(3) provide accurate information about the 
availability of asylum and other humanitarian pro-
tections in countries in the Western Hemisphere. 
(b) ELEMENTS.—The information campaigns imple-
mented pursuant to subsection (a) shall, to the greatest 
extent possible— 
(1) be targeted at regions with high rates of vi-
olence, high levels of out-bound migration, or signifi-
cant populations of internally displaced persons; 
(2) be in local languages; 
(3) employ a variety of communications media; 
and 
(4) be developed in consultation with program 
officials at the Department of Homeland Security, 
the Department of State, and other government, 
nonprofit, or academic entities in close contact with 
migrant populations from El Salvador, Guatemala, 
and Honduras, including repatriated migrants. 
SEC. 204. DEFINITIONS. 
In this title— 
(1) the term ‘‘internally displaced persons’’ 
means persons or groups of persons who have been 
forced to leave their homes or places of habitual res-
idence, in particular due to armed conflict, general-
ized violence, violations of human rights, or natural 
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or human-made disasters, and who have not crossed 
an internationally recognized state border; 
(2) the term ‘‘international protection’’ means 
asylum status, refugee status, protection under the 
Convention Against Torture, and other regional pro-
tection status available in the Western Hemisphere; 
and 
(3) the term ‘‘best interest determination’’ 
means a formal process with procedural safeguards 
designed to give primary consideration to the child’s 
best interests in decisionmaking. 
SEC. 205. REPORTING REQUIREMENT. 
Not later than 90 days after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in consultation 
with the Secretary of Homeland Security, shall submit a 
report describing the plans of the Secretary of State to 
assist in developing the refugee and asylum processing ca-
pabilities described in this title to— 
(1) the Committee on the Judiciary of the 
House of Representatives; 
(2) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 
House of Representatives; 
(3) the Committee on Appropriations of the 
House of Representatives; 
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(4) the Committee on the Judiciary of the Sen-
ate; 
(5) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 
Senate; and 
(6) the Committee on Appropriations of the 
Senate. 
TITLE 
III—MANAGING 
MIGRA-
TION THROUGH REFUGEE RE-
SETTLEMENT, 
COMPLEMEN-
TARY 
PATHWAYS, 
AND 
STRENGTHENING 
REPATRI-
ATION INITIATIVES. 
SEC. 301. IDENTIFICATION, SCREENING, AND PROCESSING 
OF REFUGEES AND OTHER INDIVIDUALS ELI-
GIBLE FOR LAWFUL ADMISSION TO THE 
UNITED STATES. 
(a) DESIGNATED PROCESSING CENTERS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 
of State, in consultation with the Secretary of 
Homeland Security, shall enter into agreements for 
the establishment by the Secretary of Homeland Se-
curity of Designated Processing Centers for the reg-
istration, screening, and processing of refugees and 
other eligible individuals in North and Central 
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America, and the resettlement or relocation of these 
individuals to the United States or other countries. 
(2) LOCATIONS.—One or more Designated 
Processing Centers shall be established in a safe and 
secure location identified by the United States and 
the host government in— 
(A) El Salvador; 
(B) Guatemala; 
(C) Honduras; 
(D) Mexico; 
(E) Costa Rica; and 
(F) any other country deemed appropriate 
by the Secretary of State to accept and process 
requests and applications under this title, in-
cluding any country in North or Central Amer-
ica hosting significant numbers of refugees or 
other displaced individuals. 
(b) ASSISTANT DIRECTOR
OF REGIONAL PROC-
ESSING.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—There shall be an Assistant 
Director of Regional Processing, who shall report to 
the Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration 
Services, and who shall oversee the establishment 
and operation of all Designated Processing Centers. 
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(2) DUTIES.—The Assistant Director of Re-
gional Processing, in coordination with the Secretary 
of Homeland Security and the Director of U.S. Citi-
zenship and Immigration Services, shall— 
(A) coordinate with the Secretary of State 
and the host country to ensure that each Des-
ignated Processing Center is safe, secure, and 
reasonably accessible to the public to facilitate 
the registration, screening, and processing of 
individuals under this title; 
(B) establish standard operating proce-
dures for the registration, screening, and proc-
essing of individuals under this title; 
(C) oversee the administration of such pro-
cedures; and 
(D) carry out other duties and powers pre-
scribed by the Director of U.S. Citizenship and 
Immigration Services. 
(c) PERSONNEL.— 
(1) REFUGEE
OFFICERS
AND
RELATED
PER-
SONNEL.—The Secretary of Homeland Security, in 
consultation with the Director of U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration Services and the Assistant Director 
of Regional Processing, shall ensure that sufficient 
numbers of refugee officers and other personnel are 
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assigned to each Designated Processing Center to 
fulfill the requirements of this title. 
(2) SUPPORT PERSONNEL.—The Secretary of 
Homeland Security and the Attorney General shall 
hire and assign sufficient personnel to ensure that 
absent exceptional circumstances, all security and 
law enforcement background checks required under 
this title are completed in 180 days or less. 
(d) OPERATIONS.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Absent extraordinary cir-
cumstances, each Designated Processing Center 
shall commence operations not later than 270 days 
after the date of the enactment of this Act. 
(2) PRODUCTIVITY.—The Secretary of Home-
land Security, in coordination with the Secretary of 
State, shall monitor the activities of each Designated 
Processing Center and establish metrics and criteria 
for evaluating the productivity of each Designated 
Processing Center. 
