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 Whereas July 28, 2022, is the 71st anniversary of the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, held in Geneva on July 28, 1951, which defines the term refugee Whereas, in 2022, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)— (1) there are more than 100,000,000 displaced people who have been forced from their homes worldwide, more than any time in recorded history, including over 27,100,000 refugees and at least 53,200,000 internally displaced people as of the end of 2021; (2) 66 percent of the world’s refugees came from Syria, Venezuela, Afghanistan, South Sudan, and Burma; (3) there have been more than 7,500,000 border crossings from Ukraine since February 24, 2022, with nearly 5,000,000 having been recorded as refugees 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 2,700,000 registered Afghan refugees in the world, of whom nearly 2,100,000 are registered in Iran and Pakistan alone, in addition to another 3,500,000 people who are internally displaced, having fled their homes in search of 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, which represents the largest displacement crisis in the world today; (6) 1 in 4 people of concern to UNHCR lives in the Americas, up from 1 in 6 in 2018; (7) over 6,000,000 Venezuelans have fled the country, 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 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 health care professionals and essential workers combating the COVID–19 pandemic worldwide; Whereas welcoming the oppressed and persecuted is a core tenet of this 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 United States communities; Whereas, consistent with domestic and international law, all foreign nationals arriving in the United States, regardless 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 over 40 years ago, 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-Mexico border; Whereas, in fiscal year 2021, the United States only resettled 11,500 refugees, the lowest figure since the passage of the Refugee Act of 1980, and as of May 31, 2022, the United States has only resettled 12,641 refugees in fiscal year 2022; Whereas, as of May 31, 2022, in fiscal year 2022, only 5,070 refugees were admitted from Africa, only 1,296 from Latin America and the Caribbean; and only 1,060 from East Asia; Whereas resettlement organizations, as well as 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 a rigorous security vetting and medical screening process; Whereas, according to New American Economy, between 2005 and 2014, refugees contributed an estimated $269,100,000,000 to the national economy, far surpassing the $206,100,000,000 spent by the United States to assist refugees; 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 That the House of Representatives— (1) reaffirms the bipartisan commitment of the United States to promote the safety, health, and well-being of millions of refugees and asylum seekers, including the education of refugee children and displaced persons who flee war, persecution, or torture in search of protection, peace, hope, and freedom; (2) recognizes those individuals who have risked their lives working, either individually or for nongovernmental organizations and international agencies, such as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), to provide lifesaving assistance and protection for people displaced around the world; (3) reaffirms the imperative to fully restore United States asylum protections by terminating policies that deny access to asylum or externalize United States asylum obligations; (4) underscores the need for the United States Government to fully rebuild the Nation’s refugee resettlement infrastructure in order to strengthen national and regional security and encourage international solidarity with host countries; and (5) calls upon the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the United States Ambassador to the United Nations to— (A) continue providing robust funding for refugee protection overseas and resettlement in the United States; (B) revive the United States international leadership role in responding to displacement crises with humanitarian assistance, and restore its leadership role in the protection of vulnerable refugee populations that endure gender-based violence, human trafficking, persecution and violence against religious minorities, forced conscription, genocide, and exploitation; (C) work in partnership with the international community to find solutions to existing conflicts and prevent new conflicts from beginning; (D) continue supporting the efforts of the UNHCR and advance the work of nongovernmental organizations to protect refugees and asylum seekers regardless of their country of origin, race, ethnicity, or religious beliefs; (E) continue to alleviate pressures on frontline refugee host countries that absorb the majority of the world’s refugees through humanitarian and development aid; (F) respond to the global refugee crisis by meeting robust refugee admissions goals; and (G) reaffirm the goals of World Refugee Day

Summary: This resolution reaffirms the goals of World Refugee Day and the commitment of the United States to promote the safety and well-being of refugees and asylum seekers.