FIRST Freedom Act

Bill: 114-hr-3194
Sponsor: Rep. Ellison, Keith [D-MN-5]
Introduced: 2015-07-23 in the House
Policy area: Immigration
Subjects: Congressional oversight
Crime victims
Diplomacy, foreign officials, Americans abroad
Employment discrimination and employee rights
Executive agency funding and structure
Freedom of information
Government studies and investigations
Human rights
Human trafficking
Immigration status and procedures
Racial and ethnic relations
Refugees, asylum, displaced persons
Religion
Sex, gender, sexual orientation discrimination
Terrorism
U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom
Violent crime

Summary:
action_date: 2015-07-23
text: 

Further Independence of Religion for Security and Tolerance Freedom Act of 2015 or the FIRST Freedom Act

 
This bill expresses the sense of Congress that: 
 
 
the protection and promotion of international human rights, including religious freedom, should be an important U.S. priority; and 
 
the United States should pursue new strategies to deter and punish the perpetrators of severe violations of religious freedom, including non-state actors, and to protect the victims of such violations. 
 
 
The Immigration and Nationality Act is amended to authorize the Department of State to designate refugee groups: 
 
 
whose resettlement in the United States is justified by humanitarian concerns or is otherwise in the national interest; and 
 
who share common characteristics that identify them as targets of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion, or having been so identified share a common need for resettlement. 
 
 
The one-year time limit for filing an asylum claim is eliminated. A two-year window is provided for certain aliens to reopen a claim denied because of failure to file within one year. 
 
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom is authorized to study: (1) whether asylum officers are engaging in improper conduct, and (2) the impact of interview delays on asylum claims. 
 
The International Religious Freedom Act is amended to authorize appropriations for the Commission through FY2017.
 
Any alien who was responsible for, or directly carried out, at any time, particularly severe violations of religious freedom is inadmissible or deportable. (Current law is limited to foreign government officials who commit such acts.)
 
The federal criminal code is amended to require that any person who outside the United States commits, or attempts or conspires to commit, religious persecution against a U.S. person: (1) be fined, imprisoned for not more than 20 years, or both; and (2) if the death of any person results from the violation, be fined and imprisoned for any term of years or for life. 
 
No person may be prosecuted, tried, or punished for such a violation unless the indictment or the information is filed within 10 years after commission of the offense.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-09-08
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security.
action_date: 2015-08-20
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations.
action_date: 2015-07-23
text: Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, 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.
action_date: 2015-07-23
text: Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, 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.
action_date: 2015-07-23
text: Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, 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.
action_date: 2015-07-23
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2015-07-23
text: Introduced in House