H.R. 8428 · 116th Congress
Hong Kong People’s Freedom and Choice Act of 2020
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Passed the House without a recorded vote, then expired. It passed by voice vote or unanimous consent, which don't record how each member voted, but didn't become law before the 116th Congress ended.
D
MalinowskiSponsor23 cosponsors · 17 D, 6 R
R
Kinzinger
DP
D
Phillips
VT
R
Taylor
AB
D
Bera
GC
D
Connolly
DC
D
Cicilline
JC
D
Castro
TD
D
Deutch
RD
R
Davis
BF
R
Fitzpatrick
AL
D
Lowenthal
JR
D
Raskin
BS
D
Sherman
AS
D
Sires
TS
D
Suozzi
JW
R
Wilson
TY
R
Yoho
JM
D
McGovern
KP
D
Porter
BR
D
Rush
SC
D
Cohen
RK
D
Khanna
BL
D
Lee3 signed on when it was introduced; the rest joined later. Cosponsors who withdrew aren't shown.
- House Introduced Sep 29, 2020
- House Passed Dec 7, 2020
This bill provides for temporary protected status (TPS) and refugee status for qualifying Hong Kong residents and contains other immigration-related provisions.
What it does: CRS summary · Passed House · Dec 7, 2020
Hong Kong People's Freedom and Choice Act of 2020
This bill provides for temporary protected status (TPS) and refugee status for qualifying Hong Kong residents and contains other immigration-related provisions.
Hong Kong shall be treated as a TPS-designated country for 18 months starting from this bill's enactment. (Qualifying nationals of a TPS-designated country may not be removed from the United States and shall have employment authorization while the designation is in effect.)
Furthermore, Hong Kong shall be treated as separate from China for the purposes of various numerical limitations on immigrant visas. (Hong Kong is part of China but has a largely separate legal and economic system.)
The bill also establishes Priority Hong Kong Resident status for qualified individuals. To obtain such status, an individual must meet certain requirements, such as having resided in Hong Kong for at least ten years as of the day of this bill's enactment and not having citizenship in any jurisdiction other than China, Hong Kong, or Macau.
For the purposes of seeking refugee status or asylum, a Priority Hong Kong Resident (and certain family members of such an individual) may establish that the individual has a well-founded fear of persecution if the individual asserts such fear and (1) had a significant role in an organization that supported the 2019 or 2020 protests related to China's encroachment into Hong Kong's autonomy or the Hong Kong National Security Law enacted in 2020; or (2) was arrested, charged, detained, or convicted for participating in the nonviolent exercise of certain rights.
Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov
About this bill and sources
Official title: Hong Kong People's Freedom and Choice Act of 2020
Latest action (Dec 8, 2020): Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Policy area: Immigration · Origin: House · Introduced: Sep 29, 2020
Official page on Congress.gov · Bill text (GovInfo) · Status record (XML)
- House Introduced Sep 29, 2020
- House Passed Dec 7, 2020
No recorded floor vote found.