Thirteen voluntary refugee relief agencies, including HIAS, the Hebrew immigrant Aid Society, have joined the list of organizations urging the U.S. government to issue visas to 3,000 potential emigrants stranded in the Soviet Union.
They have been stranded since last month, when the U.S. Embassy in Moscow suspended its visa program for refugees until Oct. 1.
The latest appeal was made in a letter to U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz by the heads of the 13 agencies belonging to International Action.
The letter expresses the agencies’ “deep concern” over the suspension, which the U.S. Embassy in Moscow said was the result of a shortfall of funds earmarked for refugee resettlement.
The Inter Action letter applauds the State Department’s decision to issue “emergency” visas to 400 Soviets.
But it says the suspension of the visa program for 3,000 others sends an “unwelcome message” to Soviet leaders and to the refugees themselves that “our government is willing to trade the prospect of freedom, for which it has fought so hard, for budgetary concerns.”
As other groups, including the American Jewish Committee, have done in recent weeks, the letter urges the State Department to allocate enough funds to make up for the shortfall or to request supplemental appropriations from Congress, and to secure the necessary funds for the next fiscal year.
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