II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1860 

To protect and promote international religious freedom. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 23, 2015 

Mr. DURBIN (for himself and Mr. LEAHY) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To protect and promote international religious freedom. 

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 ‘‘Further Independence 

5 of Religion for Security and Tolerance Freedom Act of 

6 2015’’ or the ‘‘FIRST Freedom Act’’. 

7 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

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

9 (1) Many of our Nation’s founders fled religious 

10 persecution and placed great importance on religious 

11 freedom. President George Washington summed up 

12 the prevailing view of our founders when he wrote, 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 1860 IS

1 in 1793, ‘‘in this Land of equal liberty it is our 

2 boast, that a man’s religious tenets will not forfeit 

3 the protection of the Laws’’. 

4 (2) In 1791, the First Amendment to the Con5 stitution was ratified, enshrining freedom of religion 

6 as the ‘‘First Freedom’’ of all Americans and becom7 ing an inspiration to people all over the world who 

8 struggle to throw off the yoke of religious persecu9 tion. 

10 (3) Throughout our Nation’s history, the 

11 United States has sought to protect and promote 

12 fundamental human rights, including religious free13 dom, in the United States and throughout the world. 

14 (4) After World War II, under Eleanor Roo15 sevelt’s leadership, the United States spearheaded 

16 the ratification of the Universal Declaration of 

17 Human Rights, adopted at Paris December 10, 

18 1948, which recognized freedom of religion as a fun19 damental right of all people. Article 18 of that trea20 ty states ‘‘Everyone has the right to freedom of 

21 thought, conscience and religion; this right includes 

22 freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom 

23 either alone or in community with others and in 

24 public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in 

25 teaching, practice, worship and observance.’’. 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 1860 IS

1 (5) The International Covenant on Civil and 

2 Political Rights, adopted at New York December 16, 

3 1966, and which was ratified by the United States 

4 in 1992, states, ‘‘Everyone shall have the right to 

5 freedom of thought, conscience and religion. This 

6 right shall include freedom to have or to adopt a re7 ligion or belief of his choice, and freedom, either in8 dividually or in community with others and in public 

9 or private, to manifest his religion or belief in wor10 ship, observance, practice and teaching.’’. 

11 (6) Since the enactment of the International 

12 Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (Public Law 105– 

13 292), referred to in this section as ‘‘IRFA’’, which 

14 established the Department of State’s Office on 

15 International Religious Freedom, the Ambassador at 

16 Large for International Religious Freedom, and the 

17 United States Commission on International Reli18 gious Freedom (referred to in this section as 

19 ‘‘USCIRF’’), the state of religious freedom through20 out the world has significantly worsened. 

21 (7) In section 2(a)(4) of IRFA (2 U.S.C. 

22 6401(a)(4)), Congress stated, ‘‘More than one-half 

23 of the world’s population lives under regimes that 

24 severely restrict or prohibit the freedom of their citiVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:43 Jul 27, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1860.IS S1860

asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 1860 IS

1 zens to study, believe, observe, and freely practice 

2 the religious faith of their choice.’’. 

3 (8) According to ‘‘Rising Tide of Restrictions 

4 on Religion,’’ the most recent report of the Pew Re5 search Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life, 

6 three-quarters of the world’s population lives in 

7 countries in which restrictions on religion were high 

8 or very high. 

9 (9) According to the 2014 USCIRF Annual Re10 port, ‘‘The past 10 years have seen a worsening of 

11 the already-poor religious freedom environment in 

12 Pakistan, a continued dearth of religious freedom in 

13 Turkmenistan, backsliding in Vietnam, rising viola14 tions in Egypt before and after the Arab Spring, 

15 and Syria’s decent [sic] into sectarian civil war with 

16 all sides perpetrating egregious religious freedom 

17 violations.’’. 

18 (10) Under section 402 of IRFA (22 U.S.C. 

19 6442), the President is required to designate a coun20 try as a country of particular concern (referred to in 

21 this section as ‘‘CPC’’) if the government of the 

22 country has engaged in or tolerated systematic, on23 going and egregious violations of religious freedom. 

24 (11) According to the 2015 USCIRF Annual 

25 Report, since October 1999, when the first countries 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 1860 IS

1 were designated as CPCs, ‘‘the list has been largely 

2 unchanged. Of the nine countries designated as 

3 CPCs in July 2014, most had been named as CPCs 

4 for over a decade . . . Since IRFA’s inception, only 

5 one country has been removed from the State De6 partment’s CPC list due to diplomatic activity.’’. 

7 This track record calls into serious question the util8 ity of the CPC mechanism and the utility of IRFA 

9 to improve the state of religious freedom throughout 

10 the world. 

