I 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5878 
To promote the adoption of a binding Global Migration Agreement, and 
for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 12, 2020 
Ms. OMAR introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, 
for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case 
for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
committee concerned 
A BILL 
To promote the adoption of a binding Global Migration 
Agreement, 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 ‘‘Global Migration 
Agreement Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) According to the United Nations High Com-
missioner on Refugees, there are more than 70 mil-
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lion displaced people worldwide, which is the highest 
figure in recorded history. 
(2) Among those displaced people are approxi-
mately 41 million internally displaced people (IDPs), 
approximately 26 million refugees, and another 3.5 
million asylum seekers. 
(3) In addition, there are entire classes of vul-
nerable migrants who are not accounted for by tradi-
tional definitions of refugees, IDPs, and asylum 
seekers, including people forced to flee a broader set 
of factors, including generational poverty, climate 
change, or some combination of these factors. 
(4) As a consequence of the insufficient cat-
egorizations of vulnerable migrants in domestic and 
international laws and norms, the actual number of 
forced migrants is not known and has not been 
tracked. 
(5) According to the Internal Displacement 
Monitoring Center, more than 60 percent of the in-
ternal displacements in the world in 2017 resulted 
from disasters as opposed to conflict. 
(6) In 2018, the World Bank estimated that 
Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, and Southeast 
Asia will generate 143 million more climate migrants 
by 2050. 
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(7) The gender, sex, gender identity, and sexual 
orientation of migrants shape every stage of the mi-
gration process. Women and members of the 
LGBTQIA+ community are disproportionately vul-
nerable to— 
(A) gender-based violence and impunity for 
gender-based violence that serve as root causes 
of migration; 
(B) legal discrimination that serves as a 
root cause for forced migration; 
(C) gender-based and sexual violence dur-
ing migration; 
(D) human trafficking during migration; 
(E) the denial of the right to health as a 
root cause of forced migration, during migra-
tion, and upon arrival; 
(F) the denial of the right to work and to 
education as a root cause of forced migration, 
during migration, and upon arrival; and 
(G) the denial of other human rights as 
root causes of forced migration, during migra-
tion, and upon arrival. 
(8) Identifying the trigger for a given migrant 
often does not adequately explain the root causes. 
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Root causes of forced migration are often complex 
and multifaceted, and may include— 
(A) human rights violations; 
(B) systematic impunity and corruption; 
(C) climate change; 
(D) widespread community violence; 
(E) gender-based violence; and 
(F) institutional discrimination. 
(9) Migrants are particularly vulnerable to— 
(A) human trafficking; 
(B) violence and extortion from organized 
crime; 
(C) violations of the rights to health, edu-
cation, and work; and 
(D) violations of the particular human 
rights of women, the LGBTQIA+ community, 
racial minorities, ethnic minorities, indigenous 
people, religious minorities, and other vulner-
able populations. 
(10) Migrants who have arrived in either a host 
country or, in the case of those internally displaced, 
a host city or community, are particularly vulnerable 
to— 
(A) violations of the right to due process; 
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(B) the rights to health, education, and 
work; and 
(C) violations of the particular human 
rights of women, the LGBTQIA+ community, 
racial minorities, ethnic minorities, indigenous 
people, religious minorities, and other vulner-
able populations. 
(11) In the case of internal displacement, there 
are inadequate resources for the cities, communities, 
and other localities that take on a disproportionate 
burden of forced migration. 
(12) In the case of cross-border migration, 
there are inadequate resources for the countries that 
take on a disproportionate burden of forced migra-
tion. 
(13) On September 19, 2016, the United Na-
tions General Assembly unanimously adopted the 
New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants. 
(14) Among the provisions of the New York 
Declaration for Refugees and Migrants was a com-
mitment to the creation of a Global Compact for 
Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration. 
(15) On December 19, 2018, the United Na-
tions General Assembly adopted the Global Compact 
for Migration that emerged from a two-year process, 
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with 152 countries voting in favor, 12 abstaining, 24 
not voting, and 5 voting against. 
(16) The United States was among the coun-
tries that voted against the Global Migration Com-
pact, issuing a statement that said the Compact was 
‘‘an effort by the United Nations to advance global 
governance at the expense of the sovereign right of 
States’’. 
(17) The United States has demonstrated its 
commitment to maintaining its historic leadership in 
the field of global migration by remaining the top 
funder of the United Nations High Commission on 
Refugees and the International Organization for Mi-
gration. 
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 
It is the sense of Congress that— 
(1) the leadership of the United States is para-
mount to addressing the global forced displacement 
crisis; 
(2) in order for the United States to restore its 
global leadership on the issue of migration, it must 
reaffirm its commitments in both the domestic and 
international arena, including by restoring refugee 
resettlement to adequate levels, affirming and codi-
fying the rights of asylum seekers, and adequately 
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funding the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and 
Migration of the Department of State; 
(3) as a first step in taking leadership on the 
issue of global migration, the United States should 
sign the existing Global Compact for Migration; 
(4) as an additional measure to restore Amer-
ican leadership on global migration issues, the 
United States should work in bilateral and multilat-
eral relationships with North American, Central 
American, and Caribbean Governments to develop a 
regional migration agreement rooted in the prin-
ciples outlined in the Global Compact for Migration 
to be used as a model for the Agreement required 
by section 4 of this Act; 
(5) the effects of climate change on displace-
ment, including both displacement from ‘‘sudden 
onset’’ natural disasters as well as the increasing 
scarcity of resources, represent an urgent concern 
for the United States; 
(6) countries with less capacity but greater 
proximity to countries of origin for refugees and asy-
lum seekers, such as Lebanon, Jordan, Niger, and 
Colombia, have taken on a disproportionate burden 
of the global forced displacement crisis; and 
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(7) a global migration system with substantial 
multilateral buy-in is necessary to adequately ad-
dress the increasing levels of forced migration, and 
significant institution-building is needed in order to 
provide adequate protection for migrants at risk. 
SEC. 4. GLOBAL MIGRATION AGREEMENT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State, the 
United States Permanent Representative to the United 
Nations, and other officials of the Department of State 
shall use the voice, vote, and influence of United States 
in bilateral relationships and multilateral organizations to 
promote the adoption of a binding Global Migration 
Agreement that should— 
(1) address the root causes of migration, the 
vulnerabilities faced by migrants, and integration of 
migrants into their new countries; 
(2) centralize the human rights of migrants, in-
cluding their rights to health; 
(3) recognize the particular vulnerabilities of 
marginalized groups; including women; members of 
the LGBTQIA+ community; racial, ethnic, and reli-
gious minorities; and indigenous people; 
(4) establish clear, ambitious quantitative and 
qualitative benchmarks according to each country’s 
capacity and need; 
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(5) provide global funding for crisis response in-
volving migrants at risk, whether their migration is 
internal or cross-border; 
(6) establish clear reporting requirements for 
countries on their progress in achieving the bench-
marks specified in this subsection; 
(7) establish mechanisms for support, including 
funding, for countries and localities taking on a dis-
proportionate burden of forced migration; 
(8) expand and revise existing categorizations 
and definitions of migrants to incorporate classes of 
vulnerable migrants who are currently unprotected 
by international norms and laws; and 
(9) establish clear consensus on the due process 
rights of migrants, regardless of their motivations 
for migrating. 
(b) REPORTS.—Not later than 180 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act and every 180 days 
thereafter, the Secretary of State shall submit to the Com-
mittee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives 
and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate 
a report on progress made toward adopting the Global Mi-
gration Agreement described in subsection (a). 
Æ 
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