[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 198 (Monday, November 15, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8099-S8100]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 4579. Mr. COONS (for himself, Mr. Merkley, Mr. Rubio, and Mr. 
Tillis) submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to amendment SA 
3867 submitted by Mr. Reed and intended to be proposed to the bill H.R. 
4350, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2022 for military 
activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and 
for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe 
military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other 
purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

       At the end of subtitle E of title XII, add the following:

     SEC. 1253. DESIGNATION OF CERTAIN RESIDENTS OF THE XINJIANG 
                   UYGHUR AUTONOMOUS REGION.

       (a) In General.--
       (1) Priority 2 processing.--Persons of special humanitarian 
     concern eligible for Priority 2 processing under the refugee 
     resettlement priority system shall include--
       (A) Uyghurs and members of other predominately Turkic or 
     Muslim ethnic groups, including Kazakhs and Kyrgyz, who are 
     residents of, or fled from, the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous 
     Region and who suffered persecution or have a well-founded 
     fear of persecution on account of their imputed or actual 
     religious or ethnic identity;
       (B) Uyghurs and members of other predominately Turkic or 
     Muslim ethnic groups, including Kazakhs and Kyrgyz, who have 
     been formally charged, detained, or convicted by the 
     Government of the People's Republic of China on account of 
     their peaceful actions in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous 
     Region, as described in the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 
     2020 (Public Law 116-145); and
       (C) 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 subparagraph (A) or (B), except such 
     parents who are citizens of a country other than the People's 
     Republic of China.
       (2) Processing of xinjiang uyghur autonomous region 
     refugees.--The processing of individuals described in 
     paragraph (1) for classification as refugees may occur in 
     China or in another foreign country.
       (3) Eligibility for admission as refugees.--An alien may 
     not be denied the opportunity to apply for admission as a 
     refugee under this subsection primarily because such alien--
       (A) qualifies as an immediate relative of a citizen of the 
     United States; or
       (B) is eligible for admission to the United States under 
     any other immigrant classification.
       (4) Facilitation of admissions.--Certain applicants for 
     admission to the United States from the Xinjiang Uyghur 
     Autonomous Region may not be denied primarily on the basis of 
     a politically motivated arrest, detention, or other adverse 
     government action taken against such applicant as a result of 
     the participation by such applicant in religious, cultural, 
     or protest activities.
       (5) Bilateral diplomacy.--The Secretary of State shall 
     prioritize bilateral diplomacy with foreign countries hosting 
     former residents of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region who 
     face significant diplomatic pressure from the Government of 
     the People's Republic of China.
       (6) Exclusion from numerical limitations.--Aliens eligible 
     for Priority 2 processing under this subsection who are 
     provided refugee status 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, and 1157).
       (7) Reporting requirements.--
       (A) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, and every 180 days thereafter, the 
     Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security 
     shall jointly submit a report containing the matters 
     described in subparagraph (B) to--
       (i) the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate;
       (ii) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate;
       (iii) the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of 
     Representatives; and
       (iv) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of 
     Representatives.
       (B) Matters to be included.--Each report required under 
     subparagraph (A) shall include--
       (i) the total number of applications from individuals 
     described in paragraph (1) that are pending at the end of the 
     reporting period;
       (ii) the average wait-times and the number of such 
     applicants who, at the end of the reporting period, are 
     waiting for--

       (I) a prescreening interview with a resettlement support 
     center;
       (II) an interview with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration 
     Services;
       (III) the completion of security checks; or
       (IV) receipt of a final decision after completion of an 
     interview with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services; and

       (iii) the number of individuals who applied for refugee 
     status under this subsection whose application was denied, 
     disaggregated by the reason for each such denial.
       (C) Form.--Each report required under subparagraph (A) 
     shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a 
     classified annex.
       (D) Public reports.--The Secretary of State shall make each 
     report submitted under this paragraph available to the public 
     on the internet website of the Department of State.
       (8) Satisfaction of other requirements.--Aliens eligible 
     under this subsection for Priority 2 processing under the 
     refugee resettlement priority system shall satisfy the 
     requirements under section 207 of the Immigration and 
     Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1157) for admission to the United 
     States.
       (b) Waiver of Immigrant Status Presumption.--
       (1) 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 paragraph 
     (2).
       (2) Alien described.--

[[Page S8100]]

       (A) In general.--Subject to subparagraph (B), an alien 
     described in this paragraph is an alien who--
       (i)(I) is an Uyghur or a member of another predominately 
     Turkic or Muslim ethnic group, including Kazakhs and Kyrgyz, 
     and was a resident of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region 
     on January 1 2021; or
       (II) fled the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region after June 
     30, 2009 and resides in a different province of China or in 
     another foreign country;
       (ii) 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
       (iii) 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 reeducation 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.

       (B) Exclusion.--An alien described in this paragraph does 
     not include any alien who--
       (i) is a citizen or permanent resident of a country other 
     than the People's Republic of China; or
       (ii) is determined to have committed a gross violation of 
     human rights.
       (3) Intention to abandon foreign residence.--The filing by 
     an alien described in paragraph (2) of an application for a 
     preference status under section 204 of the Immigration and 
     Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1154) or otherwise seeking 
     permanent residence in the United States shall not be deemed 
     as evidence of the alien's intention to abandon a foreign 
     residence for purposes of obtaining a visa as a nonimmigrant 
     described in subparagraph (H)(i)(b), (H)(i)(c), (L), or (V) 
     of section 101(a)(15) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)) or 
     otherwise obtaining or maintaining the status of a 
     nonimmigrant described in any such subparagraph if the alien 
     had obtained a change of status under section 208 of such Act 
     to a classification as such a nonimmigrant before the alien's 
     most recent departure from the United States.
       (c) Refugee and Asylum Determinations Under the Immigration 
     and Nationality Act.--
       (1) Persecution on account of political, religious, or 
     cultural expression or association.--
       (A) In general.--An alien who is within a category of 
     aliens established under this section may establish, for 
     purposes of admission as a refugee under section 207 of the 
     Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1157), 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.
       (B) Nationals of the people's republic of china.--For 
     purposes of refugee determinations under this section 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.
       (2) Changed circumstances.--For purposes of asylum 
     determinations under this section 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 changed 
     circumstances under subsection (a)(2)(D) of such section.
       (d) 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 under this section for Uyghurs and members of other 
     predominately Turkic or Muslim ethnic groups, including 
     Kazakhs and Kyrgyz, who were previously residents of the 
     Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and are fleeing oppression 
     by the Government of the People's Republic of China.
       (e) Sunset Clause.--This section 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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