I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2486 

To keep faith with the thousands of Iraqi nationals who have risked everything by assisting and working for the United States Government and 

United States Armed Forces in Iraq, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 24, 2007 

Mr. ACKERMAN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, 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 keep faith with the thousands of Iraqi nationals who 

have risked everything by assisting and working for the 

United States Government and United States Armed 

Forces in Iraq, 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. LONG TITLE AND SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be referred to as the ‘‘President Gerald 

5 R. Ford Iraqi Ally and Refugee Responsibility Memorial 

6 Act of 2007’’. 

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1 SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS REGARDING IRAQI REF2 UGEES. 

3 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

4 (1) President George W. Bush, asserting a 

5 grave and immediate threat to the United States 

6 from Iraqi weapons of mass destruction (WMD), 

7 asked Congress to provide an authorization for the 

8 use of military force against Iraq if Iraq did not 

9 comply with international disarmament require10 ments. 

11 (2) Passed by Congress, President Bush signed 

12 H.J. Res. 114, To Authorize the Use of United 

13 States Armed Forces Against Iraq, into law on Oc14 tober 16, 2002, becoming Public Law 107–243. 

15 (3) On March 20, 2003, at the direction of 

16 President Bush, United States Armed Forces, to17 gether with Coalition partners, initiated Operation 

18 Iraqi Freedom pursuant to Public Law 107–243, 

19 and within 30 days the government of Saddam Hus20 sein was removed from power. 

21 (4) In keeping with United States obligations 

22 under the Geneva Conventions, customary inter23 national law, and a subsequent mandate by the 

24 United Nations Security Council, as the principle oc25 cupying power, the United States took temporary re26 sponsibility for Iraq, establishing first the Office for 

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1 Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance, and 

2 subsequently, the Coalition Provisional Authority. 

3 (5) As the principle occupying power, the 

4 United States enacted a broad institutional trans5 formation in Iraq in order to establish a new and 

6 democratic Iraqi Government. 

7 (6) Under United States direction and control, 

8 Iraqis adopted a transitional national assembly, 

9 adopted a new constitution, conducted parliamentary 

10 elections, and established a new government that re11 mains incapable of establishing and maintaining law 

12 and order. 

13 (7) During the United States occupation and 

14 subsequent to the return of sovereignty to Iraq, 

15 ‘‘[s]everal thousand’’ Iraqis in Iraq have come to 

16 work for the United States Government and Armed 

17 Forces, according to Ellen Sauerbrey, Assistant Sec18 retary of State for Population, Refugees and Migra19 tion. 

20 (8) The ongoing instability and chaos, violence, 

21 and ethnic, religious, and sectarian conflict in Iraq 

22 have prompted nearly 4,000,000 Iraqis to become 

23 refugees or internally displaced persons. 

24 (9) Iraqis who have assisted or worked for the 

25 United States are widely considered to be ‘‘collabomstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 rators’’ by other Iraqis, and they face a real and 

2 persistent fear of persecution, physical harm, or 

3 death, to themselves and their families. 

4 (10) There is currently no facility within Iraq 

5 where refugees or displaced persons can register 

6 with either the United States Government or with 

7 the United Nations High Commission for Refugees. 

8 (11) The internally displaced Iraqi population is 

9 estimated by the United Nations High Commissioner 

10 for Refugees (UNHCR) to be 1,900,000, with that 

11 number growing by 50,000 each month. 

12 (12) The Iraqi refugee population of approxi13 mately 2,000,000 has imposed tremendous costs on 

14 countries neighboring Iraq, many of which are poor 

15 and struggling with other large refugee populations 

16 within their borders. 

17 (13) The United States has admitted only 692 

18 Iraqi refugees since 2003. 

19 (14) The special immigrant visa program for 

20 Iraqi and Afghan translators working for the United 

21 States Armed Forces established under section 1059 

22 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 

23 Year 2006 has a six year waiting list. 

24 (15) Paula Dobriansky, Undersecretary of 

25 State for Democracy and Global Affairs, announced 

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1 on February 14, 2007, that the United States in2 tended to process 7,000 refugee referrals from 

3 UNHCR ‘‘in the near term’’. 

4 (16) Subsequently, Assistant Secretary 

5 Sauerbrey acknowledged that, because of security 

6 screening issues, ‘‘under the best of circumstances 

7 . . . perhaps half of the number that we actually are 

8 addressing in the fiscal year that we’ll be ready— 

9 travel ready before the end of September.’’. 

