Speech #960267455

Olga. who publish the respected journal. Religion in Communist Dominated Areas. and who lead the Research Center for Religion and Rights in Closed Societies. have aggressively pursued the goal of freedom for the families. The Society of Americans for Vashchenko Emigration (SAVE). led by Mrs. Jane Drake and the Reverend Cecil Williamson. of Montgomery. Ala.. has been instrumental in organizing support for the Vashchenkos and the Chmykhalovs. Amnesty International has recently announced the beginning of a major campaign on behalf of both families. These vigorous efforts demonstrate the importance so many people have given this fight for freedom. But success can only be measured in one waythe granting of exit visas and the subsequent emigration of the families to the United States. It is time for the U.S. Congress to take substantive action on this matter. The legislation which we are introducing today grants permanent resident status in the United States to the seven in the Embassy. The passage of the bill will clarify the status of the families with respect to their residence in the Embassy. Currently. the State Department "refugees" because they are not in a believes that they cannot be considered third country. They cannot be considered as "candidates for asylum" because they are not. according to the State Department. considered to be in the United States. I asked the Immigration and Naturalization Service whether the families might qualify for refugee status while they remain in the Embassy. They reported to me thatThe provisions of the Refugee Act of 1980 are such that they do not permit the two families to obtain refugee status while they are still in Russia. Permanent resident status will extend constitutional protections to the Vashchenkos for the duration of their stay in the Embassy and will expedite their emigration to the United States if the Soviets allow them to receive exit visas. It will allow the United States to make more significant efforts on their behalf. as it establishes a closer relationship between the families and the United States. But this legislation is tightly constructed so that it cannot become a broad precedent for other possible asylum/refugee situations. In the legislation. we specifically state the unique qualities of the situation. which involves two families. who. since 1962. have requested that they be released from Soviet citizenship and who have lived in the U.S. Embassy in Moscow since June 27. We realize that there are thousands of other Soviet citizens who have been unable to emigrate from the Soviet Union. Yet the efforts of the Vashchenkos and the Chmykhalovs are unique because. as a result of their efforts to gain permission to leave the Soviet Union. they were forced to seek refuge in the American Embassy for their personal safety. Now. after 2 years in the Embassy. they have no assurances of their safety in their homeland.