Resistance to Coercive Population Control (CPC) ProgramsOverview
Section 601 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 expanded the definition of “refugee” to include individuals who have been persecuted or have a well-founded fear of persecution on account of resistance to a coercive population control (CPC) program. The expanded definition, found in section 101(a)(42)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), provides that a person who has been:
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forced to abort a pregnancy
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undergo involuntary sterilization
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persecuted for failure or refusal to undergo such a procedure or for other resistance to a coercive population control program, or
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has a well-founded fear that he or she will be forced to undergo such a procedure or subject to persecution for such failure, refusal, or resistance
shall be deemed to have been persecuted or have a well-founded fear of persecution on account of political opinion.
Pursuant to section 207(a)(5) of the INA, no more than a total of 1,000 individuals per fiscal year could be granted asylum or admitted as a refugee solely on this ground. Because the number of individuals eligible for asylum based on CPC had been greater than 1,000 annually, these individuals were given conditional grants until one of the 1,000 final approval authorization numbers, issued annually, became available.
Section 101(g)(2) of the Real ID Act of 2005 eliminated the annual numerical limitation on grants of asylum based on CPC. Since a final approval authorization number within the 1,000-per-year cap is no longer necessary, asylum offices have been issuing final asylum approvals to newly-adjudicated cases based on CPC, as well as to applicants who had previously been given a conditional grant. Prior to receiving a final approval, the applicant must have completed and cleared security checks.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
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