Sec. 205. Identification, screening, and processing of refugees and other individuals eligible for lawful admission to the United States
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Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary, shall enter into agreements for the Secretary to establish designated processing centers for— registering, screening, and processing refugees and other eligible individuals in North America and Central America; and resettling or relocating such individuals to the United States or to other countries. Not fewer than 1 designated processing center shall be established in a safe and secure location identified by the United States and the host government in— El Salvador;
Guatemala; Honduras; Mexico; Costa Rica; and any other country that the Secretary of State determines can accept and process requests and applications under this title, including any country in North America or Central America that is hosting significant numbers of refugees or other displaced individuals. The Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services shall appoint an Assistant Director of Regional Processing, who shall oversee the establishment and operation of all designated processing centers.
The Assistant Director of Regional Processing, in coordination with the Secretary and the Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, shall— coordinate with the Secretary of State and the host country to ensure that each designated processing center is safe, secure, and reasonably accessible to the public to facilitate the registration, screening, and processing of individuals under this title; establish standard operating procedures for the registration, screening, and processing of individuals under this title; oversee the administration of the procedures established pursuant to subparagraph (B); and carry out other duties and powers prescribed by the Director of U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services. The Secretary, in consultation with the Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the Assistant Director of Regional Processing, shall ensure that sufficient numbers of refugee officers and other personnel are assigned to each designated processing center to fulfill the requirements under this title. The Secretary and the Attorney General shall hire and assign sufficient personnel to ensure that all security and law enforcement background checks required under this title are completed not later than 180 days after a relevant application is submitted, absent exceptional circumstances.
Each designated processing center established pursuant to subsection (a)(2) shall commence operations not later than 270 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, absent extraordinary circumstances. The Secretary, in coordination with the Secretary of State, shall— monitor the activities of each designated processing center; and establish metrics and criteria for evaluating the productivity of each designated processing center. Each designated processing center— shall remain in operation for not less than 5 fiscal years; and shall continue operating until the Secretary determines, in consultation with the Secretary of State, and using the metrics and criteria established pursuant to paragraph (2)(B), that the designated processing center has failed to maintain sufficient productivity for at least 4 consecutive calendar quarters.
Each designated processing center shall receive and register individuals seeking to apply for benefits under this title. Consistent with this title, registered individuals shall be assessed to determine the benefits for which they may be eligible, including— refugee resettlement pursuant to the Central American Refugee Program described in section 206; the Central American Minors Program described in section 207; and the Central American Family Reunification Parole Program described in section 208.
The Secretary may grant expedited processing of applications and requests under this title in emergency situations, for humanitarian reasons, or if other circumstances warrant expedited treatment. Not later than January 31 of the first fiscal year immediately following the conclusion of the fiscal year during which the first designated processing center commences operations, and every January 31 thereafter, the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of State, shall submit a report to the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate , the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate , the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives , and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives that identifies, with respect to each designated processing center during the previous fiscal year— the number of individuals who were registered, screened, and processed for benefits under this title; the number of benefits requests that were approved; and the number of benefits requests that were denied.