Uyghur Human Rights Protection Act
The Uyghur Human Rights Protection Act would create a new refugee pathway for residents of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), designating them as Priority 2 refugees of special humanitarian concern under the U.S. refugee resettlement program. The bill would: (1) expand eligibility to include Xinjiang residents who faced persecution or have a well-founded fear of persecution for peaceful political, religious, or cultural expressions or activities; (2) allow these refugees (and certain family members) to be processed outside the usual caps and to be resettled with expedited processing; (3) provide protections in asylum/refugee determinations and waive standard immigrant-status presumptions for eligible individuals; (4) require periodic government reporting on backlog, wait times, and outcomes; (5) encourage U.S. allies to make similar accommodations; and (6) sunset the act 10 years after enactment. The measure signals a significant expansion of U.S. humanitarian relief for Uyghur and other Xinjiang minorities, while also creating new administrative and policy mechanisms to facilitate their admission.
Key Points
- 1Designation and processing
- 2- Designates Xinjiang residents as Priority 2 refugees of special humanitarian concern under the refugee resettlement system.
- 3- Eligible categories include Xinjiang residents who suffered persecution or fear persecution for peaceful political, religious, or cultural expression/participation, along with certain people in other parts of China who fled Xinjiang, and those formally charged/detained/convicted for peaceful actions described in the bill. Family members (spouses, children, and parents) may also qualify, with specific limits.
- 4- Processing may occur in China or a third country, and these refugees would not count against numerical immigration caps.
- 5- The Secretary of State prioritizes diplomacy with third countries hosting former Xinjiang residents who face pressure from China.
- 6Refugee and asylum framework
- 7- Aliens eligible under this section can apply for refugee status or asylum and may establish well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.
- 8- For PRC nationals, certain circumstances (such as revocation of residency or nationality after filing a nonfrivolous refugee/asylum application) may be treated as persecution on account of political opinion.
- 9- The act provides changes to asylum determinations and clarifies the meaning of “immigration laws” for purposes of these determinations.
- 10Waiver and eligibility
- 11- Waives the usual presumption that every alien is an immigrant until proven otherwise (214(b) presumption) for those described in the act.
- 12- Creates specific criteria and exclusions (e.g., PRC citizens not eligible in certain cases; those deemed to have committed gross violations of human rights are excluded).
- 13Reporting and transparency
- 14- Government accountability requirements: the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security must report within 180 days of enactment and every 90 days thereafter on application counts, processing wait times, and denial reasons.
- 15- Reports are to be unclassified but may include a classified annex and must be publicly posted on the State Department website.
- 16Policy and duration
- 17- The act expresses a policy urging U.S. allies to adopt similar refugee accommodations.
- 18- The act is set to terminate 10 years after enactment.