(3) CONTINUING
OPERATIONS.—Each Des-
ignated Processing Center shall remain in operation 
for at least five fiscal years, and shall continue in 
operation until such time as the Secretary of Home-
land Security, in consultation with the Secretary of 
State, determines, under the metrics and criteria es-
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tablished under paragraph (2), that for at least 4 
consecutive calendar quarters the Designated Proc-
essing Center has failed to maintain sufficient pro-
ductivity. 
(e) CONGRESSIONAL REPORTS.—Not later than Jan-
uary 31 following the end of each fiscal year, and begin-
ning with the first fiscal year that at least one Designated 
Processing Center commences operations, the Secretary of 
Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of 
State, shall submit a report to the Committee on the Judi-
ciary and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House 
of Representatives and to the Committee on the Judiciary 
and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate 
on the number of individuals who have been registered, 
screened, and processed for benefits under this title at 
each Designated Processing Center, including the number 
of benefits requests that have been approved and the num-
ber of benefits requests that have been denied. 
SEC. 302. REGISTRATION AND INTAKE. 
(a) REGISTRATION.—Each Designated Processing 
Center shall receive and register individuals seeking to 
apply for benefits under this title. 
(b) INTAKE.—Consistent with this title, registered in-
dividuals shall be assessed to determine the benefits for 
which they may be eligible, including— 
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(1) refugee resettlement pursuant to the Cen-
tral American Refugee Program described in section 
303; 
(2) the Central American Minors Program de-
scribed in section 304; 
(3) the Central American Family Reunification 
Parole Program described in section 305; and 
(4) referral for suitable temporary worker pro-
grams under the Central American Worker Referral 
Program described in section 306. 
(c) EXPEDITED PROCESSING.—Expedited processing 
of applications and requests under this title shall be grant-
ed in emergency situations, for humanitarian reasons, or 
if other circumstances warrant expedited treatment in the 
exercise of discretion. 
SEC. 303. CENTRAL AMERICAN REFUGEE PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—In addition to any refugees des-
ignated for admission under section 207 of the Immigra-
tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1157), in each of fiscal 
years 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024, not less than 
100,000 nationals of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Hon-
duras combined shall be admitted into the United States 
under this section. Admission under this subsection shall 
be available to any such national who registers at a Des-
ignated Processing Center and is determined to be admis-
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sible as a refugee of special humanitarian concern to the 
United States consistent with this section. 
(b) INITIAL PROCESSING.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Any individual who registers 
at a Designated Processing Center and who ex-
presses a fear of persecution or an intention to apply 
for refugee status may make an application for ref-
ugee resettlement under this section. Upon filing of 
a completed application, the applicant shall be re-
ferred to a refugee officer for further processing con-
sistent with this section. 
(2) SUBMISSION OF BIOGRAPHIC AND BIOMET-
RIC DATA.—An applicant described in paragraph (1) 
shall be required to submit biographic and biometric 
data in accordance with procedures established by 
the Assistant Director of Regional Processing. The 
Assistant Director shall provide an alternative proce-
dure for applicants who are unable to provide all re-
quired biographic and biometric data due to a phys-
ical or mental impairment. 
(3) BACKGROUND CHECKS.—The Assistant Di-
rector of Regional Processing shall utilize biometric, 
biographic, and other appropriate data to conduct 
security and law enforcement background checks of 
applicants to determine whether there is any crimi-
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nal, national security, or other ground that would 
render the applicant ineligible for admission as a 
refugee under section 207 of the Immigration and 
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1157). 
(4) ORIENTATION.—The Assistant Director of 
Regional Processing shall provide prospective appli-
cants for refugee resettlement with information on 
applicable requirements and legal standards. All ori-
entation materials, including application forms and 
instructions, shall be provided in English and Span-
ish. 
(5) 
INTERNATIONAL
ORGANIZATIONS.—The 
Secretary of State, in consultation with the Sec-
retary of Homeland Security, shall enter into agree-
ments with international organizations, including the 
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, to 
facilitate the processing and preparation of case files 
for applicants under this section. 
(c) ADJUDICATION OF APPLICATIONS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after 
the date on which an applicant is referred under 
subsection (b)(1), the applicant shall be interviewed 
by a refugee officer for a determination of whether 
the applicant is a refugee of special humanitarian 
concern, as described in paragraph (5). 
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(2) DECISION.—Not later than 14 days after 
the date on which an applicant is interviewed under 
paragraph (1), the refugee officer shall issue a writ-
ten decision on the application. 
(3) APPROVAL OF APPLICATION.—If the refugee 
officer approves an application under this section, 
the applicant shall be processed for resettlement to 
the United States as a refugee under section 207 of 
the Immigration and Nationality Act. The security 
and law enforcement background checks required 
under subsection (b)(3) shall be completed, to the 
satisfaction of the Assistant Director of Regional 
Processing, before the date on which an approved 
applicant may be admitted to the United States. 
(4) DENIAL OF APPLICATION.—If the refugee 
officer denies an application under this section, the 
officer shall include a reasoned, written explanation 
for the denial and refer the applicant for a deter-
mination of eligibility for other benefits under this 
title, consistent with section 302(b). A denied appli-
cant may request review of the decision by a super-
visory refugee officer not later than 30 days after 
the date of the denial. The supervisory refugee offi-
cer shall issue a final written decision within 30 
days of the request for review. 
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