H.R. 5210: Refugee Protection Act of 2019

116th Congress · introduced 2019-11-21 · Immigration · Latest: Referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2019-11-21 · official record
Who proposed it: Rep. Lofgren, Zoe [D-CA-19] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Refugee Protection Act of 2019

Plain summary

Refugee Protection Act of 2019 This bill provides protections for aliens such as asylum seekers and contains other provisions. The bill's provisions include eliminating the general requirement that an asylum seeker apply for asylum within one year of arriving in the United States; prohibiting requiring an asylum seeker to provide corroborating evidence of persecution if such evidence is not reasonably obtainable; waiving certain grounds of inadmissibility or deportability for qualifying refugees seeking permanent resident status; requiring the Department of Justice to appoint counsel to a child or particularly vulnerable individual in certain immigration proceedings; increasing the annual cap on principal nonimmigrant U visas (victims of crimes) from 10,000 to 20,000; prohibiting the removal of an alien with certain pending immigration applications, such as a U visa application; imposing limits on when an alien may be removed from the United States in a proceeding without the alien present; establishing a presumption that the least restrictive conditions necessary should be imposed in custody proceedings for asylum seekers, including release if appropriate; establishing that the maximum number of refugees admitted each fiscal year shall be no less than 95,000; directing the Department of State to help other governments increase their capacity to care for and accept refugees; directing the State Department to establish refugee processing centers in other countries in North and Central America; and authorizing the Department of Homeland Security to provide special immigrant status to qualified aliens who assisted U.S. efforts in Syria and admit up to 5,000 such aliens each fiscal year for five years.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Refugee Protection Act of 2019

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)

AI explanation – may be wrong, check the official text

No AI explanation yet. It takes up to a minute to write and is then saved for everyone.

Limited to a few requests an hour per person.

The strongest published arguments

Arguments for (supporters)

Needs sources: no published arguments on this side yet. We only show items backed by a published source. Suggest one.

Arguments against (opponents)

Needs sources: no published arguments on this side yet. We only show items backed by a published source. Suggest one.

Alternatives

Needs sources: no published alternatives yet (for example a different bill, a law instead of an amendment, or keeping current law). We only show items backed by a published source. Suggest one.

How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Lofgren, Zoe [D-CA-19] · 44 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Joe Neguse (D-CO), Joaquin Castro (D-TX), Jason Crow (D-CO), Madeleine Dean (D-PA), Rosa L. DeLauro (D-CT), Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA), Veronica Escobar (D-TX), Adriano Espaillat (D-NY), Sylvia R. Garcia (D-TX), Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr. (D-GA), Ro Khanna (D-CA), James P. McGovern (D-MA), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), Mike Quigley (D-IL), Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Adam Smith (D-WA), Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ), Peter Welch (D-VT), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), Judy Chu (D-CA), Janice D. Schakowsky (D-IL), Jesús G. "Chuy" García (D-IL), Julia Brownley (D-CA), Donald S. Beyer, Jr. (D-VA), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), J. Luis Correa (D-CA), Betty McCollum (D-MN)

Sponsor's campaign money: Rep. Lofgren, Zoe [D-CA-19] reported raising $2.0 million (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (4)

Appropriation: Money a legislature sets aside by law for a specific purpose. Government agencies may spend public money only as it has been appropriated.
Bill: A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).
Fiscal year: The 12-month period a government uses for its budget. The federal fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30 and is named for the calendar year in which it ends. Most states use July 1 to June 30.
Securities: Financial investments that can be bought and sold, such as stocks and bonds.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-116hr5210.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/116/hr>

Record fed-us-cong116-hr5210 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong116 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong116