Mr. Speaker. a Soviet sailor who jumped ship and who may have been seeking asylum in this country. is returned to his ship by United States immigration agents and the ensuing newspaper and TV outcry echoes in our ears. Attorney General Meese is reportedly outraged and the President orders an investigation. One could wish that the President and the media had shown the same outrage and concern for the hundreds of Haitians and Central Americans who have been summarily deported or imprisoned by that same Immigration Service in response to their request for asylum here from political persecution in their native lands. In fact. today 11 individuals are on trial in Arizona for their efforts to provide sanctuary for Salvadorans seeking asylum. and hundreds of Haitians are still confined in our Federal detention centers. This recent concern for the Soviet sailor and the tactical silence on the plight of the Haitians and Central Americans highlights and is indicative of the discriminatory treatment we accord refugees from Third World countries who seek asylum on our shores. Our concern and the protection of our laws should extend to all who seek a safe haven here from political persecution. And that law should and must be applied to all in the nondiscriminatory and humane spirit in which it was written.
Keywords matched
Immigration seek asylum immigration deported seeking asylum refugees