Richardson to Use Parole Authority to Bring 800 Soviet Jews Now in Rome to the U.S. Hail Hails Actio

Eight hundred Soviet Jews in Rome who have been there several months after leaving the USSR with exit permits may have a chance to come to the United. States without the customary delay Attorney General Elliot L. Richardson said yesterday that he would use a special authority under U.S. immigration laws to permit the Jews to come to the U.S. The exercise of the Attorney General’s parole authority is expected to shorten the waiting period from several months to several days. Richardson said most of the 800 Jews have no immigration visas to the U.S. and that they have run into a waiting time of several months because of paperwork in processing their requests to come to the U.S.

Carl Glick, president, and Gaynor I. Jacobson. executive vice-president of United Hias Service, hailed Richardson’s action as in the “finest humanitarian tradition of our government.” In a statement issued in New York, Glick said:

“We have been concerned about the welfare of these refugees who have been under the aegis of our agency in Rome. Many have been waiting here for months unable to work and uncertain about their future. Most do not have U.S. visas. They gathered in Rome after leaving the Soviet Union. They will come here under the U.S. Attorney General’s parole authority and will later be able to apply for permanent status as American citizens. The pathway to a new life has been opened to them and hundreds of thousands of UJA (United Jewish Appeal) dollars, expended by AJDC (American Joint Distribution Committee) in care and maintenance costs, have been saved.”