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Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Nov 18, 2015
Terrorist Refugee Infiltration Prevention Act of 2015
This bill prohibits the U.S. refugee admission of an alien who is a national of, has habitually resided in, or is claiming refugee status due to events in any country containing terrorist-controlled territory (Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Yemen and any other Department of State-designated country).
Such an alien may be admitted to the United States as a refugee if the alien:
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
satisfies refugee admission requirements;
is a member of a group that has been designated by the State Department or by an Act of Congress as a victim of genocide (and such group does not pose a risk to U.S. security);
has undergone the highest level of security screening of any category of traveler to the United States, including full multi-modal biometrics; and
the State Department, the Department of Defense (DOD), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) certify that such alien is not a threat to U.S. national security.
These requirements shall not apply to the U.S. refugee admission of an alien who: (1) provided substantial assistance to the United States, and (2) would face a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury because of that assistance if not admitted to the United States.
The State Department may designate as a country containing terrorist-controlled territory any country containing territory that is controlled, in substantial part, by a foreign terrorist organization to the exclusion of that country's recognized government.
The State Department shall maintain and continually update a list of: (1) the countries containing terrorist-controlled territory, and (2) groups identified as victims of genocide.
An alien may not be admitted into the United States under this Act solely based on his or her assertions, and DHS shall substantiate any such assertions with the State Department, DOD, the FBI, and the DNI.
People & committees
Sen. Cruz, Ted [R-TX] · R–TX
Legislative record
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Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Introduced in Senate
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Source last updated: Aug 10, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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