No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section sets forth 11 congressional findings on the protection of fundamental human rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex (LGBTQI) individuals worldwide, including increasing violence and discrimination; criminalization of consensual same-sex relations in approximately one-third of countries (with the death penalty possible in 12); barriers to HIV/AIDS services; suppression of LGBTQI events; impunity for perpetrators; promotion of negative attitudes by government officials; and complicity by authorities in abuses such as arbitrary arrest, extortion, torture, and sexual abuse.
This section defines key terms for purposes of the Act, including (1) "admission" and "admitted" as having the meanings given those terms in section 101 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101); (2) "appropriate congressional committees" as the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives; and (3) "foreign person" as (A) an individual who is a citizen or national of a foreign country (including any such individual who is also a citizen or national of the United States), including leaders or officials of governmental entities of a foreign country, or (B) any entity not organized solely under the laws of the United States or existing solely in the United States, including governmental entities of a foreign country.
This section requires the President to submit to the appropriate congressional committees, not later than 180 days after enactment and every 180 days thereafter, an unclassified list—published in the Federal Register notwithstanding INA sec. 222(f) confidentiality requirements (8 U.S.C. 1202(f))—of foreign persons determined based on credible information to have engaged in, been responsible for, or complicit in conduct against individuals based on actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, or sex characteristics, including (1) torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment; (2) prolonged detention without charges or trial; (3) enforced disappearance; or (4) other flagrant denial of the right to life, liberty, or security. The President must (1) update the list as new information becomes available; (2) remove persons from the list upon determining credible evidence of non-involvement, appropriate prosecution, or significant behavioral change with consequences paid and future commitment, with notice to committees at least 15 days prior; (3) issue public guidance for submitting information on potential list candidates; and (4) respond within 120 days to written requests from committee chairpersons or ranking members on specific persons and provide information if removing a person added pursuant to such a request. A classified annex is permitted only if vital to U.S. national security without undermining the section's public accountability purpose, with 15 days' prior committee notice and justification.
This section declares foreign persons on the list required by section 4(a)—individuals responsible for violations of human rights of LGBTQI individuals—inadmissible to the United States and ineligible for visas. It directs the Secretary of State to revoke any such person's existing visa under INA §221(i) (8 U.S.C. 1201(i)) and the Secretary of Homeland Security to remove the person from the United States, with implementing regulations required within 180 days of enactment. The President may waive these restrictions if necessary to comply with specified international agreements (i.e., UN Headquarters Agreement or Vienna Convention on Consular Relations) or in the national security interests of the United States, provided 15 days' prior notice and justification are submitted to the appropriate congressional committees.
This section expresses the sense of Congress that the President should impose additional targeted sanctions, using existing authorities beyond those in section 5, on foreign persons listed under section 4(a) to promote accountability for flagrant denials of the right to life, liberty, or security of the person.
This section requires the Secretary of State to submit to the appropriate congressional committees, not later than one year after the date of enactment of this Act and annually thereafter, a report on (1) actions taken to implement the Act—including the number of foreign persons added to or removed from the list required by section 4(a), the dates and reasons for those actions, and, in reports after the first, a year-over-year analysis of changes in such additions and removals and the reasons therefor; and (2) the President's efforts to coordinate with other countries, as appropriate, to impose similar sanctions.
This section requires the Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor to designate one or more senior officers within the bureau to track violence, criminalization, and restrictions on the enjoyment of fundamental freedoms in foreign countries based on actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, or sex characteristics. The section further amends (1) the annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices under section 116(d) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to add a new required element on such violence or discrimination affecting fundamental freedoms, including the freedoms of expression, association, or assembly, wherever applicable; and (2) the human rights reports transmitted prior to security assistance under section 502B(b) to include the same information, wherever applicable.