UHRP Welcomes Bipartisan Senate Bill: Preventing the Forced Return of Uyghurs Act 

August 6, 2025 | 9:00 a.m. EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact: Omer Kanat +1 (202) 790-1795, Peter Irwin +1 (646) 906-7722

The Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP) welcomes the bipartisan Preventing the Forced Return of Uyghurs Act (S.2502), introduced by sponsor Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), and co-sponsor Senator John Cornyn (R-TX).

Since 2011, UHRP has published nine research reports on foreign governments’ failure to provide safe haven to potential victims of the Chinese government’s human rights atrocities against the Uyghur people (see UHRP Transnational Repression Research). UHRP warmly thanks Senator Merkley and Senator Cornyn for recognizing the need to impose additional sanctions to deter further deportations, and urges swift passage of the bill. 

“Foreign governments must face accountability for forcibly sending Uyghurs to China. We have clearly documented that returnees will immediately disappear into hellish detention,” said Omer Kanat, UHRP Executive Director. “Uyghurs are severely punished simply for traveling abroad. Those who are deported to China are subject to forced ‘confessions,’ unspeakable abuse and torture, and long-term detention and prison sentences.” 

The bill imposes a visa ban to deny entry to all foreign government officials involved in the forced deportation of Uyghurs to China. In addition, the law would refer these cases to the Treasury Department for possible further human rights sanctions.  

“The forced return of Uyghurs to the PRC is a shameful violation of human rights, and the United States must be steadfast in calling out those foreign officials who capitulate to Beijing’s coercion,” said Senator Merkley in a press release announcing the bill. “The bipartisan Preventing the Forced Return of Uyghurs Act is a strong tool to hold these foreign officials accountable and reaffirm the United States’ role as a global leader on dignity and freedom.”

“The Chinese Communist Party continues to wield its oppressive hand on religious and ethnic minorities, particularly Uyghurs, stripping them of basic human rights and subjecting them to concentration and re-education camps, starvation, torture, and disappearances,” said Senator Cornyn. “Any foreign government official who forcibly returns Uyghurs or members of any religious or ethnic minority group to China—where they would face certain persecution and possibly death—should not be welcome in the United States.”

Read UHRP’s summary of the bill, and visit the UHRP U.S. Legislation Tracker for other bills endorsed by the Uyghur Human Rights Project.