Speech #980059438

Mr. President. for more than 2 years. I have been pressing the administration to alter its policies toward Salvadoran and other Central American refugees who are fleeing the escalating violence in the regionespecially toward those who have reached the United States. Despite strong representations from many quarters. especially the voluntary agencies. but also the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. the administration has closed our doors to those Salvadorans who do not want to return to their country during this time of violence and spreading conflict. The administration has turned its back on the past practice of granting such persons extended voluntary departure and has set about upon a policy of systematically deporting and denying asylum to Salvadorans. The evidence of this has been painfully clear for many months. Since I wrote to thenSecretary of State Haig on April 6. 1981. the administration has consistently refused to acknowledge the severity of conditions in El Salvador that would justify the granting of extended voluntary departure. Not surprisingly. this record of indifference toward the plight of Salvadorans came to the attention of the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. Representatives from the Washington liaison office made an extensive tour in October 1981 throughout the Southwest. reviewing the treatment of Salvadorans by the Immigration Service. Their report. which I inserted into the RECORD last February 11. was an extraordinarily discouraging one for those of us who have noted with pride Americas uninterrupted tradition of welcoming and assisting those fleeing violence or persecution. At the time. the UNHCR staff recommended that: UNHCR should continue to express its concern to the U.S.