Speech #980043282

strongly objects to summary exclusion. First. this procedure is a significant curtailment of the rights of aliens available under current law. principally the right to present his or her case for admissibility or asylum at an adversarial hearing before an immigration judge with legal representation. Second. it can lead to the exclusion of aliens who may have bona fide claims to refugee status under our laws and treaty obligations. As the Immigration and Nationality Law Committee of the New York Bar Association points out in its Report on Summary Exclusion: "A refugee who would experience persecution might be turned away from the border under the proposed procedures without any recourse simply because of an inability to articulate the reasons that persecution is feared or to persuade the inspector that the fear is wellfounded or because he or she is afraid to speak to authorities." 10 Quoting from the Handbook on Procedures and Criteria for Determining Refugee Status published in 1979 by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). the New York Bar Association Immigration Committee points to the psychological. language and other barriers which may make it impossible for a refugee arriving at the border to establish his or her bona fides: "It should be recalled that an applicant for refugee status is normally in a particularly vulnerable situation. He finds himself in an alien environment and may experience serious difficulties. technical and psychological in submitting his case to the authorities of a foreign country. often in a language not his own .... (Para. 190) An applicant may not be able to support his statements by documentary or other proof. and cases in which an applicant can provide evidence of all his statements will be the exception rather than the rule. In most cases a person fleeing from persecution will have arrived with the barest necessities and very frequently even without personal documents S.. (Para. 196) "A person. who. because of his experiences. was in fear of the authorities in his own country may still feel apprehensive visavis any authority.