President Carter has signed into law legislation which establishes a comprehensive policy for the admission of refugees to the United States and for the provision of effective resettlement assistance after their arrival.
Rep. Elizabeth Holtzman (D. NY), chair-woman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees, and International Law, who introduced the legislation together with Rep. Peter Rodino, (D.NJ), chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said that the bill “mandates equity in our treatment of all refugees; it brings us into conformity with our international legal obligations; It provides set procedures for admission; and it creates a more effective and less costly method of resettlement.”
The Congresswoman added: “Despite our humanitarian concern for those fleeing persecution, the United States has up to this time had no overall policy to respond to refugee situations as they have arisen. This has not only caused inordinate delays in admissions and led to great human suffering on the part of the refugees themselves, but has made long range planning by states and voluntary agencies involved in the resettlement process difficult. This bill resolves these problems.”
SEVERAL FEATURES PARTICULARLY WELCOME
The American Jewish Committee hailed the bill, known as the Refugee Act of 1980, which was signed by Carter last week. Bertram Gold, AJ Committee executive vice president, pointed to several feature of the legislation that were particularly welcome to the AJ Committee:
The broadening of the definition of the term “refugee” so that it applies no longer just to persons from Communist nations or the Middle East but to all persons outside their native countries “who would face persecution because of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or for holding particular political opinions.”
Gold added that this new definition of refugees, which now includes persons in their own countries whom the U.S. President specifies as subject to oppression, would be helpful to Jews, who “have often found themselves in this condition with small prospects of relief.”
“The section of the law that excludes men and women “who have persecuted others” from coming under its provisions. “This prevents, among others, Nazi war criminals from taking advantage of its provisions,” Gold pointed out.
“The increase in the number of refugees to be allowed into the U.S. each year for the next three fiscal years from 17,400 to 50,000,along with provisions to allow the President, “after carefully defined steps for consultation with Congress,” to augment this number in case of emergencies.
“The setting up for the first time of permanent machinery and procedures for administering resettlement programs for refugees and defining their legal status.
“While there is still debate on the advisability of some of these arrangements, in general they make significant progress in placing refugee administration and funding on a sound and regular basis,” Gold stated.
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