[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 484 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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116th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. RES. 484
Recognizing January 27, 2020, as the anniversary of the first refugee
and Muslim ban, calling on Congress to defund the Migrant Protection
Protocols, and urging the President to restore refugee resettlement to
historic norms.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
January 28, 2020
Mr. Blumenthal (for himself, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Markey, Mrs. Feinstein,
Ms. Harris, Ms. Duckworth, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Sanders, Mrs.
Gillibrand, Ms. Warren, Mr. Durbin, Ms. Hirono, Mr. Cardin, Mr.
Merkley, Mr. Booker, Ms. Klobuchar, and Mr. Coons) submitted the
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Recognizing January 27, 2020, as the anniversary of the first refugee
and Muslim ban, calling on Congress to defund the Migrant Protection
Protocols, and urging the President to restore refugee resettlement to
historic norms.
Whereas the world is in the midst of the worst global displacement crisis in
history, with more than 25,900,000 refugees worldwide, according to
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates;
Whereas UNHCR reports that global resettlement needs have doubled in recent
years, reaching over 1,440,000 refugees in 2020;
Whereas the United States Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) is a life-saving
solution critical to global humanitarian efforts, which serves to
strengthen global security, leverage United States foreign policy goals,
and support regional host countries while serving individuals and
families in need;
Whereas the United States has been a global leader in responding to displacement
crises around the world and promoting the safety, health, and well-being
of refugees and displaced persons;
Whereas refugees are the most vetted travelers to enter the United States and
are subject to extensive screening checks, including in-person
interviews, biometric data checks, and multiple interagency checks;
Whereas the United States Government leverages resettlement to encourage other
countries to keep their doors open to refugees, allow refugee children
to attend school, and allow adults to work;
Whereas the USRAP emphasizes early self-sufficiency through employment, and most
adult refugees are employed within their first six months of arriving to
the United States;
Whereas refugees contribute to their communities by starting businesses, paying
taxes, sharing their cultural traditions, and being involved in their
neighborhoods, and reports have found that refugees contribute more than
they consume in State-funded services--including for schooling and
health care;
Whereas, for over 40 years, the United States has resettled up to 200,000
refugees per year, with an average admissions goal of 95,000 refugees
per year;
Whereas the United States Government has abdicated its leadership by setting a
record-low refugee admissions goal in fiscal year 2020 at 18,000;
Whereas, on January 27, 2017, President Donald J. Trump released an Executive
order banning individuals from seven Muslim-majority countries and all
refugees from entering the country;
Whereas, since that time, the President has taken further executive and
administrative actions to ban people from Muslim-majority countries and
to dismantle the United States refugee program, resulting in
significantly lowered capacity and loss of institutional memory and
experience in the historically successful USRAP;
Whereas the President issued a Proclamation on November 9, 2018, that wrongfully
and illegally blocks people who cross between ports of entry from
applying for asylum, and since then has taken further aggressive steps
to dismantle the United States asylum system;
Whereas the Department of Homeland Security started implementation of the
Migrant Protection Protocols on January 29, 2019, and it has exposed
tens of thousands of asylum seekers to torture, kidnapping, trafficking,
and exploitation by returning them to dangerous border cities in Mexico;
Whereas the 2018 Department of State country report for Mexico acknowledges
serious and targeted risks faced by migrants and asylum seekers in, and
transiting through, Mexico, such that it remains an unsafe place for
many;
Whereas the United States has returned more than 24,000 asylum seekers alone to
Nuevo Laredo and Matamoros, widely recognized as among the most violent
cities in the world, located in the state of Tamaulipas, which is the
subject of a Department of State ``Level 4: Do Not Travel'' advisory;
Whereas sending asylum seekers to another country limits and may completely
eliminate their opportunity to identify and meet with counsel, thereby
lowering their chances of obtaining relief; and
Whereas all individuals seeking asylum in the United States are entitled to due
process and access to an attorney: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) reaffirms the United States proud history of refugee
resettlement and protection of asylum seekers;
(2) recognizes January 27, 2020, as the anniversary of the
first refugee and Muslim ban;
(3) reaffirms the strong bipartisan commitment of the
United States to promote the safety, health, and well-being of
refugees, including through resettlement and the asylum seeking
process to the United States for those who cannot return home;
(4) underscores the importance of the United States Refugee
Admissions Program and a robust asylum system as critical tools
for United States global leadership;
(5) recognizes the profound consequences faced by refugees,
asylum seekers, and their families who have been stranded,
separated, and scarred by current United States policies,
leaving thousands mid-process and more with little hope of
protection in the United States; and
(6) calls upon the United States Government--
(A) to resettle a robust number of refugees to meet
global need in fiscal years 2020 and 2021 with an
emphasis on rebuilding the resettlement program and
returning to historic norms;
(B) to operate the program in good faith in an
attempt to meet their own stated objectives, restore
historic refugee arrivals, improve consultation with
Congress, and adhere to the clear congressional intent
within the Refugee Act of 1980 (Public Law 96-212);
(C) to ensure that no funds be made available by
any Act to implement or enforce the Migrant Protection
Protocols announced by the Secretary of Homeland
Security on December 20, 2018, or any subsequent
revisions to those protocols;
(D) to enact the National Origin-Based
Antidiscrimination for Nonimmigrants Act, introduced in
the Senate as S. 1123 (116th Congress) and in the House
of Representatives as H.R. 2214 (116th Congress), which
would terminate the Muslim, refugee, and asylum bans;
and
(E) to recommit to offering freedom to individuals
fleeing from persecution and oppression regardless of
their country of origin or religious beliefs.
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