A resolution recognizing January 27, 2019, as the anniversary of the first refugee and Muslim ban, and urging the President to demonstrate true leadership on refugee resettlement.

III 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. RES. 32 Recognizing January 27, 2019, as the anniversary of the first refugee and Muslim ban, and urging the President to demonstrate true leadership on refugee resettlement. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JANUARY 28, 2019 Mr. BLUMENTHAL (for himself, Mr. CARPER, Mr. MARKEY, Ms. HIRONO, Ms. HARRIS, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. BROWN, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. LEAHY, Ms. CANTWELL, Ms. SMITH, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. DURBIN, and Ms. DUCKWORTH) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary RESOLUTION Recognizing January 27, 2019, as the anniversary of the first refugee and Muslim ban, and urging the President to demonstrate true leadership on refugee resettlement. Whereas the world is in the midst of the worst global dis- placement crisis in history, with more than 25,400,000 refugees worldwide, according to estimates from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (re- ferred to in this Resolution as ‘‘UNHCR’’); Whereas UNHCR estimated that nearly 1,200,000 refugees were in need of resettlement to a third country in 2018, and this projection continues to grow in 2019; VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:20 Jan 28, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR32.IS SR32 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •SRES 32 IS Whereas the United States Refugee Admissions Program (re- ferred to in this Resolution as ‘‘USRAP’’) is a life-saving solution critical to global humanitarian efforts, which— (1) strengthens global security; (2) leverages United States foreign policy goals; (3) supports regional host countries; and (4) serves individuals and families in need; Whereas the United States has been a global leader in— (1) responding to displacement crises around the world; and (2) promoting the safety, health, and well-being of refugees and displaced persons; Whereas refugees are the most vetted travelers to enter the United States and are subject to extensive screening checks, including in person interviews, biometric data checks, and multiple interagency checks; Whereas the United States leverages resettlement to encour- age other countries— (1) to keep their doors open to refugees; (2) to allow refugee children to attend school; and (3) to allow refugee adults to work; Whereas refugees contribute to their communities by starting businesses, paying taxes, sharing their cultural traditions, and being good neighbors; Whereas refugees contribute more to society than they con- sume in State-funded services, including costs relating to schooling and health care; Whereas, for more than 40 years the United States resettled up to 200,000 refugees per year, with an average ceiling of 95,000 refugees per year, and an average of 80,000 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:20 Jan 28, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR32.IS SR32 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •SRES 32 IS refugees per year actually being resettled in the United States; Whereas the United States has abdicated its leadership by setting a record low refugee admissions goal in fiscal year 2019 of 30,000; Whereas, on January 27, 2017, President Donald J. Trump issued Executive Order 13769, which placed a 90-day suspension on the admission into the United States of in- dividuals from 7 Muslim-majority countries and sus- pended USRAP for 120 days; and Whereas, since issuing that Executive order, President Trump has taken further executive and administrative actions— (1) to restrict the admission into the United States of people from certain Muslim-majority countries; and (2) to dismantle USRAP, which has lowered the ca- pacity of, and diminished the institutional memory and experience in, USRAP: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Senate— 1 (1) reaffirms our Nation’s proud history of ref- 2 ugee resettlement; 3 (2) recognizes January 27, 2019, as the second 4 anniversary of the Executive order that suspended 5 the admission of refugees and individuals from speci- 6 fied Muslim-majority countries; 7 (3) reaffirms the strong bipartisan commitment 8 of the United States to promote the safety, health, 9 and well-being of refugees, including by facilitating 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:20 Jan 28, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR32.IS SR32 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •SRES 32 IS the resettlement in the United States of refugees 1 who cannot safely return to their homes or rebuild 2 their lives in countries from which they fled to pre- 3 serve their lives; 4 (4) emphasizes the importance of USRAP as a 5 critical tool for United States global leadership; 6 (5) recognizes the profound consequences faced 7 by refugees and their families who have been strand- 8 ed, separated, and scarred by existing United States 9 refugee policies, which have stranded many refugees 10 who were in the middle of the refugee resettlement 11 process and have left other refugees with little hope 12 of anticipated entry into the United States; and 13 (6) calls upon the United States Government— 14 (A) to resettle a robust number of refugees 15 to meet its share of the global need during fis- 16 cal years 2019 and 2020, with an emphasis on 17 rebuilding USRAP and returning to historic 18 levels of refugee admissions; 19 (B) to operate USRAP in good faith in 20 order to meet the stated objectives of the pro- 21 gram and to restore historic levels of refugee 22 arrivals; 23 (C) to uphold its international leadership 24 role in responding to displacement crises with 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:20 Jan 28, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR32.IS SR32 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •SRES 32 IS humanitarian assistance and protection of the 1 most vulnerable populations; 2 (D) to improve consultation with Congress 3 and adherence to the clear congressional intent 4 of the Refugee Act of 1980; and 5 (E) to recommit to offering freedom from 6 oppression and resettling the most vulnerable 7 refugees regardless of their country of origin or 8 religious beliefs. 9 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:20 Jan 28, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\SR32.IS SR32 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS