Mr. Chairman. I must oppose H.R. 3844. the Haitian Refugee Protection Act. This legislation is misnamed. mistimed. and misguided. First. Haitian refugees are already protected by current immigration law and by the actions of the U.S. Government. Congress has established guidelines for determining refugeesguidelines that are in accord with the accepted international standard: A genuIne refugee must have a "well founded fear of persecution on account of race. religion. nationality. membership in a particular social group. or political opinion." This standardwritten into U.S. law by Congressis individual. After prescreening. more than 5.000 Haitians have been allowed to pursue their individual claims of asylum. Haitians with credible claims of refugee status are already receiving the full protection due them under U.S. law. Second. we are considering this legislation just as major progress toward a political solution to the Haitian crisis has been achieved. Under the leadership of the Organization of American States. with strong support from the United States. the democraticallyelected President and parliamentary leaders reached agreement this weekend on a path to resolve Haitis political future.
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Refugee immigration refugees refugee refugeesguidelines