Speech #1000080243

At a Rules Subcommittee hearing. General Accounting Office officials testified that despite the efforts fo the United States Embassy. the Intergovernmental Committee for Migration. and various human rights monitoring organizations to determine the status of Salvadoran returnees. "limited access to individuals or sites affected by civil strife and a reluctance of returnees to make their personal circumstances known to investigators prevented a definitive determination of the returnees situation." GAO went on to say "We believe that we would encounter similar if not greater problems in attempting to make such a determination in Nicaragua. No reception program for returnees is operating in that country and the State Department and the press are reporting that the Nicaraguan Government exercises substantial censorship of speech. press. religion. and other civil liberties." In view of the lack of reliable information about people who have been forcibly returned to El Salvador and the total absence of any data of individuals returned to Nicaragua. we believe that the United States should adopt the humanitarian policy of granting a temporary stay of deportation to Nicaraguans and Salvadorans currently in the United States until we can ascertain what is happening to the people who have been returned to their homelands. It would be. of course. more desirable for the administration to address this issue. but in the face of this administrations refusal to grant extended voluntary departure status to Salvadorans and the continued deportation proceedings for Nicarguans and Salvadorans. we must pursue legislative remedies. Mr. Chairman. it simply is not right to deport individuals without being able to give adequate assurance that no harm will befall them upon their return. There are inadequate followup programs to ensure that people returned to their countries are not subject to violations of their fundamental rights. In light of this. it is only reasonable and right to grant a temporary stay of deportation until we are sure that these individuals will be able to pursue a normal life in their countries upon their return. I ask for your support of this legislation. (From the Miami Herald. July 10. 1987]