Hong Kong Victims of Communism Support Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 3892 To authorize lifetime residents of Hong Kong to apply for asylum in the United States, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 4, 2020 Mr. SASSE introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To authorize lifetime residents of Hong Kong to apply for asylum in the United States, 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 ‘‘Hong Kong Victims 4 of Communism Support Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS; STATEMENT OF POLICY. 6 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con- 7 gress that— 8 (1) Hong Kong has flourished as a bastion of 9 freedom because of— 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:46 Jun 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3892.IS S3892 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 3892 IS (A) the rule of law and autonomous status 1 afforded under the Hong Kong Basic Law, 2 adopted by the National People’s Congress on 3 April 4, 1990, and effective since July 1, 1997; 4 and 5 (B) the enterprising and free people of 6 Hong Kong; and 7 (2) the direct imposition of national security 8 legislation on Hong Kong, adopted by the National 9 People’s Congress on May 28, 2020— 10 (A) lies in direct conflict with the prin- 11 ciples of the legally binding, United Nations- 12 registered Joint Declaration of the Government 13 of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and 14 Northern Ireland and the Government of the 15 People’s Republic of China on the Question of 16 Hong Kong, done at Beijing December 19, 17 1984; 18 (B) dramatically erodes the autonomy of 19 Hong Kong; and 20 (C) curtails the liberties of the people of 21 Hong Kong. 22 (b) STATEMENT OF POLICY.—It is the policy of the 23 United States to provide support for the refugees and asy- 24 lum seekers who share the principles of liberty enshrined 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:46 Jun 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3892.IS S3892 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 3892 IS in the Constitution of the United States and are fleeing 1 Hong Kong due to actions the People’s Republic of China 2 has taken to undermine Hong Kong’s high-degree of au- 3 tonomy afforded under the Basic Law and the Sino-Brit- 4 ish Joint Declaration. 5 SEC. 3. ELIGIBILITY FOR ASYLUM. 6 (a) DEFINED TERM.—In this section, the term 7 ‘‘Hong Konger’’ means any individual who— 8 (1) has enjoyed the right of abode in the Hong 9 Kong Special Administrative Region since birth 10 under the Immigration Ordinance (Chapter 115, 11 Laws of Hong Kong); and 12 (2) has maintained continuous residency in 13 Hong Kong since birth. 14 (b) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding paragraph (1) of 15 section 208(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 16 U.S.C. 1158(b)), any Hong Konger— 17 (1) shall be deemed to be eligible for asylum in 18 the United States unless he or she is described in 19 paragraph (2) of such section 208(b); and 20 (2) may apply for asylum at the United States 21 Consulate General in Hong Kong and Macau before 22 the date referred to in subsection (c). 23 (c) SUNSET.—This section shall have no force or ef- 24 fect beginning on the date on which the Secretary of State 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:46 Jun 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3892.IS S3892 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 3892 IS certifies to Congress that Hong Kong has regained a high 1 degree of autonomy to warrant differential treatment 2 under United States law consistent with reporting require- 3 ments under sections 205 and 301 of the United States- 4 Hong Kong Policy Act of 1992 (22 U.S.C. 5725 and 5 5731). 6 SEC. 4. TREATMENT OF HONG KONG APPLICANTS FOR ASY- 7 LUM. 8 Consistent with section 206 of the United States- 9 Hong Kong Policy Act of 1992 (22 U.S.C. 5726), and not- 10 withstanding any other provision of law, any application 11 for asylum under section 208 of the Immigration and Na- 12 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1158), including any application 13 authorized under section 3(b) of this Act, which was sub- 14 mitted by an otherwise qualified applicant who resided in 15 the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in 2014 or 16 later may not be denied primarily on the basis of the appli- 17 cant’s subjection to politically motivated arrest, detention, 18 or other adverse government action. 19 SEC. 5. CONSULTATION REQUIREMENT. 20 The Secretary of Homeland Security and the Attor- 21 ney General shall consult with the Director of National 22 Intelligence and the Secretary of State regarding any risks 23 to national security associated with granting asylum to a 24 permanent resident of the Hong Kong Special Administra- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:46 Jun 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3892.IS S3892 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 3892 IS tive Region that meets the eligibility requirements under 1 section 3(b). 2 SEC. 6. STRATEGY. 3 Not later than 30 days after the date of the enact- 4 ment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in consultation 5 with the Secretary of Homeland Security, shall develop a 6 strategy for providing support and technical assistance to 7 the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ire- 8 land, the Republic of China (Taiwan), the countries sur- 9 rounding Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and 10 any other country offering to provide migration services 11 and asylum to eligible Permanent Residents of the Hong 12 Kong Special Administrative Region, which shall— 13 (1) identify the types of support and technical 14 assistance required by such countries; 15 (2) identify the existing United States Govern- 16 ment resources and authorities to provide support 17 and technical assistance to such countries; 18 (3) identify any gaps in resources or authorities 19 to provide support and technical assistance to such 20 countries; and 21 (4) assess how the efforts of the United States 22 to accept asylees from Hong Kong and provide sup- 23 port and technical assistance to countries offering to 24 provide migration services and asylum to the people 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:46 Jun 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3892.IS S3892 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 3892 IS of Hong Kong is impacting the interests and foreign 1 policy of the People’s Republic of China. 2 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:46 Jun 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S3892.IS S3892 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS