In the past several months I have been informed of a number of disturbing situations which I would like to bring to the attention of my colleagues. Cases where all but one member of the family is given permission. thereby separating families. Numerous reports of individuals Whose applications to emigrate are not -evenbeing accepted by the OVIR office. thereby creating a subgroup of S.ovietjews who cannot even be refused. Manifestationof a newsituation whereby initial reasons for refusal are removed. while--new -bureaucratic obstacles imposed. Although 4.700 Soviet Jews have emigrated through August of this year. there remain many thousands and thousands more whose longterm refusal status lingers on. Ida Nudel and the Slepaks are just two of the more prominent cases. Not as well known is the plight of the Terlitsky family. the Dashevsky family. the Khassinas. the Chernobilskys. and Lev and Lean Shapiro. to name just a few. Each of these Soviet Jews has a legitimate right to family reunification under the Helsinki final act. but are thwarted repeatedly in their efforts to claim that right. We in Congress remain committed to their cause for religious and cultural freedom and human dignity. We must continue to press forward on behalf of these individuals. and the many hundreds of thousands of other Soviet Jews who have indicated the desire to exercise their rights under international agreements.
Keywords matched
emigrate family reunification emigrated