10 (17) Between May 1, 1975, and December 20, 

11 1975, at the direction of President Gerald Ford, the 

12 United States Government and United States Armed 

13 Forces facilitated the movement to the United 

14 States of over 131,000 South Vietnamese political 

15 refugees. 

16 SEC. 3. UNITED STATES POLICY TOWARD IRAQI REFUGEES. 

17 (1) The United States accepts responsibility for 

18 the welfare and safety of Iraqis, and their immediate 

19 family members, who, as a consequence of working 

20 for or assisting the United States Government or 

21 United States Armed Forces, have become internally 

22 displaced or refugees, or have developed a well23 grounded fear of persecution or physical harm. 

24 (2) The United States will assist all Iraq refu25 gees, including internally displaced Iraqis, to an exmstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 tent commensurate with the overall level of United 

2 States expenditures and effort in Iraq, and acknowl3 edges that actions by the United States contributed 

4 to the refugee problem that developed subsequent to 

5 the United States-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. 

6 (3) The United States will assist all Iraq refu7 gees, including internally displaced Iraqis, inde8 pendent of United States efforts to pacify Iraq and 

9 assist Iraq with its redevelopment and reconstruc10 tion. 

11 SEC. 4. PRESIDENTIAL REPORT TO CONGRESS. 

12 Not later than 60 days after the date of the enact13 ment of this Act, the President shall submit to the appro14 priate congressional committees an unclassified report 

15 on— 

16 (1) the number of Iraqis (including immediate 

17 family members), who, since March 20, 2003, have 

18 been employed in Iraq by the United States Govern19 ment or United States Armed Forces, and in par20 ticular— 

21 (A) the number of whom have become in22 ternally displaced within Iraq or have become 

23 refugees in another country, or have sought to 

24 enter, or resettle in, the United States; and 

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1 (B) the number of whom have been killed 

2 as a direct or indirect consequence of their em3 ployment by or assistance to the United States 

4 Government or United States Armed Forces; 

5 (2) the number of Iraqis (including immediate 

6 family members), who, since March 20, 2003, have 

7 been employed in Iraq by countries participating in 

8 coalition efforts in Iraq, and in particular— 

9 (A) the number of whom have become in10 ternally displaced within Iraq or have become 

11 refugees in another country, or have sought to 

12 enter, or resettle in, the United States; and 

13 (B) the number of whom have been killed 

14 as a direct or indirect consequence of their em15 ployment by or assistance to countries partici16 pating in coalition efforts in Iraq; 

17 (3) the number of Iraqis (including immediate 

18 family members), who, since March 20, 2003, have 

19 been employed by United States-hired or coalition20 hired contractors supporting coalition efforts in Iraq, 

21 and in particular— 

22 (A) the number of whom have become in23 ternally displaced within Iraq or have become 

24 refugees in another country, or have sought to 

25 enter, or resettle in, the United States; and 

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1 (B) the number of whom have been killed 

2 as a direct or indirect consequence of their em3 ployment by or assistance to contractors partici4 pating in coalition efforts in Iraq; and 

5 (4) the number of Iraqis (including immediate 

6 family members) who, since March 20, 2003, have 

7 been employed by United States or international 

8 nongovernmental organizations working in Iraq, and 

9 in particular— 

10 (A) the number of whom have become in11 ternally displaced within Iraq or have become 

12 refugees in another country, or have sought to 

13 enter, or resettle in, the United States; and 

14 (B) the number of whom have been killed 

15 as a direct or indirect consequence of their em16 ployment by or assistance to nongovernmental 

17 organizations participating in reconstruction ef18 forts in Iraq. 

19 SEC. 5. PLANS TO ACCELERATE UNITED STATES ASSIST20 ANCE TO IRAQI REFUGEES. 

21 Not later than 60 days after the date of the enact22 ment of this Act, the President shall submit to the appro23 priate congressional committees an unclassified report on 

24 options and plans to accelerate— 

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1 (1) the review by the United States Government 

2 of UNHCR referrals of Iraqis seeking refugee sta3 tus; 

4 (2) the operation of the special immigrant visa 

5 program for Iraq and Afghan translators established 

6 under section 1059 of the National Defense Author7 ization Act for Fiscal Year 2006; 

8 (3) the review process by the Department of 

9 Homeland Security of pending applications for ref10 ugee status by Iraqi refugees; and 

11 (4) the use of existing Department of State fa12 cilities within Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East 

13 to process visa and refugee applications from Iraqis. 

14 SEC. 6. PRESIDENTIAL PROPOSALS TO CONGRESS. 

15 Not later than 120 days after the date of the enact16 ment of this Act, the President shall submit to Congress— 

17 (1) legislative proposals to facilitate the accept18 ance by the United States of each Iraqi seeking 

19 entry into the United States or resettlement in the 

20 United States due to a well-founded fear of persecu21 tion on account of employment by or assistance to 

22 the United States or a coalition country in Iraq; 

23 (2) legislative proposals to amend the definition 

24 of terrorist activity in the Immigration and Nationmstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 ality Act to capture only those groups that truly 

2 threaten the security of the United States; 

3 (3) legislative proposals to amend the definition 

4 of material support under the Immigration and Na5 tionality Act to account for actions that may have 

6 been taken under duress; 

7 (4) an estimate of the personnel and financial 

8 resources necessary to facilitate, not later than one 

9 year after the date on which the legislative proposals 

10 required under paragraph (1) are submitted, the ac11 ceptance by the United States of each Iraqi seeking 

12 entry into the United States or resettlement in the 

13 United States because of a well-founded fear of per14 secution as a consequence of employment or assist15 ance to the United States or a coalition country in 

16 Iraq; and 

17 (5) a plan for the relocation, or absorption into 

18 the United States, of each Iraqi seeking entry into 

19 the United States or resettlement in the United 

20 States because of a well-founded fear of persecution 

21 as a consequence of employment or assistance to the 

22 United States or a coalition country in Iraq. 

23 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

24 (a) SECRETARY OF STATE.—There is authorized to 

25 be appropriated $100,000,000 to the Secretary of State 

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1 for each of fiscal years 2008, 2009, and 2010, for the re2 lief and resettlement in the United States of Iraqi refu3 gees, including internally displaced Iraqis. 

4 (b) SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY.—There is 

5 authorized to be appropriated $10,000,000 to the Sec6 retary of Homeland Security for each of fiscal years 2008, 

7 2009, 2010, for the purposes of reviewing pending applica8 tions for refugee status by Iraqi refugees, including inter9 nally displaced Iraqis. 

10 SEC. 8. REPORT ON REGIONAL IMPACT OF REFUGEE CRI11 SIS. 

12 Not later than 60 days after the date of the enact13 ment of this Act and not later than 60 days after the con14 clusion of each of the fiscal years specified in section 7, 

15 the Secretary of State shall submit to the appropriate con16 gressional committees a report specifying— 

17 (1) the burdens that Iraqi refugee populations 

18 are placing on their host countries; 

19 (2) the abilities of such host countries to cope 

20 with such burdens; 

21 (3) the security challenges that Iraqi refugee 

22 flows pose for countries in the region and the United 

23 States; and 

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1 (4) the steps taken by the United States, such 

2 countries in the region, and the international com3 munity to address such challenges. 

4 SEC. 9. APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES DE5 FINED. 

6 In this Act, the term ‘‘appropriate congressional com7 mittees’’ means— 

8 (1) with respect to sections 4 and 5— 

9 (A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the 

10 Committee on the Judiciary, and the Com11 mittee on Appropriations of the House of Rep12 resentatives; and 

13 (B) the Committee on Foreign Relations, 

14 the Committee on the Judiciary, and the Com15 mittee on Appropriations of the Senate; and 

16 (2) with respect to section 8— 

17 (A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and 

18 the Committee on Appropriations of the House 

19 of Representatives; and 

20 (B) the Committee on Foreign Relations 

21 and the Committee on Appropriations of the 

22 Senate. 

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