I

107TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1339

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

SEPTEMBER 4, 2002

Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee

on International Relations, 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

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.

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.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Persian Gulf War

5 POW/MIA Accountability Act of 2002’’.
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1 SEC. 2. AMERICAN PERSIAN GULF WAR POW/MIA ASYLUM

2 PROGRAM.

3 (a) ASYLUM PROGRAM.—The Bring Them Home

4 Alive Act of 2000 (Public Law 106–484; 114 Stat. 2195;

5 8 U.S.C. 1157 note) is amended by inserting after section

6 3 the following new section:

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

8 PROGRAM.

9 ‘‘(a) ASYLUM FOR ELIGIBLE ALIENS.—Notwith10 standing any other provision of law, the Attorney General

11 shall grant refugee status in the United States to any alien

12 described in subsection (b), upon the application of that

13 alien.

14 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY.—

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para16 graph (2), an alien described in this subsection is—

17 ‘‘(A) any alien who—

18 ‘‘(i) is a national of Iraq or a nation

19 of the Greater Middle East Region (as de20 termined by the Attorney General in con21 sultation with the Secretary of State); and

22 ‘‘(ii) personally delivers into the cus23 tody of the United States Government a

24 living American Persian Gulf War POW/

25 MIA; and
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1 ‘‘(B) any parent, spouse, or child of an

2 alien described in subparagraph (A).

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

4 subsection does not include a terrorist, a persecutor,

5 a person who has been convicted of a serious crimi6 nal offense, or a person who presents a danger to

7 the security of the United States, as set forth in

8 clauses (i) through (v) of section 208(b)(2)(A) of the

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

10 1158(b)(2)(A)).

11 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:

12 ‘‘(1) AMERICAN PERSIAN GULF WAR POW/

13 MIA.—

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

15 subparagraph (B), the term ‘American Persian

16 Gulf War POW/MIA’ means an individual—

17 ‘‘(i) who is a member of a uniformed

18 service (within the meaning of section

19 101(3) of title 37, United States Code) in

20 a missing status (as defined in section

21 551(2) of such title and this subsection) as

22 a result of the Persian Gulf War, or any

23 successor conflict, operation, or action; or

24 ‘‘(ii) who is an employee (as defined

25 in section 5561(2) of title 5, United States
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1 Code) in a missing status (as defined in

2 section 5561(5) of such title) as a result of

3 the Persian Gulf War, or any successor

4 conflict, operation, or action.

5 ‘‘(B) EXCLUSION.—Such term does not in6 clude an individual with respect to whom it is

7 officially determined under section 552(c) of

8 title 37, United States Code, that such indi9 vidual is officially absent from such individual’s

10 post of duty without authority.

11 ‘‘(2) MISSING STATUS.—The term ‘missing sta12 tus’, with respect to the Persian Gulf War, or any

13 successor conflict, operation, or action, means the

14 status of an individual as a result of the Persian

15 Gulf War, or such conflict, operation, or action, if

16 immediately before that status began the

17 individual—

18 ‘‘(A) was performing service in Kuwait,

19 Iraq, or another nation of the Greater Middle

20 East Region; or

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

22 Middle East Region in direct support of mili23 tary operations in Kuwait or Iraq.

24 ‘‘(3) PERSIAN GULF WAR.—The term ‘Persian

25 Gulf War’ means the period beginning on August 2,
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1 1990, and ending on the date thereafter prescribed

2 by Presidential proclamation or by law.’’.

3 (b) BROADCASTING INFORMATION.—Section 4(a)(2)

4 of that Act is amended—

5 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara6 graph (A);

7 (2) by striking the period at the end of sub8 paragraph (B) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

9 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub10 paragraph:

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

12 the Greater Middle East Region (as determined

13 by the International Broadcasting Bureau in

14 consultation with the Attorney General and the

15 Secretary of State).’’.

Passed the Senate July 29, 2002.

Attest: JERI THOMSON,

Secretary.