SenateS.Res. 775119th Congress
A resolution reaffirming the importance of the United States promoting the safety, health, and well-being of refugees and displaced persons in the United States and around the world.
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[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 775 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. RES. 775
Reaffirming the importance of the United States promoting the safety,
health, and well-being of refugees and displaced persons in the United
States and around the world.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 17, 2026
Mrs. Shaheen (for herself, Mr. Bennet, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Booker, Mr.
Coons, Mr. Durbin, Ms. Duckworth, Mr. Fetterman, Mr. Hickenlooper, Ms.
Hirono, Mr. Kaine, Mr. King, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. Markey, Mr. Merkley,
Mr. Murphy, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Padilla, Mr. Schatz, Mr. Schiff, Mr. Reed,
Ms. Rosen, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Warnock, Mr. Welch, Mr.
Whitehouse, and Mr. Wyden) submitted the following resolution; which
was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Reaffirming the importance of the United States promoting the safety,
health, and well-being of refugees and displaced persons in the United
States and around the world.
Whereas June 20, 2026, is an international day designated by the United Nations
as ``World Refugee Day'', to recognize refugees around the globe and
celebrate the strength and courage of people who have been forced to
flee their homes to escape conflict or persecution due to their race,
religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular
social group;
Whereas July 28, 2026, is the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the Convention
relating to the Status of Refugees, held at Geneva on July 28, 1951, a
landmark achievement that codified a definition for ``refugee'',
established the foundational principle of non-refoulement, and outlined
the rights of refugees and the legal obligations of nation states to
protect such rights;
Whereas, in 2026, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (referred to
in this preamble as ``UNHCR'') reported that, as of the end of 2025--
(1) there were more than 117,000,000 displaced people who had been
forced from their homes worldwide, including more than 41,600,000 refugees,
9,000,000 asylum seekers, and 68,700,000 internally displaced persons;
(2) 68 percent of all refugees worldwide were hosted in low- and
middle-income countries and fewer than 1 percent of refugees are ever
resettled;
(3) 70 percent of all refugees worldwide were in protracted situations,
having been forcibly displaced from their country of origin for at least 5
years;
(4) approximately 1,300,000 Syrian refugees returned to Syria during
2025 out of the roughly 6,000,000 Syrian refugees as of the end of 2024 who
had been displaced by years of conflict;
(5) nearly 2,000,000 internally displaced Syrians returned to their
area of origin, but Syria remains affected by one of the largest
humanitarian crises in the world, despite positive political changes and
renewed hope for returns following the fall of the Assad regime at the end
of 2024;
(6) approximately 8,900,000 Ukrainians had been forcibly displaced as a
result of the ongoing invasion of Ukraine by Russia, including 5,200,000
Ukrainian refugees, which represents an increase compared to the end of
2024;
(7) there were an estimated 3,700,000 Afghan refugees around the world,
representing a decrease compared to the end of 2024 in part due to
restrictive government policies toward Afghans in certain refugee-hosting
countries, which placed vulnerable Afghans, including women and girls, at
risk of persecution;
(8) approximately 11,900,000 people were forcibly displaced due to the
ongoing conflict in Sudan, including 9,100,000 internally displaced
persons, representing the largest internal displacement crisis globally,
and an estimated 2,800,000 refugees who have fled to neighboring countries,
many of whom are women or children;
(9) there were more than 6,000,000 people displaced from Venezuela, the
majority of whom were being hosted in Latin America;
(10) more than 1,400,000 people had been forcibly displaced in Haiti
due to widespread violence, representing a nearly 40 percent increase
compared to the end of 2024;
(11) more than 90 percent of the population of Gaza (approximately
2,000,000 people) had been internally displaced since October 2023;
(12) the Democratic Republic of the Congo had one of the largest
internal displacement crises, with 3,900,000 people newly displaced due to
the ongoing conflict even as 3,600,000 people returned to their area of
origin, often involuntarily, due to the forced closure of internal
displacement settlements by the de facto authorities;
(13) an estimated 1,200,000 Rohingya refugees resided in Bangladesh,
constituting the largest refugee settlement in the world, with thousands
more Rohingya refugees residing in nearby countries; and
(14) in the Sahel region, which encompasses Burkina Faso, Mali, and
Niger, an estimated 3,900,000 people were forcibly displaced;
Whereas the vast majority of people fleeing persecution do not have access to
refugee resettlement and instead must seek protection through asylum or
other humanitarian relief;
Whereas welcoming people from around the world who have been oppressed and
persecuted is a tenet of our Nation and the United States is home to a
diverse population of refugees and immigrants who contribute to the
economic strengths and cultural richness of our communities;
Whereas, since seeking asylum is a protected right under United States domestic
and international law, the United States is legally obligated to
contribute to the maintenance of a humane and functioning international
asylum system;
Whereas the principle of non-refoulement is also a central tenet of the United
States refugee and asylum systems and thousands of people living in the
United States who immigrated from countries around the world would be
subject to harm if they were deported to their countries of origin or to
third countries due to widespread conflict or persecution in such
countries;
Whereas the United States Refugee Admissions Program, which was established in
1980--
(1) is a lifesaving pillar of global humanitarian efforts;
(2) advances United States national security and foreign policy goals;
and
(3) supports regional host countries;
Whereas Executive Order 14163 (90 Fed. Reg. 8459; relating to realigning the
United States Refugee Admissions Program), which was issued on January
20, 2025, indefinitely suspending all refugee admissions to the United
States, remains in place and continues to put at risk the lives and
well-being of refugees fleeing violence and persecution, including
Iranians, Afghans, Burmese Rohingya, Sudanese, and Somalis;
Whereas President Trump set the fiscal year 2026 Presidential Determination on
Refugee Admissions at a record low of 7,500 individuals, prioritizing
the resettlement of Afrikaners from South Africa, such that Afrikaners
made up over 95 percent of arrivals during fiscal year 2026 as of May
2026;
Whereas President Trump's decision to increase the fiscal year 2026 Presidential
Determination on Refugee Admissions by 10,000, exclusively for the
resettlement of Afrikaners from South Africa, is a politically motivated
and unjust decision that excludes those most in need of protection,
including tens of thousands of already approved and thoroughly vetted
refugees who have fled persecution;
Whereas the Trump administration has failed to implement the Lautenberg-Specter
Program, which Congress reauthorized for fiscal year 2026, to screen and
admit religious minorities in the former Soviet Union and Iran who are
facing persecution and discrimination, including 15,000 religious
minorities in Iran;
Whereas the Trump administration's sweeping cuts to United States foreign
assistance have reduced support to refugees abroad, including through
the reduction in food rations to refugees in camps, threatening to
destabilize fragile situations;
Whereas, as of June 2026, the ongoing refugee admissions ban remains in effect;
Whereas--
(1) more than 100,000 refugees who had been conditionally approved for
refugee status by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services remain
indefinitely stranded;
(2) more than 22,000 refugees who were considered ``ready for
departure'' and who had completed all necessary medical checks, security
screenings, and interviews remain indefinitely stranded;
(3) more than 12,000 refugees who had flights booked to travel to the
United States, many of whom had begun to move and sell belongings in
preparation for their resettlement, remain indefinitely stranded; and
(4) more than 800 Afghan allies, about \1/2\ of whom are women and
children, evacuated to the Camp As Sayliyah in Qatar are refugees, who have
a clear path to resettle in the United States, but remain indefinitely
stranded;
Whereas the Trump administration's actions to detain dozens of approved
refugees, who underwent years of vetting prior to approval and traveled
thousands of miles from home to reexamine their refugee cases, only to
determine once again that they were properly approved for refugee
status, was a violation of our Nation's laws and commitments to
refugees;
Whereas the Constitution of the United States protects all individuals within
its jurisdiction, regardless of citizenship status and should afford
noncitizens in the United States, including refugees and asylum seekers,
full due process before deportation or other adverse action affecting
their protection;
Whereas attempts to suspend refugee admissions, bar individuals based on
religion or nationality, or implement blanket asylum bans and
indiscriminate removal or detention policies are inconsistent with the
Constitution of the United States, the Refugee Act of 1980 (Public Law
96-212), our treaty obligations, and established international human
rights norms;
Whereas resettlement is an essential part of a comprehensive strategy to respond
to refugee crises, promote regional stability, and strengthen United
States national security;
Whereas resettlement to the United States is available for the most vulnerable
refugees who undergo rigorous security vetting and medical screening
processes;
Whereas the United States supports the efforts of the UNHCR to increase
protection for, and the global resettlement of, LGBTQI+ refugees
overseas;
Whereas women and girls have an increased risk of sexual violence, exploitation,
and trafficking while they are traveling to seek safe living conditions;
Whereas, according to a study by the Department of Health and Human Services,
between 2005 and 2019, refugees and asylees in the United States
contributed an estimated $581,000,000,000 in total revenue across all
levels of government;
Whereas most refugees integrate and quickly become self-sufficient members of
their respective communities by joining the workforce, paying taxes,
supporting local commerce, helping to address labor demand in critical
industries, and creating new jobs; and
Whereas robust funding for international and domestic protection and assistance
for refugees and other displaced populations bolsters United States
national security, foreign policy, economic, and humanitarian interests:
Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) recognizes the urgency to establish and follow
comprehensive, fair, and humane policies to address forced
migration and refugee challenges;
(2) reaffirms the bipartisan commitment of the United
States to promote the safety, health, and well-being of
millions of refugees and asylum seekers, including the
education of refugee children and displaced persons fleeing
war, persecution, or torture in search of protection, peace,
hope, and freedom;
(3) recognizes the many individuals who have risked their
lives working, either individually or on behalf of
nongovernmental organizations or international agencies, such
as UNHCR, to provide lifesaving assistance and protection for
people around the world who have been displaced from their
homes;
(4) reaffirms the imperative to fully restore United States
asylum protections enshrined in the Refugee Act of 1980 (Public
Law 96-212) by rejecting harmful bans and restrictions that
limit refugees' access to protections and due process at the
United States border;
(5) reaffirms the importance of the United States Refugee
Admissions Program as a critical tool of the United States
Government--
(A) to strengthen national and regional security;
and
(B) to encourage international solidarity with host
countries;
(6) calls upon President Trump to lift the indefinite
suspension of the United States Refugee Admissions Program and
to fully restore resettlement to the United States; and
(7) calls upon the Secretary of State, the Secretary of
Homeland Security, the Secretary of Health and Human Services,
and the United States Ambassador to the United Nations--
(A) to uphold the United States international
leadership role in responding to displacement crises
with humanitarian assistance and to strengthen its
leadership role in the protection of vulnerable refugee
populations that endure gender-based violence, torture,
human trafficking, persecution, violence against
religious minorities, forced conscription, genocide,
and exploitation;
(B) to work in partnership with the international
community to find solutions to existing conflicts,
prevent new conflicts from emerging, and tackle the
root causes of involuntary migration;
(C) to increase support for the efforts of the
UNHCR and advance the work of nongovernmental
organizations to protect refugees and asylum seekers
regardless of their country of origin, race, ethnicity,
or religious beliefs;
(D) to increase efforts to alleviate pressures,
through humanitarian and development assistance, on
frontline refugee host countries that absorb the
majority of the world's refugees, while effectively
advocating for refugee well-being, including access to
education and livelihoods;
(E) to meaningfully include refugees and displaced
populations in creating and achieving the policy
solutions affecting them;
(F) to respond to the global refugee crisis by
meeting robust refugee admissions goals;
(G) to implement the United States pledges made at
the Global Refugee Forum held in Geneva in December
2023 to expand refugee protection;
(H) to address barriers faced by refugees with
disabilities by ensuring accessible infrastructure and
the availability of disability-related services and
social protection schemes; and
(I) to reaffirm the goals of ``World Refugee Day''
and reiterate the United States strong commitment to
protect refugees and asylum seekers who live without
adequate material, social, or legal protections.
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