II 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1651 

To assist certain Iraqis who have worked directly with, or are threatened 

by their association with, the United States, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 19, 2007 

Mr. KENNEDY (for himself, Mr. SMITH, Mr. BIDEN, Mr. HAGEL, Mr. LEAHY, 

Mr. LEVIN, and Mr. LIEBERMAN) introduced the following bill; which was 

read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To assist certain Iraqis who have worked directly with, or 

are threatened by their association with, the United 

States, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Refugee Crisis in Iraq Act’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings. 

Sec. 3. Processing facilities. 

Sec. 4. United States refugee program priorities. 


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Sec. 5. Special immigrant status for certain Iraqis. 

Sec. 6. Minister counselors for Iraqi refugees and internally displaced persons. 

Sec. 7. Countries with significant populations of displaced Iraqis. 

Sec. 8. Denial or termination of asylum. 

Sec. 9. Reports. 

Sec. 10. Authorization of appropriations. 

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress makes the following findings: 

3 (1) The United Nations estimates that there 

4 are 2,000,000 Iraqis internally displaced and more 

5 than 2,000,000 Iraqi refugees in neighboring coun6 tries, primarily Jordan and Syria. 

7 (2) The humanitarian needs of the Iraqi refu8 gees and internally displaced persons are significant. 

9 If their needs are not quickly and adequately met, 

10 these populations could become a fertile recruiting 

11 ground for terrorists. 

12 (3) Iraqi refugees are a significant financial 

13 burden on countries in the region. The Iraq Study 

14 Group concluded that if the refugee crisis ‘‘is not 

15 addressed, Iraq and the region could be further de16 stabilized’’. 

17 (4) Many Iraqis who have worked in critical po18 sitions in direct support of the United States Gov19 ernment in Iraq have been killed or injured in re20 prisals for their support of the American effort. 

21 Many more Iraqis associated with the United States 

22 have fled Iraq in fear of being killed or injured. 


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1 (5) Although the United States cannot resettle 

2 all of Iraq’s refugees in the United States, the 

3 United States has a fundamental obligation to help 

4 the vast number of Iraqis displaced in Iraq and 

5 throughout the region by the war and the associated 

6 chaos, especially those who have supported Amer7 ica’s efforts in Iraq. 

8 (6) In April 2007, Assistant Secretary of State 

9 Ellen Sauerbrey said the United States ‘‘could reset10 tle up to 25,000 Iraqi refugees’’ this year. In May 

11 2007, Under Secretary of State Paula Dobriansky 

12 said, ‘‘We are committed to honoring our moral debt 

13 to those Iraqis who have provided assistance to the 

14 United States military and embassy.’’ On June 8, 

15 2007, Secretary Rice remarked, ‘‘The people that 

16 I’m most worried about in the near term are the 

17 people who’ve worked for and with us who might be 

18 subject to recrimination and reprisal.’’. 

19 (7) It is essential for the United States to de20 velop a comprehensive and effective approach to sup21 port host governments and to meet the needs of 

22 Iraq’s refugees and internally displaced persons, es23 pecially those who are associated with the United 

24 States. 


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1 SEC. 3. PROCESSING FACILITIES. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State shall es3 tablish processing facilities in Iraq and in countries in the 

4 region in which— 

5 (1) aliens described in section 4 may apply and 

6 interview for admission to the United States as refu7 gees; and 

8 (2) aliens described in section 5(b) may apply 

9 and interview for admission to the United States as 

10 special immigrants. 

11 (b) REPORT.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after 

13 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

14 of State, in consultation with the Secretary of 

15 Homeland Security, shall submit a report that con16 tains the plans and assessment described in para17 graph (2) to— 

18 (A) the Committee on the Judiciary of the 

19 Senate; 

20 (B) the Committee on Foreign Relations of 

21 the Senate; 

22 (C) the Committee on the Judiciary of the 

23 House of Representatives; and 

24 (D) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 

25 the House of Representatives. 


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1 (2) CONTENTS.—The report submitted under 

2 paragraph (1) shall— 

3 (A) describe the Secretary’s plans to estab4 lish the processing facilities described in sub5 section (a); and 

6 (B) contain an assessment of in-country 

7 processing that makes use of videoconferencing. 

8 SEC. 4. UNITED STATES REFUGEE PROGRAM PRIORITIES. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Priority 2 refugees of special hu10 manitarian concern under the refugee resettlement pri11 ority system shall include— 

12 (1) Iraqis who were employed by, or worked for 

13 or directly with the United States Government, in 

14 Iraq; 

15 (2) Iraqis who were employed in Iraq by— 

16 (A) a media or nongovernmental organiza17 tion based in the United States; or 

18 (B) an organization or entity that has re19 ceived a grant from, or entered into a coopera20 tive agreement or contract with, the United 

21 States Government; 

22 (3) spouses, children, sons, daughters, siblings, 

23 and parents of aliens described in paragraph (1) or 

24 section 5(b); and 


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1 (4) Iraqis who are members of a religious or 

2 minority community and have close family members 

3 (as described in sections 201(b)(2)(A)(i) or 203(a) 

4 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

5 1151(b)(2)(A)(i) and 1153(a))) in the United 

6 States. 

7 (b) IDENTIFICATION OF OTHER PERSECUTED

8 GROUPS.—The Secretary of State is authorized to identify 

9 other Priority 2 groups in Iraq. 

