Speech #980266283

Unfortuately. it was passed over. It was during his 6 years in Hong Kong. his last career post. that Joe Sureck was given the opportunity to forcefully display his true mettle and his deep devotion to the interests of the United States. The INS District Director for the Far East has jurisdiction over a vast geographical area. involving a large number of immigration functions. However. overshadowing everything else. is the U.S. refugee program which is now mainly centered in Thailand. Since this program skyrocketed in 1975. following the fall of Saigon. over 700.000 refugees from Southeast Asia have been allowed to enter the United States for permanent settlement. Once here. the U.S. Government has provided them with financial and other forms of assistance. running into the billions of dollars. Notwithstanding our Nations humanitarian response and unparalleled generosity toward the plight of the refugees in Southeast Asia. there are those who are never satisfied. They are the ones who have mounted a campaign to maintain the refugee flow to the United States at high numerical levels regardless of whether the eligibility standards written into the Refugee Act of 1980 are met. Those standards do not include socalled economic refugeesindividuals who may have suffered from poverty or harsh living conditions but who have not suffered persecution as defined in the statute. However. the refugee industry has been determined to classify as many people as possible as persecuted refugees even though many only qualify as economic refugees with status no greater than other prospective immigrants under the law. Joe Sureck has stood fast against the powerful refugee industry lobby operating from the private sector. against the dogooders in the State Department. and even against some in the Department of Justice and INS who have sought to interpret the law to fit their own conceits and predilections. For seeking to carry out the intent of Congressto execute the Refugee Act fairly and honestlyhe has been repeatedly attacked and frequently shunted aside. Yet. by sheer force of his determination and ability. he has won some battles. In so doing. he has saved the American taxpayer many millions of dollars which otherwise would have been expended on persons who were ineligible to come here as refugees. Futhermore. he has helped preserve the refugee program for those who are truly persecuted rather than turning it into a backdoor immigration program that will eventually lose its credibility and support. The Federal Government needs more civil servants of the caliber of Joe Sureck. He deserves our heartfelt thanks.