Asylum

Vietnam Democracy Promotion Act of 2010

United States · United States Congress · 18 November 2010

Vietnam Democracy Promotion Act of 2010 - Authorizes: (1) the President to provide assistance, through appropriate nongovernmental organizations and the Human Rights Defenders Fund, for the support of individuals and organizations to promote freedom and democracy in Vietnam; and (2) related appropriations. States that it is U.S. policy to take measures to overcome the jamming of Radio Free Asia by the government of Vietnam. Authorizes related appropriations. States that it is U.S. policy that programs of educational and cultural exchange with Vietnam should promote progress toward freedom and democracy in Vietnam by providing Vietnamese nationals with opportunities to see freedom and democracy in action. States that it is U.S. policy to offer refugee resettlement to nationals of Vietnam (including members of the Montagnard ethnic minority groups) who were eligible for the Orderly Departure Program (ODP), the Humanitarian Resettlement (HR) Program, the Resettlement Opportunities for Vietnamese Returnees (ROVR) Program, the Amerasian Homecoming Act of 1988, or any other U.S. refugee program and who were deemed ineligible due to administrative error or who for reasons beyond the control of such individuals were unable or failed to apply for such programs in compliance with Department of State deadlines. Provides funding for the protection (including resettlement) of Vietnamese refugees and asylum seekers, including Montagnards and ethnic Khmer in Cambodia and Thailand. Prohibits the U.S. government from providing nonhumanitarian assistance to the government of Vietnam in excess of FY2010 amounts unless the President certifies to Congress that the government of Vietnam has made substantial progress respecting political, media, and religious freedoms (and related property issues), minority rights, access to U.S. refugee programs, actions to end trafficking in persons, and treatment of government officials and military personnel of the former government of South Vietnam. Authorizes the President to waive such requirements if increased U.S. nonhumanitarian assistance would promote the purposes of this Act or is otherwise in the U.S. national interest.

Condemning and deploring the murderous attacks, bombings, kidnappings, and threats against vulnerable religious communities in Iraq, in particular the attack against Our Lady of Salvation Church in Baghdad on October 31, 2010, and for other purposes.

United States · United States Congress · 18 November 2010

Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the U.S. government should: (1) denounce violence and human rights violations committed against vulnerable religious communities in Iraq; (2) assist Iraq in developing and implementing a comprehensive plan to secure places of worship and religious congregation and increase the representation of such religious communities in the Iraqi government and security forces, and in the economic, social, and political aspects of its society; (3) assist in funding, training, and deploying police units; (4) urge Iraq to investigate and prosecute allegations of such human rights violations; and (5) continue processing Iraqi refugees for resettlement to the United States taking into account the ongoing targeted violence and the Refugee Crisis in Iraq Act of 2007.

