A resolution recognizing January 27, 2020, as the anniversary of the first refugee and Muslim ban, calling on Congress to defund the Migrant Protection Protocols, and urging the President to restore refugee resettlement to historic norms.

III 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. RES. 484 Recognizing January 27, 2020, as the anniversary of the first refugee and Muslim ban, calling on Congress to defund the Migrant Protection Proto- cols, and urging the President to restore refugee resettlement to historic norms. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JANUARY 28, 2020 Mr. BLUMENTHAL (for himself, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. MARKEY, Mrs. FEIN- STEIN, Ms. HARRIS, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. SANDERS, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Ms. WARREN, Mr. DURBIN, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. BOOKER, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, and Mr. COONS) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary RESOLUTION Recognizing January 27, 2020, as the anniversary of the first refugee and Muslim ban, calling on Congress to defund the Migrant Protection Protocols, and urging the President to restore refugee resettlement to historic norms. Whereas the world is in the midst of the worst global dis- placement crisis in history, with more than 25,900,000 refugees worldwide, according to United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates; VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:36 Jan 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR484.IS SR484 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •SRES 484 IS Whereas UNHCR reports that global resettlement needs have doubled in recent years, reaching over 1,440,000 refugees in 2020; Whereas the United States Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) is a life-saving solution critical to global hu- manitarian efforts, which serves to strengthen global se- curity, leverage United States foreign policy goals, and support regional host countries while serving individuals and families in need; Whereas the United States has been a global leader in re- sponding to displacement crises around the world and 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 Government leverages resettle- ment to encourage other countries to keep their doors open to refugees, allow refugee children to attend school, and allow adults to work; Whereas the USRAP emphasizes early self-sufficiency through employment, and most adult refugees are em- ployed within their first six months of arriving to the United States; Whereas refugees contribute to their communities by starting businesses, paying taxes, sharing their cultural traditions, and being involved in their neighborhoods, and reports have found that refugees contribute more than they con- sume in State-funded services—including for schooling and health care; VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:36 Jan 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR484.IS SR484 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •SRES 484 IS Whereas, for over 40 years, the United States has resettled up to 200,000 refugees per year, with an average admis- sions goal of 95,000 refugees per year; Whereas the United States Government has abdicated its leadership by setting a record-low refugee admissions goal in fiscal year 2020 at 18,000; Whereas, on January 27, 2017, President Donald J. Trump released an Executive order banning individuals from seven Muslim-majority countries and all refugees from entering the country; Whereas, since that time, the President has taken further ex- ecutive and administrative actions to ban people from Muslim-majority countries and to dismantle the United States refugee program, resulting in significantly lowered capacity and loss of institutional memory and experience in the historically successful USRAP; Whereas the President issued a Proclamation on November 9, 2018, that wrongfully and illegally blocks people who cross between ports of entry from applying for asylum, and since then has taken further aggressive steps to dis- mantle the United States asylum system; Whereas the Department of Homeland Security started im- plementation of the Migrant Protection Protocols on Jan- uary 29, 2019, and it has exposed tens of thousands of asylum seekers to torture, kidnapping, trafficking, and exploitation by returning them to dangerous border cities in Mexico; Whereas the 2018 Department of State country report for Mexico acknowledges serious and targeted risks faced by migrants and asylum seekers in, and transiting through, Mexico, such that it remains an unsafe place for many; VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:36 Jan 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR484.IS SR484 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •SRES 484 IS Whereas the United States has returned more than 24,000 asylum seekers alone to Nuevo Laredo and Matamoros, widely recognized as among the most violent cities in the world, located in the state of Tamaulipas, which is the subject of a Department of State ‘‘Level 4: Do Not Trav- el’’ advisory; Whereas sending asylum seekers to another country limits and may completely eliminate their opportunity to iden- tify and meet with counsel, thereby lowering their chances of obtaining relief; and Whereas all individuals seeking asylum in the United States are entitled to due process and access to an attorney: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Senate— 1 (1) reaffirms the United States proud history of 2 refugee resettlement and protection of asylum seek- 3 ers; 4 (2) recognizes January 27, 2020, as the anni- 5 versary of the first refugee and Muslim ban; 6 (3) reaffirms the strong bipartisan commitment 7 of the United States to promote the safety, health, 8 and well-being of refugees, including through reset- 9 tlement and the asylum seeking process to the 10 United States for those who cannot return home; 11 (4) underscores the importance of the United 12 States Refugee Admissions Program and a robust 13 asylum system as critical tools for United States 14 global leadership; 15 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:36 Jan 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR484.IS SR484 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •SRES 484 IS (5) recognizes the profound consequences faced 1 by refugees, asylum seekers, and their families who 2 have been stranded, separated, and scarred by cur- 3 rent United States policies, leaving thousands mid- 4 process and more with little hope of protection in the 5 United States; and 6 (6) calls upon the United States Government— 7 (A) to resettle a robust number of refugees 8 to meet global need in fiscal years 2020 and 9 2021 with an emphasis on rebuilding the reset- 10 tlement program and returning to historic 11 norms; 12 (B) to operate the program in good faith 13 in an attempt to meet their own stated objec- 14 tives, restore historic refugee arrivals, improve 15 consultation with Congress, and adhere to the 16 clear congressional intent within the Refugee 17 Act of 1980 (Public Law 96–212); 18 (C) to ensure that no funds be made avail- 19 able by any Act to implement or enforce the Mi- 20 grant Protection Protocols announced by the 21 Secretary of Homeland Security on December 22 20, 2018, or any subsequent revisions to those 23 protocols; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:36 Jan 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR484.IS SR484 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •SRES 484 IS (D) to enact the National Origin-Based 1 Antidiscrimination for Nonimmigrants Act, in- 2 troduced in the Senate as S. 1123 (116th Con- 3 gress) and in the House of Representatives as 4 H.R. 2214 (116th Congress), which would ter- 5 minate the Muslim, refugee, and asylum bans; 6 and 7 (E) to recommit to offering freedom to in- 8 dividuals fleeing from persecution and oppres- 9 sion regardless of their country of origin or reli- 10 gious beliefs. 11 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:36 Jan 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\SR484.IS SR484 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS