UNRWA Reform and Refugee Support Act of 2018

UNRWA Reform and Refugee Support Act of 2018

This bill states that it shall be U.S. policy to recognize the refugee status of a Palestinian receiving assistance through the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) if such person, or the person's spouse or minor child:

• resided, between June 1946 and May 1948, in the region controlled by Britain known as Mandatory Palestine;
• was personally displaced as a result of the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict; and
• has not accepted an offer of legal residency status, citizenship, or other permanent adjustment in status in another country.

In applying such criteria to refugees under UNRWA it shall be U.S. policy, consistent with the definition of a refugee under the Immigration and Nationality Act, that:

• derivative refugee status may only be extended to the spouse or minor child of such a refugee, and
• an alien who was firmly resettled in any country is not eligible to retain refugee status.