CIR Act of 2010

United States · United States Congress · 29 September 2010

Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2010 or the CIR Act of 2010 - Prohibits the adjustment of an alien in lawful prospective immigrant status to the status of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence until specified border related enhancements in personnel and resources are established, funded, and operational. Provides for additional: (1) Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel; (2) Immigration and Custom Enforcement personnel; (3) Department of Homeland Security (DHS) personnel assigned to investigate alien smuggling; (4) immigration litigation attorneys; (5) ports of entry along the northern and southern borders; and (6) equipment and assets along the borders, including unmanned aerial systems, cameras, sensors, satellites, and radar coverage. Directs the Secretary of State to report annually regarding the exchange of North American security information, including immigration and counterterrorism security, between the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Provides for: (1) increased border-related cooperation with Mexico; and (2) expansion of Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism programs. Provides reimbursement for state and county prosecutors in border states for prosecuting federally initiated and referred drug cases. Authorizes border relief grants for tribal, state, or local law enforcement and related agencies in proximity to the border or in a designated High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area. Establishes the Immigration and United States-Mexico Border Enforcement Commission. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to set out the scope of state and local immigration related enforcement authority. Directs the Secretaries of the Department of Homeland Security (Secretary), Interior, Agriculture, Defense, and Commerce to develop: (1) a land border protection strategy; and (2) a borderlands environmental monitoring plan. Directs the Secretary to establish a Border Communities Liaison Office in every Border Patrol sector on the southern or northern border. Amends the visa waiver program to: (1) require program countries to report lost or stolen visas; (2) set a maximum 2% visa overstay rate for program countries; and (3) require an eligibility reevaluation of program countries. Requires establishment of a visa exit tracking system. Increases: (1) civil penalties for illegal entry; (2) fines and penalties for the reentry of previously removed aliens; and (3) penalties for stowaways, vessels, and aircraft. Revises voluntary departure provisions. Authorizes appropriations for the state criminal alien assistance program (SCAAP). Revises passport, visa, and immigration fraud provisions. Directs: (1) the United States Sentencing Commission to promulgate or amend passport fraud sentencing guidelines; and (2) the Attorney General to develop immigration fraud prosecution guidelines. Expands the definition of conveyances subject to forfeiture for smuggling. Makes it unlawful for any person to: (1) sell a firearm or ammunition to a person who has not been lawfully admitted for U.S. permanent residence; and (2) evade a federal checkpoint. Requires commercial vehicles transporting passengers from outside the United States to a U.S. airport or seaport to provide arrival/departure manifests. Authorizes grants for Indian tribes adversely affected by illegal immigration. Authorizes Department and Foreign Service special agents to investigate: (1) illegal passport or visa issuance or use; (2) Department-related identity theft and document fraud; and (3) federal offenses committed in the special maritime and territorial jurisdictions (nonmilitary) of the United States. Makes inadmissible and deportable convicted alien: (1) sex offenders who fail to register; and (2) street gang members. Sets forth, with respect to immigration-related enforcement activities: (1) protections for vulnerable populations; (2) apprehension procedures involving children; and (3) detention procedures for families with children. Requires the creation of secure alternatives to detention (excluding alien terrorists). Enumerates humane detention conditions, including conditions for children and vulnerable populations. Requires the appointment of a detention commission. Authorizes access to counsel for aliens in removal proceedings. Sets forth protections for: (1) refugees, including designation of refugee groups; and (2) stateless persons in the United States, including mechanisms for regularizing status. Establishes in DHS a position of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Ombudsman. Provides that refugees (and spouses and children) shall be lawful permanent residents as of the date of their admittance. Eliminates the one-year time limit for filing an asylum claim. Sets forth immigration-related worksite enforcement provisions, including provisions regarding: (1) unlawful employment of aliens; (2) document verification; (3) the employment verification system; and (4) responsibilities of the Social Security Administration (SSA). Permits the disclosure of certain of taxpayer information to DHS. Requires the issuance of: (1) fraud-, tamper-, and wear-resistant Social Security cards; and (2) machine-readable, tamper-resistant employment authorization documents with biometric identifiers. Makes it an unfair immigration employment practice to discriminate based on national origin or citizenship status. Revises immigration-related activities of the SSA and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Authorizes appropriations for responsibilities under this Act for: (1) DHS; (2) SSA; (3) the Department of Justice (DOJ); and (4) the Department of State. Establishes the Standing Commission on Immigration, Labor Markets, and the National Interest. Establishes a temporary guest worker program (H-2C nonimmigrant visa). Permits H-2C aliens to apply for lawful permanent resident status. Sets forth employer compliance provisions. Revises family and employment based immigrant visa provisions. Recaptures unused FY1992-FY2007 visas. Revises the definition of "immediate relative" to include the spouse and child of a lawful permanent resident. Expands specified family-unity exceptions to unlawful presence-based inadmissibility. Establishes a status adjustment process for certain military family members. Redefines "child" to include a stepchild under 21 years old. Provides specified relief for orphans and widows/widowers. Authorizes the status adjustment of a finacee/fiance or alien spouse and any minor children (K-visa) to conditional permanent resident status if such alien marries a petitioner within three months after U.S. admission. Exempts children of naturalized Filipino World War II veterans from worldwide or numerical immigrant limitations. Permits: (1) the reopening of certain Haitian status adjustment applications; and (2) workers who are eligible for permanent resident status adjustment but for whom a visa number is unavailable to apply for adjustment. Return of Talent Act - Permits a lawful permanent resident to return to his or her country of citizenship or nationality for up to two years in order to contribute to such country's postconflict or natural disaster reconstruction activities. Uniting American Families Act of 2010 - Includes a "permanent partner" within the scope of the Immigration and Nationality Act. Revises: (1) the EB-5 visa (alien investor) program; and (2) student visa eligibility. Eliminates sunset provisions for: (1) the special immigrant nonminister religious worker program; and (2) the Conrad State 30 program (alien physicians working in medically underserved areas). Makes Irish nationals who come to provide specialty work in the United States eligible for E-3 visas. Expands the S-visa (aliens who assist law enforcement) category. Sets forth protections for foreign workers recruited abroad. Establishes in the Treasury the H-2B Employment Certification Application Fee Account. Specifies employer actions to be taken to recruit U.S. workers prior to filing for admission of H-2B (nonagricultural temporary) workers. Sets forth H-2B and U.S. worker protections. Revises H-1B (specialty occupation) provisions regarding: (1) employer applications; (2) complaints against employers; and (3) worker protections. Limits the new office hiring of L-1 (intracompany transfer) nonimmigrants for more than one year. Protect Our Workers from Exploitation and Retaliation Act or the POWER Act - Expands the U-visa (crime victims) category. Agricultural Job Opportunities, Benefits, and Security Act of 2010 or the AgJOBS Act of 2010 - Confers "blue card status" upon an alien who has fulfilled specified periods of agricultural employment in the United States. Provides for adjustment to permanent resident status if the alien has fulfilled other specified periods of agricultural employment in the United States. Revises H-2A visa (agricultural labor or temporary or seasonal services) provisions. Establishes the Commission on Agricultural Wage Standards. Creates a lawful prospective immigrant status for qualifying aliens present in the United States. Provides for status adjustment to lawful permanent resident. Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act of 2010 or the DREAM Act of 2010 - Repeals the provision making unlawful aliens ineligible for higher education benefits based on state residence unless a U.S. citizen or national is eligible for such benefits without regard to state residence. Authorizes the Secretary to cancel the removal of, and adjust to conditional permanent resident status, an alien who: (1) entered the United States before his or her 16th birthday and has been present in the United States for at least five years immediately preceding enactment of this Act; (2) is a person of good moral character; (3) is not inadmissible or deportable under specified grounds; (4) at the time of application, has been admitted to an institution of higher education or has earned a high school or equivalent diploma; (5) from the age of 16 and older, has never been under a final order of exclusion, deportation, or removal; and (6) was under age 35 on the date of this Act's enactment. Provides for status adjustment to lawful permanent resident. Establishes in the Treasury: (1) the Department of Homeland Security Legalization Program Account; (2) the Department of State Legalization Program Account; and (3) the Immigration Reform Penalty Account. Provides grants to states for integrated English literacy, U.S. history, and civics education programs. Provides: (1) tax credits to teachers of English language learners; (2) tax deductions for the expenses of becoming certified as such teachers; and (3) tax credits for employers' expenses in making adult education and literacy services available to their employees. Establishes the Presidential Award for Business Leadership in Promoting United States Citizenship. Renames the Office of Citizenship within the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services of DHS as the Office of Citizenship and New Americans. Authorizes the Office to make grants to states and subgrants to local governments to assist them in integrating immigrants. Authorizes grants for: (1) public education and community training; and (2) community-based organizations to assist naturalization applicants. Provides for the status adjustment to lawful permanent resident of certain: (1) Haitian orphans; (2) Liberian nationals; and (3) victims of terrorism. Establishes: (1) the Commission on Wartime Treatment of European Americans to review U.S. government wartime treatment of European Americans and European Latin Americans; and (2) the Commission on Wartime Treatment of Jewish Refugees to review the U.S. government's refusal to allow entry into the United States of Jewish and other refugees fleeing persecution or genocide in Europe. Provides grants to state courts for programs to assist individuals with limited English proficiency to access and understand state court proceedings.

Calling on the military regime in Burma, the State Peace and Development Council, to immediately recognize the Rohingya people as full and equal citizens of Burma, lift all restrictions on movement, marriage, and access to education for the Rohingya people, and end its campaign of religious and ethnic persecution amounting to crimes against humanity throughout Burma.

United States · United States Congress · 29 September 2010

Calls on the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) to recognize the Rohingya people as full citizens of Burma and to lift restrictions on movement, marriage, and access to education. Calls on the government of Bangladesh to: (1) desist from forcing unregistered Rohingya to return to Burma; and (2) address, in cooperation with international agencies, the dire humanitarian conditions in the camps housing the unregistered Rohingya. Calls on the government of Thailand to: (1) allow the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) access to detained Rohingya rescued at sea and to allow refugees status determinations; and (2) provide Rohingya refugees with adequate protection. Calls on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to allow Rohingya access to education and livelihoods. Calls on the U.S. government to: (1) provide increased humanitarian assistance in northern Arakan State; (2) provide support for education for Rohingya refugees outside Burma; (3) raise the plight of the Rohingya in bilateral and international fora; (4) pressure the SPDC to release all political prisoners, including Rohingya Member of Parliament U Kyaw Min and his family; and (5) engage with the government of Bangladesh in the economic development of the Cox's Bazar region in which the majority of the Rohingya refugee population lives.

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives on the importance of the full implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement to help ensure peace and stability in Sudan during and after mandated referenda.

United States · United States Congress · 30 July 2010

Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the U.S. government should: (1) work with Sudanese parties and regional and international partners to build consensus on the steps needed to implement the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), including the upcoming referenda, and promote stability throughout Sudan; (2) work with international and Sudanese partners to ensure the right of return of Sudanese refugees and displaced persons, including Darfuris and southerners; (3) work with international partners to ensure a stable north-south border and a permanent peace in Sudan; and (4) assist the government of Southern Sudan to develop its economic, rule of law, and social service and educational infrastructures, improve democratic accountability and human rights, and strengthen reconciliation efforts.

Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2011

United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2010

Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2011 - Makes FY2011 appropriations for the Department of State (Department) for: (1) administration of foreign affairs and diplomatic and consular programs; (2) the civilian stabilization initiative; (3) the Capital Investment Fund; (4) the Office of Inspector General; (5) educational and cultural exchange programs; (6) representation allowances; (7) protection of foreign missions and officials; (8) U.S. embassy security, construction, and maintenance; (9) emergencies in the diplomatic and consular service; (10) the repatriation loans program account; (11) the American Institute in Taiwan; (12) the Foreign Service Retirement and Disability Fund; (13) international organizations, peacekeeping, and commissions; (14) the International Boundary and Water Commission, United States and Mexico; (15) salaries and expenses; (16) plan preparation and construction of authorized projects; (17) the International Joint Commission, the International Boundary Commission, United States and Canada, and the Border Environment Cooperation Commission; (18) international fisheries commissions; (19) international broadcasting operations and capital improvements; (20) the Asia Foundation; (21) the United States Institute for Peace; (22) the Center for Middle Eastern-Western Dialogue Trust Fund; (23) the Eisenhower Exchange Fellowships, Incorporated; (24) the Israeli Arab Scholarship Program; (25) the East-West Center; (26) the National Endowment for Democracy; (27) the Commission for Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad; (28) the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom; (29) the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe; (30) the Congressional-Executive Commission on the People's Republic of China; and (31) the United States-China Economic and Security Review Commission. Makes FY2011 appropriations for: (1) operating expenses of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the capital investment fund, and the Office of Inspector General; (2) expenses of the President in carrying out certain programs under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961; (3) global health and child survival; (4) specified development assistance; (5) international disaster assistance; (6) transition initiatives; (7) complex crises; (8) development credit authority; (9) the Economic Support Fund; (10) promotion of democracy; (11) assistance for Europe, Eurasia, and Central Asia; (12) international narcotics control and law enforcement; (13) nonproliferation, anti-terrorism, and demining; (14) migration and refugee assistance; (15) the United States Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance Fund; (16) the Peace Corps; (17) the Millennium Challenge Corporation; (18) the Inter-American Foundation; (19) the African Development Foundation; and (20) the Department of the Treasury for international affairs technical assistance activities and debt restructuring. Makes FY2011 appropriations for: (1) international military education and training; (2) foreign military financing grants; (3) international peacekeeping operations; and (4) the Pakistan counterinsurgency capability fund. Makes FY2011 appropriations for: (1) international organizations and programs; (2) the Global Environment Facility; (3) the International Development Association; (4) the Clean Technology Fund; (5) the Strategic Climate Fund; (6) the Global Food Security Fund; (7) the Inter-American Investment Corporation; (8) the Enterprise for the Americas Multilateral Investment Fund; (9) the Asian Development Bank and the Asian Development Fund; (10) the African Development Fund; and (11) the International Fund for Agricultural Development. Makes FY2011 appropriations for: (1) the Export-Import Bank, including the Office of Inspector General, direct and guaranteed loan and insurance programs, and administrative expenses; (2) Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) credit and insurance programs, including administrative expenses, and for the cost of direct and guaranteed loans; and (3) the Trade and Development Agency. Sets forth certain limits and prohibitions on the use of appropriations for specified activities.

NO WAY HOME, NO WAY TO ESCAPE: THE PLIGHT OF IRAQI REFUGEES AND OUR IRAQI ALLIES

United States · United States Congress · 22 July 2010

Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2010

United States · United States Congress · 15 July 2010

Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2010 - Makes emergency supplemental appropriations for FY2010. Appropriates supplemental FY2010 funds to the Department of Agriculture for the Farm Service Agency's Agricultural Credit Insurance Fund Program Account, the Emergency Forest Restoration Program, and the Foreign Agricultural Service's Food for Peace Title II Grants for emergency relief and rehabilitation for Haiti. Appropriates supplemental FY2010 funds to the Department of Commerce for: (1) the Economic Development Administration for disaster relief, recovery, and restoration of infrastructure in states that experienced damage from severe storms and flooding during March through May of 2010; and (2) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for expenses related to commercial fishery failures. Requires funds previously made available for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Exploration to be available to fund continued performance of Constellation contracts. Appropriates supplemental FY2010 funds to the Department of Defense (DOD) for: (1) military personnel, operation and maintenance (including for relief activities in Haiti), procurement, and research, development, test, and evaluation; (2) the Afghanistan Security Forces Fund; (3) the Iraq Security Forces Fund; (4) the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle Fund; (5) Defense Working Capital Funds; (6) the Defense Health Program; and (7) Drug Interdiction and Counter-Drug Activities. Requires the Director of National Intelligence to submit to the congressional intelligence committees: (1) the charter and procedures for the interagency body established to carry out an interrogation pursuant to a recommendation of the report of the Special Task Force on Interrogation and Transfer Policies submitted under Executive Order 13491 (commonly known as the High-Value Detainee Interrogation Group); and (2) a report on lessons learned from such Group. Appropriates supplemental FY2010 funds to DOD for FY2010 to the Corps of Engineers for Investigations. Makes funds available for drought emergency assistance. Authorizes financial assistance under the Reclamation States Emergency Drought Relief Act of 1991 for the optimization and conservation of project water supplies to assist drought-plagued areas of the West. Authorizes the Secretary of the Army to use specified funds to make dredged material available from maintenance dredging of existing federal navigation channels located in the Gulf Coast region to mitigate the impacts of the Deepwater Horizon Oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Directs the Secretary to coordinate the placement of dredged material with appropriate federal and Gulf Coast state agencies. Appropriates supplemental FY2010 funds to the Department of the Treasury for emergency relief, rehabilitation, reconstruction aid, and other expenses and disaster-response activities related to Haiti following the earthquake of January 12, 2010. Appropriates supplemental FY2010 funds to: (1) the District of Columbia for the Federal Payment to the Public Defender Service; and (2) the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission. Appropriates supplemental FY2010 funds to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for: (1) the Coast Guard, including for necessary expenses and other disaster-response activities related to the earthquake in Haiti; (2) the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for disaster relief; and (3) United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) for necessary expenses and other disaster response activities related to the Haiti earthquake. Requires the Assistant Secretary for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to issue a security directive that requires a commercial foreign air carrier that operates flights in and out of the United States to check the list of individuals that TSA has prohibited from flying not later than 30 minutes after such list is modified and provided to such carrier, except for such carriers that are enrolled in the Secure Flight program or that are Advance Passenger Information System Quick Query compliant. Appropriates supplemental FY2010 funds to: (1) the Department of Labor for Departmental Management for mine safety activities and legal services related to the Department's caseload before the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission; (2) the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for emergency relief, reconstruction aid, and other expenses and disaster-response activities related to Haiti following the earthquake; and (3) the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission. Appropriates supplemental FY2010 funds for: (1) Military Construction, Army and Air Force; (2) Family Housing Operation and Maintenance, Air Force; and (3) the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Limits the obligation or expenditure of funds available to the VA until the expiration of the period for congressional disapproval under the Congressional Review Act of the regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a service connection between exposure of veterans to Agent Orange during service in the Republic of Vietnam during the Vietnam era and hairy cell leukemia and other chronic B cell leukemias, Parkinson's disease, and ischemic heart disease. Appropriates supplemental FY2010 funds to the Department of State for: (1) Diplomatic and Consular Programs; (2) the Office of Inspector General for Oversight of operations and programs in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iraq; (3) Embassy Security Construction, and Maintenance for emergency needs in Haiti; (4) Contributions for International Peacekeeping Activities for emergency security in Haiti; (5) Migration and Refugee Assistance; and (6) International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement, including assistance for Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Haiti. Appropriates supplemental FY2010 funds for: (1) International Broadcasting Operations for emergency broadcasting support and other expenses related to Haiti; (2) the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) for the Office of Inspector General for necessary expenses for oversight of operations and programs in Afghanistan and Pakistan and oversight of emergency relief, rehabilitation, and reconstruction aid, and other expenses related to Haiti; (3) Global Health and Child Survival for necessary expenses for pandemic preparedness and response; (4) International Disaster Assistance for emergency relief and rehabilitation, and other expenses related to Haiti; (5) the Economic Support Fund, including for assistance for Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Jordan and for emergency relief, rehabilitation, and reconstruction aid and other expenses related to the Haiti earthquake; (6) the Department of the Treasury for International Affairs Technical Assistance for emergency relief, rehabilitation, and reconstruction aid, and other expenses related to Haiti following the earthquake; and (7) the Foreign Military Financing Program for assistance for Pakistan and Jordan. Places conditions on the availability of assistance for Afghanistan to support the work of the Independent Electoral Commission and the Electoral Complaints Commission. Authorizes the Secretary of State to award task orders for a limited term for police training in Afghanistan under current Department of State contracts. Makes funds available for human rights programs in Pakistan. Authorizes the transfer of specified funds for Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iraq for activities related to security for civilian led operations in those countries. Places conditions on the availability of assistance to Haiti. Provides for debt relief for Haiti. Makes funds for Mexico for International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement available only after the Secretary of State submits a report to the Appropriations Committees detailing a coordinated, multiyear, interagency strategy to address the causes of drug-related violence and other organized criminal activity in Central and South America, Mexico, and the Caribbean. Makes funds available for emergency relief and reconstruction for El Salvador related to Hurricane/Tropical Storm Ida. Makes funds available for emergency security and humanitarian assistance for civilians, particularly women and girls, in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Makes funds available for reconstruction oversight in Afghanistan. Appropriates supplemental FY2010 funds to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for the Community Development Fund for disaster relief, long-term recovery, and restoration of infrastructure, housing, and economic revitalization in areas affected by severe storms and flooding from March through May of 2010 for which the President declared a major disaster. Appropriates supplemental FY2010 funds to the Department of Commerce for Economic Development Assistance Programs to carry out planning, technical, and other assistance in states affected by the incidents related to the discharge of oil in connection with the explosion on, and sinking of, the mobile offshore drilling unit Deepwater Horizon. Makes funds available to NOAA for Operations, Research, and Facilities to respond to economic impacts on fishermen and fishery-dependent businesses once the Secretary of Commerce determines that resources provided, including by the responsible parties under the Oil Pollution Act, are insufficient to respond to such impacts following an incident related to a spill of national significance. Makes funds available for scientific investigations and sampling as a result of the incidents related to the discharge of oil and use of oil dispersants that began in 2010 in connection with the Deepwater Horizon. Appropriates supplemental FY2010 funds to: (1) HHS for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for food safety monitoring and response activities in connection with that oil spill; (2) the Department of the Interior for increased inspections and other activities related to emergency offshore oil spill incidents in the Gulf of Mexico; (3) the Department of Justice (DOJ) for litigation expenses resulting from incidents related to the oil discharge in connection with the Deepwater Horizon; and (4) the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for Science and Technology for a study of potential human and environmental risks and impacts of the release of crude oil and application of dispersants and other mitigation measures. Amends the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 to authorize advances from the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund. Appropriates supplemental FY2010 funds to: (1) NOAA to provide fisheries disaster relief related to the Deepwater Horizon oil discharge and to conduct an expanded stock assessment of the fisheries of the Gulf of Mexico; and (2) the Department of Commerce for the National Academy of Sciences to conduct a study of the long-term ecosystem service impacts of that discharge. Designates amounts in this Act as emergency requirements. Requires the Director of National Intelligence, in coordination with the participants of the interagency review of Guantanamo Bay detainees, to fully inform the congressional intelligence committees concerning the basis for the disposition decisions reached by the Guantanamo Review Task Force. Requires the Director to provide those committees: (1) the written threat analyses prepared on each detainee by the Task Force; (2) access to the intelligence information that formed the basis of any such specific assessments or threat analyses; (3) any new threat assessment prepared by the intelligence community of a Guantanamo Bay detainee who remains in detention or is pending release or transfer; and (4) access to the information that formed the basis of such threat assessment. Amends the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to authorize the immediate disbursement of funds in response to a spill of national significance under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, at the request of a producing state or coastal political subdivision, for certain projects specifically designed to respond to the spill.

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the situation in the Republic of Kyrgyzstan.

United States · United States Congress · 15 July 2010

Commends: (1) the peaceful conduct of the June 2010 referendum and hopes that the new constitutional order will promote greater democracy in the Republic of Kyrgyzstan; and (2) the government of Uzbekistan for cooperating with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), and other international nongovernmental organizations in meeting the needs of ethnic Uzbek refugees who fled Kyrgyzstan. Regrets the loss of life in the recent ethnic uprisings and expresses concern for the welfare of those displaced. Encourages the development of ties between members of the House of Representatives and the Senate with members of the Parliament of Kyrgyzstan. Calls upon the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to take an active role in assisting the government of Kyrgyzstan. Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives concerning steps to be taken by the government of Kyrgyzstan to restore order, provide for transparent parliamentary elections, and address political, social, ethnic, and economic tensions.

A resolution expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the situation in Kyrgyzstan.

