Sec. 231. Protection of refugees and asylum seekers

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It is the sense of Congress that— during the unprecedented public health crisis caused by the COVID–19 pandemic, the United States should collaborate with governments of other countries to take measures that protect individuals fleeing persecution, war, and generalized violence; and extraordinary policy measures, such as border closures and travel restrictions, which impose unusual burdens for those seeking international protection, should be lifted as soon as circumstances permit, and exceptions to such measures should be made for highly vulnerable refugees and asylum seekers.

The Secretary of State, in coordination with the Secretary of Homeland Security, shall— extend the period of validity for refugee visas; continue processing immigration benefits, including security vetting, to the extent such processing is unaffected by the COVID–19 pandemic; expeditiously resume refugee resettlement through the United States Refugee Admissions Program upon the resumption of international refugee resettlement operations by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Organization for Migration; reallocate refugee admissions to ensure that— the number of refugees authorized to be admitted for fiscal year 2020 under section 207(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1157(a) ) will be reached; and highly vulnerable refugees referred by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, such as unaccompanied refugee minors, are admitted; and notify the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate , the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate , the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate , the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives , the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives , and the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives about the reallocation described in paragraph (4).

Any alien described in paragraph

(2)who, after applying for admission as a covered refugee, is admitted to the United States shall be counted against the fiscal year 2020 numerical limitation for admission of refugees determined under section 207(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1157(a) ). An alien is a covered refugee described in this paragraph if the alien— applied for admission as a refugee, regardless of the applicant’s allocation within the fiscal year 2020 numerical limitation for admission of refugees; and was designated as Ready for Departure in the Department of State’s Worldwide Refugee Admissions Processing System on March 17, 2020; had, or will have, a medical clearance expire between March 17, 2020, and September 30, 2020; had, or will have, a security clearance expire between March 17, 2020, and September 30, 2020; or completed an interview with a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officer before March 17, 2020. Any alien who travels to the United States for the purpose of seeking entry into the United States to avoid persecution or torture in his or her country of origin or most recent residence shall be— considered to be engaging in essential travel; exempted from travel restrictions into the United States; and afforded the right to seek asylum in the United States. Section 362 of the Public Health Service Act ( 42 U.S.C. 265 ) is amended— by striking Whenever and inserting the following: Whenever ; and by adding at the end the following new subsection: The Surgeon General shall specify humanitarian exceptions to the travel restrictions authorized under subsection

(a)for persons in need of protection from persecution or torture. . Notwithstanding section 221(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1201(c) ) or any other provision of law, including any actions taken pursuant to section 212(f) or 215(a) of such Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1182(f) and 1185(a)) or section 362 of the Public Health Service Act ( 42 U.S.C. 265 ), if any visa described in subparagraph

(B)expires or expired during the period described in paragraph (3), the period of validity of the visa shall be extended until the date that is 90 days after the last day of the period described in paragraph (3). A visa described in this subparagraph is a visa issued under— section 1059 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2006 ( Public Law 109–163 ; 8 U.S.C. 1101 note); section 1244 of the Refugee Crisis in Iraq Act of 2007 ( Public Law 110–181 ; 8 U.S.C. 1157 note); or section 602 of the Afghan Allies Protection Act of 2009 ( Public Law 111–8 ; 8 U.S.C. 1101 note). Notwithstanding any other provision of law, including any actions taken pursuant to section 212(f) or 215(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1182(f) and 1185(a)) or section 362 of the Public Health Service Act ( 42 U.S.C. 265 )— if an alien seeking admission pursuant to section 207 of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1157 ) was designated, at any time during the period described in paragraph

(3)as Ready for Departure or the equivalent in the Department of State’s Worldwide Refugee Admissions Processing System, the period of validity of all required checks for such alien shall be extended until the date that is 90 days after the last day of the period described in paragraph (3); each alien described in subparagraph

(A)shall be counted against the fiscal year 2020 numerical limitation for admission of refugees set by the President pursuant to section 207(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1157(a) ) regardless of the applicant's allocation within such numerical limitation or the applicant’s date of admission; the period of validity of a travel document issued pursuant to section 223.1(b) of title 8, Code of Federal Regulations that is scheduled to expire during the period described in paragraph