11 (12) The United States has a long tradition of 

12 providing safe haven to refugees, including members 

13 of religious minority groups and those fleeing reli14 gious persecution. Following the international com15 munity’s tragic failure to shelter Jewish refugees 

16 fleeing the Nazi genocide, the United States played 

17 a leadership role in establishing the international 

18 legal regime for the protection of refugees. Since 

19 that time, the American people have generously wel20 comed millions of refugees fleeing war and totali21 tarian regimes, and the United States traditionally 

22 accepts at least 50 percent of resettlement cases 

23 handled by the Office of the United Nations High 

24 Commissioner for Refugees (referred to in this sec25 tion as ‘‘UNHCR’’). 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 1860 IS

1 (13) According to the 2014 UNHCR Global 

2 Trends Report, more than 59,500,000 people were 

3 forcibly displaced in 2014— 

4 (A) which is equal to 1 displacement for 

5 every 122 people worldwide; 

6 (B) which is the most displacements in a 

7 year in recorded history; 

8 (C) including— 

9 (i) 38,200,000 individuals who were 

10 internally displaced within their own coun11 try; 

12 (ii) 19,500,000 refugees; and 

13 (iii) 1,800,000 asylum-seekers; 

14 (D) many of whom were victims of serious 

15 human rights violations, including religious per16 secution; and 

17 (E) many are whom are members of vul18 nerable populations, including religious minori19 ties. 

20 (14) The ongoing conflict in Syria has led to 

21 the world’s worst ongoing humanitarian crisis and 

22 worst refugee crisis since World War II. More than 

23 50 percent of Syria’s 23,000,000 people have been 

24 forcibly displaced from their homes and, as of 2015, 

25 20 percent of the world’s refugees are Syrians. 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
7 

•S 1860 IS

1 UNHCR is seeking to resettle 130,000 Syrian refu2 gees during 2015 and 2016, with a particular focus 

3 on vulnerable individuals such as religious minori4 ties. Although the United States traditionally ac5 cepts at least 50 percent of UNHCR resettlement 

6 cases, the United States has only accepted approxi7 mately 800 Syrian refugees since the beginning of 

8 the Syrian conflict, which is an unacceptably low 

9 number. 

10 (15) There are several steps that would facili11 tate the efforts of the United States Government to 

12 protect and provide safe haven to refugees from reli13 gious persecution. The 2015 USCIRF Annual Re14 port recommends that Congress ‘‘work to provide 

15 the President with permanent authority to designate 

16 as refugees specifically-defined groups based on 

17 shared characteristics identifying them as targets for 

18 persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, 

19 membership in a particular social group, or political 

20 opinion’’. 

21 (16) The United States Government has limited 

22 tools to hold accountable the perpetrators of reli23 gious freedom violations. Section 604 of IRFA 

24 added section 212(a)(2)(G) of the Immigration and 

25 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(2)(G)), which 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
8 

•S 1860 IS

1 made foreign government officials who commit par2 ticularly severe violations of religious freedom inad3 missible to the United States, but it has only been 

4 applied once, to deny entry to Narendra Modi, who 

5 was Chief Minister of Gujarat, India. In its 2015 

6 Annual Report, USCIRF recommends that the State 

7 Department: ‘‘Make greater efforts to ensure foreign 

8 government officials are denied entry into the United 

9 States due to their inadmissibility under U.S. law 

10 for their responsibility for religious freedom viola11 tions abroad.’’. The effectiveness of this law is also 

12 limited because it does not apply to non-state actors, 

13 such as international terrorists, and it can only be 

14 used to deny entry to a perpetrator who has not yet 

15 arrived in the United States, not to deport a perpe16 trator who has already entered the country. 

17 (17) In the 2015 USCIRF Annual Report, 

18 USCIRF recommended that the United States Gov19 ernment ‘‘should call for or support a referral by the 

20 UN Security Council to the International Criminal 

21 Court to investigate ISIL violations in Iraq and 

22 Syria against religious and ethnic minorities, fol23 lowing the models used in Sudan and Libya, or en24 courage the Iraqi government to accept ICC jurisdic25 tion to investigate ISIL violations in Iraq after June 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
9 

•S 1860 IS

1 2014’’. Given the weakness of the international 

2 criminal justice system, particularly that an ICC re3 ferral is subject to a UN Security Council veto, the 

4 United States Government should have the ability to 

5 prosecute members of ISIL in United States courts 

6 for crimes against humanity, including religious per7 secution. 

8 (18) Under United States law, it is a crime for 

9 a non-United States national to commit genocide, 

10 torture, terrorism, or several other violations of the 

11 law of nations, but it is not a crime under United 

12 States law to commit crimes against humanity, in13 cluding religious persecution. Since the United 

14 States Government is unable to prosecute perpetra15 tors of these crimes, many foreign war criminals 

16 have found safe haven in this country. 