10 SEC. 5. SPECIAL IMMIGRANT STATUS FOR CERTAIN IRAQIS. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (c)(1) and 

12 notwithstanding any other provision of law, for purposes 

13 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 

14 et seq.), the Secretary of Homeland Security may provide 

15 an alien described in subsection (b) with the status of a 

16 special immigrant under section 101(a)(27) of such Act 

17 (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(27)), if the alien— 

18 (1) or an agent acting on behalf of the alien, 

19 submits to the Secretary a petition under section 

20 204 of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1154) for classification 

21 under section 203(b)(4) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 

22 1153(b)(4)); 

23 (2) is otherwise eligible to receive an immigrant 

24 visa; and 


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1 (3) is otherwise admissible to the United States 

2 for permanent residence (excluding the grounds for 

3 inadmissibility specified in section 212(a)(4) of such 

4 Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(4)). 

5 (b) ALIENS DESCRIBED.— 

6 (1) PRINCIPAL ALIENS.—An alien is described 

7 in this subsection if the alien— 

8 (A) is a national of Iraq; 

9 (B) was employed by, or worked for or di10 rectly with the United States Government in 

11 Iraq, in or after 2003, for an aggregate period 

12 of not less than 1 year; and 

13 (C) provided faithful service to the United 

14 States Government, which is documented in a 

15 positive recommendation or evaluation. 

16 (2) SPOUSES AND CHILDREN.—An alien is de17 scribed in this subsection if the alien is— 

18 (A) the spouse or child of a principal alien 

19 described in paragraph (1); and 

20 (B) is following or accompanying to join 

21 the principal alien in the United States. 

22 (c) NUMERICAL LIMITATIONS AND BENEFITS.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The total number of prin24 cipal aliens who may be provided special immigrant 

25 status under this section may not exceed 5,000 per 


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1 year for each of the 5 fiscal years beginning after 

2 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

3 (2) EXCLUSION FROM NUMERICAL LIMITA4 TIONS.—Aliens provided special immigrant status 

5 under this section shall not be counted against any 

6 numerical limitation under sections 201(d), 202(a), 

7 or 203(b)(4) of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

8 (8 U.S.C. 1151(d), 1152(a), and 1153(b)(4)). 

9 (3) BENEFITS.—Aliens provided special immi10 grant status under this section shall be eligible for 

11 the same resettlement assistance, entitlement pro12 grams, and other benefits as refugees admitted 

13 under section 207 of the Immigration and Natu14 ralization Act (8 U.S.C. 1157). 

15 (4) CARRY FORWARD.—If the numerical limita16 tion under paragraph (1) is not reached during a 

17 given fiscal year, the numerical limitation under 

18 paragraph (1) for the following fiscal year shall be 

19 increased by a number equal to the difference be20 tween— 

21 (A) the number of visas authorized under 

22 paragraph (1) for the given fiscal year; and 

23 (B) the number of principal aliens provided 

24 special immigrant status under this section dur25 ing the given fiscal year. 


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1 (d) VISA AND PASSPORT ISSUANCE AND FEES.—Nei2 ther the Secretary of State nor the Secretary of Homeland 

3 Security may charge an alien described in subsection (b) 

4 any fee in connection with an application for, or issuance 

5 of, a special immigrant visa. The Secretary of State shall 

6 ensure that aliens described in this section who are issued 

7 special immigrant visas are provided with the appropriate 

8 series Iraqi passport necessary to enter the United States. 

9 (e) PROTECTION OF ALIENS.—The Secretary of 

10 State, in consultation with other relevant Federal agen11 cies, shall provide an alien described in this section who 

12 is applying for a special immigrant visa with protection 

13 or the immediate removal from Iraq of such alien if the 

14 Secretary determines that such alien is in imminent dan15 ger. 

16 (f) SECURITY.—An alien is not eligible to participate 

17 in the program authorized under this section if the alien 

18 is otherwise inadmissible to the United States under sec19 tion 212(a)(3) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

20 U.S.C. 1182(a)(3)). 

21 (g) DEFINITIONS.—The terms defined in subsections 

22 (a) and (b) of section 101 of the Immigration and Nation23 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101) have the same meanings when 

24 used in this section. 


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1 (h) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 90 days after the 

2 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Home3 land Security shall promulgate regulations to carry out the 

4 provisions of this section, including requirements for back5 ground checks. 

6 (i) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Nothing in this section 

7 may be construed to affect the authority of the Secretary 

8 of Homeland Security under section 1059 of the National 

9 Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2006 (Public 

10 Law 109–163). 

11 SEC. 6. MINISTER COUNSELORS FOR IRAQI REFUGEES AND 

12 INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State shall es14 tablish in the embassy of the United States located in 

15 Baghdad, Iraq, a Minister Counselor for Iraqi Refugees 

16 and Internally Displaced Persons (referred to in this sec17 tion as the ‘‘Minister Counselor for Iraq’’). 

