[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 295 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 295
To designate residents of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
as Priority 2 refugees of special humanitarian concern, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
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.
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 ``Hong Kong Safe Harbor Act''.
SEC. 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.
SEC. 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.
SEC. 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.
SEC. 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.
SEC. 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.
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