United States · United States Congress · 25 June 2010

Expresses the sense of the Senate: (1) calling upon all parties in Kyrgyzstan to refrain from violence and to attend to displaced and injured civilians, paying particular attention to the Uzbek population along the Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan border; (2) that the Provisional Government of Kyrgyzstan should restore order and the democratic process, address the tensions that divide Kyrgyz society, and bring to justice those responsible for the violence; (3) supporting an investigation into the causes of the violence in southern Kyrgyzstan; (4) welcoming the commitment of U.S. assistance to Kyrgyzstan for programs supporting humanitarian relief, reconstruction, and community stabilization; (5) commending the government of Uzbekistan for cooperating with international organizations in meeting the needs of Uzbek refugees; (6) that the government of Uzbekistan should maintain an open border to ensure that displaced populations seeking refuge have emergency humanitarian assistance and protection services; (7) calling upon the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to help restore order; and (8) commending the efforts of relief organizations and persons responding to the humanitarian needs of those displaced by the violence.

Cambodian Trade Act of 2010

United States · United States Congress · 20 May 2010

Cambodian Trade Act of 2010 - Declares it is U.S. policy to: (1) support and encourage countries that comply with international agreements, respect human rights and the protection of refugee populations, and value and protect minority populations seeking asylum and protection from oppressive governments and regimes; and (2) assist refugees and minority populations seeking asylum and protection from oppressive governments and regimes. Prohibits the United States from reducing or forgiving a debt owed by Cambodia to the United States. Prohibits the extension of duty-free treatment to Cambodian textile or apparel articles imported into the United States.

North Korea Sanctions and Diplomatic Nonrecognition Act of 2010

United States · United States Congress · 20 May 2010

North Korea Sanctions and Diplomatic Nonrecognition Act of 2010 - Continues diplomatic, economic, and military sanctions against the government of North Korea as a supporter of international terrorism until the President certifies to Congress that North Korea: (1) is no longer engaged in the illegal transfer of missile or nuclear technology, particularly to Iran and Syria; (2) is not assisting foreign terrorist organizations, engaged in counterfeiting U.S. currency, or engaged in illicit narcotics traffic; (3) has released specified U.S. citizens, Japanese nationals, and surviving Korean War prisoners of war; and (4) has undertaken specified actions regarding family reunification, penal reforms, refugee access, and religious organization communications. Expresses the sense of Congress that the Secretary of State should redesignate North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism. Finds that the United States did not grant diplomatic recognition to North Korea upon its establishment as a client regime of the former Soviet Union in 1948. Continues diplomatic nonrecognition of North Korea until such benchmarks have been met. Directs the President, in the case of a North Korean missile, rocket, or other airborne launch or the conducting of a nuclear test in violation of U.N. Security Council Resolutions 1695, 1718, and 1874, to instruct the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations to use U.S. influence to secure adoption of a Security Council resolution condemning North Korea's action and requiring implementation of comprehensive sanctions against North Korea.

REVIEWING AMERICA'S COMMITMENT TO THE REFUGEE CONVENTION: THE REFUGEE PROTECTION ACT OF 2010

United States · United States Senate · 19 May 2010

Recognizing June 20, 2010, as World Refugee Day.

United States · United States Congress · 11 May 2010

Reaffirms: (1) the commitment of the United States to promote the safety, health, and well-being of refugees; and (2) the goals of World Refugee Day.

Recognizing and appreciating the historical significance and the heroic struggle and sacrifice of the Vietnamese people for the cause of freedom and commending the Vietnamese-American community and nongovernmental organizations.

United States · United States Congress · 5 May 2010

Recognizes: (1) all former Vietnamese boat people and the Vietnamese-American community on the occasion of Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month; (2) the arrival of the Vietnamese boat people, their journey to freedom, and their assimilation into and contributions to U.S. society; and (3) Boat People SOS and other volunteer agencies and nongovernmental organizations that facilitated the Vietnamese refugees' resettlement, adjustment, and assimilation into U.S. society.

UNRWA Humanitarian Accountability Act

United States · United States Congress · 20 April 2010

UNRWA Humanitarian Accountability Act - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to withhold U.S. contributions to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) or to any successor or related entity unless the Secretary of State certifies to Congress that: (1) no UNRWA official, employee, representative, or affiliate is a member of a foreign terrorist organization, has propagated anti-American, anti-Israel, or anti-Semitic rhetoric, or has used UNRWA resources to propagate political materials regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; (2) no UNRWA facility is used by a foreign terrorist organization; (3) no UNRWA school uses educational materials that propagates anti-American, anti-Israel, or anti-Semitic rhetoric; (4) UNRWA is subject to auditing oversight; and (5) UNRWA holds no accounts or other affiliations with financial institutions deemed by the United States to be complicit in money laundering and terror financing. Limits, upon certification compliance, U.S. contributions to UNRWA.

North Korean Refugee Adoption Act of 2010

United States · United States Congress · 25 March 2010

North Korean Refugee Adoption Act of 2010 - Directs the Secretary of State to develop a comprehensive strategy for facilitating the adoption of North Korean children by U.S. citizens.

North Korean Refugee Adoption Act of 2010

United States · United States Congress · 23 March 2010

North Korean Refugee Adoption Act of 2010 - Directs the Secretary of State to develop a comprehensive strategy for facilitating the adoption of North Korean children by U.S. citizens.

Refugee Protection Act of 2010

United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2010

Refugee Protection Act of 2010 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to eliminate the one-year time limit for filing an asylum claim. Revises the definition of terrorist activity for purposes of alien inadmissibility. Excludes coerced activity from such definition. Revises: (1) the definition of refugee; and (2) the criteria for granting asylum. Authorizes the Attorney General to appoint counsel to represent an alien in a removal proceeding. Prohibits an alien from being removed during the 30-day petition for review period unless the alien indicates in writing that he or she wishes to be removed before the expiration of such period. Makes discretionary certain currently required detention provisions regarding arriving aliens who request asylum. Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to: (1) establish a secure alternatives to detention program; (2) establish specified conditions of detention; (3) file notice of immigration charges with the court and the individual within 48 hours of detention; and (4) establish procedures to ensure the accuracy of statements taken by DHS employees exercising expedited removal authority. Authorizes the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom to conduct a study to determine whether certain immigration officers are properly handling asylum and removal/detention authority with regard to aliens apprehended after entering the United States. Eliminates the one-year waiting period before a refugee or asylee may petition for permanent legal resident status. Exempts aliens under the age of 18 from certain restrictions on applying for asylum. Permits applicants for refugee admission to simultaneously pursue other forms of admission. Authorizes the spouse or child of a refugee or asylee to bring his or her accompanying or following child into the United States as a refugee or asylee. States that if the President does not issue a refugee allocation determination before the beginning of a fiscal year the number of refugees that may be admitted in each quarter shall be 25% of the number of refugees admissible during the previous fiscal year. Authorizes the Secretary of State to designate certain groups as eligible for expedited refugee adjudication. Directs the Secretary of State to notify Congress regarding the amount of funds that will be provided in Reception and Placement Grants in the coming fiscal year. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to make grants to nonprofit organizations to assist refugees in obtaining immigration benefits. Sets forth protections for: (1) aliens interdicted at sea; and (2) stateless persons in the United States.

Restoring Protection to Victims of Persecution Act

United States · United States Congress · 10 March 2010

Restoring Protection to Victims of Persecution Act - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to eliminate the one-year deadline for application for U.S. asylum.

International Violence Against Women Act of 2010

United States · United States Congress · 4 February 2010

International Violence Against Women Act of 2010 - Directs: (1) the Secretary of State to designate an Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues; and (2) the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to designate a Women's Development Advisor. Directs the Secretary to: (1) develop a comprehensive strategy to prevent violence against women and girls; (2) prepare a public report on best practices for preventing and addressing violence against women and girls internationally; and (3) determine emergency response measures to identified critical or widespread incidents of violence against women and girls in situations of armed conflict. Authorizes the Secretary and the Administrator to provide assistance to nongovernmental organizations, multilateral institutions, and foreign countries to implement such strategy and related activities. Requires that special efforts be made to award amounts appropriated under this Act to community-based and women's nongovernmental organizations in recipient countries. Directs the Secretary and the Secretary of Defense (DOD) to: (1) incorporate training on prevention and response into the basic training curricula of foreign military forces and judicial officials; and (2) ensure that U.S. assistance to units involved in regional or multilateral peacekeeping operations includes such training. Authorizes the Ambassador to provide guidance to the Administrator and the Assistant Secretary for Population, Refugees, and Migration. Authorizes the Secretary to provide guidance on preventing and responding to violence against women and girls to the Secretary of Defense when U.S. military personnel, military contractors, and military observers are to be deployed in humanitarian relief, conflict, and post-conflict settings. Directs the Secretary to make U.S. financial, material, human, and other resources available to assist U.N. efforts to: (1) implement training programs in prevention and response to violence against women and girls for peacekeeping and humanitarian personnel; (2) enhance the deployment of military and civilian women in peacekeeping missions; and (3) improve protection mechanisms at U.N. managed refugee and internally displaced persons camps.

International Violence Against Women Act of 2010

United States · United States Congress · 4 February 2010

International Violence Against Women Act of 2010 - Directs the Secretary of State to establish the Office for Global Women's Issues, to be headed by the Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues, to coordinate efforts regarding gender integration and empowerment of women in U.S. foreign policy. Establishes an Office for Women's Global Development (intended to replace the Office of Women in Development) in the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), to be headed by the Director of Women's Global Development, to coordinate USAID efforts to integrate gender in U.S. foreign assistance programs and policies. Directs the Secretary and the Administrator of USAID to develop a comprehensive five-year strategy for programs to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls in countries with severe levels of such violence. Directs the Ambassador-at-Large and the Director to seek to coordinate efforts to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls internationally into existing foreign assistance programs. Authorizes funds to be awarded to community-based women's nongovernmental organizations and community-based organizations in recipient countries to carry out such efforts. Authorizes the Secretary to provide guidance to the Secretary of Defense (DOD) to: (1) incorporate training on prevention and response into the basic training curricula of foreign military and police forces and judicial officials; and (2) ensure that U.S. assistance to units involved in regional or multilateral peacekeeping operations includes such training. Authorizes the Ambassador-at-Large to provide guidance to the Administrator and the Assistant Secretary for Population, Refugees, and Migration on preventing and responding to violence against women and girls in humanitarian relief, conflict, and post-conflict settings. Authorizes the Secretary to provide guidance on preventing and responding to violence against women and girls to the Secretary of DOD when U.S. military personnel, military contractors, and military observers are to be deployed in humanitarian relief, conflict, and post-conflict settings. Authorizes the Secretary and the Secretary of DOD to: (1) provide training in prevention and response to violence against women and girls internationally to U.S. military forces; (2) establish mechanisms for reporting incidences of violence against civilian women and girls committed by U.S. military forces; and (3) establish related public outreach efforts. Urges the Secretary to make U.S. financial, material, human, and other resources available to assist U.N. efforts to: (1) implement training programs in prevention and response to violence against women and girls for peacekeeping and humanitarian personnel; (2) enhance the deployment of military and civilian women in peacekeeping missions; and (3) improve protection mechanisms at U.N. managed refugee and internally displaced persons camps. Urges the Secretary to identify and take emergency measures to respond to critical outbreaks of violence against women and girls in situations of armed conflict.

HOPE Act

United States · United States Congress · 4 February 2010

Haitian Orphan Placement Effort Act or the HOPE Act - Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to expand the humanitarian parole policy for certain Haitian orphans announced on January 18, 2010, so as to apply it on a case-by-case basis to children who were legally confirmed as orphans eligible for intercountry adoption by the government of Haiti before January 12, 2010. Authorizes the placement of Haitian children granted humanitarian parole into the United States in an unaccompanied refugee minor program if a suitable family member is not available to provide care.

Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 2010 and 2011

United States · United States Congress · 29 January 2010

Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 2010 and 2011 - Transfers statutory responsibility for performing actuarial duties related to the Department of State's retirement systems from the Secretary of the Treasury to the Secretary of State (Secretary). Authorizes Department and Foreign Service special agents to investigate: (1) illegal passport or visa issuance or use; (2) Department-related identity theft and document fraud; and (3) federal offenses committed in the special maritime and territorial jurisdictions (nonmilitary) of the United States. Includes Pakistan among the countries (Afghanistan and Iraq) for which the Secretary is not required to convene an Accountability Review Board in an instance of serious injury, loss of life, or significant property destruction related to a U.S. government mission. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) provide security enhancements at overseas schools; and (2) use Department uniformed guards to protect buildings and areas in the United States. Revises provisions regarding: (1) local guard contracts abroad; and (2) overseas procurement. Renames the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs as the Bureau of Oceans, Environment, and Science. Extends the U.S. reimbursement period with respect to seized commercial fishermen. Increases the Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance Fund maximum. Provides Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty employees with federal service parity of pay. Extends: (1) grant authority for Radio Free Asia; (2) the United States Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy; and (3) the International Broadcasting Bureau (IBB) personal services contractor program. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) increase the number of scientific, medicine, research, and academic educational and cultural exchange activities; (2) establish science and technology fellowship programs; and (3) establish international documentary exchange programs. Permits applicants for refugee admission to simultaneously pursue other forms of admission. Authorizes the refugee admission of certain separated or orphan children or children of refugee spouses. Revises requirements for adjustment of refugee status to permanent resident status. Eliminates the exception to the visa ineligibility of a person involved in child abduction based upon the child's location in a country that is party to the Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. Exempts certain children, including certain siblings, who have been adopted in a foreign country from admissions vaccination documentation requirements. Authorizes the Secretary and the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to hire additional Foreign Service members. Foreign Service Overseas Pay Equity Act of 2009 - Extends comparability pay adjustments on a phased-in schedule to (non-Senior) Foreign Service members assigned abroad. Treats such payments as basic pay. Revises provisions concerning the computation of the death gratuity payable to surviving dependents of Foreign Service employees who die from injuries sustained in the performance of duty abroad. Extends the Secretary's authority to recruit retired Foreign Service or Civil Service employees or members of the Response Readiness Corps as reemployed annuitants to serve in Pakistan, Iraq, or Afghanistan. Repeals the recertification requirement for Senior Foreign Service members. Authorizes the Secretary to establish: (1) exchange programs under which Department officers or employees and members of the Foreign Service may be temporarily assigned to a position with any foreign government or international entity that permits an employee to be assigned to the Department; and (2) a personal services pilot program for services in the United States or abroad. Authorizes the U.S. share of assessed contributions for each U.N. peacekeeping operation after 2010 at 27.5%. Establishes in the Treasury the Buying Power Maintenance, International Organizations account. Authorizes the readmission and participation of the United States in the Inter-Parlimentary Union. Limits specified assistance to governments of countries in default to the United States. Increases authority for foreign law enforcement training. Authorizes Millenium Challenge Compact extensions and concurrent Compacts. Authorizes the Inspector General of USAID to temporarily reemploy annuitants for positions in the Office of Inspector General in Iraq, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. Prohibits assistance to a country for production of agricultural commodities which would be available in surplus quantities on world markets and would adversely affect U.S. agricultural producers. Authorizes FY2010-FY2011 appropriations to carry out this Act.

Refugee Opportunity Act

United States · United States Congress · 28 January 2010

Refugee Opportunity Act - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to waive the continuous one-year presence requirement for permanent resident status adjustment for a refugee/asylee who during his or her first year of U.S. residence accepts employment overseas with the U.S. government or with a U.S. government contractor.

Stop Terrorist Entry Program Act of 2010

United States · United States Congress · 13 January 2010

Stop Terrorist Entry Program Act of 2010 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to bar the admission of any alien (other than an immediate relative or a diplomat/foreign government official) who is a national of, or residing in, a country determined to be a state sponsor of terrorism. Authorizes the waiver of such prohibition for: (1) emergency medical treatment; or (2) admission as a refugee or asylee. Treats Yemen as a state sponsor of terrorism until the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) reports to Congress that Yemen has addressed terrorism issues within its borders and that the issuance of visas to aliens who are nationals of, or residing in, Yemen no longer poses a significant U.S. security threat. Prohibits funds from being used to: (1) transfer an enemy combatant detained by the United States at Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to any military or prison installation located in the United States; or (2) build or modify any facility in the United States for the purpose of housing any such enemy combatant.