[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5878 Introduced in House (IH)]
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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 Representatives 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 Commissioner on
Refugees, there are more than 70 million displaced people
worldwide, which is the highest figure in recorded history.
(2) Among those displaced people are approximately 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 vulnerable
migrants who are not accounted for by traditional 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 categorizations 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 internal 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.
(7) The gender, sex, gender identity, and sexual
orientation of migrants shape every stage of the migration
process. Women and members of the LGBTQIA+ community are
disproportionately vulnerable 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 during
migration;
(D) human trafficking during migration;
(E) the denial of the right to health as a root
cause of forced migration, during migration, 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 migration, and upon
arrival.
(8) Identifying the trigger for a given migrant often does
not adequately explain the root causes. 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, education,
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 vulnerable 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;
(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 vulnerable 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 migration.
(13) On September 19, 2016, the United Nations 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 commitment to the creation of a
Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration.
(15) On December 19, 2018, the United Nations General
Assembly adopted the Global Compact for Migration that emerged
from a two-year process, with 152 countries voting in favor, 12
abstaining, 24 not voting, and 5 voting against.
(16) The United States was among the countries that voted
against the Global Migration Compact, 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 Migration.
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) the leadership of the United States is paramount 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 codifying the rights of asylum seekers, and
adequately 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 American leadership
on global migration issues, the United States should work in
bilateral and multilateral relationships with North American,
Central American, and Caribbean Governments to develop a
regional migration agreement rooted in the principles 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 displacement,
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 asylum seekers, such as
Lebanon, Jordan, Niger, and Colombia, have taken on a
disproportionate burden of the global forced displacement
crisis; and
(7) a global migration system with substantial multilateral
buy-in is necessary to adequately address 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, including
their rights to health;
(3) recognize the particular vulnerabilities of
marginalized groups; including women; members of the LGBTQIA+
community; racial, ethnic, and religious minorities; and
indigenous people;
(4) establish clear, ambitious quantitative and qualitative
benchmarks according to each country's capacity and need;
(5) provide global funding for crisis response involving
migrants at risk, whether their migration is internal or cross-
border;
(6) establish clear reporting requirements for countries on
their progress in achieving the benchmarks specified in this
subsection;
(7) establish mechanisms for support, including funding,
for countries and localities taking on a disproportionate
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 Committee 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 Migration Agreement
described in subsection (a).
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