Refugee Protection Act of 2016

Bill: 114-s-3241
Sponsor: Sen. Leahy, Patrick J. [D-VT]
Introduced: 2016-07-14 in the Senate
Policy area: Immigration
Subjects: Administrative remedies
Border security and unlawful immigration
Child health
Child safety and welfare
Citizenship and naturalization
Congressional oversight
Crime victims
Department of Homeland Security
Detention of persons
Disability and paralysis
Elementary and secondary education
Evidence and witnesses
Foreign labor
Foreign language and bilingual programs
Fraud offenses and financial crimes
Government studies and investigations
Human rights
Immigration status and procedures
Judicial procedure and administration
Law enforcement officers
Lawyers and legal services
Mental health
Presidents and presidential powers, Vice Presidents
Protest and dissent
Racial and ethnic relations
Refugees, asylum, displaced persons
Religion
Right of privacy
Terrorism
Visas and passports

Summary:
action_date: 2016-07-14
text: 

Refugee Protection Act of 2016

 
This bill amends the Immigration and Naturalization Act to eliminate the one-year time limit for filing an asylum claim.
 
The bill revises: (1) the definition of &quot;refugee,&quot; and (2) the criteria for granting asylum. 
 
The bill makes certain currently required detention provisions regarding arriving aliens who request asylum discretionary. 
 
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shall: (1) establish a secure alternatives to detention program, and (2) establish specified conditions of detention. 
 
The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom may conduct a study to determine whether certain immigration officers are properly handling asylum and removal/detention authority.
 
The bill: (1) authorizes waiver of the continuous one-year presence requirement for permanent resident status adjustment for a qualifying refugee/asylee who worked for the U.S. government overseas; (2) exempts aliens under the age of 18 from certain restrictions on applying for asylum; and (3) sets forth protections for minors, refugees, aliens interdicted at sea, and stateless persons. 
 
The President is authorized to designate refugee groups. 
 
The bill authorizes refugee applicants to simultaneously pursue other forms of admission. 
 
The spouse or child of a refugee or asylee may bring his or her accompanying or following child into the United States as a refugee or asylee. 
 
If the President does not issue a refugee allocation determination before the beginning of a fiscal year, the number of refugees that may be admitted in each quarter shall be 25% of the number of refugees admissible during the previous fiscal year. 
 
The bill amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2006, with respect to naturalization of an Afghan or Iraqi translator who is a lawful permanent resident, to count a period of absence from the United States working as a translator for the United States or a U.S. contractor in Afghanistan or Iraq towards the accumulation of the required physical presence in the United States. 
 
The bill revises: (1) the definition of &quot;terrorist activity&quot; for purposes of alien inadmissibility, including for aliens who were under 18 years of age when they committed certain actions under duress; and (2) the refugee grant and contract assistance allocation formula. 
 
The Government Accountability Office shall conduct a study of the Office of Refugee Resettlement's domestic refugee resettlement programs. 
 
The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 is amended to extend the eligibility for supplemental security income (SSI) assistance to certain aliens (including asylees and refugees) and trafficking victims. 
 
 DHS shall grant employment authorization to qualifying T visa aliens (victims of trafficking in persons) and U visa aliens (children who have been granted special immigrant status as a victim of criminal activity).
 
The number of U visas is increased.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-07-14
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S5167-5168)
action_date: 2016-07-14
text: Introduced in Senate