Special Envoy for Refugees Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 5791 To establish the position of Special Envoy for Refugees in the Department of State, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 6, 2020 Mr. NEGUSE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on the Judi- ciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To establish the position of Special Envoy for Refugees in the Department of State, 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 ‘‘Special Envoy for Ref- 4 ugees Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds the following: 7 (1) In 2019, the world is in the midst of the 8 worst global displacement crisis in history, with 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:55 Feb 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5791.IH H5791 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 5791 IH more than 70,800,000 forcibly displaced persons, in- 1 cluding 25,900,000 refugees worldwide, over half of 2 whom are children, according to estimates from the 3 United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. 4 (2) In 2018, less than 5 percent of global reset- 5 tlement needs were met despite there being 6 1,400,000 refugees in need of third-country resettle- 7 ment. 8 (3) The United States refugee admissions pro- 9 gram is a life-saving solution that— 10 (A) is critical to global humanitarian ef- 11 forts; 12 (B) strengthens global security; 13 (C) leverages United States foreign policy 14 interests, including diplomatic and strategic in- 15 terests of supporting allies who often host a sig- 16 nificant and disproportionate share of refugees 17 per capita; 18 (D) stabilizes sensitive regions impacted by 19 forced migration by ensuring that the United 20 States shares responsibility for global refugee 21 protection; 22 (E) leverages refugee resettlement in the 23 United States to encourage other countries to 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:55 Feb 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5791.IH H5791 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 5791 IH uphold the human rights of refugees, including 1 by ensuring that refugees— 2 (i) have the right to work, the right to 3 an education, and freedom of movement; 4 and 5 (ii) are not returned to a place in 6 which their life or freedom is at risk; 7 (F) serves individuals and families in need 8 of resettlement; 9 (G) provides economic and cultural bene- 10 fits to cities, States, and the United States as 11 a whole; and 12 (H) aligns with the international obliga- 13 tions of the United States, including under— 14 (i) the Convention Relating to the 15 Status of Refugees, done at Geneva July 16 28, 1951 (as made applicable by the Pro- 17 tocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, 18 done at New York January 31, 1967 (19 19 U.S.T. 6223)), of which the United States 20 is a party; 21 (ii) the Convention against Torture 22 and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading 23 Treatment or Punishment, done at New 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:55 Feb 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5791.IH H5791 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 5791 IH York December 10, 1984, of which the 1 United States is a party; 2 (iii) the Convention relating to the 3 Status of Stateless Persons, done at New 4 York September 28, 1954; and 5 (iv) the Convention on the Reduction 6 of Statelessness, done at New York August 7 30, 1961. 8 (4) The United States has historically been, 9 and should continue to be, a global leader in— 10 (A) responding to displacement crises 11 around the world, including through the provi- 12 sion of robust humanitarian support; 13 (B) promoting the safety, health, and well- 14 being of refugees and displaced persons; 15 (C) welcoming asylum seekers who seek 16 safety and protecting other at-risk migrants, in- 17 cluding survivors of torture, victims of traf- 18 ficking, and stateless people; and 19 (D) working alongside other countries to 20 strengthen protection systems and support. 21 (5) The United States has steadily reduced— 22 (A) access to asylum protection through 23 administrative policy and programmatic 24 changes, including policies and operational deci- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:55 Feb 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5791.IH H5791 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 5791 IH sions aimed at reducing or stopping the ability 1 of asylum seekers to access the United States 2 border; and 3 (B) the resettlement of refugees, by way of 4 two consecutive historically low annual refugee 5 admissions goals after nearly 45 years during 6 which the average annual United States refugee 7 admissions goal was over 95,000 individuals. 8 (6) Refugees are— 9 (A) the most vetted travelers to enter the 10 United States; and 11 (B) subject to extensive screening checks, 12 including in-person interviews, biometric data 13 checks, and multiple interagency checks. 14 (7) The people of the United States, and com- 15 munities across the United States, overwhelmingly 16 support refugees and asylum seekers, including peo- 17 ple of faith, members of the Armed Forces, veterans, 18 elected officials, and retired high-ranking officials. 19 As a beacon of safe refuge and pluralistic society, 20 the United States should commit itself to addressing 21 the plight of refugees internationally. 