Syrian Allies Protection Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2625 To authorize the admission of a limited number of Kurdish Syrians and other Syrian partners as special immigrants, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES OCTOBER 17, 2019 Mr. WARNER introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To authorize the admission of a limited number of Kurdish Syrians and other Syrian partners as special immigrants, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Syrian Allies Protec- 4 tion Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. SPECIAL IMMIGRANT STATUS FOR PERSONS WORK- 6 ING DIRECTLY WITH THE UNITED STATES 7 ARMED FORCES IN SYRIA. 8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (c)(1), the 9 Secretary of Homeland Security may provide an alien de- 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:16 Oct 22, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2625.IS S2625 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 2625 IS scribed in subsection (b) with the status of a special immi- 1 grant under section 101(a)(27) of the Immigration and 2 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(27)) if the alien— 3 (1) submits a petition under section 204 of 4 such Act (8 U.S.C. 1154) for classification under 5 section 203(b)(4) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(4)); 6 and 7 (2) is otherwise eligible to receive an immigrant 8 visa and is otherwise admissible to the United States 9 for permanent residence, except in determining such 10 admissibility, the grounds for inadmissibility speci- 11 fied in section 212(a)(4) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 12 1182(a)(4)) shall not apply. 13 (b) ALIENS DESCRIBED.—An alien described in this 14 subsection— 15 (1)(A) is a national of Syria; 16 (B) worked directly with the United States 17 Armed Forces as a translator or in another role that 18 was vital to the success of the United States military 19 mission in Syria, as determined by the Secretary of 20 Defense or his designee, for a period of at least 6 21 months between September 13, 2014, and October 22 15, 2019; 23 (C) obtained a favorable written recommenda- 24 tion from a general or flag officer in the chain of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:16 Oct 22, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2625.IS S2625 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 2625 IS command of the United States Armed Forces unit 1 that was supported by the alien; and 2 (D) cleared a background check and screening 3 before filing a petition under subsection (a)(1), as 4 determined by a general or flag officer in the chain 5 of command of the United States Armed Forces unit 6 that was supported by the alien; or 7 (2)(A) is the spouse or child of a principal alien 8 described in paragraph (1); and 9 (B) is following or accompanying to join such 10 principal alien. 11 (c) NUMERICAL LIMITATIONS.— 12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The total number of prin- 13 cipal aliens who may be provided special immigrant 14 status under this section during any fiscal year may 15 not exceed 250. 16 (2) COUNTING AGAINST SPECIAL IMMIGRANT 17 CAP.—For purposes of the application of sections 18 201 through 203 of the Immigration and Nationality 19 Act (8 U.S.C. 1151 through 1153) in any fiscal 20 year, aliens eligible for special immigrant status 21 under this section— 22 (A) shall be treated as special immigrants 23 described in section 101(a)(27) of such Act (8 24 U.S.C. 1101(a)(27)) who are not described in 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:16 Oct 22, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2625.IS S2625 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 2625 IS subparagraph (A), (B), (C), or (K) of such sec- 1 tion; and 2 (B) shall not be counted against the nu- 3 merical limitations under sections 201(d), 4 202(a), and 203(b)(4) of the Immigration and 5 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1151(d), 1152(a), 6 and 1153(b)(4)). 7 (d) ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS.—Notwithstanding 8 paragraphs (2), (7), and (8) of section 245(c) of the Immi- 9 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1255(c)), the Sec- 10 retary of Homeland Security may adjust the status of an 11 alien to that of a lawful permanent resident under section 12 245(a) of such Act if the alien— 13 (1) was paroled or admitted as a nonimmigrant 14 into the United States; and 15 (2) is otherwise eligible for special immigrant 16 status under this section and under the Immigration 17 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.). 18 SEC. 3. EVACUATION FRAMEWORK. 19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Defense, in con- 20 sultation with the Secretary of State and the Secretary 21 of Homeland Security, shall develop and implement a 22 framework for— 23 (1) temporarily resettling individuals applying 24 for special immigrant status whose lives or safety is 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:14 Oct 24, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2625.IS S2625 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 2625 IS at risk if they remain in their country of origin or 1 country of last habitual residence in a safe third 2 country while appropriate background checks are 3 conducted on such individuals; and 4 (2) granting humanitarian parole to individuals 5 described in paragraph (1) pursuant to section 6 212(d)(5)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality 7 Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(d)(5)(B)). 8 (b) EFFECT OF RECOMMENDATION.—If the Sec- 9 retary of Homeland Security determines that an alien who 10 has obtained a favorable written recommendation pursu- 11 ant to subparagraph (C) of section 2(b)(1), or the spouse 12 or child of such alien, would be exposed to significant risk 13 to his or her life or safety while waiting for the results 14 of the background check and screening described in sub- 15 paragraph (D) of such section, such recommendation shall 16 be deemed to constitute sufficient evidence of a compelling 17 reason— 18 (1) to temporarily resettle the alien and his or 19 her spouse and children, if applicable, in a safe third 20 country; or 21 (2) to parole the alien and his or her spouse 22 and children, if applicable, pursuant to section 23 212(d)(5)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality 24 Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(d)(5)(B)). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:16 Oct 22, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2625.IS S2625 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 2625 IS SEC. 4. RESETTLEMENT ASSISTANCE. 1 Syrian aliens granted special immigrant status under 2 section 2 shall be eligible for resettlement assistance, enti- 3 tlement programs, and other benefits available to refugees 4 admitted under section 207 of the Immigration and Na- 5 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1157) for a period not to exceed 6 6 months. 7 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:16 Oct 22, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S2625.IS S2625 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS