Mr. Speaker. H.R. 2022 is a bill to enable the expeditious emigration of Soviet Jews and Evangelical Christians from the Soviet Union by establishing a legislative presumption that these groups are subject to persecution in the Soviet Union and are. therefore. eligible for refugee status. The bill also makes this presumption about certain classes of individuals in Indochina who are subject to persecution in their countries. In 1987. after years of blocking the emigration of Soviet citizens. primarily Jews and Evangelical Christians. the Soviet Union made an about face and significantly increased the numbers of their citizens who were allowed to leave. There numbers are continuing to grow. but due to a change in policy established by the last administration. each and every one of these emigres is required. when making application for refugee status. to establish individually that he or she has been persecuted or can demonstrate a wellfounded fear of persecution. This policy has resulted in a large backlog of cases for those individuals who are seeking refugee status. The intent of this legislation is to reverse the policy of the last administration in order to allow these people to immigrate to the United States as refugees. Mr. Speaker.
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immigrate emigration refugee refugees