title:
Abandoning the persecuted victims of terrorism and oppression barred from asylum
creator:
Human Rights First (Organization)
publisher:
Human Rights First
date:
Record modified: 2011-09-08
date:
Record created: 2008-07-30
date:
Issued: 2006
date:
Available: 2006
date:
2006
description:
Title taken from title screen (viewed October 18, 2006).; Includes bibliographical references (p. 21) and appendix.; Harvested from the web on 8/8/07.
description:
Extent: 21 p. : digital, PDF file.
description:
Abstract: The United States has a long history of providing safe haven to refugees escaping political oppression and religious persecution in their homelands. But thousands of vulnerable refugees have been prevented from receiving the protection of this country due to overly broad immigration law definitions contained in the USA PATRIOT Act and the Real ID Act of 2005. These provisions bar from asylum or resettlement anyone who has provided what the law terms "material support" to "terrorist organizations." The definitions of these terms in the immigration laws, however, and their application by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Justice (DOJ), are so exceedingly broad that the bar is, tragically, affecting refugees who do not support terrorism at all. These refugees include: women who were raped and enslaved by armed militias in Liberia; victims of extortion forced to pay armed terrorists in Colombia to protect their lives and their children; and Cubans who supported a group that took up arms against Fidel Castro in the 1960s. Many of these refugees are actually victims of terrorist violence and extortion in places like Colombia, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. Others have provided support to pro-democracy groups with armed wings that have resisted repressive regimes in places like Burma and Cuba, while some supported groups that fought alongside U.S. forces during the war in Vietnam. The U.S. government does not consider these groups to be terrorist organizations in any other context, but because these groups have used arms, they are categorized as "terrorist organizations" under these immigration law provisions. The material support bar has crippled the U.S. resettlement program, a unique private-public partnership through which local communities and church groups across the country assist in welcoming refugees. Thousands of refugees have been prevented from resettling in safety in the United States because of these statutory provisions. Not only are refugees overseas at risk, but so too are many refugees who have already fled to the United States and applied for asylum in this country. This report addresses the impact of the material support bar on the U.S. asylum system and on refugees who have escaped from persecution and sought asylum in the United Sates. These refugees have had their asylum requests denied or relegated to a long-term administrative limbo. The time that they have spent in immigration jails -- or separated from their families -- has been prolonged by months or even years. At the end of this report, we have included profiles of these refugees and others, who -- as outlined in this report -- have had their requests for asylum denied or put on indefinite administrative hold because of the material support bar. While refugees continue to suffer, the various agencies and arms of the U.S. government that are responsible for safeguarding the persecuted have failed to demonstrate the kind of coordination, leadership and commitment that is needed to resolve this problem.
subject:
United States. Dept. of Homeland Security.; United States. Dept. of Justice.; Refugees--Legal status, laws, etc.--United States.; Refugees--Government policy--United States.; Asylum, Right of--United States.; Political refugees.; Religious refugees.; Terrorism.; Emigration and immigration law--United States.
relation:
OCLC No.: 73498280
relation:
Mode of access: World Wide Web.; System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader.
type:
application/pdf
type:
Text
type:
PDF-1.5
source:
http://www.humanrightsfirst.info/pdf/06925-asy-abandon-persecuted.pdf
language:
eng
rights:
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