§2730 Prohibition on Funding the Involuntary Return of Refugees

Summary

Money given to the State Department or to the U.S. Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance Fund (set up in section 2601(c)) must not be used to force anyone to go back to a country where they have a real fear of being persecuted because of race, religion, nationality, membership in a social group, or political opinion. The ban does not apply to people who are excluded from refugee protection under the United Nations Refugee Convention of July 28, 1951, and the 1967 Protocol of January 31, 1967, with the U.S. Senate’s stated reservations. The Secretary of State must tell the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and the House Committee on International Relations before using such funds to force a return, except in a life‑threatening emergency when notice must come as soon as possible. This rule does not change State Department actions tied to removal under the Immigration and Nationality Act or to extradition. "To effect the involuntary return" means using physical force or threats to make someone go back, whether the person is inside the United States or not, and whether the U.S. acts directly or through someone else.