Hias Leery of U.S. Offer to Raise Soviet Refugee Quota by 6,000 Slots

The United States is making a one-time offer to increase the refugee quota for Soviet Jews, Armenians and Pentecostals by 6,000 slots.

But because of the strings attached, the main private agency helping Soviet Jews come to the United States is lukewarm about the offer.

In negotiations between the executive branch and Congress in September, the State Department said it had enough funds to resettle 84,000 refugees worldwide for the fiscal year beginning last Oct. 1. But the Department of Health and Human Services said it had enough money to cover resettlement costs for 90,000 refugees.

Sheppy Abramowitz, the State Department’s refugee affairs spokeswoman, attributed the quirk to different refugee ceilings approved by various congressional committees.

The State Department wants to make the additional 6,000 slots available to Soviet emigrants. But it is seeking assurances from private groups that they will bear the State Department portion of the costs.

The department covers the refugees’ transportation, processing and initial resettlement costs. Health and Human Services takes care of long-term resettlement costs, such as Medicaid.

Three groups in particular will have the first crack at using the 6,000 slots, Abramowitz said: the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, which helps Soviet Jews; World Relief, which helps Soviet Pentecostals; and Tolstoy, which helps Armenians.

Karl Zukerman, executive vice president of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, said Monday that the State Department has approached his group for months about the idea.

HIAS told the government it is “very interested but not prepared to make any commitments” until U.S. refugee funds are made available to all Soviet Jews who want to enter the United States as refugees, Zukerman said.

Officials of both Jewish organizations and the U.S. government believe the number of Jews allowed to leave the Soviet Union this year will far exceed the U.S. refugee quota for the USSR.

“If we have to get 30,000 Jews into the United States, we are not going to commit to deal with 6,000 unless we know that for the rest of them” there is enough money, Zukerman said.

Until an “overall deal” is made, HIAS’s response to the plan was “No, thank you,” said Zukerman.

HIAS is awaiting reaction on Capitol Hill to a bill introduced March 1 in the Senate that would double the U.S. refugee ceiling for Soviets this fiscal year from 25,000 to 50,000 and provide an additional $100 million.