It was faithful to our national tradition and our responsibilities under international law. I am deeply disappointed that the Senate conferees held out so firmly against a provision which enjoyed significant support from the House managers. Those who argued against the amendment primarily cited the Refugee Act of 1980. and argued that the way to handle this issue was through the asylum procedures under the act. However. this is not a satisfactory answer. First asylum is intended to deal with individuals who have an individualized fear of persecution. EVD is the more traditional means to deal with people whose fear is more generalized. based on instability. war. or violence in their homelands. Also it would appear that the asylum process has become entirely politicized. A preliminary GAO study. released only today. indicates that approval rates for individuals who apply for asylum. based on arrest. imprisonment. threats to life. or torture vary enormously. and reflect a correlation to our relationship to the respective governments. The current approval rates are 4 percent for Salvadorans and 80 percent for Poles.
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asylum process Refugee