18 (b) DUTIES.—The Minister Counselor for Iraq shall 

19 be responsible for the oversight of processing for resettle20 ment of persons considered Priority 2 refugees of special 

21 humanitarian concern, special immigrant visa programs in 

22 Iraq, and the development and implementation of other 

23 appropriate policies and programs concerning Iraqi refu24 gees and internally displaced persons. The Minister CounVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:46 Jun 21, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1651.IS S1651

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1 selor for Iraq shall have the authority to refer persons to 

2 the United States refugee resettlement program. 

3 (c) DESIGNATION OF MINISTER COUNSELORS.—The 

4 Secretary of State shall designate in the embassies of the 

5 United States located in Cairo, Egypt; Amman, Jordan; 

6 Damascus, Syria; and Beirut, Lebanon a Minister Coun7 selor to oversee resettlement to the United States of per8 sons considered Priority 2 refugees of special humani9 tarian concern in those countries to ensure their applica10 tions to the United States refugee resettlement program 

11 are processed in an orderly manner and without delay. 

12 SEC. 7. COUNTRIES WITH SIGNIFICANT POPULATIONS OF 

13 DISPLACED IRAQIS. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—With respect to each country with 

15 a significant population of displaced Iraqis, including Iraq, 

16 Jordan, Egypt, Syria, Turkey, and Lebanon, the Secretary 

17 of State shall— 

18 (1) as appropriate, consult with other countries 

19 regarding resettlement of the most vulnerable mem20 bers of such refugee populations; and 

21 (2) develop mechanisms in and provide assist22 ance to countries with a significant population of 

23 displaced Iraqis to ensure the well-being and safety 

24 of such populations in their host environments. 


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1 (b) NUMERICAL LIMITATIONS.—In determining the 

2 number of Iraqi refugees who should be resettled in the 

3 United States under sections (a) and (b) of section 207 

4 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1157), 

5 the President shall consult nongovernmental organizations 

6 that have a presence in Iraq or experience in assessing 

7 the problems faced by Iraqi refugees. 

8 (c) ELIGIBILITY FOR ADMISSION AS REFUGEE.—Sec9 tion 207(c)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

10 U.S.C. 1157(c)(1)) is amended by adding at the end the 

11 following: ‘‘No alien shall be denied the opportunity to 

12 apply for admission under this section solely because such 

13 alien qualifies as an immediate relative or is eligible for 

14 classification as a special immigrant.’’. 

15 SEC. 8. DENIAL OR TERMINATION OF ASYLUM. 

16 Section 208(b) of the Immigration and Nationality 

17 Act (8 U.S.C. 1158) is amended by adding at the end the 

18 following: 

19 ‘‘(4) CHANGED COUNTRY CONDITIONS.—An ap20 plicant for asylum or withholding of removal, whose 

21 claim was denied by an immigration judge solely on 

22 the basis of changed country conditions on or after 

23 March 1, 2003, may file a motion to reopen to re24 consider his or her claim not later than 6 months 


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1 after the date of the enactment of the Refugee Crisis 

2 in Iraq Act if the applicant— 

3 ‘‘(A) is a national of Iraq; and 

4 ‘‘(B) remained in the United States on 

5 such date of enactment.’’. 

6 SEC. 9. REPORTS. 

7 (a) SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 

9 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

10 of Homeland Security shall submit a report con11 taining plans to expedite the processing of Iraqi ref12 ugees for resettlement to— 

13 (A) the Committee on the Judiciary of the 

14 Senate; 

15 (B) the Committee on Foreign Relations of 

16 the Senate; 

17 (C) the Committee on the Judiciary of the 

18 House of Representatives; and 

19 (D) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 

20 the House of Representatives. 

21 (2) CONTENTS.—The report submitted under 

22 paragraph (1) shall— 

23 (A) detail the plans of the Secretary for 

24 expediting the processing of Iraqi refugees for 

25 resettlement including through temporary exVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:46 Jun 21, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1651.IS S1651

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1 pansion of the Refugee Corps of United States 

2 Citizenship and Immigration Services; and 

3 (B) describe the plans of the Secretary for 

4 enhancing existing systems for conducting back5 ground and security checks of persons applying 

6 for Special Immigrant Visas and of persons 

7 considered Priority 2 refugees of special hu8 manitarian concern under this Act, which en9 hancements shall support immigration security 

10 and provide for the orderly processing of such 

11 applications without delay. 

12 (b) PRESIDENT.—Not later than 90 days after the 

13 date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, 

14 the President shall submit to Congress an unclassified re15 port, with a classified annex if necessary, which includes— 

16 (1) an assessment of the financial, security, and 

17 personnel considerations and resources necessary to 

18 carry out the provisions of this Act; 

19 (2) the number of aliens described in section 

20 4(1); 

21 (3) the number of such aliens who have applied 

22 for special immigrant visas; 

23 (4) the date of such applications; and 


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1 (5) in the case of applications pending for more 

2 than 6 months, the reasons that visas have not been 

3 expeditiously processed. 

4 SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

5 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 

6 as may be necessary to carry out this Act. 

Æ 


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