§ 6472. Reform of refugee policy

Legislative history

Reconstructed from this section’s Code source credit and amendment notes, resolved against the local Statutes at Large. Editorial notes are evidence, not the law that made the change.

1. 1998

   International Religious Freedom Act of 1998

   Pub. L. 105–292 title VI § 602 · 112 Stat. 2787

   Enacted · 22 U.S.C. § 6472

   Pub. L. 105–292, title VI, § 602, Oct. 27, 1998, 112 Stat. 2812

   Source evidence

   Code source credit
   Pub. L. 105–292, title VI, § 602, Oct. 27, 1998, 112 Stat. 2812

   Enacted provision · exact public law section
   SEC. 602. REFORM OF REFUGEE POLICY. (a) Training.— Section 207 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1157) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: “(f) (1) The Attorney General, in consultation with the Secretary of State, shall provide all United States officials adjudicating refugee cases under this section with the same training as that provided to officers adjudicating asylum cases under section 208. “(2) Such training shall include country-specific conditions, instruction on the internationally recognized right to freedom of religion, instruction on methods of religious persecution practiced in foreign countries, and applicable distinctions within a country between the nature of and treatment of various religious practices and believers.”. (b) Training for Foreign Service Officers.— Section 708 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980, as added by section 104 of this Act, is further amended— (1) by inserting “(a)” before “The Secretary of State”; and (2) by adding at the end the following: “(b) The Secretary of State shall provide sessions on refugee law and adjudications and on religious persecution to each individual seeking a commission as a United States consular officer. The Secretary shall also ensure that any member of the Service who is assigned to a position that may be called upon to assess requests for consideration for refugee admissions, including any consular officer, has completed training on refugee law and refugee adjudications in addition to the training required in this section.”. (c) Guidelines for Refugee-Processing Posts.— (1) Guidelines for addressing hostile biases.— The Attorney General and the Secretary of State shall develop and implement guidelines that address potential biases in personnel of the Immigration and Naturalization Service that are hired abroad and involved with duties which could constitute an effective barrier to a refugee claim if such personnel carries a bias against the claimant on the grounds of religion, race, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion. The subject matter of this training should be culturally sensitive and tailored to provide a nonbiased, nonadversarial atmosphere for the purpose of refugee adjudications. (2) Guidelines for refugee-processing posts in establishing agreements with united states government-designated refugee processing entities.— The Attorney General and the Secretary of State shall develop and implement guidelines to ensure uniform procedures for establishing agreements with United States Government-designated refugee processing entities and personnel, and uniform procedures for such entities and personnel responsible for preparing refugee case files for use by the Immigration and Naturalization Service during refugee adjudications. These procedures should ensure, to the extent practicable, that case files prepared by such entities accurately reflect information provided by the refugee applicants and that genuine refugee applicants are not disadvantaged or denied refugee status due to faulty case file preparation. (d) Annual Consultation.— The President shall include in President. each annual report on proposed refugee admissions under section 207(d) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1157(d)) information about religious persecution of refugee populations eligible for consideration for admission to the United States. The Secretary of State shall include information on religious persecution of refugee populations in the formal testimony presented to the Committees on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives and the Senate during the consultation process under section 207(e) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1157(e)).

2. 1999

   District of Columbia Appropriations Act, 2000

   Pub. L. 106–113 § 1000(a)(7)(dA)(tII)(s253)(a) · 113 Stat. 1501

   Inserted · 22 U.S.C. § 6472(c)(1)

   Pub. L. 106–113, § 1000(a)(7) [div. A, title II, § 253(a)], inserted “and of the Department of State” after “Service”

   Source evidence

   Code amendment note
   Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 106–113, § 1000(a)(7) [div. A, title II, § 253(a)], inserted “and of the Department of State” after “Service”.

3. 1999

   District of Columbia Appropriations Act, 2000

   Pub. L. 106–113 § 1000(a)(7)(dA)(tII)(s253)(b) · 113 Stat. 1501

   Added · 22 U.S.C. § 6472(c)(3)

   Pub. L. 106–113, § 1000(a)(7) [div. A, title II, § 253(b)], added par. (3)

   Source evidence

   Code amendment note
   Subsec. (c)(3). Pub. L. 106–113, § 1000(a)(7) [div. A, title II, § 253(b)], added par. (3).

1 of 3 references resolved to an enrolled provision · 2 partial