Religious Persecution Relief Act

To provide for the admission to the United States of up to 10,000 Syrian religious minorities as refugees of special humanitarian concern in each of the fiscal years 2016 through 2020. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Religious Persecution Relief Act 2. United States refugee program processing priorities (a) Classification of Syrian religious minorities Syrian nationals who are religious minorities in their country of origin (as described in section 599D(b)(1)(D) of the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1990) ( Public Law 101–167 8 U.S.C. 1157 (1) shall be classified as refugees of special humanitarian concern; (2) shall be eligible for Priority 2 processing under the refugee resettlement priority system; and (3) may apply directly to the United States Refugee Admissions Program for admission to the United States. (b) Processing mechanisms The Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security, shall establish or use existing refugee processing mechanisms in countries in which individuals described in subsection (a) are residing to provide such individuals with the opportunity to apply and interview for admission to the United States as refugees. 3. Annual refugee resettlement quota Section 207(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1157(b) (1) by striking If the President (1) In general If the President ; and (2) by adding at the end the following: (2) Syrian religious minorities In addition to the number of refugees authorized to be admitted to the United States under paragraph (1) and subsection (a), there are authorized to be admitted up to 10,000 aliens described in section 599D(b)(1)(D) of the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1990 ( Public Law 101–167 8 U.S.C. 1157 . 4. Establishment of new category of refugee of special humanitarian concern Section 599D of the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1990 ( Public Law 101–167 8 U.S.C. 1157 (1) in subsection (b)(1)— (A) in subparagraph (B), by striking and (B) in subparagraph (C), by striking the period at the end and inserting ; and (C) by adding at the end the following: (D) one or more categories of aliens who— (i) are or were nationals and residents of the Syrian Arab Republic; (ii) as members of a religious minority in Syria, share common characteristics that identify them as targets of persecution in that state on account of religion, creed, or ethnicity; and (iii) have been underrepresented in the United States refugee resettlement program during the 5-year period ending on September 30, 2015, when compared to their representation in the Syrian population as a whole. ; and (2) in subsection (e)— (A) in paragraph (1), by striking Subsections (a) and (b) Except as provided in paragraph (4), subsections (a) and (b) (B) by adding at the end the following: (4) An alien described in subsection (b)(1)(D) may establish a well-founded fear of persecution under subsection (a) by asserting such fear in an application for admission as a refugee under section 207 of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1157 .

Summary: Religious Persecution Relief Act This bill declares that Syrian nationals who are religious minorities in their country of origin: shall be classified as refugees of special humanitarian concern, shall be eligible for priority two processing under the refugee resettlement priority system, and may apply directly to the U.S. refugee admissions program for admission to the United States. The Immigration and Nationality Act is amended to authorize, in addition to the current worldwide refugee resettlement quota, the refugee admission of up to 10,000 religious-minority Syrian nationals for each of FY2016-FY2020. The Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1990 is amended to establish as a protected refugee category persons who: are or were nationals and residents of the Syrian Arab Republic; as members of a religious minority in Syria, share common characteristics that identify them as targets of persecution in that state on account of religion, creed, or ethnicity; and have been underrepresented in the U.S. refugee resettlement program during the five-year period ending on September 30, 2015, when compared to their representation in the Syrian population as a whole.