17 (19) In 2006, the United States Government 

18 learned that Marko Boskic, a man who participated 

19 in the Srebrenica massacre in the Bosnian conflict, 

20 was living in Massachusetts. Rather than charging 

21 him with crimes against humanity, or religious per22 secution, Mr. Boskic was charged with visa fraud 

23 and sentenced to only 5 years in prison. 

24 (20) There is bipartisan agreement about the 

25 need for the United States Government to promote 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
10 

•S 1860 IS

1 and protect international human rights, including re2 ligious freedom. USCIRF is, by design, a bipartisan 

3 organization, with Commissioners appointed by the 

4 President and Congressional leaders. USCIRF can 

5 most effectively promote religious freedom on a bi6 partisan basis. 

7 (21) In its 2014 Annual Report entitled ‘‘Addi8 tional Opportunities to Reduce Fragmentation, 

9 Overlap, and Duplication and Achieve Other Finan10 cial Benefits’’, which identifies unnecessary duplica11 tion in the Federal Government, the Government Ac12 countability Office (referred to in this section as 

13 ‘‘GAO’’)— 

14 (A) highlighted the lack of coordination 

15 and overlapping missions of USCIRF and the 

16 Office of International Religious Freedom in 

17 the Department of State; 

18 (B) found that ‘‘the lack of a definition re19 garding how State and the Commission are to 

20 interact has sometimes created foreign policy 

21 tensions that State has had to mitigate.’’; and 

22 (C) concluded that the lack of coordination 

23 between the USCIRF and the Department of 

24 State may undermine the efforts of the United 

25 States Government to promote international reVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:43 Jul 27, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1860.IS S1860

asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
11 

•S 1860 IS

1 ligious freedom by sending mixed messages to 

2 foreign governments and human-rights activists 

3 who are fighting to defend religious freedom in 

4 their countries. 

5 (22) Congress, which is responsible for over6 seeing the work of USCIRF and ensuring that it is 

7 effectively pursuing its mission, should provide 

8 greater oversight of USCIRF’s practices, including 

9 addressing concerns regarding financial irregularities 

10 and the work environment for religious minorities. 

11 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con12 gress that— 

13 (1) the protection and promotion of inter14 national human rights, including religious freedom, 

15 should be an important priority for the United 

16 States Government; and 

17 (2) the United States Government should pur18 sue new strategies for protecting and promoting reli19 gious freedom throughout the world, including— 

20 (A) the creation of new tools— 

21 (i) to deter and punish the perpetra22 tors of particularly severe violations of reli23 gious freedom, including non-state actors; 

24 and 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
12 

•S 1860 IS

1 (ii) to protect the victims of such vio2 lations; and 

3 (B) increased diplomatic engagement that 

4 does not focus primarily on CPC designations. 

5 SEC. 3. ENHANCED PROTECTIONS FOR REFUGEES AND 

6 ASYLEES FLEEING RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION. 

7 (a) AUTHORITY TO DESIGNATE CERTAIN GROUPS OF

8 REFUGEES FOR CONSIDERATION.—Section 207(c)(1) of 

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

10 1157(c)(1)) is amended— 

11 (1) by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ before ‘‘Subject to the 

12 numerical limitations’’; and 

13 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(B)(i) The Secretary of State, in consultation 

15 with the Secretary of Homeland Security, may des16 ignate specifically defined groups of aliens— 

17 ‘‘(I) whose resettlement in the United 

18 States is justified by humanitarian concerns or 

19 is otherwise in the national interest; and 

20 ‘‘(II) who— 

21 ‘‘(aa) share common characteristics 

22 that identify them as targets of persecu23 tion on account of race, religion, nation24 ality, membership in a particular social 

25 group, or political opinion; or 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
13 

•S 1860 IS

1 ‘‘(bb) having been identified as targets 

2 under item (aa), share a common need for 

3 resettlement due to a specific vulnerability. 

4 ‘‘(ii) An alien who establishes membership in a 

5 group designated under clause (i) to the satisfaction 

6 of the Secretary of Homeland Security shall be con7 sidered a refugee for purposes of admission as a ref8 ugee under this section unless the Secretary of 

9 Homeland Security determines that such alien or10 dered, incited, assisted, or otherwise participated in 

11 the persecution of any person on account of race, re12 ligion, nationality, membership in a particular social 

13 group, or political opinion. 

14 ‘‘(iii) A designation under clause (i) is for pur15 poses of adjudicatory efficiency and may be revoked 

16 by the Secretary of State at any time after notifica17 tion to Congress. 

