The State Department was accused today by Rep. Elizabeth Holtzman (D.NY) “of continuing failure to cooperate” with the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service in its investigation of Nazi war criminals living in the United States.
Pointing out that the INS had sought unsuccessfully for more than 18 months to obtain the Department’s help in acquiring information on alleged war criminals from the Soviet Union and other East European countries, Rep. Holtzman charged that the Department’s “inaction and indifference is an affront to the Congress and the American people.”
The information is needed, she said, to substantiate or refute charges against the alleged criminals and to assist the INS in determining whether to bring deportation proceedings in about 50 cases referred by the INS. Rep. Holtzman had written to Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger on May 20, objecting to State Department delays on INS requests. In making public today another letter to Kissinger, she attacked a letter from a Kissinger aide and asked the Secretary to respond “personally” to her.
DECISION TERMED ‘PLAINLY DILATORY’
She was referring to a letter from Robert J. McCloskey, Assistant Secretary of State for Congressional Relations, in which he spoke of State Department “initiatives” that consist of “a check on the Berlin Documents Center” and a request to the West German Foreign Office” to locate any available evidentiary material.” Rep. Holtzman called those steps “pointless duplication of INS efforts and further delay on the part of the State Department.”
Noting McCloskey’s statement that the Department would await a “formal reply” from the West German government before deciding “which foreign governments” would be “formally approached,” Rep. Holtzman called this decision “plainly dilatory.” She added: “the only conclusion that can be drawn is that the State Department is making efforts to avoid contacting any Eastern European countries, including the Soviet Union, which may have relevant information about Nazi war criminals.”
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