Speech #1010049550

Mr. President. today I join Senator LAUTENBERG. Senator GRASSLEY. and Senator SIMON in offering an amendment to S. 1160. the fiscal year 1990 Foreign Relations Authorization Act. regarding refugee status. This amendment addresses the pressing issue of refugee status for designated groups of immigrants who are collectively known to be the subjects of political persecution. This amendment will eliminate the subjectivity of our current adjudication procedures. It acknowledges the longheld consensus of the U.S. Government that certain groups of individuals have a wellfounded fear of persecution by their native governments and therefore qualify for refugee status in the United States. Section 1(a) of this amendment directs the Attorney General with the Secretary of State to establish categories of refugee applicants which would identify applicants with a strong likelihood of qualifying for admission as refugees due to well established histories of persecution. pursuant to section 207 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. According to section 1(b) of the amendment. "If a refugee applicant is within any of the categories. he or she may qualify for refugee status by demonstrating acts of mistreatment. or prejudicial actions against him or her personally. * * *t Those aliens included in the categories as defined by the amendment are "Soviet nationals who are Jews or Evangelical Christians or Ukrainian Catholics or Ukrainian Orthodox. and holders of letters of introduction in the Orderly Departure Program in Vietnam. who do not immediately qualify for immigrant visas. and may include other groups of refugee applicants for which such categories would be appropriate." In addition. the amendments provision discussed above applies to admission of refugees during the period between enactment and September 30. 1990. Finally. section 1(d) of the enactment stipulates that "Aliens who fall within the categories established by the act. or by the Attorney General pursuant to this act. and have been denied refugee status between August 15. 1988. and the date of enactment of this act. shall be eligible to reapply for refugee status under the terms of this act." As the son of Russian immigrant parents. I am personally committed to the plight of those seeking to escape political and religious oppression for the personal freedoms afforded American itizens. The U.S. Government. and the Congress particularly. have worked to assist the emigration of the victims of political persecution and for this reason. we should be prepared to respond generously and judiciously to their needs once they become expatriots. Recent changes in Immigration and Naturalization Service [INC] policy regarding processing of refugee status applications. however. have proven inconsistent and subjective. resulting in a disproportionate number of denials. According to the Refugee Act of 1980. applicants for refugee status in the United States must prove that they are the victims of political or religious persecution. Unitl August 1988. the INS granted refugee status to Soviet and East European Jews on a relatively presumptive basis. All members of this group were assumed to qualify for refugee status. In August 1988. however. a tacit change in procedure was adopted by the INS which resulted in a casebycase assessment of these applications. By using the casebycase approach. the INS has been unable to ensure judicious and consistent standards for the processing of applications. According to testimony provided by the General Accounting Office [GAO] before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration. Refugees and International Law on April 6. 1989. approximately 61 percent of applicants at the U.S. Consulate in Moscow and 15 percent of applicants in Rome are being denied refugee status. According to this testimony. the fact that a significant number of these cases have been reversed on reconsideration suggests that "many cases were either not thoroughly or correctly processed" the first time. Soviet Pentecostals. Baptists. Ukrainian Catholics. and Orthodox and Vietnamese emigres suffer similarly from the lack of objective and clear standards for the granting of refugee status. Consequently. thousands are left stranded between the oppression of their own governments and the freedoms offered by the United States. This amendment seeks to eliminate the subjectivity of our current adjudication procedures. It codifies the longheld consensus of the U.S. Government that certain groups of individuals have a wellfounded fear of persecution by their native governments and therefore qualify for refugee status in the United States. This legislation will rectify the dilemma of Soviet the East European emigres who already have left their native countries in expectation of receiving refugee status but who have found themselves homeless and helpless. The amendment we offer today clearly states U.S. policy In reference to these groups and establishes a consistent and fair procedure for the processing of refugee status applications. Accordingly. I urge my colleagues to Join us in supporting this important amendment.