On October 6, 2026, U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and U.S. Representative James P. McGovern (D-MA) — the ranking members of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) — announced the Hong Konger Promise of Refuge Act, companion bills S. 5606 and H.R. 10685, that would give Hong Kong residents living in the United States under Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) a path to lawful permanent resident status and, ultimately, U.S. citizenship.
What the bill would do
The legislation would authorize adjustment of status to lawful permanent resident for certain Hong Kong residents who were granted DED. According to the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation and dimsumdaily.hk, applicants and their immediate families would have one year from enactment to file with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, with protection from removal and work authorization while their cases are pending. People with felony convictions or multiple misdemeanor convictions, or who have returned to Hong Kong or mainland China, would be excluded.
The bill text (S. 5606 / H.R. 10685) sets additional eligibility conditions, including continuous U.S. residence since January 15, 2025 (with an allowance for authorized absences totaling not more than 180 days in the aggregate), bars related to extradition, and provisions governing the effective date of adjustment to permanent resident status.
Why now: DED expires February 5, 2027
Hong Kong residents have been protected from deportation under DED since 2021, when the protection was first granted amid the national-security crackdown that dismantled the city’s freedoms. The Biden administration extended DED in 2023 and 2025, and the Trump administration has implemented it in 2025 and 2026. The current DED period ends on February 5, 2027, and it is not clear whether the Trump administration will extend it again, according to the CFHK Foundation.
The CFHK Foundation estimates that at least 3,000 Hong Kongers are covered by DED.
McGovern urged President Trump to extend DED immediately, warning that if the protection lapses, thousands of people would lose both their protection from removal and their ability to work, according to the sponsors’ official release (merkley.senate.gov).
Supporters and skeptics
The bill is supported by Hong Kong Watch, the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong (CFHK) Foundation, and the Hong Kong Democracy Council, according to the sponsors’ official release.
Hong Kong Watch’s Policy and Strategy Advisor Ray Wong framed the bill as following the precedent Congress set after the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown — the Chinese Student Protection Act of 1992: a closed group, a one-year window to apply, and a real path to permanent status, according to Hong Kong Watch (via the sponsors’ release).
Analysts are skeptical of the bill’s prospects. Introduced by a pair of Democrats, it faces difficult political arithmetic; critics question whether a bespoke statute is necessary when DED is already extended to February 2027 and the Department of Homeland Security retains broad enforcement discretion, according to dimsumdaily.hk (October 9, 2026).
The Free China Movement’s call
The Free China Movement urges Congress to act on this legislation in 2026 — before the DED deadline forces thousands of Hong Kongers into legal limbo. Forced return to Hong Kong means return to a city where national-security laws claim extraterritorial reach and where authorities have publicly named overseas pro-democracy advocates as wanted, with bounties of HK$1 million on key figures. Congress should not let a stopgap executive memorandum be the only thing standing between persecuted Hong Kongers and deportation into the hands of the Chinese Communist Party.
Readers in the United States can contact their senators and representatives and ask them to co-sponsor S. 5606 / H.R. 10685.
Related coverage
- European Parliament Urges Sanctions on Hong Kong Officials Over Rights Crackdown
- “Still Suffering”: CFHK Report Documents Abuse of Hong Kong Political Prisoners
- Durbin Urges Trump to Press Xi for Release of Political Prisoners
Sources
- Sen. Jeff Merkley press release, “Merkley, McGovern Unveil New Legislation to Protect Hong Kong Residents in America from Being Forced to Return to PRC,” October 6, 2026
- CFHK Foundation, “Members of Congress Introduce the Hong Kong Promise of Refuge Act,” October 6, 2026
- dimsumdaily.hk, “US bill offering permanent residence to Hong Kongers faces long odds as scepticism mounts,” October 9, 2026
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