[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3934 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3934
To designate residents of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region as
Priority 2 refugees of special humanitarian concern, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 7, 2023
Ms. Wexton (for herself, Ms. Salazar, Mr. Meeks, Mr. Beyer, and Mr.
Connolly) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Foreign
Affairs, 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 designate residents of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous 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 ``Uyghur Human Rights Protection
Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) The Government of the People's Republic of China has a
long history of repressing Turkic Muslims and other Muslim
minority groups, particularly Uyghurs, in the Xinjiang Uyghur
Autonomous Region (``Xinjiang'' or ``XUAR''), also known as
East Turkestan. Central and regional Chinese government
policies have systematically discriminated against these
minority groups by denying them a range of civil and political
rights, particularly freedom of religion.
(2) In May 2014, the Government of the People's Republic of
China launched its latest ``Strike Hard Against Violent
Extremism'' campaign, using wide-scale, internationally linked
threats of terrorism as a pretext to justify pervasive
restrictions on and serious human rights violations against
members of ethnic minority communities in Xinjiang. The August
2016 appointment of former Tibet Autonomous Region Party
Secretary Chen Quanguo to be Party Secretary of the XUAR
accelerated the crackdown across the region. Scholars, human
rights organizations, journalists, and think tanks have
provided ample evidence substantiating the establishment by the
Government of the People's Republic of China of internment
camps. Since 2017, the Government of the People's Republic of
China has detained more than 1,000,000 Uyghurs, ethnic Kazakhs,
Kyrgyz, and members of other Muslim minority groups in these
camps. The total ethnic minority population of Xinjiang Uyghur
Autonomous Region was approximately 13,000,000 at the time of
the last census conducted by the People's Republic of China in
2010.
(3) The Government of the People's Republic of China's
actions against Uyghurs, ethnic Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and members of
other Muslim minority groups in Xinjiang violate international
human rights laws and norms, including--
(A) the International Convention on the Elimination
of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, to which the
People's Republic of China has acceded;
(B) the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel,
Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, which the
People's Republic of China has signed and ratified;
(C) the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment
of the Crime of Genocide, which the People's Republic
of China has signed and ratified;
(D) the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights, which the People's Republic of China
has signed; and
(E) the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and
the International Labor Organization's Force Labor
Convention (no. 29) and the Abolition of Forced Labor
Convention (no. 105).
(4) Senior Chinese Communist Party officials bear direct
responsibility for gross human rights violations committed
against Uyghurs, ethnic Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and members of other
Muslim minority groups. These abuses include the arbitrary
detention of more than 1,000,000 Uyghurs, ethnic Kazakhs,
Kyrgyz, and members of other Muslim minority groups, separation
of working age adults from their children and elderly parents,
and the integration of forced labor into supply chains.
(5) Those held in detention facilities and internment camps
in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region have described forced
political indoctrination, torture, beatings, food deprivation,
sexual assault, coordinated campaigns to reduce birth rates
among Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims through forced
sterilization, and denial of religious, cultural, and
linguistic freedoms. These victims have confirmed they were
told by guards that the only way to secure their release was to
demonstrate adequate political loyalty. Poor conditions and
lack of medical treatment at such facilities appear to have
contributed to the deaths of some detainees, including the
elderly and infirm. Recent media reports indicate that since
2019 the Government of the People's Republic of China has newly
constructed, expanded, or fortified at least 60 detention
facilities with higher security or prison-like features.
(6) In September 2018, United Nations High Commissioner for
Human Rights Michelle Bachelet noted ``the deeply disturbing
allegations of large-scale arbitrary detentions of Uighurs and
other Muslim communities, in so-called reeducation camps across
Xinjiang''.
(7) In 2019, the Congressional-Executive Commission on
China concluded that, based on available evidence, the
establishment and actions committed in the internment camps in
Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region may constitute ``crimes
against humanity''.
(8) Uyghurs and ethnic Kazaks resettled or residing in
third countries report being subjected to threats and
harassment from People's Republic of China officials.
(9) There is a backlog of approximately 3.6 million visa
applicants waiting to enter the United States. Wait times for
certain visas are between 5 and 18 years.
SEC. 3. DESIGNATION OF CERTAIN RESIDENTS OF THE XINJIANG UYGHUR
AUTONOMOUS REGION.
(a) In General.--Persons of special humanitarian concern eligible
for Priority 2 processing under the refugee resettlement priority
system shall include the following:
(1) Individuals who are residents of or fled the Xinjiang
Uyghur Autonomous Region who suffered persecution or have a
well-founded fear of persecution on account of their peaceful
expression of political opinions, religious or cultural
beliefs, or peaceful participation in political, religious, or
cultural activities or associations.
(2) Individuals residing in other provinces of China, or
individuals not firmly resettled in third countries, who fled
the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region because of the causes
described in paragraph (1).
(3) Individuals who have been formally charged, detained,
or convicted on account of their peaceful actions as described
in the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020 (Public Law 116-
145).
(4) 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), (2), or (3), except such parents
who are citizens of a country other than the People's Republic
of China.
(b) Processing of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Refugees.--The
processing of individuals described in subsection (a) for
classification as refugees may occur in China 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.--Certain applicants for admission
to the United States from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, as
described in subsection (a), may not be denied primarily on the basis
of a politically, religiously, or culturally 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, or 1157).
(f) Priority.--The Secretary of State shall prioritize bilateral
diplomacy with third countries hosting former residents from the
Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, as described in subsection (a), and
who face significant diplomatic pressure from the Government of the
People's Republic of China.
(g) 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 on the matters described in paragraph (2) to--
(A) the Committee on the Judiciary and the
Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate; and
(B) the Committee on the Judiciary and the
Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of
Representatives.
(2) Matters to be included.--Each report required by
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 and number of applicants
who are currently pending--
(i) a pre-screening interview with a
resettlement support center;
(ii) an interview with U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Services;
(iii) the completion of security checks;
and
(iv) receipt of a final decision after
completion of an interview with U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services; and
(C) the number of denials of applications for
refugee status, disaggregated by the reason for each
such denial.
(3) Form.--Each report required by 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.
(h) Satisfaction of Other Requirements.--Aliens eligible under this
section for Priority 2 processing 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. 4. 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) on January 1, 2023, was a resident of the
Xinjiang Special Administrative Region;
(B) fled the Xinjiang Special Administrative Region
after June 30, 2009, and now resides in a different
province of China or third country;
(C) 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
(D) is facing repression in the Xinjiang Uyghur
Autonomous Region by the Government of the People's
Republic of China including--
(i) forced and arbitrary detention
including in internment and so-called re-
education camps;
(ii) forced political indoctrination,
torture, beatings, food deprivation, and denial
of religious, cultural, and linguistic
freedoms;
(iii) forced labor;
(iv) forced separation from family members;
or
(v) other forms of systemic threats,
harassment, and gross human rights violations.
(2) Exclusion.--An alien described in this paragraph does
not include any alien who--
(A) is a citizen or permanent resident of a country
other than the People's Republic of China; or
(B) is determined to have committed a gross
violation of human rights.
(c) Intention To Abandon Foreign Residence.--The fact that an alien
described in this section is or was the beneficiary of an application
for refugee status, or 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), shall not constitute evidence of an intention to abandon
a foreign residence for purposes of obtaining or maintaining the status
of a nonimmigrant described in section 101(a)(15) of the Immigration
and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)).
SEC. 5. REFUGEE AND ASYLUM DETERMINATIONS UNDER THE IMMIGRATION AND
NATIONALITY ACT.
(a) Persecution on Account of Political, Religious, or Cultural
Expression or Association.--
(1) In general.--In the case of an alien who is within a
category of aliens established under this Act, the alien may
establish, for purposes of section 3(a)(1) of this Act, that
the alien has a well-founded fear of persecution on account of
race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social
group, or political opinion by asserting such a fear and
asserting a credible basis for concern about the possibility of
such persecution.
(2) Nationals of the people's republic of china.--For
purposes of refugee determinations under this Act in accordance
with 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 Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous 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 this Act in accordance with 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 that section.
(c) Definition.--For purposes of this section, the term
``immigration laws'' has the meaning given such term in section
101(a)(17) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.
1101(a)(17)).
SEC. 6. 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 in this Act for residents of the Xinjiang Uyghur
Autonomous Region who are fleeing oppression by the Government of the
People's Republic of China.
SEC. 7. TERMINATION.
This Act, and the amendments made by this Act, shall cease to have
effect on the date that is 10 years after the date of the enactment of
this Act.
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