Speaker. I would once again like to bring my colleagues attention to the plight of Soviet Jewish refuseniks. In recent months the situation of Soviet Jews who wish to emigrate has grown worse. Not only have Soviet officials continued to harass Jews who have applied to emigrate. not only do they continue to turn down the vast majority of exit visa applications. but they have now also begun to enforce. selectively. an "immediate family" requirement. Simply put. this rule states that no one may apply for an exist visa unless they have immediate family members living in the state to which they desire to emigrate. Immediate family is defined very narrowly. This has had a devastating effect on Jewish emigration. In the first 9 months of 1980 emigration is down over 40 percent from 1979 levels. The new requirement has created whole new groups of people who are denied even the hope of emigration. They are. in a very real sense. prisoners in the Soviet Union. I am confident that this and future Congresses will continue to work for a relaxation of Soviet emigration policies. I recently joined over 60 of my colleagues in writing to Soviet Chairman Leonid Brezhnev asking for a change in current Soviet policy. and to Griffin Bell. chairman of the U.S. delegation to the Madrid Conference on the Helsinki Accords. asking that he continue to press the Soviets on this issue. I commend my good friend from Maryland.
Keywords matched
emigrate emigration visa