S.744 Immigration bill - Sec. 3403: CLARIFICATION ON DESIGNATION OF CERTAIN REFUGEES

Posted Wed, Apr 17, 2013 at 4:57 pm

    Section 207(c)(1) (8 U.S.C. 1157(c)(1)) is amended--

      (1) by inserting `(A)' before `Subject to the numerical limitations'; and

      (2) by adding at the end the following:

    `(B)(i) The President, upon a recommendation of the Secretary of State made in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security, and after appropriate consultation, may designate specifically defined groups of aliens--

      `(I) whose resettlement in the United States is justified by humanitarian concerns or is otherwise in the national interest; and

      `(II) who--

        `(aa) share common characteristics that identify them as targets of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion; or

        `(bb) having been identified as targets as described in item (aa), share a common need for resettlement due to a specific vulnerability.

    `(ii) An alien who establishes membership in a group designated under clause (i) to the satisfaction of the Secretary of Homeland Security shall be considered a refugee for purposes of admission as a refugee under this section unless the Secretary determines that such alien ordered, incited, assisted, or otherwise participated in the persecution of any person on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.

    `(iii) A designation under clause (i) is for purposes of adjudicatory efficiency and may be revoked by the President at any time after notification to Congress.

    `(iv) Categories of aliens established under section 599D of the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1990 (Public Law 101-167; 8 U.S.C. 1157 note)--

      `(I) shall be designated under clause (i) until the end of the first fiscal year commencing after the date of the enactment of the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act; and

      `(II) shall be eligible for designation thereafter at the discretion of the President, considering, among other factors, whether a country under consideration has been designated by the Secretary of State as a `Country of Particular Concern' for engaging in or tolerating systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom.

    `(v) A designation under clause (i) shall not influence decisions to grant, to any alien, asylum under section 208, protection under section 241(b)(3), or protection under the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, done at New York December 10, 1984.

    `(vi) A decision to deny admission under this section to an alien who establishes to the satisfaction of the Secretary that the alien is a member of a group designated under clause (i) shall--

      `(I) be in writing; and

      `(II) state, to the maximum extent feasible, the reason for the denial.

    `(vii) Refugees admitted pursuant to a designation under clause (i) shall be subject to the number of admissions under this section.'.

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CLARIFICATION ON DESIGNATION OF CERTAIN REFUGEES