| U.S. News

“It is clear that we live in a new world in which our nation must remain vigilant against outside threats,” said Anastasia K. Brown, director of refugee programs for the bishops’ Migration and Refugee Services. “However, we have the capability to protect the American public without sacrificing our traditional role as a safe haven for the oppressed of the world.”

Brown testified May 10, 2006, on refugee protection issues before the U.S. House International Relations Subcommittee on Africa, Global Rights, and International Operations.

The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), which prohibits granting refugee status to anyone who is a terrorist or supports terrorist activity, is needed to ensure national security and to prevent the extension of refugee protection to those who are undeserving of protection, she said.

Yet, recent legislation, including the USA Patriot Act and the REAL ID Act, expanded and broadened this law in ways that have had an unintended, negative impact on bona fide refugees, she added.

The REAL ID Act, for example, expanded the definition of “non-designated” terrorist organization to include a “group of two or more individuals, whether organized or not, which engages in, or has a subgroup which engages in any form of terrorist activity.”

“These changes were ostensibly designed to protect the United States from genuine terrorist threats,” Ms. Brown said. “However, they have had the effect of excluding refugees and asylum-seekers who have been victims of terrorism or brutal regimes from U.S. protection.”

She pointed to the example of many Burmese refugees who have fled religious persecution have been impacted by the Bush Administration delay in interpreting the REAL ID Act because they may have contributed to ethnic or religious organizations that may be associated with sub-groups that oppose the repressive Burmese authorities. Providing any assistance to these organizations can render a person inadmissible under the law, she said.

Brown urged the government take the following four steps to address the needs of refugees around the world so that durable solutions can be found to resolve their plight:

- “The administration and Congress should move immediately to correct the damage caused by recent changes in law relating to material support. These changes were ill-considered.”

- “The United States should increase funding for humanitarian assistance and resettlement assistance to the more than 13 million refugees in the world, including Cubans and Haitians who flee persecution just off U.S. shores.”

- “The United States should take steps to meet the annual refugee ceiling by making systemic changes to enhance and expand the U.S. admissions program.”

- “The United States government should pay immediate attention to special refugee populations, including Cuban and Haitian entrants, North Korean refugees fleeing their oppressive government and Burmese refugees in Southeast Asia.”

Migration and Refugee Services/United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is the largest refugee resettlement agency in the United States. Working with more than 100 Catholic dioceses across the country, it provides resettlement assistance to approximately 15,000 to 20,000 refugees each year, helping them with job placement, housing, and other forms of assistance to ensure their early self-sufficiency.