Members of the cross-party U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee have introduced the latest bill aimed at expediting the process for Uighurs persecuted by the Chinese government to apply for refugee asylum. The bill comes on the heels of a similar bill in the House of Representatives to provide refugee assistance to oppressed Muslim minorities.
The Uyghurs Human Rights Protection Act, introduced by Democratic U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) and Republican U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), would grant asylum to Uyghurs persecuted by Beijing. Uyghurs and other minority groups persecuted by the Beijing authorities would be granted Category II priority refugee status and would be eligible for priority processing of their refugee claims by the U.S. government.
According to the bill, it would apply to Uyghurs and other Turkic or Muslim-majority minorities and their families and relatives who are persecuted or have fled the Xinjiang Autonomous Region and have a well-founded fear of persecution.
The bill mentions that the United States currently has a backlog of approximately 3.6 million entry visa applications awaiting processing, with waiting times ranging from five to 18 years for some specific visas.
The lawmakers argued that the bill would streamline the process for persecuted Uighurs to apply for travel to the United States, while encouraging other allies and international partners to adopt similar policies.
“It is imperative that the United States speak out consistently to condemn human rights violations by the People’s Republic of China in Xinjiang, and that we provide assurances and protections for Uighurs and all others who face persecution because of their religious or ethnic identity,” Sen. Coons, co-chair of the Senate Human Rights panel caucus, said in a statement. “To effectively compete with China, we must show the best of ourselves, including practicing our values and welcoming those who have been unjustly imprisoned or forced to flee Xinjiang.”
“Just as the Chinese Communist Party continues to commit egregious human rights violations, including genocide and crimes against humanity, we need to take urgent action to end such atrocities and provide assistance to Uighurs and others facing persecution in Xinjiang,” Republican U.S. Senator Rubio said in a statement.
The bill comes on the heels of a letter last month from Coons and Rubio, who led a bipartisan group of 13 senators to Secretary of State Blinken urging the U.S. government to do more to assist persecuted and threatened Uighurs and other minority Muslims in obtaining refugee protection to the United States.
In addition, Coons and Rubio introduced a resolution last month condemning the Chinese government’s treatment of Uighurs and other minority Muslims in its Xinjiang region and calling for an international investigation into the atrocities and crimes.
Former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, on the eve of his departure from office in January, declared that the Chinese government had committed genocide and crimes against humanity in its northwestern Xinjiang region through a massive crackdown on Uighurs and other Muslim-majority minorities, including the use of internment camps and forced birth control.
The new administration’s Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, has agreed with the Trump administration’s determination that the Chinese government’s treatment of Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang constitutes genocide and crimes against humanity.
China has repeatedly refuted this and denounced it as “disinformation” by U.S. politicians and groups.
Democratic U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL) and Republican U.S. Rep. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL) introduced a similar bill in the House last month to support refugee asylum for persecuted Uighurs and other minorities in the United States.
As concern about human rights issues in Xinjiang grows, more and more lawmakers from both parties are optimistic about the prospect of Congress passing a bill to expedite the processing of refugee claims for persecuted Uyghurs.
According to Reuters, an unnamed congressional staffer said the House and Senate versions of the bill have highly similar goals. “We think this is an area where it’s easy to get bipartisan support,” he said.
However, the House and Senate have busy agendas ahead, and it remains unclear when the bill will see further development.
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