18 ‘‘(iv) Categories of aliens established under sec19 tion 599D(b) of the Foreign Operations, Export Fi20 nancing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 

21 1990 (Public Law 101–167; 8 U.S.C. 1157 note)— 

22 ‘‘(I) shall be designated under clause (i) 

23 until the end of the first fiscal year commencing 

24 after the date of the enactment of the FIRST 

25 Freedom Act; and 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
14 

•S 1860 IS

1 ‘‘(II) shall be eligible for designation there2 after at the discretion of the Secretary of State, 

3 considering, among other factors, whether a 

4 country under consideration has been des5 ignated as a country of particular concern 

6 under section 402 of International Religious 

7 Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6442) for en8 gaging in or tolerating systematic, ongoing, and 

9 egregious violations of religious freedom. 

10 ‘‘(v) A designation under clause (i) shall not in11 fluence decisions to grant, to any alien, asylum 

12 under section 208, protection under section 

13 241(b)(3), or protection under the Convention 

14 Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or De15 grading Treatment or Punishment, done at New 

16 York December 10, 1984. 

17 ‘‘(vi) A decision to deny admission under this 

18 section to an alien who establishes to the satisfaction 

19 of the Secretary of Homeland Security that the alien 

20 is a member of a group designated under clause (i) 

21 shall— 

22 ‘‘(I) be in writing; and 

23 ‘‘(II) state, to the maximum extent fea24 sible, the reason for the denial. 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
15 

•S 1860 IS

1 ‘‘(vii) Refugees admitted pursuant to a designa2 tion under clause (i)— 

3 ‘‘(I) shall be subject to the numerical limi4 tations under subsection (a); and 

5 ‘‘(II) shall be admissible under this sec6 tion.’’. 

7 (b) TIME LIMITS FOR FILING FOR ASYLUM.—Section 

8 208(a)(2) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

9 U.S.C. 1158(a)(2)) is amended— 

10 (1) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘or the 

11 Secretary of Homeland Security’’ after ‘‘Attorney 

12 General’’ both places such term appears; 

13 (2) by striking subparagraphs (B) and (D); 

14 (3) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as sub15 paragraph (B); 

16 (4) in subparagraph (B), as redesignated, by 

17 striking ‘‘subparagraph (D)’’ and inserting ‘‘sub18 paragraphs (C) and (D)’’; and 

19 (5) by inserting after subparagraph (B), as re20 designated, the following: 

21 ‘‘(C) CHANGED CIRCUMSTANCES.—Not22 withstanding subparagraph (B), an application 

23 for asylum of an alien may be considered if the 

24 alien demonstrates, to the satisfaction of the 

25 Attorney General or the Secretary of Homeland 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
16 

•S 1860 IS

1 Security, the existence of changed cir2 cumstances that materially affect the appli3 cant’s eligibility for asylum. 

4 ‘‘(D) MOTION TO REOPEN CERTAIN MERI5 TORIOUS CLAIMS.—Notwithstanding subpara6 graph (B) or section 240(c)(7), an alien may 

7 file a motion to reopen an asylum claim during 

8 the 2-year period beginning on the date of the 

9 enactment of the FIRST Freedom Act if the 

10 alien— 

11 ‘‘(i) was denied asylum based solely 

12 upon a failure to meet the 1-year applica13 tion filing deadline in effect on the date on 

14 which the application was filed; 

15 ‘‘(ii) was granted withholding of re16 moval pursuant to section 241(b)(3) and 

17 has not obtained lawful permanent resi18 dence in the United States pursuant to any 

19 other provision of law; 

20 ‘‘(iii) is not subject to the safe third 

21 country exception under subparagraph (A) 

22 or a bar to asylum under subsection (b)(2) 

23 and should not be denied asylum as a mat24 ter of discretion; and 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
17 

•S 1860 IS

1 ‘‘(iv) is physically present in the 

2 United States when the motion is filed.’’. 

3 (c) CONDITIONS FOR GRANTING ASYLUM.—Section 

4 208(b)(1)(B)(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

5 (8 U.S.C. 1158(b)(1)(B)(i)) is amended by striking ‘‘at 

6 least one central reason for persecuting the applicant’’ and 

7 inserting ‘‘a factor in the applicant’s persecution or fear 

8 of persecution’’. 

