By Haider Rizvi
UNITED NATIONS, Nov 26 2002 (IPS)

Tens of thousands of refugees seeking asylum in the United States will remain confined to their camps this year, even though Washington says it has opened its doors for them.

Last month, the administration of President George W. Bush agreed to settle 70,000 of the world’s refugees in the United States in the coming year, but activists say it has failed to ensure that all of them will actually be able to step onto U.S. soil.

The ongoing ‘war on terrorism’ coupled with a new set of tough immigration rules is making it much harder for refugees to file applications for asylum in the United States, they say.

In addition to the stepped-up security measures, travel restrictions on government officials who process eligible refugees have also contributed to delays. Typically, a refugee has to wait more than a year to have his or her application processed.

In the one-year period that ended Sep. 30, the United States was supposed to resettle 70,000 refugees, but just over 27,000 people actually entered the country, leaving about 43,000 refugees behind to face harsh and miserable living conditions.

Despite that shortfall, the administration has ignored calls from lawmakers and refugee advocates to increase admissions to at least 100,000 refugees in order to resettle those left behind last year. And while it again set the maximum number of refugees at 70,000 for the current fiscal year that ends Sep. 30, 2003, advocates doubt that number will be reached.

"We are disappointed," said Moloy Wilkinson, a researcher with the U.S. Committee for Refugees, a Washington-based advocacy group. "The administration’s intent is to settle 50,000, not 70,000.”

In a letter to Bush on Sep. 27, 40 members of Congress wrote, "tens of thousands of refugees have been stranded overseas in places of danger or squalid refugee camps. They have not been able to find a new future in the United States during the past year.”

"These unused spaces are in essence like unused lifeboats on a sinking ship," they added.

In its submission to Congress, the administration said it planned to restore refugee numbers to pre-Sep. 11, 2001 levels but that "the challenge of successfully streamlining new security requirements" meant that the increase would not happen in the upcoming year.

The government says it plans to resettle up to 20,000 refugees from Africa, 4,000 East Asians, 9,000 Eastern Europeans, 14,000 from the former Soviet Union, 2,500 from Latin American and the Caribbean and 7,000 from the Middle East and South Asia.

The administration places some 20,000 other admission slots in the "unallocated reserve".

By setting the allocated admissions at 50,000, advocates fear the administration may compromise and settle far fewer refugees than the projected numbers.

"Given President Bush’s pledge in early 2001 to increase refugee admissions by 5,000 a year, this sudden drop in our nation’s acceptance of just a fraction of the world’s most vulnerable people is shocking," says Lynn Tramonte, policy and communication associate for the National Immigration Forum.

The USCR says the number of projected refugees is the lowest resettled in the United States since 1980 – other than last fiscal year when processing was slowed tremendously due to increased security measures following the Sep. 11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington.

"Advocates and Congressional allies alike remain puzzled as to why the Bush administration seems to be turning its back on refugees," says Tramonte.

There are 40 million refugees worldwide, many fleeing violent conflicts in more than 40 countries and territories, says the recent World Refugee Survey published by the USCR.

Last year, industrialised countries received 10 percent more applications for asylum, says a new United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) report. Canada, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Korea and Japan had 30 percent increases, it says.

Nearly two-third of the world’s refugees are in the Middle East and Africa, with the Palestinians being the largest single group of refugees. Other major refugee groups come from Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, Sudan, the former Yugoslavia, Angola, Croatia, Eritrea and Sierra Leone.

Currently some 30 countries are hosting at least 100,000 refugees. Nearly half of all refugees have fled to Iran, Jordan, Gaza/West Bank, Pakistan and the United States.

Excerpt:

By Haider Rizvi
UNITED NATIONS, Nov 26 2002 (IPS)

Tens of thousands of refugees seeking asylum in the United States will remain confined to their camps this year, even though Washington says it has opened its doors for them.

Last month, the administration of President George W. Bush agreed to settle 70,000 of the world’s refugees in the United States in the coming year, but activists say it has failed to ensure that all of them will actually be able to step onto U.S. soil.

The ongoing ‘war on terrorism’ coupled with a new set of tough immigration rules is making it much harder for refugees to file applications for asylum in the United States, they say.

In addition to the stepped-up security measures, travel restrictions on government officials who process eligible refugees have also contributed to delays. Typically, a refugee has to wait more than a year to have his or her application processed.

In the one-year period that ended Sep. 30, the United States was supposed to resettle 70,000 refugees, but just over 27,000 people actually entered the country, leaving about 43,000 refugees behind to face harsh and miserable living conditions.

Despite that shortfall, the administration has ignored calls from lawmakers and refugee advocates to increase admissions to at least 100,000 refugees in order to resettle those left behind last year. And while it again set the maximum number of refugees at 70,000 for the current fiscal year that ends Sep. 30, 2003, advocates doubt that number will be reached.

“We are disappointed,” said Moloy Wilkinson, a researcher with the U.S. Committee for Refugees, a Washington-based advocacy group. “The administration’s intent is to settle 50,000, not 70,000.”

In a letter to Bush on Sep. 27, 40 members of Congress wrote, “tens of thousands of refugees have been stranded overseas in places of danger or squalid refugee camps. They have not been able to find a new future in the United States during the past year.”

“These unused spaces are in essence like unused lifeboats on a sinking ship,” they added.

In its submission to Congress, the administration said it planned to restore refugee numbers to pre-Sep. 11, 2001 levels but that “the challenge of successfully streamlining new security requirements” meant that the increase would not happen in the upcoming year.

The government says it plans to resettle up to 20,000 refugees from Africa, 4,000 East Asians, 9,000 Eastern Europeans, 14,000 from the former Soviet Union, 2,500 from Latin American and the Caribbean and 7,000 from the Middle East and South Asia.

The administration places some 20,000 other admission slots in the “unallocated reserve”.

By setting the allocated admissions at 50,000, advocates fear the administration may compromise and settle far fewer refugees than the projected numbers.

“Given President Bush’s pledge in early 2001 to increase refugee admissions by 5,000 a year, this sudden drop in our nation’s acceptance of just a fraction of the world’s most vulnerable people is shocking,” says Lynn Tramonte, policy and communication associate for the National Immigration Forum.

The USCR says the number of projected refugees is the lowest resettled in the United States since 1980 – other than last fiscal year when processing was slowed tremendously due to increased security measures following the Sep. 11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington.

“Advocates and Congressional allies alike remain puzzled as to why the Bush administration seems to be turning its back on refugees,” says Tramonte.

There are 40 million refugees worldwide, many fleeing violent conflicts in more than 40 countries and territories, says the recent World Refugee Survey published by the USCR.

Last year, industrialised countries received 10 percent more applications for asylum, says a new United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) report. Canada, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Korea and Japan had 30 percent increases, it says.

Nearly two-third of the world’s refugees are in the Middle East and Africa, with the Palestinians being the largest single group of refugees. Other major refugee groups come from Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, Sudan, the former Yugoslavia, Angola, Croatia, Eritrea and Sierra Leone.

Currently some 30 countries are hosting at least 100,000 refugees. Nearly half of all refugees have fled to Iran, Jordan, Gaza/West Bank, Pakistan and the United States.

Excerpt: