III 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 684 

Reaffirming the importance of the United States to promote the safety, 

health, and well-being of refugees and displaced persons. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 21, 2022 

Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. 

MURPHY, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Mr. KAINE, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. WARNOCK, Mr. HICKENLOOPER, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. 

WYDEN, Mr. COONS, Mr. PADILLA, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. CARDIN, Mrs. 

MURRAY, Ms. HIRONO, Ms. SMITH, and Mr. BOOKER) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Reaffirming the importance of the United States to promote 

the safety, health, and well-being of refugees and displaced persons. 

Whereas June 20, 2022, is observed as ‘‘World Refugee 

Day’’, a global event to honor refugees around the globe 

and celebrate the strengths and courage of people who 

have been forced to flee their home country to escape 

conflict or persecution due to their race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group; 

Whereas July 28, 2022, is the 71st anniversary of the signing of the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
2 

•SRES 684 IS 

done at Geneva July 28, 1951 (and made applicable by 

the Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, done at 

New York January 31, 1967 (19 UST 6223)), which defines the term ‘‘refugee’’ and outlines the rights of refugees and the legal obligations of states to protect them; 

Whereas, in 2022, according to the United Nations High 

Commissioner for Refugees (referred to in this preamble 

as ‘‘UNHCR’’)— 

(1) there are more than 100,000,000 displaced people who have been forced from their homes worldwide, 

more displaced people than ever before in recorded history, including more than 27,100,000 refugees and at 

least 53,200,000 internally displaced people, as of the 

end of 2021; 

(2) 69 percent of the world’s refugees came from 

Syria, Venezuela, Afghanistan, South Sudan, or Burma; 

(3) there have been more than 7,500,000 border 

crossings from Ukraine since February 24, 2022; nearly 

5,000,000 refugees from Ukraine have been recorded 

across Europe as of June 9, 2022; and nearly 12,800,000 

people were internally displaced in Ukraine as of May 5, 

2022; 

(4) there are an estimated 2,700,000 registered Afghan refugees in the world, of whom nearly 2,100,000 

are registered in Iran or Pakistan, in addition to another 

3,500,000 Afghans who are internally displaced, having 

fled their homes searching for refuge within the country; 

(5) more than 50 percent of the population of Syria 

(at least 13,500,000 people) have been displaced since 

the start of the conflict, either across the international 

border or within Syria, representing the largest displacement crisis in the world today; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
3 

•SRES 684 IS 

(6) 1 out of every 4 people of concern to UNHCR 

lives in the Americas, which represents an increase from 

1 out of every 6 in 2018; 

(7) more than 6,000,000 Venezuelans have left their 

home country since 2014, representing the largest exodus 

in Latin America’s recent history and one of the largest 

displacement crises in the world; 

(8) children account for 31 percent of the world’s 

population and 41 percent of all forcibly displaced people, 

millions of whom are unable to access basic services, including education; and 

(9) 83 percent of all refugees are hosted by developing nations and fewer than 1 percent of vulnerable refugees in need of resettlement have had the opportunity 

due to lack of resettlement places; 

Whereas thousands of our immigrant neighbors in the United 

States, including people from Ethiopia, Cameroon, Haiti, 

Mauritania, and South Sudan, face harm if deported to 

their home countries due to violent crime and political instability; 

Whereas refugees are major contributors to local economies 

and serve as critical frontline healthcare professionals 

and essential workers combating the COVID–19 pandemic worldwide; 

Whereas welcoming the oppressed and persecuted is a core 

tenet of our great Nation, and the United States is home 

to a diverse population of refugees and immigrants who 

have added to the economic strengths and cultural richness of our communities; 

Whereas, consistent with domestic and international law, all 

foreign nationals arriving in the United States, regardless 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
4 

•SRES 684 IS 

of their nationality, must be given an opportunity to seek 

asylum; 

Whereas the United States must restore a humane and functioning asylum system in order to meet its obligations 

under domestic and international law with respect to 

those fleeing persecution; 

Whereas the United States supports the UNHCR in its efforts to increase protection for LGBTQI+ refugees overseas and to support their global resettlement; 

Whereas the United States Refugee Admissions Program, 

which was established in 1980, is a lifesaving pillar of 

global humanitarian efforts, advances United States foreign policy goals, and supports regional host countries; 

Whereas resettlement is an essential part of a comprehensive 

strategy to respond to refugee crises, promote responsibility sharing, and strengthen United States national security by ensuring access to legal migration pathways; 

Whereas the infrastructure for the United States refugee resettlement pipeline has been dismantled, limiting access 

to the United States Refugee Admissions Program globally; 

Whereas for the first time in recent history, following the destruction of the United States refugee resettlement pipeline, large numbers of desperate migrants from as far as 

Cameroon and Ukraine have sought refuge from persecution at the United States border with Mexico; 

Whereas in fiscal year 2021, the United States only settled 

11,500 refugees, the lowest figure since the passage of 

the Refugee Act of 1980, and as of May 31, 2022, the 

United States had only resettled 12,641 refugees in fiscal 

year 2022; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
5 

•SRES 684 IS 

Whereas during the first 8 months of fiscal year 2022, only 

5,070 refugees were admitted from Africa, only 1,296 

refugees were admitted from Latin America and the Caribbean, and only 1,060 refugees were admitted from East 

Asia; 

Whereas resettlement organizations and other community and 

faith-based groups offer support for refugees who resettle 

in the United States; 

Whereas resettlement to the United States is available for the 

most vulnerable refugees who undergo rigorous security 

vetting and medical screening processing; 

Whereas, according to New American Economy, refugees contributed an estimated $269,100,000,000 to the national 

economy between 2005 and 2014, far surpassing the 

$206,100,000,000 spent by the United States to assist 

refugees during that period; and 

Whereas refugees integrate and quickly become self-sufficient 

by paying taxes, supporting local commerce, joining the 

workforce, and creating jobs: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) reaffirms the bipartisan commitment of the 

3 United States to promote the safety, health, and 

4 well-being of millions of refugees and asylum seek5 ers, including the education of refugee children and 

6 displaced persons who flee war, persecution, or tor7 ture in search of protection, peace, hope, and free8 dom; 

9 (2) recognizes those individuals who have risked 

10 their lives working, either individually or for nonVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:03 Jun 22, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR684.IS SR684

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
6 

•SRES 684 IS 

1 governmental organizations and international agen2 cies, such as the United Nations High Commissioner 

3 for Refugees (referred to in this resolution as 

4 ‘‘UNHCR’’), to provide lifesaving assistance and 

5 protection for people displaced around the world; 

6 (3) reaffirms the imperative to fully restore 

7 United States asylum protections by terminating 

8 policies that deny access to asylum or externalize 

9 our asylum obligations; 

10 (4) underscores the need for the United States 

11 Government to fully rebuild our Nation’s refugee re12 settlement infrastructure in order to strengthen na13 tional and regional security and encourage inter14 national solidarity with host countries; and 

15 (5) calls upon the Secretary of State, Secretary 

16 of Homeland Security, and the United States Am17 bassador to the United Nations— 

18 (A) to continue providing robust funding 

19 for refugee protection overseas and resettlement 

20 in the United States; 

21 (B) to revive the United States inter22 national leadership role in responding to dis23 placement crises with humanitarian assistance, 

24 and restore its leadership role in the protection 

25 of vulnerable refugee populations that endure 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
7 

•SRES 684 IS 

1 gender based violence, human trafficking, perse2 cution, and violence against religious minorities, 

3 forced conscription, genocide, and exploitation; 

4 (C) to work in partnership with the inter5 national community to find solutions to existing 

6 conflicts and prevent new conflicts from begin7 ning; 

8 (D) to continue supporting the efforts of 

9 the UNHCR and advance the work of non10 governmental organizations to protect refugees 

11 and asylum seekers regardless of their country 

12 of origin, race, ethnicity, or religious beliefs; 

13 (E) to continue to alleviate pressures on 

14 frontline refugee host countries that absorb the 

15 majority of the world’s refugees through hu16 manitarian and development aid; 

17 (F) to respond to the global refugee crisis 

18 by meeting robust refugee admissions goals; 

19 and 

20 (G) to reaffirm the goals of ‘‘World Ref21 ugee Day’’ and reiterate the United States 

22 strong commitment to protect refugees and asy23 lum seekers who live without material, social, or 

24 legal protections. 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS