S. 1339

One Hundred Seventh Congress

of the

United States of America

AT THE SECOND SESSION

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday,

the twenty-third day of January, two thousand and two

An Act

To amend the Bring Them Home Alive Act of 2000 to provide an asylum program

with regard to American Persian Gulf War POW/MIAs, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of

the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Persian Gulf War POW/MIA

Accountability Act of 2002’’.

SEC. 2. AMERICAN PERSIAN GULF WAR POW/MIA ASYLUM PROGRAM.

(a) ASYLUM PROGRAM.—The Bring Them Home Alive Act of

2000 (Public Law 106–484; 114 Stat. 2195; 8 U.S.C. 1157 note)

is amended by inserting after section 3 the following new section:

‘‘SEC. 3A. AMERICAN PERSIAN GULF WAR POW/MIA ASYLUM PROGRAM.

‘‘(a) ASYLUM FOR ELIGIBLE ALIENS.—Notwithstanding any other

provision of law, the Attorney General shall grant refugee status

in the United States to any alien described in subsection (b), upon

the application of that alien.

‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY.—

‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in paragraph (2),

an alien described in this subsection is—

‘‘(A) any alien who—

‘‘(i) is a national of Iraq or a nation of the Greater

Middle East Region (as determined by the Attorney

General in consultation with the Secretary of State);

and

‘‘(ii) personally delivers into the custody of the

United States Government a living American Persian

Gulf War POW/MIA; and

‘‘(B) any parent, spouse, or child of an alien described

in subparagraph (A).

‘‘(2) EXCEPTIONS.—An alien described in this subsection

does not include a terrorist, a persecutor, a person who has

been convicted of a serious criminal offense, or a person who

presents a danger to the security of the United States, as

set forth in clauses (i) through (v) of section 208(b)(2)(A) of

the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1158(b)(2)(A)).
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‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:

‘‘(1) AMERICAN PERSIAN GULF WAR POW/MIA.—

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

(B), the term ‘American Persian Gulf War POW/MIA’

means an individual—

‘‘(i) who is a member of a uniformed service (within

the meaning of section 101(3) of title 37, United States

Code) in a missing status (as defined in section 551(2)

of such title and this subsection) as a result of the

Persian Gulf War, or any successor conflict, operation,

or action; or

‘‘(ii) who is an employee (as defined in section

5561(2) of title 5, United States Code) in a missing

status (as defined in section 5561(5) of such title) as

a result of the Persian Gulf War, or any successor

conflict, operation, or action.

‘‘(B) EXCLUSION.—Such term does not include an individual with respect to whom it is officially determined

under section 552(c) of title 37, United States Code, that

such individual is officially absent from such individual’s

post of duty without authority.

‘‘(2) MISSING STATUS.—The term ‘missing status’, with

respect to the Persian Gulf War, or any successor conflict,

operation, or action, means the status of an individual as a

result of the Persian Gulf War, or such conflict, operation,

or action, if immediately before that status began the

individual—

‘‘(A) was performing service in Kuwait, Iraq, or another

nation of the Greater Middle East Region; or

‘‘(B) was performing service in the Greater Middle

East Region in direct support of military operations in

Kuwait or Iraq.

‘‘(3) PERSIAN GULF WAR.—The term ‘Persian Gulf War’

means the period beginning on August 2, 1990, and ending

on the date thereafter prescribed by Presidential proclamation

or by law.’’.

(b) BROADCASTING INFORMATION.—Section 4(a)(2) of that Act

is amended—

(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subparagraph (A);

(2) by striking the period at the end of subparagraph (B)

and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and
S. 1339—3

(3) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:

‘‘(C) Iraq, Kuwait, or any other country of the Greater

Middle East Region (as determined by the International

Broadcasting Bureau in consultation with the Attorney

General and the Secretary of State).’’.

Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Vice President of the United States and

President of the Senate.