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1 Refugee Act of 1980. P.L. 96-212 102 (1980)

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PUBLIC LAW 96-212-MAR. 17, 1980


Public  Law   96-212
96th  Congress


Mar.  17, 1980
    [S. 643]



Refugee Act of
1980.
8 USC 1101 note.

8 USC 1521 note.


To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to revise the procedures for the
  admission of refugees, to amend the Migration and Refugee Assistance Act of
  1962 to establish a more uniform basis for the provision of assistance to refugees,
  and for other purposes.
  Be  it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States ofAmerica in Congress assembled, That this Act may be
cited as the Refugee Act of 1980.
                       TITLE  I-PURPOSE
  SEC. 101. (a) The Congress declares that it is the historic policy of
the United States to respond to the urgent needs of persons subject to
persecution  in their homelands,   including, where  appropriate,
humanitarian  assistance for their care and maintenance in asylum
areas, efforts to promote opportunities for resettlement or voluntary
repatriation, aid for necessary transportation and processing, admis-
sion to this country of refugees of special humanitarian concern to
the United  States, and transitional assistance to refugees in the
United States. The Congress further declares that it is the policy of
the United States to encourage all nations to provide assistance and
resettlement opportunities to refugees to the fullest extent possible.
  (b) The objectives of this Act are to provide a permanent  and
systematic procedure for the admission to this country of refugees of
special humanitarian concern  to the United States, and to provide
comprehensive  and uniform provisions for the effective resettlement
and absorption of those refugees who are admitted.


                            TITLE  11-ADMISSION OF REFUGEES
                 SEC. 201. (a) Section 101(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act
               (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)) is amended by adding  after paragraph (41) the
               following new paragraph:
Refugee.       (42) The term 'refugee' means (A) any person who is outside any
               country of such person s nationality or, in the case of a person having
               no nationality, is outside any country in which such  person last
               habitually resided, and who is unable or unwilling to return to, and is
               unable or unwilling to avail himself or herself of the protection of,
               that country because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecu-
               tion on account  of race, religion, nationality, membership in a
               particular social group, or political opinion, or (B) in such special
               circumstances as the President  after appropriate consultation (as
Post, p. 103.  defined in section 207(e) of this Act) may specify, any person who is
               within the country of such person's nationality or, in the case of a
               person having  no nationality, within the country in which  such
               person is habitually residing, and who is persecuted or who has a
               well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nation-
               ality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.
               The term 'refugee' does not include any person who ordered, incited,
               assisted, or otherwise participated in the persecution of any person on


An  Act


94 STAT.   102