Speech #990142062

Mr. President. I would like to comment on a recent flurry of statements in the CONGRESSIONAL RECORD concerning the Soviet sailor Miroslav Medvid. and the proposed Senate resolution that would create a special panel on asylum to review our asylum policy to nationals of Communist bloc countries. In response to the proposal for a special panel on asylum. I would refer interested Members to a Dear Colleague letter of December 9. 1985signed by Senator THURMOND. Senator KENNEDY. and myselfwhich takes exception to the creation of such a panel. To summarize. the letter notes that the Subcommittee on Immigration and Refugee Policy has already held two hearings on the Medvid issue: November 5 and November 7. 19A5. These hearings revealed the following: First. INS agents failed to follow established procedures in the initial interview of Mr. Medvid. second. current INS procedures and regulations state that potential asylum cases from Communist bloc countries require immediate notification of INS district officials and the State Department. and if these procedures had been followed the Medvid incident would likely not have occurred. and third. once INS supervisors and the State Department became aware of the incident. Medvid was removed from the Soviet ship and given several other opportunities to declare asylum. I firmly believe these finds shed a sufficient light on this difficult situation to avoid the need for any special panel or other extraordinary investigations. The Judiciary Committees oversight function can deal well with this matter. If there is new evidence. or if there are appropriate witnesses not available to us at the time we held the hearings. please advise the staff of the subcommittee or full committee and we will hold additional hearings. if necessary. Presently the subcommittee is planning a joint hearing with the Subcommittee on Administrative Practice and Procedure to review even more care. fully our procedures for dealing with defectors or asylum seekers from Iron Curtain countries. I would also like to address two allegations raised by some proponents of the Special Panel on Asylum: First. that the second interview with Medvid may have been held with an imposter. and second. that the second interview with Medvid in a United States naval facility was not valid because Soviet personnel were always present. First. we do have photographic and personal observation proof that the same man who was interviewed initially by INS agents was also interviewed by State Department personnel 4 days later on U.S. soil. The Border Patrol agents took a picture of Mr. Medvid during the first interview. and this picture was later used by State Department personnel to identify Medvid when he was taken from the Marshal Kontev for a second interview. In addition. the ships captain provided State Department personnel with Medvids passport. and this picture on the Soviet passport was also used to verify that they were taking "the right person" to United States facilities for a second interview.