Speech #970087054

governments generally do not share some basic assumptions underlying American policy towards the Indochinese refugees. notably that it is important to provide a noncommunist alternative to the peoples of Indochina.-Indochinese Refugees. a study for the Joint Emonomic Committee. Congress of the United States." VI. There are strong indications that the U.S. refugee program is really a misguided foreign policy which hopes to undermine Communist regimes In Indochina. "Senator Walter Huddleston. a Kentucky Democrat. has provided the Senate Foreign Relations Committee with proof. he says. of State Department pressure resulting in U.S. acceptance of thousands of Southeast Asian immigrants who dont qualify for entry.... He charges that State officials encouraged the Justice Department and the Immigration and Naturalization Service to bend laws to admit qualified economic refugees ... Other critics also contend that the State Department entices refugees to magnify an impression of Third World citizens fleeing communist regimes.-Newsweek. August 17. I... the continuing exodus today is being deliberately encouraged. Given Washingtons failure thus far to respond to a dramatically changed situation. the intentions behind this encouragement are becoming more difficult to deny: it is partly to leech ablebodied people away from the task of reconstructing Vietnam. but mostly to provide living evidence of the hatefulness of the oppressive Hanoi regime and of its disastrous economic failuresThe U.S. and the Refugees. From Charity to Synicism. by Derek Davies. Far Eastern Economic Review. "One may even think that some bureaucrats in the State Department are of the opinion that the Indochinese exodus is a good thing. and should be discreetly encouraged. This prevents the stabilization of communist regimes in Indochina. it provides a useful source of information about these countries. and seems to show to the world that the Indochinese continue to vote with their feet. It is doubtful that the HCR is well advised when it uncritically accepts the assumptions of these people. This creates a dangerous precedent for other refugees and mass migration".-Selon Un Rapport Interne Du HCR. Le Monde Newspaper. July 8. VII. The flow of "refugees" in Southeast Asia Is expected to continue for an indefinite time at a very high level. which means that the U.S. must decide if It will continue to accept hundreds of thousands for resettlement. "A new surge of Vietnamese boat people. nearly double the rate early this year. has begun to flood Southeast Asia. raising concern that many of the problems that dogged the last great refugee wave in 1979 may reoccur."-"Surge of Boat People Hits S.E. Asia." the Washington Post. May 19. 1981. "the prospect of an ongoing. substantial exodus strongly underlines the urgency for humane measures to deter the flow of increasing numbers of refugees whose reasons for fleeing derive more from normal migration motives than from fear of perscution."The Indochine e Refugee Situation." report to the Secretary of State by the Special Refugee Advisory Panel. August 12. 1981. VIII. Refugee assistance prorams funded by the United States are costing taxpayers billions of dollars at a time when domestic assistance programs are being substantially cut back. "The total cost borne by federal. state end local governments for refugee assistance abroad and in this country is estimated to be $1.7 billion for fiscal year 1980 and $2.112 billion for 1981. (This report is now outdated. In FY 1980 the total cost was approximately $2 billion and it is estimated that the cost for FY 1981 will be over $2.5 billion.)-Preidential Report on Total Cost of U.S. Refugee Assistance "Each month. California officials estimate. from 5.000 to 6.000 Southeast Asian refugees moe to this state. and more than half seek public financial assistance. "... officials say that they fear a perman""t. .n""ls1 of welfare-.enendent refurgees is developing that could present econo -ic problems ror communiti~s in the futire -"Welfare Dependencv of -ndochinese Refugees Worries California Officials." the New York Times. July 7. 1981..