22 (8) For the sake of refugees, asylum seekers, 23 other migrants, United States national diplomatic 24 and strategic interests, and local communities that 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:55 Feb 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5791.IH H5791 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 5791 IH benefit from the presence of refugees, asylees, and 1 other migrants, it is crucial for a dedicated official 2 within the United States Government to coordinate 3 and promote United States initiatives to protect ref- 4 ugees and asylum seekers. 5 SEC. 3. SPECIAL ENVOY FOR REFUGEES. 6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President shall appoint a 7 Special Envoy for Refugees within the Bureau of Popu- 8 lation, Refugees, and Migration of the Department of 9 State (hereafter in this section referred to as the ‘‘Special 10 Envoy’’) who shall report directly to the Secretary of State 11 and shall have the rank of ambassador. The Special Envoy 12 shall be an individual of distinction with recognized exper- 13 tise relating to migration, refugees, asylum-seekers, and 14 internally displaced and stateless individuals. 15 (b) DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Special 16 Envoy shall— 17 (1) directly advise the Secretaries of State, 18 Homeland Security, and Health and Human Serv- 19 ices regarding the United States position relating to 20 migration, refugees, asylum-seekers, and internally 21 displaced and stateless individuals; 22 (2) represent the United States in diplomatic 23 matters relevant to the global displacement, migra- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:55 Feb 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5791.IH H5791 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 5791 IH tion, refugees, asylum-seekers, and internally dis- 1 placed and stateless individuals; 2 (3) lead interagency coordination to oversee evi- 3 dence-based research related to the global refugee 4 crisis and the United States refugee program, in- 5 cluding research on— 6 (A) the most effective ways to form and 7 implement policy to promote refugee resettle- 8 ment in the United States; 9 (B) durable solutions for globally displaced 10 individuals abroad; and 11 (C) the economic and social impact of re- 12 settlement of refugees and asylum seekers to 13 the United States; 14 (4) ensure that information disseminated by 15 Federal agencies and United States Government 16 partners with regard to refugees, asylum-seekers, 17 and internally displaced and stateless individuals is 18 evidence based; 19 (5) conduct regular consultation with non- 20 governmental and international organizations, in- 21 cluding the United Nation High Commissioner for 22 Refugees, to promote best practices for resettlement 23 and durable solutions for refugees, asylum-seekers, 24 and internally displaced and stateless individuals; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:55 Feb 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5791.IH H5791 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 5791 IH (6) lead interagency coordination to assess and 1 develop United States Government policies in re- 2 sponse to the impact of climate change on global dis- 3 placement, including the effects of climate change on 4 the forcible movement of people, the creation of new 5 refugees and other climate displaced people; and 6 (7) lead interagency and international coordina- 7 tion to identify and promote the United States for- 8 eign policy responses to issues that lead to global 9 displacement and the creation of new refugees, in- 10 cluding global threats to civil rights, women’s rights, 11 religious freedom, and violent conflicts. 12 (c) STAFF.—The Special Envoy is authorized to hire 13 such personnel as may be necessary to carry out the duties 14 and responsibilities of the Special Envoy, including, at a 15 minimum, a chief of staff, a deputy chief of staff, and 16 an advisor. 17 (d) CONSULTATION.—The Special Envoy shall work 18 with the Secretaries of State and Homeland Security to 19 ensure that appropriate consultation with Congress occurs 20 in a timely and thorough manner consistent with section 21 207 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 22 1157). 23 (e) REPORTS AND BRIEFINGS.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:55 Feb 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5791.IH H5791 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 5791 IH (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year 1 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and an- 2 nually thereafter, the Special Envoy— 3 (A) shall submit to the appropriate con- 4 gressional committees a report on activities un- 5 dertaken in the preceding 12 months under 6 subsection (b); 7 (B) shall brief the appropriate congres- 8 sional committees on trends leading to global 9 displacement, and new refugees and asylum 10 seekers; 11 (C) should submit to the appropriate con- 12 gressional committees a report on the outcomes 13 of the consultation with Congress undertaken in 14 the preceding 12 months as described in sub- 15 section (d); and 16 (D) shall submit to the appropriate con- 17 gressional committees an assessment of human 18 and financial resources necessary to fulfill the 19 purposes and duties of this Act. 20 (2) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT- 21 TEES DEFINED.—In this subsection, the term ‘‘ap- 22 propriate congressional committees’’ means— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:55 Feb 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5791.IH H5791 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 5791 IH (A) the Committees on Foreign Affairs 1 and Judiciary of the House of Representatives; 2 and 3 (B) the Committees on Foreign Relations 4 and the Judiciary of the Senate. 5 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:55 Feb 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H5791.IH H5791 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS