Bills to amend protection for refugees and asylum seekers now in US Congress

Proposed legislative bills to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to reaffirm the United States historic commitment to protecting refugees who are fleeing persecution or torture got heard recently in the Congress.

One bill,  S.3241  sponsored by Senator Patrick Leahy (D – Vermont)  and three co-sponsors, Sen Durbin Richard

,Sen. Franke Al  and Sen. Hiroko Maiza HI. SEC. 4 of the bill,  introduced  in the Senate by Senator Leahy, is focused on protecting certain vulnerable groups of asylum seekers.

Asylum seeker” is generally considered to be a person who has applied for asylum under the 1951 Refugee Convention on the Status of Refugees on the ground that if he is returned to his country of origin he has a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political belief or membership of a particular social group other than a terrorist groups.

Also bills introduced in U.S Senate are the include:

H.R. 5851

 

Sponsored by Representative Zoe Lofgren (D – California) (25 cosponsors)

07/14/2016 Introduced in the House by Representative Lofgren

07/14/2016 Referred to House Judiciary, Ways and Means, Budget, and Homeland Security

H.R. 5695

This bill would require the Secretary of Homeland Sec

urity to establish a veterans’ visa program to permit veterans who have been removed from the United States to return as immigrants.

Sponsored by Representative Raul Grijalva (D – Arizona) (18 cosponsors)

07/08/2016 Introduced in the House by Representative Grijalva

07/08/2016 Referred to House Judiciary, Armed Services, and Veterans’ Affairs,