9 (d) STUDY ON THE EFFECT OF EXPEDITED RE10 MOVAL AND PROCESSING DELAYS ON ASYLUM CLAIMS.— 

11 (1) STUDY.— 

12 (A) DEFINITIONS.—In this paragraph— 

13 (i) the term ‘‘immigration officer’’ 

14 means an officer of the Department of 

15 Homeland Security performing duties 

16 under section 235(b) of the Immigration 

17 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1225(b)) 

18 with respect to aliens who— 

19 (I) are apprehended after enter20 ing the United States; and 

21 (II) may be eligible to apply for 

22 asylum under section 208 or 235 of 

23 such Act; and 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
18 

•S 1860 IS

1 (ii) the term ‘‘improper conduct’’ 

2 means conduct whereby an immigration of3 ficer— 

4 (I) improperly encourages an 

5 alien described in clause (i) to with6 draw or retract claims for asylum; 

7 (II) incorrectly fails to refer such 

8 an alien for an interview by an immi9 gration officer to determine whether 

10 the alien has a credible fear of perse11 cution (as defined in section 

12 235(b)(1)(B)(v) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 

13 1225(b)(1)(B)(v))); 

14 (III) incorrectly removes such an 

15 alien to a country in which the alien 

16 may be persecuted; or 

17 (IV) detains such an alien im18 properly or under inappropriate condi19 tions. 

20 (B) AUTHORIZATION.—The United States 

21 Commission on International Religious Free22 dom (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Com23 mission’’) is authorized to conduct a study to 

24 determine— 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
19 

•S 1860 IS

1 (i) whether immigration officers are 

2 engaging in improper conduct; and 

3 (ii) the impact of delays in interviews 

4 by immigration officers and immigration 

5 court hearings on asylum claims. 

6 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the 

7 date on which the Commission initiates the study 

8 under subsection (a), the Commission shall submit a 

9 report containing the results of the study to— 

10 (A) the Committee on Homeland Security 

11 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; 

12 (B) the Committee on the Judiciary of the 

13 Senate; 

14 (C) the Committee on Foreign Relations of 

15 the Senate; 

16 (D) the Committee on Homeland Security 

17 of the House of Representatives; 

18 (E) the Committee on the Judiciary of the 

19 House of Representatives; and 

20 (F) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 

21 the House of Representatives. 

22 (3) STAFF.— 

23 (A) FROM OTHER AGENCIES.— 

24 (i) IDENTIFICATION.—The Commis25 sion may identify employees of the DepartVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:43 Jul 27, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1860.IS S1860

asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
20 

•S 1860 IS

1 ment of Homeland Security, the Depart2 ment of Justice, and the Government Ac3 countability Office who have significant ex4 pertise and knowledge of refugee and asy5 lum issues. 

6 (ii) DESIGNATION.—At the request of 

7 the Commission, the Secretary of Home8 land Security, the Attorney General, and 

9 the Comptroller General of the United 

10 States shall authorize staff identified under 

11 subparagraph (A) to assist the Commission 

12 in conducting the study under paragraph 

13 (1). 

14 (B) ADDITIONAL STAFF.—The Commis15 sion may hire additional staff and consultants 

16 to conduct the study under paragraph (1). 

17 (C) ACCESS TO PROCEEDINGS.— 

18 (i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided 

19 in clause (ii), the Secretary of Homeland 

20 Security and the Attorney General shall 

21 provide staff designated under subpara22 graph (A) or hired under subparagraph 

23 (B) with unrestricted access to all stages 

24 of all proceedings conducted under section 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
21 

•S 1860 IS

1 235(b) of the Immigration and Nationality 

2 Act (8 U.S.C. 1225(b)). 

3 (ii) EXCEPTIONS.—The Secretary of 

4 Homeland Security and the Attorney Gen5 eral may not permit unrestricted access 

6 under clause (i) if— 

7 (I) the alien subject to a pro8 ceeding under such section 235(b) ob9 jects to such access; or 

10 (II) the Secretary or Attorney 

11 General determines that the security 

12 of a particular proceeding would be 

13 threatened by such access. 

14 SEC. 4. ACCOUNTABILITY FOR SEVERE VIOLATIONS OF 

15 INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM. 

16 (a) PARTICULARLY SEVERE VIOLATIONS OF RELI17 GIOUS FREEDOM.— 

18 (1) INADMISSIBILITY.—Section 212(a)(2)(G) of 

19 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

20 1182(a)(2)(G)) is amended to read as follows: 

21 ‘‘(G) ALIENS WHO HAVE COMMITTED PAR22 TICULARLY SEVERE VIOLATIONS OF RELIGIOUS

23 FREEDOM.—Any alien who was responsible for, 

24 or directly carried out, at any time, particularly 

25 severe violations of religious freedom (as deVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:43 Jul 27, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00021 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1860.IS S1860

asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
22 

•S 1860 IS

1 fined in section 3 of the International Religious 

2 Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6402)) is in3 admissible.’’. 

4 (2) REMOVABILITY.—Section 237(a)(4)(E) of 

5 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

6 1227(a)(4)(E)) is amended to read as follows: 

7 ‘‘(E) ALIENS WHO HAVE COMMITTED PAR8 TICULARLY SEVERE VIOLATIONS OF RELIGIOUS

9 FREEDOM.—Any alien who was responsible for, 

10 or directly carried out, at any time, particularly 

11 severe violations of religious freedom (as de12 fined in section 3 of the International Religious 

13 Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6402)) is de14 portable.’’. 

