the refugee resettlement priority system: 

24 (1) Female-headed households and unaccom25 panied children. 


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1 (2) Religious communities of antiquity, includ2 ing Chaldo-Assyrian Christians, Jews, Sabean 

3 Mandeans, Yazidis, Bahais, and others. 

4 (3) Other religious, ethnic, social, or minority 

5 groups, including gay and lesbian Iraqis, subject to 

6 violence, intimidation, or discrimination by state or 

7 non-state actors. 

8 (4) Iraqis with family members in the United 

9 States. 

10 SEC. 7. SECURITY AND RELATED GROUNDS FOR INADMIS11 SIBILITY. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 212(d)(3)(B)(i) of the 

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

14 1182(d)(3)(B)(i)) is amended to read as follows: 

15 ‘‘(B)(i) The Secretary of State, after consultation 

16 with the Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland 

17 Security, or the Secretary of Homeland Security, after 

18 consultation with the Secretary of State and the Attorney 

19 General, may determine in such Secretary’s sole 

20 unreviewable discretion that subsection (a)(3)(B) shall not 

21 apply with respect to an alien within the scope of that 

22 subsection, or that subsection (a)(3)(B)(vi)(III) shall not 

23 apply to a group. Such a determination shall neither prej24 udice the ability of the United States Government to com25 mence criminal or civil proceedings involving a beneficiary 


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1 of such a determination or any other person, nor create 

2 any substantive or procedural right or benefit for a bene3 ficiary of such a determination or any other person. Not4 withstanding any other provision of law (statutory or non5 statutory), including section 2241 of title 28, United 

6 States Code, or any other habeas corpus provision, and 

7 sections 1361 and 1651 of such title, no court shall have 

8 jurisdiction to review such a determination except in a pro9 ceeding for review of a final order of removal pursuant 

10 to section 242 and only to the extent provided in sub11 section (a)(2)(D) of such section. The Secretary of State 

12 may not exercise the discretion provided in this clause with 

13 respect to an alien at any time during which the alien is 

14 the subject of pending removal proceedings under section 

15 240.’’. 

16 (b) DURESS EXCEPTION.—Section 

17 212(a)(3)(B)(iv)(VI) of the Immigration and Nationality 

18 Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(3)(B)(iv)(VI)) is amended, in the 

19 matter preceding item (aa), by striking ‘‘to commit an act 

20 that the actor knows’’ and inserting ‘‘to commit an act, 

21 other than an act carried out under duress, that the actor 

22 knows’’. 

23 (c) TECHNICAL CORRECTION.—Section 

24 212(a)(3)(B)(ii) of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

25 (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(3)(B)(ii)) is amended, in the matter 


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1 preceding subclause (I), by striking ‘‘Subclause (VII)’’ and 

2 inserting ‘‘Subclause (IX)’’. 

3 (d) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 180 days after 

4 the date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary 

5 of Homeland Security and the Secretary of State shall 

6 each publish in the Federal Register regulations estab7 lishing the process by which the eligibility of a refugee, 

8 asylum seeker, or individual seeking to adjust the immi9 gration status of such individual is considered eligible for 

10 any of the exceptions authorized by clause (i) of section 

11 212(d)(3)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

12 U.S.C. 1182(d)(3)(B)), including a timeline for issuing a 

13 determination relating thereto. 

14 (e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

15 this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment 

16 of this section. Such amendments and sections 

17 212(a)(3)(B) and 212(d)(3)(B) of the Immigration and 

18 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(3)(B) and 

19 1182(d)(3)(B)) shall apply to— 

20 (1) removal proceedings instituted before, on, or 

21 after the date of the enactment of this section; and 

22 (2) acts and conditions constituting a ground 

23 for inadmissibility, excludability, deportation, or re24 moval occurring or existing before, on, or after such 

25 date. 


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1 (f) WAIVER OF LIMITATION ON UNITED STATES

2 EMERGENCY REFUGEE AND MIGRATION ASSISTANCE

3 FUND.—Funds appropriated or otherwise made available 

4 for each of fiscal years 2008 and 2009 for the United 

5 States Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance 

6 Fund established under section 2(c)(2) of the Migration 

7 and Refugee Assistance Act of 1962 (22 U.S.C. 

8 2601(c)(2)) shall not be subject to the limitation contained 

9 in the second sentence of such section. 

10 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATIONS OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

11 (a) UNITED STATES EMERGENCY REFUGEE AND MI12 GRATION ASSISTANCE FUND.—There is authorized to be 

13 appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out 

14 the provisions of section 2(c) of the Migration and Refugee 

15 Assistance Act of 1962 (22 U.S.C. 2601(c)) for assistance 

16 to Iraqi refugees. 

17 (b) MIGRATION AND REFUGEE ASSISTANCE.—There 

18 is authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be nec19 essary to the Migration and Refugee Assistance account 

20 of the Department of State, of which— 

21 (1) for assistance to Iraqi refugees in countries 

22 of first asylum through international nongovern23 mental organizations; 

24 (2) for a contribution to the United Nations 

25 High Commissioner for Refugees; 


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1 (3) for a contribution to the International Com2 mittee of the Red Cross; and 

3 (4) for the resettlement in the United States of 

4 Iraqis admitted to the United States as special im5 migrants or refugees under this Act. 

6 (c) OFFICE OF REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT.—There is 

7 authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be nec8 essary to the Office of Refugee Resettlement of the De9 partment of Health and Human Services for the resettle10 ment in the United States of Iraqi refugees. 

11 (d) DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY.—There 

12 is authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be nec13 essary to the Secretary of Homeland Security for expe14 dited refugee processing and the temporary expansion of 

15 the Refugee Corps of United States Citizenship and Immi16 gration Services of the Department of Homeland Security. 

17 (e) INTERNATIONAL DISASTER AND FAMINE ASSIST18 ANCE ACCOUNT.—There is authorized to be appropriated 

19 such sums as may be necessary to the International Dis20 aster and Famine Assistance account of the Department 

21 of State for assistance to internally displaced Iraqis. 

22 (f) FBI.—There is authorized to be appropriated 

23 such sums as may be necessary to the Federal Bureau 

24 of Investigation to expedite background checks and procVerDate Aug 31 2005 20:21 May 11, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2265.IH H2265

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1 essing for Iraqis admitted to the United States as special 

2 immigrants or refugees under this Act. 

3 (g) DIPLOMATIC AND CONSULAR PROGRAMS.—There 

4 is authorized to be appropriated to such sums as may be 

5 necessary to the Diplomatic and Consular Programs ac6 count of the Department of State to increase capacity to 

7 process special immigrant visas for Iraqis. 

8 (h) AMOUNTS AND AVAILABILITY.—Amounts author9 ized to be appropriated under this section shall be in addi10 tion to amounts for such purposes that are otherwise au11 thorized to be appropriated. Amounts appropriated under 

12 this section are authorized to remain available until ex13 pended. 

Æ 


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