The U.S. Senate extended a law that has enabled Jewish immigration from the former Soviet Union.
Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) noted the passage last week of an extension of the amendment named for him offering refuge in the United States to victims of religious persecution. The amendment was attached to the $34 billion foreign aid appropriations bill.
The State Department describes the amendment as follows: “Since 1989, the U.S. program has processed nearly 430,000 qualifying refugees under the Lautenberg Amendment, which applies to individuals from specified religious groups (Jews, Evangelicals, and certain members of the Ukrainian Catholic or Ukrainian Orthodox Churches).”
In addition to the former Soviet Union, the amendment applies to Laos and Vietnam.
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