S.Amdt. 4579

SA 4579. Mr. COONS (for himself, Mr. Merkley, Mr. Rubio, and Mr.
Tillis) submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to amendment SA
3867 submitted by Mr. Reed and intended to be proposed to the bill H.R.
4350, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2022 for military
activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and
for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe
military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other
purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the end of subtitle E of title XII, add the following:

SEC. 1253. DESIGNATION OF CERTAIN RESIDENTS OF THE XINJIANG
UYGHUR AUTONOMOUS REGION.

(a) In General.--
(1) Priority 2 processing.--Persons of special humanitarian
concern eligible for Priority 2 processing under the refugee
resettlement priority system shall include--
(A) Uyghurs and members of other predominately Turkic or
Muslim ethnic groups, including Kazakhs and Kyrgyz, who are
residents of, or fled from, the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous
Region and who suffered persecution or have a well-founded
fear of persecution on account of their imputed or actual
religious or ethnic identity;
(B) Uyghurs and members of other predominately Turkic or
Muslim ethnic groups, including Kazakhs and Kyrgyz, who have
been formally charged, detained, or convicted by the
Government of the People's Republic of China on account of
their peaceful actions in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous
Region, as described in the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of
2020 (Public Law 116-145); and
(C) the spouses, children, and parents (as such terms are
defined in subsections (a) and (b) of section 101 of the
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101)) of
individuals described in subparagraph (A) or (B), except such
parents who are citizens of a country other than the People's
Republic of China.
(2) Processing of xinjiang uyghur autonomous region
refugees.--The processing of individuals described in
paragraph (1) for classification as refugees may occur in
China or in another foreign country.
(3) Eligibility for admission as refugees.--An alien may
not be denied the opportunity to apply for admission as a
refugee under this subsection primarily because such alien--
(A) qualifies as an immediate relative of a citizen of the
United States; or
(B) is eligible for admission to the United States under
any other immigrant classification.
(4) Facilitation of admissions.--Certain applicants for
admission to the United States from the Xinjiang Uyghur
Autonomous Region may not be denied primarily on the basis of
a politically motivated arrest, detention, or other adverse
government action taken against such applicant as a result of
the participation by such applicant in religious, cultural,
or protest activities.
(5) Bilateral diplomacy.--The Secretary of State shall
prioritize bilateral diplomacy with foreign countries hosting
former residents of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region who
face significant diplomatic pressure from the Government of
the People's Republic of China.
(6) Exclusion from numerical limitations.--Aliens eligible
for Priority 2 processing under this subsection who are
provided refugee status shall not be counted against any
numerical limitation under section 201, 202, 203, or 207 of
the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1151, 1152,
1153, and 1157).
(7) Reporting requirements.--
(A) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, and every 180 days thereafter, the
Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security
shall jointly submit a report containing the matters
described in subparagraph (B) to--
(i) the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate;
(ii) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate;
(iii) the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of
Representatives; and
(iv) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of
Representatives.
(B) Matters to be included.--Each report required under
subparagraph (A) shall include--
(i) the total number of applications from individuals
described in paragraph (1) that are pending at the end of the
reporting period;
(ii) the average wait-times and the number of such
applicants who, at the end of the reporting period, are
waiting for--

(I) a prescreening interview with a resettlement support
center;
(II) an interview with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration
Services;
(III) the completion of security checks; or
(IV) receipt of a final decision after completion of an
interview with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services; and

(iii) the number of individuals who applied for refugee
status under this subsection whose application was denied,
disaggregated by the reason for each such denial.
(C) Form.--Each report required under subparagraph (A)
shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a
classified annex.
(D) Public reports.--The Secretary of State shall make each
report submitted under this paragraph available to the public
on the internet website of the Department of State.
(8) Satisfaction of other requirements.--Aliens eligible
under this subsection for Priority 2 processing under the
refugee resettlement priority system shall satisfy the
requirements under section 207 of the Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1157) for admission to the United
States.
(b) Waiver of Immigrant Status Presumption.--
(1) In general.--The presumption under the first sentence
of section 214(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8
U.S.C. 1184(b)) that every alien is an immigrant until the
alien establishes that the alien is entitled to nonimmigrant
status shall not apply to an alien described in paragraph
(2).
(2) Alien described.--

[[Page S8100]]

(A) In general.--Subject to subparagraph (B), an alien
described in this paragraph is an alien who--
(i)(I) is an Uyghur or a member of another predominately
Turkic or Muslim ethnic group, including Kazakhs and Kyrgyz,
and was a resident of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region
on January 1 2021; or
(II) fled the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region after June
30, 2009 and resides in a different province of China or in
another foreign country;
(ii) is seeking entry to the United States to apply for
asylum under section 208 of the Immigration and Nationality
Act (8 U.S.C. 1158); and
(iii) is facing repression in the Xinjiang Uyghur
Autonomous Region by the Government of the People's Republic
of China including--

(I) forced and arbitrary detention including in internment
and reeducation camps;
(II) forced political indoctrination, torture, beatings,
food deprivation, and denial of religious, cultural, and
linguistic freedoms;
(III) forced labor;
(IV) forced separation from family members; or
(V) other forms of systemic threats, harassment, and gross
human rights violations.

(B) Exclusion.--An alien described in this paragraph does
not include any alien who--
(i) is a citizen or permanent resident of a country other
than the People's Republic of China; or
(ii) is determined to have committed a gross violation of
human rights.
(3) Intention to abandon foreign residence.--The filing by
an alien described in paragraph (2) of an application for a
preference status under section 204 of the Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1154) or otherwise seeking
permanent residence in the United States shall not be deemed
as evidence of the alien's intention to abandon a foreign
residence for purposes of obtaining a visa as a nonimmigrant
described in subparagraph (H)(i)(b), (H)(i)(c), (L), or (V)
of section 101(a)(15) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)) or
otherwise obtaining or maintaining the status of a
nonimmigrant described in any such subparagraph if the alien
had obtained a change of status under section 208 of such Act
to a classification as such a nonimmigrant before the alien's
most recent departure from the United States.
(c) Refugee and Asylum Determinations Under the Immigration
and Nationality Act.--
(1) Persecution on account of political, religious, or
cultural expression or association.--
(A) In general.--An alien who is within a category of
aliens established under this section may establish, for
purposes of admission as a refugee under section 207 of the
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1157), that the
alien has a well-founded fear of persecution on account of
race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular
social group, or political opinion by asserting such a fear
and asserting a credible basis for concern about the
possibility of such persecution.
(B) Nationals of the people's republic of china.--For
purposes of refugee determinations under this section in
accordance with section 207 of the Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1157), a national of the People's
Republic of China whose residency in the Xinjiang Uyghur
Autonomous Region, or any other area within the jurisdiction
of the People's Republic of China, as determined by the
Secretary of State, is revoked for having submitted to any
United States Government agency a nonfrivolous application
for refugee status, asylum, or any other immigration benefit
under the immigration laws shall be considered to have
suffered persecution on account of political opinion.
(2) Changed circumstances.--For purposes of asylum
determinations under this section in accordance with section
208 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1158),
the revocation of the citizenship, nationality, or residency
of an individual for having submitted to any United States
Government agency a nonfrivolous application for refugee
status, asylum, or any other immigration benefit under the
immigration laws shall be considered to be changed
circumstances under subsection (a)(2)(D) of such section.
(d) Statement of Policy on Encouraging Allies and Partners
to Make Similar Accommodations.--It is the policy of the
United States to encourage allies and partners of the United
States to make accommodations similar to the accommodations
made under this section for Uyghurs and members of other
predominately Turkic or Muslim ethnic groups, including
Kazakhs and Kyrgyz, who were previously residents of the
Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and are fleeing oppression
by the Government of the People's Republic of China.
(e) Sunset Clause.--This section shall cease to have effect
on the date that is 10 years after the date of the enactment
of this Act.
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