13317: Chamberlain posts (news item): Haitian refugees in US (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>

   By GEORGE GEDDA

   WASHINGTON, Oct 1 (AP) -- Citing American humanitarian obligations, Sen.
Edward M. Kennedy urged the Bush administration Tuesday to increase refugee
admissions for 2003 above the planned 70,000 level.
   Kennedy, D-Mass., commented in a statement after he and Sen. Sam
Brownback, R-Kan., discussed refugee admissions with Secretary of State
Colin Powell. Both lawmakers are members of the Senate Judiciary Committee,
which monitors refugee policy. Powell also met with members of the House
Judiciary Committee.
   Although the administration had recommended that 70,000 refugees be
admitted during the 2002 fiscal year that ended Monday, only 27,000
refugees were actually admitted, partially because of bottlenecks caused by
more stringent security requirements imposed after the Sept. 11 terrorist
attacks.
   There also was a sharp drop in the number of refugees admitted from
Afghanistan. Many Afghans slated for resettlement in the United States
instead were able to safely return to their country after U.S. forces drove
the Taliban rulers from power last November.
   Kennedy said the administration "must find ways to restore refugee
admission levels and identify the most vulnerable refugee populations."
   Another problem, he said, is that the government often does not reach
its admissions target. A combined total of 106,000 refugees could have been
admitted over the past decade but weren't, he said.
   A State Department paper on proposed 2003 admissions said that, in
addition to new security requirements, the total for 2002 was brought down
by fraud or misrepresentation. Specifically, claims by thousands of
refugees to have family ties with U.S. residents turned out to be false,
the paper said. Such misrepresentations occurred in 40 percent of approved
family reunion cases, it said.
   After their meeting with Powell, Kennedy and Brownback complained about
the disparities in the treatment of Haitian refugees and refugees from
other countries at a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing.
   The Bush administration changed its policy on Haitian refugees in
December to keep asylum seekers behind bars until their cases are decided,
a change intended to discourage a feared mass exodus from the Caribbean
nation.
   A "major concern is whether this detention policy is discriminatory,"
Kennedy said. "It appears to be a policy based on the national origin of
the detainee, with no regard for the person's individual record or
circumstances. The policy applies only to Haitian asylum seekers. Similarly
situated asylum seekers of other nationalities are routinely released. "
   Brownback also called for the policy to be changed. "I really hope it is
time we can move past this mistreatment of one group and move on,"
Brownback said.