15 (b) RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION.—Chapter 118 of title 

16 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 

17 the following: 

18 ‘‘§ 2443. Religious persecution 

19 ‘‘(a) OFFENSE.—Any person who outside the United 

20 States commits, or attempts or conspires to commit, reli21 gious persecution— 

22 ‘‘(1) shall be fined under this title, imprisoned 

23 for not more than 20 years, or both; and 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
23 

•S 1860 IS

1 ‘‘(2) if the death of any person results from the 

2 violation of this subsection, shall be fined under this 

3 title and imprisoned for any term of years or for life. 

4 ‘‘(b) JURISDICTION.—There is jurisdiction over an 

5 offense under subsection (a), and any attempt or con6 spiracy to commit such an offense, if— 

7 ‘‘(1) the victim is a United States person; 

8 ‘‘(2) the offender is a United States person or 

9 an alien residing in the United States, regardless of 

10 whether the alien is lawfully admitted for permanent 

11 residence; 

12 ‘‘(3) the offender is a stateless person whose 

13 habitual residence is in the United States; or 

14 ‘‘(4) after the conduct required for the offense 

15 occurs, the offender is brought into or found in the 

16 United States, even if the conduct required for the 

17 offense occurs outside the United States. 

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

19 ‘‘(1) ADMISSION TO THE UNITED STATES; 

20 ALIEN; IMMIGRANT; LAWFULLY ADMITTED FOR PER21 MANENT RESIDENCE; NONIMMIGRANT.—The terms 

22 ‘admission to the United States’, ‘alien’, ‘immi23 grant’, ‘lawfully admitted for permanent residence’, 

24 and ‘nonimmigrant’ have the meanings given such 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
24 

•S 1860 IS

1 terms in section 101(a) of the Immigration and Na2 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)). 

3 ‘‘(2) RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION.—The term ‘re4 ligious persecution’ means conduct that— 

5 ‘‘(A) is intended— 

6 ‘‘(i) to obstruct any person in the free 

7 exercise of religious belief or practice; or 

8 ‘‘(ii) to terrorize or coerce any person 

9 because of the actual or perceived religion 

10 of any person; and 

11 ‘‘(B) if the conduct described in subpara12 graph (A) occurred in the United States or in 

13 the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction 

14 of the United States, would violate— 

15 ‘‘(i) section 81 (relating to arson); 

16 ‘‘(ii) section 1111 (relating to mur17 der); 

18 ‘‘(iii) section 1201(a) (relating to kid19 napping), regardless of whether the of20 fender is the parent of the victim; 

21 ‘‘(iv) section 1203 (relating to hostage 

22 taking), notwithstanding any exception 

23 under subsection (b) of such section; 

24 ‘‘(v) section 1581(a) (relating to peon25 age); 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
25 

•S 1860 IS

1 ‘‘(vi) section 1583(a)(1) (relating to 

2 kidnapping or carrying away individuals 

3 for involuntary servitude or slavery); 

4 ‘‘(vii) section 1584(a) (relating to sale 

5 into involuntary servitude); 

6 ‘‘(viii) section 1589(a) (relating to 

7 forced labor); 

8 ‘‘(ix) section 1590(a) (relating to traf9 ficking with respect to peonage, slavery, in10 voluntary servitude, or forced labor); 

11 ‘‘(x) section 1591(a) (relating to sex 

12 trafficking of children or by force, fraud, 

13 or coercion); 

14 ‘‘(xi) section 2241(a) (relating to ag15 gravated sexual abuse by force or threat); 

16 ‘‘(xii) section 2242 (relating to sexual 

17 abuse); or 

18 ‘‘(xiii) section 2340A (relating to tor19 ture), regardless of whether the offender is 

20 acting under color of law. 

21 ‘‘(3) UNITED STATES PERSON.—The term 

22 ‘United States person’ has the meaning given such 

23 term in section 3077.’’. 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
26 

•S 1860 IS

1 (c) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.—Chapter 213 of title 

2 18, United States Code is amended by adding at the end 

3 the following: 

4 ‘‘§ 3302. Religious persecution 

5 ‘‘No person may be prosecuted, tried, or punished for 

6 a violation of section 2443 unless the indictment or the 

7 information is filed not later than 10 years after the com8 mission of the offense.’’. 

9 (d) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.—Title 18, United 

10 States Code, is amended— 

11 (1) in the table of sections for chapter 118, by 

12 adding at the end the following: 

‘‘2443. Religious persecution.’’; 

13 and 

14 (2) in the table of sections for chapter 213, by 

15 adding at the end the following: 

‘‘3302. Religious persecution.’’. 

