[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2302 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2302

To temporarily restrict the admission to the United States of refugees 
       from countries containing terrorist-controlled territory.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           November 18, 2015

   Mr. Cruz introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
               referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To temporarily restrict the admission to the United States of refugees 
       from countries containing terrorist-controlled territory.

    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 ``Terrorist Refugee Infiltration 
Prevention Act of 2015''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Country containing terrorist-controlled territory.--The 
        phrase ``country containing terrorist-controlled territory'' 
        means--
                    (A) Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Syria, and Yemen; and
                    (B) any other country designated by the Secretary 
                of State pursuant to section 4(a).
            (2) Refugee.--The term ``refugee'' has the meaning given 
        the term in section 101(a)(42) of the Immigration and 
        Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(42)).
            (3) Substantial assistance.--The phrase ``substantial 
        assistance'' means a level of assistance without which the 
        United States could not achieve the purposes for which the 
        assistance was provided or sought.
            (4) Victim of genocide.--The term ``victim of genocide'' 
        has the meaning given the term in Article II of the United 
        Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the 
        Crime of Genocide, opened for signature in Paris on December 9, 
        1948.

SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON REFUGEES FROM TERRORIST-CONTROLLED TERRITORIES.

    (a) In General.--Except as provided in subsection (b) and 
notwithstanding any other provision of law, an alien may not be 
admitted to the United States under section 207 of the Immigration and 
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1157) if the alien is a national of, has 
habitually resided in, or is claiming refugee status due to events in 
any country containing terrorist-controlled territory.
    (b) Exception.--
            (1) In general.--An alien otherwise prohibited from 
        admission to the United States under subsection (a) may be 
        admitted to the United States under section 207 of the 
        Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1157) if the alien 
        clearly proves, beyond doubt, that he or she--
                    (A) satisfies the requirements for admission as a 
                refugee; and
                    (B) is a member of a group that has been designated 
                by the Secretary of State or by an Act of Congress as a 
                victim of genocide.
            (2) National security threat.--An alien may not be admitted 
        under paragraph (1) unless--
                    (A) the alien has undergone the highest level of 
                security screening of any category of traveler to the 
                United States, including assessments by the Department 
                of State, the Department of Defense, the Department of 
                Homeland Security, the Federal Bureau of Investigation 
                Terrorist Screening Center, and the National 
                Counterterrorism Center;
                    (B) full multi-modal biometrics of the alien have 
                been taken, including face, iris, and all fingerprints; 
                and
                    (C) the Secretary of State, the Secretary of 
                Defense, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the 
                Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and 
                the Director of National Intelligence certify that such 
                alien is not a threat to the national security of the 
                United States.
    (c) Applicability.--Subsections (a) and (b) shall not apply to any 
alien seeking admission under section 207 of the Immigration and 
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1157) if the Secretary of State, the 
Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the 
Director of National Intelligence certify that the alien--
            (1) provided substantial assistance to the United States; 
        and
            (2) would face a substantial risk of death or serious 
        bodily injury because of that assistance if not admitted to the 
        United States.

SEC. 4. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE.

    (a) Identification of Other Countries.--In addition to the 
countries listed in section 2(1)(A), the Secretary of State may 
designate, as a ``country containing terrorist-controlled territory'', 
any country containing territory that is controlled, in substantial 
part, by a Foreign Terrorist Organization, as designated by the 
Secretary of State under section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality 
Act (8 U.S.C. 1189), to the exclusion of that country's recognized 
government.
    (b) List of Countries Containing Terrorist-Controlled Territory.--
The Secretary of State shall--
            (1) maintain and continually update a list of the countries 
        containing terrorist-controlled territory; and
            (2) continuously make available the list described in 
        paragraph (1)--
                    (A) on the Secretary's website;
                    (B) to the Secretary of Homeland Security;
                    (C) to Congress; and
                    (D) to the public.
    (c) Victims of Genocide.--The Secretary of State shall--
            (1) identify all groups that are victims of genocide;
            (2) maintain and continually update a list of the groups 
        that the Secretary or Congress has identified as victims of 
        genocide; and
            (3) continuously make available the list described in 
        paragraph (2)--
                    (A) on the Secretary's website;
                    (B) to the Secretary of Homeland Security;
                    (C) to Congress; and
                    (D) to the public.
    (d) National Security Threat.--The Secretary of State may refuse to 
designate a group for the exception under section 3(b)(1)(B) if the 
Secretary determines that the group poses a substantial security risk 
to the United States.

SEC. 5. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY.

    (a) Rulemaking.--The Secretary of Homeland Security shall issue 
regulations to implement section 3 as soon as practicable.
    (b) Limit of Alien Assertions.--The Secretary of Homeland Security 
may not admit any alien into the United States under this Act solely 
based on the assertions of such alien.
    (c) Coordination.--The Secretary of Homeland Security shall 
coordinate with the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, the 
Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Director of 
National Intelligence to substantiate, as much as reasonably 
practicable, the assertions made by aliens seeking admission to the 
United States.

SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE PERIOD.

    This Act shall be effective during the 3-year period beginning on 
the date of the enactment of this Act.
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