Refugees
By Dimitrina KorchevaGive me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me.
I lift my lamp beside the golden door."
Emma Lazarus (1849-1887)
Inscription on the Statue of Liberty
Historically America is the land of refugees. For many years
people seeking to escape oppression or persecution have sought
refuge in the United States. America is perceived by millions of
people around the world as the land of freedom and liberty. It is
where people come with hope for freedom.
According to U.S. Immigration law there is refugee status and
asylum status. A refugee as defined by the law is a "person who has
fled his or her country of origin because of past persecution or a
well-founded fear of persecution based upon race, religion,
nationality, political opinion, or a membership in a particular
social group. " If the person is outside the United States they may
apply for the U.S. refugee program, while if they are already in the
United States they may be eligible for the U.S. asylum program.
Refugees
Until 1980 people coming from Communist countries or certain
Middle East states were automatically granted refugee status. The
Refugee Act of 1980 changed all that. Provenance is no longer
grounds for refugee eligibility. The emphasis now is on persecution.
Fear of persecution must be well documented. There are annual
numerical quotas for refugees as well as a waiting period for cases
to be resolved by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS).
Each year the United States welcomes a certain number of refugees
based on referrals by the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR) or the U.S. Embassy in the applicant's country of
origin. There are also particular social groups of people in certain
countries that are eligible for refugee status. The U.S. government
periodically determines the criteria that these groups must meet. At
the present time there are such programs in Cuba, Vietnam, and the
former Soviet Union.
There are annual quotas and each case for refugee status is
decided on an individual basis following a personal interview of the
applicant with an INS officer. There are currently three INS
District Offices, located in Rome, Mexico City, and Bangkok.
Interviews are conducted by officers stationed in these offices as
well as in other sub-offices or by officers who travel to different
locations.
The grounds for seeking refugee status must be well documented.
The INS carries out a thorough background check and if it believes
there is sufficient reason gives refugee status to the applicant.
Spouses and unmarried children under the age of 21 are also
eligible.
There are resettlement agencies that help refugees with their
adjustment to life in the United States. They arrange for housing,
initial contacts with government and employment agencies, and making
plans for the future.
Asylum
Unlike refugees who are limited by annual quotas, there are no
quotas for asylum-seekers. Asylum may be requested upon entering the
United States at a port-of-entry (airport, seaport or border
crossing) or within a year upon arrival. As in the case of refugees,
persons seeking asylum must show that if they return they will be
subjected to persecution based upon race, religion, nationality,
etc.
This category has been steadily growing in the past years.
Whereas in 1973 380 persons were granted asylum, in 1995 the total
number was 12,477.
The list of grounds for granting asylum is also constantly
expanding. Whereas ten years ago homosexuality was reason to deny
entry into the United States, today it is grounds for granting
asylum if there is well-founded fear of persecution in the home
country. Domestic violence and fear of genital mutilation for women
have also gained momentum as a claim for political asylum.
Nonetheless, granting asylum to victims of domestic abuse is still
rare. Bo Cooper, INS General Counsel, says: "Under asylum law, the
prisoner of conscience is an easy case. Domestic abuse has been one
of the hardest."
There is also a lot of criticism on the part of anti-immigration
groups for fear that this would give rise to fraudulent claims.
"We're turning political asylum into social asylum," says David Ray
of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR). There is
widespread belief that the system is becoming too lax in allowing
people with fraudulent claims in the country.
Temporary Protection Status
Temporary Protection Status (TPS) is granted to a limited number
of people until an emergency such as natural disaster, civil war or
widespread violence in their home country is over. Created in 1990,
over 400,000 people from various parts of the world have benefited
from TPS provisions. Liberians and El Salvadorans escaping the civil
war, Hondurans and Nicaraguans fleeing the devastation created by
Hurricane Mitch in Central America and most recently Kosovars have
all been granted TPS status.
TPS is intended to give temporary refuge but has set precedents
for seeking permanent residency in the United States. The Nicaraguan
Adjustment and Central American Relief Act of 1997 (NACARA) gave
amnesty to thousands of Nicaraguans, Hondurans, and Salvadorans and
they became eligible for green cards.
It is still not clear how the new U.S. administration will handle
the new challenges posed by the refugee problem. The growth of
regional conflicts will cause displacement of a large number of
people, according to the International Organization for Migration.
On the other hand expanding the concept of what a refugee is
generates criticism on the part of various groups and will in time
create problems with the resettlement of large numbers of people.
"Ambitions and expectations have risen," said Arthur C. Helton, a
specialist in asylum and immigration law at the Council on Foreign
Relations. "The new administration in the U.S. will have to come to
terms with these new realities, and will find itself pushed and
pulled as this complicated set of new humanitarian challenges force
a new kind of statecraft and a new kind of diplomacy."
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