16 SEC. 5. REFORM AND REAUTHORIZATION OF UNITED 

17 STATES COMMISSION ON INTERNATIONAL 

18 RELIGIOUS FREEDOM. 

19 (a) ESTABLISHMENT AND COMPOSITION.— 

20 (1) LEADERSHIP.—Section 201(d) of the Inter21 national Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 

22 6431(d)) is amended to read as follows: 

23 ‘‘(d) ELECTION OF CHAIR.—At the first meeting of 

24 the Commission after May 30 of each year, a majority of 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
27 

•S 1860 IS

1 the members of the Commission present and voting shall 

2 elect the Chair and Vice Chair of the Commission, subject 

3 to the following requirements: 

4 ‘‘(1) INITIAL ELECTIONS.—At the first meeting 

5 of the Commission after May 30, 2016, the members 

6 of the Commission shall elect— 

7 ‘‘(A) as Chair, a member of the Commis8 sion who was appointed by an elected official of 

9 the political party that is not the political party 

10 of the President; and 

11 ‘‘(B) as Vice Chair, a member of the Com12 mission who was appointed by an elected offi13 cial of the political party of the President. 

14 ‘‘(2) FUTURE ELECTIONS.— 

15 ‘‘(A) NEXT ELECTION.—At the first meet16 ing of the Commission after May 30, 2017, the 

17 members of the Commission shall elect— 

18 ‘‘(i) as Chair, a member of the Com19 mission who was appointed by an elected 

20 official of the political party of the Presi21 dent; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) as Vice Chair, a member of the 

23 Commission who was appointed by an 

24 elected official of the political party that is 

25 not the political party of the President. 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
28 

•S 1860 IS

1 ‘‘(B) SUBSEQUENT ELECTIONS.—After the 

2 election described in subparagraph (A), the po3 sitions of Chair and Vice Chair shall continue 

4 to rotate on an annual basis between members 

5 of the Commission appointed by elected officials 

6 of each political party. 

7 ‘‘(3) TERM LIMITS.—No member of the Com8 mission is eligible to be elected as— 

9 ‘‘(A) Chair of the Commission for a second 

10 term; or 

11 ‘‘(B) Vice Chair of the Commission for a 

12 second term.’’. 

13 (2) ATTENDANCE AT MEETINGS OF AMBAS14 SADOR AT LARGE FOR INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS

15 FREEDOM.—Section 201(f) of such Act (22 U.S.C. 

16 6431(f)) is amended by adding at the end the fol17 lowing: ‘‘The Ambassador at Large shall be given 

18 advance notice of all Commission meetings and may 

19 attend all Commission meetings as a nonvoting 

20 member of the Commission.’’. 

21 (3) APPOINTMENTS IN CASES OF VACANCIES.— 

22 Section 201(g) of such Act (22 U.S.C. 6431(g)) is 

23 amended by striking the second sentence. 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
29 

•S 1860 IS

1 (b) POWERS OF THE COMMISSION.—Section 203(e) 

2 of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 

3 U.S.C. 6432a(e)) is amended to read as follows: 

4 ‘‘(e) VIEWS OF THE COMMISSION.— 

5 ‘‘(1) PRIVATE SPEECH.—Members of the Com6 mission may speak in their capacity as private citi7 zens. A member of the Commission may be identi8 fied as a member of the Commission when making 

9 oral or written statements in their private or other 

10 professional capacity if the member states clearly 

11 that the statement— 

12 ‘‘(A) is not on behalf of the Commission; 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(B) does not necessarily reflect the views 

15 of the Commission. 

16 ‘‘(2) OFFICIAL STATEMENTS.— 

17 ‘‘(A) WRITTEN STATEMENTS.—All state18 ments on behalf of the Commission shall be 

19 issued in writing over the names of the mem20 bers of the Commission. 

21 ‘‘(B) STATUTORY AUTHORITY.—In its 

22 written statements, the Commission shall clear23 ly describe its statutory authority, distin24 guishing that authority from that of appointed 

25 or elected officials of the United States GovernVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:43 Jul 27, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00029 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1860.IS S1860

asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
30 

•S 1860 IS

1 ment. Oral statements of the Commission shall 

2 include a similar description, to the extent prac3 ticable. 

4 ‘‘(C) CONSENSUS.—Members of the Com5 mission shall make every effort to reach con6 sensus on all oral or written statements on be7 half of the Commission. 

8 ‘‘(D) APPROVAL.—All views of the Com9 mission on pending legislation or any other 

10 matter under the jurisdiction of the Commis11 sion shall be approved by an affirmative vote of 

12 at least 6 of the 9 members of the Commission. 

13 Each member of the Commission may include 

14 the individual or dissenting views of the mem15 ber. 

