KGB harrassment of religious minorities. and pervasive and cultural antiSemitism. to name a few examples. For those who cannot prove a "fear of persecution". their option is to go to Israel or enter the United States under Attorney General Thornburghs "parole authority". Our role is to create and then implement a fair set of immigration laws. Congress has created those laws. but the administration is failing to implement them. It is unethical. heartwrenching. and just plain bad politics that. after pressuring the Soviets to let these people go. and encouraging Soviet Jews to come to America. we are not allowing them in as refugees. The Attorney Generals parole authority is a feeble attempt to assuage our outrage and the outrage of concerned human rights activists worldwide. Another tragic twist in this story is that the INS is now in the business of separating families. For years we complained when officials in the Soviet Union provided one member of a family with an exit visa while declining the application of another family member. Yet here is our own Government continuing the sqme practice by giving some people refugee status visas while rejecting their children. parents. siblings and cousins. How can this random system of exclusion be justified? How could some people be subjected to persecution while their relatives living under the same roof were not? It is pathetic that this State Department has managed to mangle one of the few Issues which has traditionally enjoyed unequaled support from every sector of public and private life. We must provide additional funds and increase the refugee ceiling. We cannot be silent on this issue. We must channel our outrage and force the administration into action. and thereby. once again. make a difference.
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visa immigration visas refugees refugee