Speech #1020233359

Mr. President. I am pleased that the fiscal year 1993 Foreign Operations appropriations bill includes a 2year extension of a provision in current law which facilitates the granting of refugee status for certain historically persecuted groups. The law is commonly referred to as the LautenbergMorrison refugee law. since Representative MORRISON and I were its prime sponsors. I greatly appreciate the assistance of Representative BERMAN. who was the prime sponsor of the 2year extension provision InI the House this year. I also appreciate the assistance of Senator BIDEN. who championed this 2year extension in the Senate Foreign Relations Committoe. The existing law formally recognizes that the historical experience of certain persecuted religious minorities in the Soviet Union and Indochina. and a pattern of arbitrary denials of refugee status to members of these minorities. entitles them to a relaxed standard of proof in determinations about whether they are refugees. The law lowers the evidentiary standard required to qualify for refugee status for Soviet Jews. Soviet Evangelical Christians. religiously active Soviet Ukrainian Catholics and Orthodox. and certain categories of Vietnamese. Laotians. or Cambodians. Once a refugee applicant proves he or she is a member of one of these groups. he or she only has to prove a credible basis for concern about the possibility of persecution. Refugee applicants normally must prove a wellfounded fear of persecution. Legislation to extend the law for 2 years has been endorsed by the Council of Jewish Federations. the U.S. Catholic Conference. the American Jewish Committee. the Ukrainian National Association. Inc.. the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society. the National Conference on Soviet Jewry. the Union of Councils for Soviet Jews. the New York Association for New Americans. the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service. and World Relief. This law has had a real and positive impact on refugee adjudication. This liberalized standard is still necessary because conditions for the persecuted groups in the former Soviet Union and Indochina still exist. and in some cases. have worsened. While Soviet Jews have been permitted to emigrate in much greater numbers. those remaining face a greatly increased threat to their wellbeing. AntiSemitism and heightened harassment. violence. and public expressions of hatred by antiSemitic groups like Pamyat are still occurring. and in some areas. are on the rise. While national policies may have changed. many local officials harbor old hatred for those historically persecuted groups.