I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2537 
To defer removal of certain nationals of Iraq for a 24-month period, and 
for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 7, 2019 
Mr. LEVIN of Michigan (for himself, Mr. HARDER of California, Mr. 
CA´RDENAS, Mr. VARGAS, Mrs. DAVIS of California, Ms. NORTON, Mr. 
JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. BERGMAN, Mr. HUIZENGA, 
Mr. MOOLENAAR, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. UPTON, Mr. WALBERG, Ms. 
SLOTKIN, Ms. STEVENS, Mrs. DINGELL, Ms. TLAIB, Mrs. LAWRENCE, 
Mr. FORTENBERRY, Mr. GREEN of Texas, and Mr. AMASH) introduced 
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To defer removal of certain nationals of Iraq for a 24- 
month period, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Deferred Removal for 
Iraqi Nationals Including Minorities Act of 2019’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
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(1) There are over 1,000 Iraqi nationals living 
in the United States who have been ordered re-
moved. Over the past three decades, Iraq has gen-
erally declined permission for repatriation of its na-
tionals, so that many Iraqis who were ordered re-
moved could not be repatriated. As a result, the re-
moval orders for many Iraqis are years or decades 
old, and are not based on current country condi-
tions. 
(2) Conditions in Iraq have worsened dramati-
cally since these removal orders were entered. Re-
moval orders entered years or decades ago do not re-
liably indicate whether an Iraqi is currently remov-
able based on current country conditions and cur-
rent law. Iraq’s humanitarian, security, and refugee 
crisis has resulted in extraordinary conditions that 
today prevent many Iraqi nationals from safely re-
turning to Iraq. Many Iraqis with removal orders 
will face persecution, torture, or death if removed. 
They are therefore now eligible for immigration re-
lief that was unavailable when they were originally 
ordered removed. 
(3) The U.S. State Department currently warns 
against any travel to Iraq due to ‘‘terrorism, kidnap-
ping, and armed conflict’’. 
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(4) The most recent State Department report 
on human rights practices in Iraq warns of ‘‘unlaw-
ful or arbitrary killings by some members of the 
Iraq Security Forces (in this Act referred to as 
‘ISF’), particularly Iran-aligned elements of the 
Popular Mobilization Forces (in this Act referred to 
as ‘PMF’); forced disappearances; torture; arbitrary 
detention; harsh and life-threatening prison and de-
tention center conditions; arbitrary or unlawful in-
terference with privacy; restrictions on free expres-
sion, the press, and the internet, including censor-
ship, site blocking, and criminal libel; legal restric-
tions on freedom of movement of women; widespread 
official corruption; unlawful recruitment or use of 
child soldiers by Iran-aligned elements of the PMF 
that operate outside government control; trafficking 
in persons; criminalization of lesbian, gay, bisexual, 
transgender, and intersex (in this Act referred to as 
‘LGBTI’) status or conduct; violence targeting 
LGBTI persons; threats of violence against inter-
nally displaced persons (in this Act referred to as 
‘IDPs’) and returnee populations perceived to have 
been affiliated with ISIS; and restrictions on worker 
rights, including restrictions on formation of inde-
pendent unions and reports of child labor’’. 
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