Speech #1010044752

With good reason. "trust but verify" is the principle we apply to every other area of our relations with the Soviet Union. The recent tragedy in China is a compelling example of reliance on the goodwill of totalitarian governments to protect the universal rights of their citizens. With this in mind. we must remember that the Soviet Government has yet to codify its new emigration policy into any legal framework. Soviet Jewish activists are correct when they remind us that the door could slam shut at any moment. That is why we have to act now. We made a promise to Soviet Jews. We said to them. "Fight for your principlesif necessary lose your job and go to jail to assert your basic human rights." For our part we held out the hope of refuge in this country for these brave men and women who found their inspiration in our Constitution. That is why I believe that our present policy toward Soviet Jews is not just inhumaneit negates a decade of a successful and widely supported foreign policy13.000 Soviet Jews wait in Italy for the right to enter this country as refugees. Each family has a story to tell of persecution. imprisonment. discrimination. of a job denied. or academic rejectionall for one reason alonethey are Jews. These are people who have uprooted their lives and taken lifethreatening stands for the chance to live in freedom. They have suffered enough and it is ironic that now it is we who are responsible for their continued agony. I am particularly concerned and disnayed at the way in which our own Immigration and Naturalization Service adjudicated and rejects refugee applications. It is a process that can only be described arbitrary and capricious. I hear stories from my own constituents. desperate for reunification with their families. or elderly relatives who having been imprisoned by the KGB and barred for years from leaving the U.S.S.R. now find themselves denied refugee admission to this country without explanation. Thousands of those seeking refugee status are being turned down by the INS. In addition. living conditions for those in Rome deteriorate daily and within a few days the first group of families will be cut off from financial support as private relief organizations begin to run out of money. Madam Chairman. by implementing the legislation offered today by the gentleman from Connecticut. we will begin the process of alleviating the suffering. In restoring presumptive refugee status. we can in one stroke end a cruel process that divides families and reestablish a humane and decent foreign policy that promotes family reunification. We will also reduce the burden on State and local governments as well as private agencies who should not be required to pick up the check for our foreign policy decisions. By passing this bill we will lay the groundwork for establishing a stable. longterm solution for the future and most importantly. we will ensure that the pipeline to liberty remains open and unclogged for those Soviet Jews who choose to escape their homeland.