Two California congressmen, Duncan Hunter (Rep.) and Juan Vargas (Dem) have introduced a bill in Washington that would encourage members of religious minorities persecuted by the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq to enter the United States as refugees. The bipartisan bill would give preference to the immigration of Assyrian, Chaldean and Syrian Christians, Yazhidis and other non-Muslim groups to the US. Democrat Congressman John Conyers of Michigan presented the bill to the floor of the House saying the legislation addressed the “urgent need for America to provide a safe haven for the persecuted people". The largest concentration of Middle Eastern Christians outside of the Middle East are in the United States, concentrated in Detroit and San Diego.