Homeland Security Chief Uses His Authority To Allow Refugees

Michael Chertoff, U.S. secretary of homeland security, says he is using his discretionary authority for foreign nationals to petition the U.S. government for asylum despite providing assistance to terrorist groups under duress.

"The United States of America has a great legacy as a welcoming nation to legitimate refugee and asylum seekers from around the world. Indeed, America has traditionally welcomed more refugee and asylum seekers than any other nation in the world," says Chertoff. "The federal government has upheld that tradition while working hard to eliminate the risk of unintentionally admitting a potentially dangerous and fraudulent petitioner in a post-9/11 world.

"A select group of foreign nationals have been unable to pursue the protections provided by our refugee and asylum laws because they have been uniquely victimized by terrorist groups," Department of Homeland Security boss Chertoff adds. "This group as a whole does not represent a threat to our homeland security. I, therefore, will exercise my discretionary authority to permit consideration of applications for refugee status, asylum or adjustment of status from some who have provided material support to groups while under duress."

Homeland security chief Chertoff says he also decided, in consultation with the U.S. departments of State and Justice, to exercise his discretionary authority under the Immigration and Nationality Act to not apply material support to terrorism provisions to those seeking asylum or adjustment of status that have provided support to eight groups.

Chertoff says those groups are: the Karen National Union and Karen National Liberation Army, Chin National Front and Chin National Army, Chin National League for Democracy, Kayan New Land Party, Arakan Liberation Party, Tibetan Mustangs, Cuban Alzados, and Karenni National Progressive Party.

"The material support to terrorism exemption will apply to individuals who do not represent a public safety or national security risk to the United States," homeland security chief Chertoff says. "In addition to exempting from the material support bar eligible individuals in these two categories, the federal government will also seek legislation from Congress to further expand our discretionary exemption authority. We are deeply committed to ensuring that those who deserve humanitarian relief from our immigration system receive it, and that America continues to be a beacon of hope and protection for the persecuted."


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Iraqi Refugees Urgently Need Help from U.S., Other Nations

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is urging the United States, the European Union and otherleading nations to respond quickly to the plight of refugees who have fled Iraq and to support U.N. efforts to assist them.

"The flight of almost 2 million Iraqi citizens to other countries makes this a refugee crisis of historic proportions," says George Rupp, president of the IRC. "It is urgent that the international community meet the U.N. refugee agency's appeal for $60 million as a first step in addressing the needs of these people."

The funding would assist the nearly 2 million refugees who the U.N. says have fled to Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Turkey, as well as 1.7 million citizens who have been displaced inside the borders of Iraq itself.

The IRC also called on the U.S. government to launch an expandedinitiative to resettle Iraqi refugees in the United States, with a focus onthree groups: the most vulnerable, particularly religious minorities; thosewith relatives already in the United States; and those at special risk because of their association in Iraq with U.S.-led coalition forces or the coalition's civilian contractors. A number of these Iraqis -- including translators and drivers -- have been killed, and the security of their surviving family members has been compromised.

"The U.S. bears a special obligation to such individuals, and they should be afforded protection and, when necessary, the opportunity of expedited resettlement in the United States," says Robert Carey, the IRC's vice president of resettlement.

"Even with an expanded program, only a small portion of refugees from Iraq can be resettled in the United States," Carey says. "So it is urgentthat the U.S. and the international community begin supporting the U.N.refugee agency's efforts on the ground to coordinate aid and ensure thesafety and security of the huge population of displaced Iraqis."

These measuresneed to be undertaken immediately, both for humanitarian reasons and toprevent a destabilization of the region that could be caused by thepresence of massive numbers of desperate refugees, he says.

Founded in 1933, the International Rescue Committee is a global leader in relief, rehabilitation, post-conflict development, advocacy andresettlement services for refugees and others uprooted or affected byviolent conflict and oppression. In the United States, the IRC has resettled thousands of refugees who fled Iraq while it was ruled by SaddamHussein, and provided relief services in Iraq in 1991 after the Gulf War and in 2003 after the invasion that toppled the Hussein regime.


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