Speech #1100062183

LEAHY. LEVIN. and LIEBERMAN seeks to accomplish these goals. First. the legislation would create a special category of applicants for refugee status in Iraq. Those eligible for this program. a P2 category for refugees of special humanitarian concern. would be the Iraqis most closely associated with the United States. Iraqis who qualify would be those. 1. who have been employed by or worked directly with the U.S. Government in Iraq. or. 2. who were employed in Iraq by a media or nongovernmental organization based in the United States or by an organization or entity that has received a grant from. or entered into a cooperative agreement or contract with. the U.S. Government. or. 3. who are spouses. children. sons. daughters. siblings and parents of those who worked for or with us. or. 4. who are members of religious or minority communities and have close family members in the U.S. Those eligible would not have to be referred to our Government by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees or a U.S. Embassy. All applicants. however. would need to demonstrate a wellfounded fear of persecution. Applicants would be required to go through recently approved extensive security screening. P2 visas for these refugees would come out of the overall authorized admissions number for the refugee program. currently established at 70.000. That figure is determined every year by the President in close consultation with the Congress. In addition to the new P2 category of refugee applications. the legislation would expand the current U.S. Government program which provides special immigrant visas only to Iraqi and Afghan translators and interpreters. Those eligible for the expanded special immigrant visa program are Iraqis who have been employed by or worked directly with the United States for 1 year in the aggregate since 2003. and need not have served as a translator or interpreter for the military or Department of State. Applicants forg SIV visas would not need to demonstrate a wellfounded fear of persecution. but they would need to meet security requirements. demonstrate that they provided faithful service to our Government. and provide a recommendation or evaluation. The Secretary of State would be required to provide applicants with protection or immediate removal from Iraq if they are in immediate danger. Five thousand of these visas would be available yearly for 5 years. Importantly. our legislation requires the Secretary of State to establish a program for processing P2 refugees and SIV applicants in Iraq and in countries in the region. The Secretary would be required to report to the Congress within 60 days on plans to establish this program. Currently. there is no mechanism for applying for refugee status in Iraq. Those fleeing persecution and seeking refugee status must find their way to Jordan or Syria. locate an official from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. and then be referred to the U.S. Government by the United Nations. Because of the growing violence and risk for those associated with the United States. we need to find a way to address this problem for Iraqis inside Iraq. Our bill does not eliminate the referral system through the United Nations. or any other existing system. but it does create an essential mechanism for direct applications in country. To oversee the Implementation of this new program. the Secretary of State would be required to establish in the Embassy in Baghdad a Minister Counselor for Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons. This senior official would be responsible for overseeing the incountry processing of P2 refugee and special immigrant visa applicants. and would have authority to refer them directly to the U.S. refugee resettlement program. A parallel position would be created in the American embassies in Egypt. Jordan. Lebanon. and Syria to oversee the application process of P2 refugees of special humanitarian concern. Sly applicants would work through regular consular channels in embassies in those countries. Recognizing that the United States can only resettle a small number of the most vulnerable refugees within our borders. the Secretary of State would be required to consult with other countries about resettlement of refugee populations. develop mechanisms in countries with significant populations of displaced Iraqis to ensure the refugees wellbeing and safety. and provide assistance to the countries in doing so. In addition. the legislation would allow Iraqis denied asylum after March 2003 based on changed conditions to file a new petition with an immigration judge to reopen their cases. Those denied asylum. for example. on the grounds that Saddam Hussein is no longer in power and the United States is committed to building democracy in Iraq should be permitted to make their case again before a judge. After 90 days. and annually thereafter. the President would be required to submit an unclassified report to Congress with a classified annex if necessary. assessing the financial. security. personnel. considerations and resources necessary to establish the programs required in the act. After 90 days. the Secretary of Homeland Security would be required to submit a report to Congress outlining plans to expedite processing of Iraqi refugees. including a temporary expansion of the Refugee Corps. and plans to enhance existing systems for conducting background and security checks for Iraqis applying through the program. More than 5 years ago. Arthur Helton. perhaps this countrys staunchest advocate for the rights of refugees wrote. "Refugees matter . .. for a wide variety of reasons . .. Refugees are a product of humanitys worst instinctsthe willingness of some persons to oppress others--as well as some of its best instinctsthe willingness of many to assist and protect the helpless ..In personal terms. we care about refugees because of the seed of fear that lurks in all of us that can be stated so simply: it could be me." A year later. Arthur Helton gave his life for his beliefs. He was killed in Baghdad in 2003 while meeting with U.N.