Presidential Document2025-01466
Extending and Expanding Eligibility for Deferred Enforced Departure for Certain Hong Kong Residents
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
January 17, 2025
Signed
January 15, 2025
Issuing agencies
Executive Office of the President
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 11 (Friday, January 17, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 11 (Friday, January 17, 2025)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 6749-6750]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-01466]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 11 / Friday, January 17, 2025 /
Presidential Documents
[[Page 6749]]
Memorandum of January 15, 2025
Extending and Expanding Eligibility for Deferred
Enforced Departure for Certain Hong Kong Residents
Memorandum for the Secretary of State [and] the
Secretary of Homeland Security
The United States supports the human rights and
fundamental freedoms of the residents of Hong Kong. The
People's Republic of China (PRC) has continued to
significantly erode those rights and freedoms. I am
therefore directing an extension and expansion of the
deferral of removal of certain Hong Kong residents,
regardless of country of birth, who are present in the
United States.
By unilaterally imposing on Hong Kong the Law of the
People's Republic of China on Safeguarding National
Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
(NSL) in June 2020, the PRC has undermined the
enjoyment of rights and freedoms in Hong Kong,
including those protected under the Basic Law and the
Sino-British Joint Declaration. Following the NSL's
enactment, the PRC has continued its assault on Hong
Kong's autonomy, undermining its remaining democratic
processes and institutions, imposing limits on academic
freedom, and cracking down on freedom of the press.
Since June 2020, at least 200 opposition politicians,
activists, and protesters have been taken into custody
on politically motivated NSL-related charges including
secession, subversion, terrorist activities, and
collusion with a foreign country or external elements.
On November 19, 2024, Hong Kong authorities also
sentenced 45 pro-democracy advocates to prison for
their peaceful participation in political activities
protected under the Basic Law of Hong Kong.
There are compelling foreign policy reasons to extend
Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) for an additional
period for those residents of Hong Kong presently
residing in the United States who were under a grant of
DED until February 5, 2025, as well as to defer
enforced departure for other Hong Kong residents who
arrived in the United States subsequent to the initial
grant of DED. The United States is committed to a
foreign policy that unites our democratic values with
our foreign policy goals, which is centered on the
defense of democracy and the promotion of human rights
around the world. Offering safe haven for Hong Kong
residents who have been deprived of their guaranteed
freedoms in Hong Kong furthers United States interests
in the region. The United States will continue to stand
firm in our support of the people in Hong Kong.
Pursuant to my constitutional authority to conduct the
foreign relations of the United States, I have
determined that it is in the foreign policy interest of
the United States to defer for 24 months the removal of
any Hong Kong resident, regardless of country of birth,
who is present in the United States on the date of this
memorandum, except for those:
(1) who have voluntarily returned to Hong Kong or
the PRC after the date of this memorandum;
(2) who have not continuously resided in the United
States since the date of this memorandum;
(3) who are inadmissible under section 212(a)(3) of
the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) (8 U.S.C.
1182(a)(3)) or deportable under section 237(a)(4) of
the INA (8 U.S.C. 1227(a)(4));
[[Page 6750]]
(4) who have been convicted of any felony or two or
more misdemeanors committed in the United States, or
who meet any of the criteria set forth in section
208(b)(2)(A) of the INA (8 U.S.C. 1158(b)(2)(A));
(5) who are subject to extradition;
(6) whose presence in the United States the
Secretary of Homeland Security has determined is not in
the interest of the United States or presents a danger
to public safety; or
(7) whose presence in the United States the
Secretary of State has reasonable grounds to believe
would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy
consequences for the United States.
I further direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to
take appropriate measures to authorize employment for
noncitizens whose removal has been deferred, as
provided by this memorandum, for the duration of such
deferral, including by extending through February 5,
2027, employment authorization for individuals with
current employment authorization under prior grants of
DED for certain Hong Kong residents, and to consider
suspending regulatory requirements with respect to F-1
nonimmigrant students who are Hong Kong residents as
the Secretary of Homeland Security determines to be
appropriate. The Secretary of Homeland Security shall
also provide for the prompt issuance of new or
replacement documents in appropriate cases.
The Secretary of Homeland Security is authorized
and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal
Register.
<GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT>
(Presidential Sig.)
THE WHITE HOUSE,
Washington, January 15, 2025
[FR Doc. 2025-01466
Filed 1-16-25; 2:00 pm]
Billing code 4410-10-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on January 17, 2025.
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