S. 1135 117th Congress Senate

GRACE Act

Official title: A bill to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to require the President to set a minimum annual goal for the number of refugees to be admitted, and for other purposes.

Introduced: April 15, 2021 Introduced by: Edward J. Markey Democratic · Massachusetts See on congress.gov

Immigration Congressional oversightImmigration status and proceduresPresidents and presidential powers, Vice PresidentsRefugees, asylum, displaced persons

Everywhere this bill has been 2 steps

Introduced

In committee

Reported out

Passed House

Passed Senate

To President

Became law

Apr 15, 2021

Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Apr 15, 2021

Introduced in Senate

Ask about this bill AI · grounded in the bill text

Have a question about what this bill does? Ask in plain English; the answer is drawn from the bill's actual text and official record, and it'll tell you when something isn't in the text rather than guess.

AI answers can be imperfect; always confirm against the full bill text.

Latest action April 15, 2021

Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Guaranteed Refugee Admission Ceiling Enhancement Act or the GRACE Act

This bill establishes that the maximum number of refugees admitted each fiscal year shall be no less than 125,000 and that the maximum number shall be treated as the numerical goal for refugee admissions for the applicable fiscal year. The President may set a higher number if it is justified by humanitarian concerns or is otherwise in the national interest.

Currently, the number admitted each fiscal year may not exceed 50,000 unless the President determines that a higher number is justified by humanitarian concerns or is otherwise in the national interest.

The bill directs the President to take into consideration information from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees when establishing the maximum admission number and making certain other related decisions. The President shall report to Congress quarterly on (1) the number of refugees admitted during the preceding quarter, (2) the number of aliens who were security-cleared during the preceding quarter, (3) a plan to reach the numerical goal for admitted refugees for that fiscal year, and (4) other related information.

Related & companion bills 3