16 ‘‘(E) ACCURACY.—All oral or written 

17 statements by members or staff of the Commis18 sion on behalf of the Commission, including tes19 timony, press releases, articles, and public or 

20 private correspondence, shall accurately reflect 

21 approved views of the Commission in accord22 ance with subparagraph (D).’’. 

23 (c) COMMISSION PERSONNEL MATTERS.—Section 

24 204 of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 

25 (22 U.S.C. 6432b) is amended— 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
31 

•S 1860 IS

1 (1) in subsection (a)— 

2 (A) by striking ‘‘or terminate an Executive 

3 Director’’ and inserting ‘‘an Executive Director 

4 and additional personnel’’; and 

5 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘The decision to terminate an Executive Direc7 tor and additional personnel shall be made by 

8 an affirmative vote of at least 5 of the 9 mem9 bers of the Commission.’’; 

10 (2) by redesignating subsections (b) through (g) 

11 as subsections (c) through (h); 

12 (3) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol13 lowing: 

14 ‘‘(b) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.— 

15 ‘‘(1) APPOINTMENT.—Not later than 60 days 

16 after the date of the enactment of the FIRST Free17 dom Act, the Commission shall appoint an Executive 

18 Director by an affirmative vote of at least 6 of the 

19 9 members of the Commission. 

20 ‘‘(2) TERM OF SERVICE.—Each Executive Di21 rector— 

22 ‘‘(A) may serve for a 4-year term; and 

23 ‘‘(B) may serve an additional, consecutive 

24 4-year term if reappointed by the Commission 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
32 

•S 1860 IS

1 by an affirmative vote of at least 6 of the 9 

2 members of the Commission.’’; 

3 (4) in subsection (d), as redesignated, by strik4 ing ‘‘and the Executive Director’’; 

5 (5) in subsection (g), as redesignated, by strik6 ing ‘‘the commission, for the executive director,’’ and 

7 inserting ‘‘the Commission, for the Executive Direc8 tor,’’; and 

9 (6) in subsection (h), as redesignated— 

10 (A) by striking ‘‘For purposes’’ and insert11 ing the following: 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes’’; 

13 (B) by inserting ‘‘(including discrimination 

14 on the bases of race, color, religion, sex, na15 tional origin, age, or disability)’’ after ‘‘employ16 ment discrimination’’; and 

17 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(2) TREATMENT OF DISCRIMINATION ON BASIS

19 OF SEXUAL ORIENTATION OR GENDER IDENTITY.— 

20 In applying paragraph (1) to rights and protections 

21 that pertain to employment discrimination on the 

22 basis of sex, and the remedies and procedures avail23 able to address alleged violations of such rights and 

24 protections, the laws, rules, and regulations that 

25 provide such rights and protections to employees 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
33 

•S 1860 IS

1 whose pay is disbursed by the Secretary of the Sen2 ate or the Chief Administrative Officer of the House 

3 of Representatives shall be deemed to recognize dis4 crimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gen5 der identity as forms of discrimination on the basis 

6 of sex and shall treat such discrimination in the 

7 same manner as discrimination on the basis of sex.’’. 

8 (d) REPORT OF COMMISSION.—Section 205 of the 

9 International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 

10 6433) is amended— 

11 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘Not later 

12 than May 1 of each year,’’ and inserting ‘‘Each 

13 year, between 30 and 90 days after the publication 

14 of the Department of State’s Annual Report on 

15 International Religious Freedom,’’; and 

16 (2) by amending subsection (c) to read as fol17 lows: 

18 ‘‘(c) INDIVIDUAL OR DISSENTING VIEWS.—Members 

19 of the Commission shall make every effort to reach con20 sensus on the report under this section. When such con21 sensus is not possible, the report shall be approved by an 

22 affirmative vote of at least 6 of the 9 members of the Com23 mission. Each member of the Commission may include the 

24 individual or dissenting views of the member in the re25 port.’’. 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
34 

•S 1860 IS

1 (e) APPLICABILITY OF THE FREEDOM OF INFORMA2 TION ACT.— 

3 (1) Section 206 of the International Religious 

4 Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6434) is amend5 ed— 

6 (A) by inserting ‘‘(a) FEDERAL ADVISORY

7 COMMITTEE ACT.—’’ before ‘‘The’’; and 

8 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(b) FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT.—Notwith10 standing section 551 of title 5, United States Code, the 

11 Commission shall be considered to be an agency for pur12 poses of section 552 of such title.’’. 

13 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

14 207(a) of the International Religious Freedom Act of 

15 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6435(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘2015’’ 

16 and inserting ‘‘2017’’. 

17 (g) TERMINATION.—Section 209 of the International 

18 Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6436) is 

19 amended by striking ‘‘September 30, 2015’’ and inserting 

20 ‘‘September 30, 2017’’. 

Æ 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS