GRACE Act

Higher refugee admissions and rules

This bill would set a yearly floor of at least 125,000 refugee admissions. The President would also be able to add more refugees admitted through community or private sponsors. If the President issues no determination before a fiscal year, the annual ceiling would default to 125,000. Sponsors would need to provide initial reception and placement services like resettlement agencies, and those sponsored admissions would count toward the annual total. The bill would require quarterly public admissions and processing reports to Congress and online within 15 days after each quarter. It would define "enhanced security checks" to include interagency checks, extra vetting for certain countries, and public social media screening, and require those checks to be reported. If a quarter admits less than 25 percent of its expected share, the President would have to submit an assessment and a plan to increase pace. The bill would also clarify that these rules do not limit DHS authority to admit aliens or to do expedited refugee or asylum processing.