(3)shall be extended until the date that is 90 days after the last day of the period described in paragraph (3); a filing deadline for any application, benefit, or petition filed pursuant to section 207 of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1157 ), including a petition to follow to join a relative or an affidavit of relationship, that is scheduled to expire during the period described in paragraph

(3)shall be extended to the date that is 90 days after the last day of the period described in paragraph (3); and upon the termination of the public health emergency declared pursuant to section 319 of the Public Health Service Act ( 42 U.S.C. 247d ) with respect to the COVID–19 pandemic, the Secretary of State, in conjunction with the Secretary of Homeland Security, shall expedite the admission of refugees described in this subsection to achieve the numerical limitation set by the President for fiscal year 2020 pursuant to section 207(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1157(a) ). The period described in this section is the period beginning on the date on which the public health emergency was declared pursuant to section 319 of the Public Health Service Act ( 42 U.S.C. 247d ) with respect to the COVID–19 pandemic and ending 90 days after the termination of such public health emergency. Not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act and quarterly thereafter until all COVID–19 related travel restrictions, whether domestic or foreign, have been lifted, the Secretary of State, after consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security, shall submit a report to the Committee on Foreign Relations, the Committee on the Judiciary, and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on the Judiciary, and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives describing the actions taken to ensure that special immigration visa recipients, refugees, and follow-to-join relatives approved for resettlement or admission in the United States do not face undue application-related delays in traveling to the United States. Each report required under subparagraph

(A)shall— include the number and nationality of special immigrant visa recipients, refugees, and follow-to-join relatives who were delayed due to COVID–19; indicate how many of the individuals described in clause

(i)have since traveled to the United States; and for such individuals who have not traveled to the United States, the current status of their travel documents and the expected dates on which they will be traveling to the United States. In addition to amounts otherwise appropriated for such purposes, there is authorized to be appropriated to the Office of Refugee Resettlement of the Department of Health and Human Services an additional $642,000,000 for fiscal year 2020 to meet the immediate needs of recently arrived refugees and other populations receiving resettlement services due to the public health and economic crises caused by the COVID–19 pandemic. Amounts appropriated pursuant to paragraph

(1)shall be used— to increase the period during which individuals described in paragraph

(1)shall receive Refugee Cash Assistance and Refugee Medical Assistance benefits from 8 months to 18 months to provide such individuals, during the extent of such crises, with needed housing, food, and medical assistance; to provide an additional $2,000 for all current and future individuals enrolled in the Matching Grant program— to ensure that rent and utilities for such individuals are paid for at least 180 days; and to waive or suspend the non-Federal matching requirement for this additional funding; to expand by 200 percent the Preferred Communities Program to provide emergency assistance, such as food, housing, and health needs, to the individuals benefitting from such program; to ensure that— resettlement agencies are able to maintain their infrastructure and capacity at a level to continue to serve newly arrived refugees, previously arrived refugees, and other populations of concern who remain statutorily eligible for integration services; and there is sufficient capacity for future arrivals to be adequately served; and to increase the Refugee Support Services budget by $200,000,000 to ensure that the program can flexibly meet recipients’ immediate and emergency needs, such as housing, food, and unemployment assistance. Congress finds that— the infrastructure of the refugee resettlement program is being challenged, particularly in light of the moratorium on refugee arrivals, which inhibits the ability of refugee resettlement agencies to serve newcomers, resettled refugees, Afghan and Iraqi special immigrant visa recipients, asylees, and others; and it is important to preserve the capacity of overseas infrastructure, including the Resettlement Support Centers overseas, so that refugee arrivals can resume expeditiously. The Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration shall— during the period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act and ending on September 30, 2020, increase reception and placement assistance by $1,000 per person to strengthen direct support for recent and new arrivals, including and beyond their first 90 days after arrival; provide $1,200 in cash assistance directly to each refugee and Afghan and Iraqi special immigrant visa recipient who arrived in the United States during the 12-month period ending on the date of the enactment of this Act; ensure that each of the 9 refugee resettlement agencies receive adequate funding to stabilize the refugee resettlement infrastructure required to continue serving refugees, as determined by the Secretary of State, in consultation with such agencies; and maintain level funding to the overseas resettlement support centers while processing refugees for resettlement to the United States is temporarily suspended.

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