Hong Kong Safe Harbor Act

Bill: 117-s-295
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Rubio, Marco [R-FL]
Introduced: 2021-02-08
Policy area: Immigration
Subjects: Alliances

Asia

China

Citizenship and naturalization

Congressional oversight

Detention of persons

Government information and archives

Hong Kong

Human rights

Immigration status and procedures

International organizations and cooperation

News media and reporting

Protest and dissent

Refugees, asylum, displaced persons
Latest action: action_date: 2021-02-08
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Summaries:
action_date: 2021-02-08
action_desc: Introduced in Senate
text: <p><b>Hong Kong Safe Harbor Act</b></p> <p>This bill designates certain Hong Kong residents with priority status for refugee consideration and contains other related provisions. </p> <p>An individual and certain family members shall have such priority status if the individual (1) is a Hong Kong resident who suffered persecution or has a well-founded fear of persecution as a result of peaceful political activity; or (2) has been formally charged, detained, or convicted for certain peaceful actions. An individual receiving refugee status under this bill shall not be counted against various numerical limitations. </p> <p>When determining whether an individual shall be admitted as a refugee, an individual whose citizenship, nationality, or residency was revoked for submitting a nonfrivolous application for a U.S. immigration benefit shall be considered to have suffered persecution on account of political opinion. </p> <p>The general presumption that an alien is seeking immigrant status shall not apply to certain Hong Kong residents seeking asylum into the United States. (Typically, an alien seeking admission as a nonimmigrant must establish that the alien does not intend to immigrate to the United States.) This exception to the presumption shall apply to certain individuals involved in the 2019 and 2020 protests against China's encroachment into Hong Kong's autonomy (Hong Kong is a part of China but has a separate legal and economic system).</p> <p>An individual from Hong Kong may not be denied admission into the United States if the primary reason for the denial is a politically motivated government action against the individual's involvement in protests.</p>

tv_txt: II 117th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 295 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES February 8, 2021 Mr. Rubio (for himself, Mr. Menendez , Mr. Young , Mr. Cardin , Mr. Merkley , Mr. Cornyn , Ms. Warren , Mr. Durbin , Mr. Lankford , Mr. Wyden , Mr. Blumenthal , and Mr. Coons ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To designate residents of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region as Priority 2 refugees of special humanitarian concern, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Hong Kong Safe Harbor Act . 2. Designation of certain residents of Hong Kong as Priority 2 refugees (a) In general The Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security, shall designate, as Priority 2 refugees of special humanitarian concern, the following categories of aliens: (1) Individuals who are residents of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region who suffered persecution, or have a well-founded fear of persecution, on account of their peaceful expression of political opinions or peaceful participation in political activities or associations. (2) Individuals who have been formally charged, detained, or convicted on account of their peaceful actions as described in section 206(b)(2) of the United States-Hong Kong Policy Act of 1992 ( 22 U.S.C. 5726 ). (3) The spouses, children, and parents (as such terms are defined in subsections (a) and (b) of section 101 of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1101 )) of individuals described in paragraph (1) or (2), except such parents who are citizens of a country other than the People’s Republic of China. (b) Processing of Hong Kong refugees The processing of individuals described in subsection (a) for classification as refugees may occur in Hong Kong or in a third country. (c) Eligibility for admission as refugees An alien may not be denied the opportunity to apply for admission as a refugee under this section primarily because such alien— (1) qualifies as an immediate relative of a citizen of the United States; or (2) is eligible for admission to the United States under any other immigrant classification. (d) Facilitation of admissions An applicant for admission to the United States from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region may not be denied primarily on the basis of a politically motivated arrest, detention, or other adverse government action taken against such applicant as a result of the participation by such applicant in protest activities. (e) Exclusion from numerical limitations Aliens provided refugee status under this section shall not be counted against any numerical limitation under section 201, 202, 203, or 207 of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1151 , 1152, 1153, and 1157). (f) Reporting requirements (1) In general Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and every 90 days thereafter, the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall submit a report regarding the matters described in paragraph (2) to— (A) the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate ; (B) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate ; (C) the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives ; and (D) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives . (2) Matters to be included Each report required under paragraph (1) shall include— (A) the total number of applications that are pending at the end of the reporting period; (B) the average wait-times for all applicants who are currently pending— (i) employment verification; (ii) a prescreening interview with a resettlement support center; (iii) an interview with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services; or (iv) the completion of security checks; and (C) the number of denials of applications for refugee status, disaggregated by the reason for each such denial. (3) Form Each report required under paragraph (1) shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified annex. (4) Public reports The Secretary of State shall make each report submitted under this subsection available to the public on the internet website of the Department of State. (g) Satisfaction of other requirements Aliens granted status under this section as Priority 2 refugees of special humanitarian concern under the refugee resettlement priority system shall be considered to satisfy the requirements under section 207 of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1157 ) for admission to the United States. 3. Waiver of immigrant status presumption (a) In general The presumption under the first sentence of section 214(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1184(b) ) that every alien is an immigrant until the alien establishes that the alien is entitled to nonimmigrant status shall not apply to an alien described in subsection (b). (b) Alien described (1) In general An alien described in this paragraph is an alien who— (A) is a resident of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region on February 8, 2021; (B) is seeking entry to the United States to apply for asylum under section 208 of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1158 ); and (C) (i) had a leadership role in civil society organizations supportive of the protests in 2019 and 2020 relating to the Hong Kong extradition bill and the encroachment on the autonomy of Hong Kong by the People’s Republic of China; (ii) had an organizing role for such protests; (iii) acted as a first aid responder for such protests; (iv) suffered harm while covering such protests as a journalist; (v) provided paid or pro-bono legal services to 1 or more individuals arrested for participating in such protests; or (vi) during the period beginning on June 9, 2019, and ending on February 8, 2021, was formally charged, detained, or convicted for his or her participation in such protests. (2) Exclusion An alien described in this paragraph does not include any alien who is a citizen of a country other than the People’s Republic of China. 4. Refugee and asylum determinations under the Immigration and Nationality Act (a) Persecution on account of political opinion (1) In general For purposes of refugee determinations under section 207 of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1157 ), an individual whose citizenship, nationality, or residency is revoked for having submitted to any United States Government agency a nonfrivolous application for refugee status, asylum, or any other immigration benefit under the immigration laws (as defined in section 101(a) of such Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1101(a) )) shall be considered to have suffered persecution on account of political opinion. (2) Nationals of the People's Republic of China For purposes of refugee determinations under section 207 of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1157 ), a national of the People's Republic of China whose residency in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, or any other area within the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China, as determined by the Secretary of State, is revoked for having submitted to any United States Government agency a nonfrivolous application for refugee status, asylum, or any other immigration benefit under the immigration laws shall be considered to have suffered persecution on account of political opinion. (b) Changed circumstances For purposes of asylum determinations under section 208 of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1158 ), the revocation of the citizenship, nationality, or residency of an individual for having submitted to any United States Government agency a nonfrivolous application for refugee status, asylum, or any other immigration benefit under the immigration laws shall be considered to be a changed circumstance under subsection (a)(2)(D) of such section. 5. Statement of policy on encouraging allies and partners to make similar accommodations It is the policy of the United States to encourage allies and partners of the United States to make accommodations similar to the accommodations made under this Act for residents of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region who are fleeing oppression by the Government of the People’s Republic of China. 6. Termination This Act shall cease to have effect on the date that is 5 years after the date of the enactment of this Act.