U.S. Department of State

1) ASYLUM, ADJUDICATION, DETENTION

Interpretation of the Refugee Definition

The U.S. Government pledges to provide ongoing, comprehensive training to all Immigration Judges and Members of the Board of Immigration Appeals and their legal staff in refugee law and related legal disciplines, as well as in country of origin analysis and application.

Bars to Admissibility and Asylum Eligibility

The U.S. Government pledges to:

• Significantly reduce, through the issuance and application of exemptions to exclusion based on national security grounds, cases that are on hold for a review of eligibility for an exemption to exclusion by the end of fiscal year 2012;
• Undertake a review, to be completed by the end of calendar year 2012, to examine current interpretations of the terms under the national security exclusion grounds, for example, the meaning of material support, to better ensure that those in need of protection retain eligibility for it;
• Work with Congress to eliminate the one-year filing deadline for submission of asylum applications.

Detention

The U.S. Government pledges to:

• Continue to provide UNHCR reasonable access to conduct review of detention and parole decision-making for persons of concern to UNHCR, including parole determinations for arriving asylum seekers in expedited removal;
• Work with UNHCR and other stakeholders on improved detainee release practices, including consideration of a Detainee Release Notification flier that explains to detainees their legal obligations and provides information on issues such as phone calls, personal property, medical services and community organizations that serve immigrant populations. Review and amend, as necessary, current policies to better ensure that individuals in immigration detention, including asylum seekers, are released from detention in a safe and responsible manner, time, and place.

Interdiction

The U.S. Government pledges to implement updated training to U.S. Coast Guard law enforcement personnel participating in migrant interdiction operations by the end of calendar year 2012. This training will focus on identifying manifestations of fear by interdicted migrants.

2) VULNERABLE POPULATIONS

Children

The Best Interests of Children

The U.S. Government pledges to:

• Assist UNHCR with the deployment of eight trained and competent staff to conduct Best Interest Determinations in line with UNHCR guidance, subject to applicable laws and regulations;
• Facilitate UNHCR’s review of U.S. practices regarding the screening of unaccompanied children at the southwest border during 2012;
• Update existing guidance on both procedure and substance for the adjudication of asylum claims brought by children;
• Promote the availability of pro bono legal counsel for persons of concern to UNHCR – in particular unaccompanied children and those with diminished mental capacity.

Cultural Orientation Curriculum for Youth

The U.S. Government pledges to provide cultural orientation to unaccompanied refugee minors who are preparing to travel to the United States and to encourage the continued use of similar curriculum after arrival in the United States.

Education in Emergencies

The U.S. Government pledges to increase its support to international efforts relating to equitable access to education for youth in crisis and conflict environments and its involvement in shaping the agenda on education of youth in emergencies, particularly through ongoing Women, Peace and Security efforts.

Women

Services for Victims of Sexual and Gender Based Violence

The U.S. Government pledges to provide refugee service providers and mainstream social service programs in the United States with additional training relating to sexual and gender based violence, including violence that amounts to a form of torture, as well as information on services available to survivors of torture.

Microenterprise Development Opportunities

The U.S. Government pledges to provide refugee women in the United States with training opportunities on how to establish and manage businesses including, home-based childcare services. 

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT)

Electronic Resource Center

The U.S. Government pledges to develop an electronic resource center that catalogues available community resources and identifies supportive communities for LGBT refugees resettled in the United States.

Provision of Targeted Services

The U.S. Government pledges to add language to one or more grant announcements that identifies LGBT refugees as a vulnerable population in need of targeted services.

Urban Refugees

The U.S. Government pledges to:

• Expand U.S. diplomacy and humanitarian programming to protect and assist refugees in urban areas. In conducting humanitarian diplomacy on behalf of urban refugees, the United States will seek to ensure recognition of refugees’ status and legal rights, consistent with obligations and commitments countries have assumed under international human rights and refugee law, and to address practical and administrative obstacles to enjoyment of those rights;
• Develop practical guidance for programming U.S. humanitarian assistance for refugees in urban areas by the end of 2012. This guidance will draw on best practices in order to maximize program effectiveness;
• Support enhancement of UNHCR’s institutional capacity to implement its urban refugee policy, including through staff training and other efforts, subject to applicable laws and regulations.

3) RESETTLEMENT, PROTECTION, INTEGRATION

Protection and Integration

The U.S. Government pledges to:

• Assist UNHCR with the deployment of eight trained and competent staff to conduct Best Interest Determinations in line with UNHCR guidance, subject to applicable laws and regulations;
• Make adjustments to the procedures for determining when an asylum seeker becomes eligible to apply for work authorization while his or her claim is pending, including the process to re-start the “clock” that determines when an asylum seeker becomes eligible to work legally.

Strengthening Global Resettlement Capacity

The U.S. Government pledges to:

• Enhance the delivery of comprehensive durable solutions, notably in protracted refugee situations, by working with Member States, UNHCR and other partners to promote increased opportunities for refugee resettlement, the participation of new resettlement countries, improved integration outcomes for resettled refugees, and the strategic use of resettlement to unlock the other durable solutions of voluntary repatriation and local integration;
• Undertake a multi-year twinning program with Uruguay and Bulgaria to strengthen global resettlement capacity.

4) PARTNERSHIPS, TRAINING, CAPACITY-BUILDING

The U.S. Government pledges to work with UNHCR in fiscal year 2012 to strengthen local partner capacity, particularly in humanitarian emergencies, through facilitating partnerships between international and national actors.

5) STATELESSNESS

Statelessness Among Women and Children

The U.S. Government pledges to:

• Focus U.S. diplomacy on preventing and resolving statelessness among women and children, including efforts to raise global awareness about discrimination against women in nationality laws and to mobilize governments to repeal nationality laws that discriminate against women;
• Promote a child’s right to nationality through multilateral and bilateral engagement, including efforts to promote universal birth registration.

Statelessness and Citizenship

The U.S. Government pledges to:

• Actively work with Congress to introduce legislation that provides a mechanism for stateless persons in the United States to obtain permanent residency and eventually citizenship;
• Consider the revision of administrative policies to allow the circumstance of stateless persons to inform decision-making regarding their detention, reporting requirements, and opportunity to apply for work authorization.

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