U.S. REFUGEE PROGRAMS, 1981 FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 1980 U.S. SENATE, COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY, The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 9:30 a.m., in room 2228, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Senator Edward M. Kennedy, chairman, presiding. Present: Senators Kennedy, Metzenbaum, Thurmond, Cochran, Simpson, and Dole. Senator KENNEDY. The Committee on the Judiciary will come to order. OPENING STATEMENT BY SENATOR KENNEDY We meet today in the shadow of a refugee crisis that is global in its scope and staggering in its dimension of human misery. Over 13 million men, women, and children are refugees in the world today-homeless and helpless, destitute, totally dependent on others for the assistance essential to preserve life itself. There are more refugees today than at any other time in modern history. In the past 3 years, the world total has grown by more than 2,000 new refugees each day. In the past 5 months, more than 2 million new refugees have fled war, famine, or persecution. Time and again, the mounting tide of refugees has overwhelmed the planet's ability to respond. America can be proud of its humanitarian heritage. More than any other nation, this country has responded nobly to the call for help from refugees in every corner of the world. How, in this difficult period in our effort to deal with the current crisis, a new law-the Refugee Act of 1980, approved by Congress and signed into law by President Carter earlier this year-is providing important new tools to accomplish our goals. In part, the purpose of this hearing is to explore what action the United States will take to help refugees under this far-reaching legislation. But the task is not ours alone. If real progress is to be made, America's voice is not the only voice that must be heard. The refugee crisis is an international tragedy requiring international action. If massive human suffering is to be prevented, other nations in the world community must also work, and work together, to meet the need. (1) Last year, this committee issued a Library of Congress report calling for an international conference on refugees as the most effective possible step toward the goal of concerted action by the world community. Today, I renew that call for an international conference, to help strengthen the mandate and authority of such crucial agencies as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. I urge our Government and others to examine the recommendations in the committee's report for additional significant steps essential to improve the coordination of our global effort in behalf of refugees. Today's witnesses will add to our understanding of the complex aspects of the issue. Among the issues facing us are a number of pressing questions. We need to know what more can be done to cope with the continuing tragic flow of refugees in Indochina, and what more our diplomacy can do to improve conditions, especially in Cambodia. We need to know why Jewish refugees are suddenly encountering new difficulties in leaving the Soviet Union. We need to know what we can do to alleviate the plight of Afghanistan refugees in Pakistan, and to respond to the desperate pleas for food and relief in Somalia, Sudan, Uganda, and elsewhere in Africa. These well-known issues are only the beginning of our concern. In many other regions of the globe, there are refugees living in fear and desperation. Their plight demands action from us all. Their faces are pressed against our windows, and they are waiting for our answers. INTRODUCTION OF WITNESSES This morning's hearing is the second under the new terms of the Refugee Act of 1980, signed into law March 17 of this year. Section 207 (e) requires that appropriate consultation shall be undertaken by the President with the Congress on the admission of refugees and allocation of refugee admissions, and the discussions in person by the designated Cabinet level representatives of the President, with members of the Committee on the Judiciary, will be undertaken. In fulfillment of that provision, we are pleased to welcome Attorney General Benjamin Civiletti and Ambassador Victor Plamieri, who is the U.S. Coordinator for Refugee Affairs. They are accompanied by Roger Winter, who is Director of the Office of Refugee Resettlement, Department of Health and Human Services; Doris Meissner, Deputy Associate Attorney General; David Crosland, who is the Acting Commissioner of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, and Christian Holmes, Director of the Cuban/Haitian Task Force, Department of State. Are there others? Mr. PALMIERI. Mr. Chairman, there are others. With your permission, may I introduce on my right John Negroponte, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs; at the far end of the table is Frank Loy, Director, Bureau for Refugee Programs. Senator KENNEDY. Very good. We welcome all of you. And we are particularly glad to welcome the Attorney General of the United States. We have your testimony, and we would be glad to hear it. We know you are here for a limited period of time Senator COCHRAN. Mr. Chairman, may I put my statement in the record? I know we do not want to hold up the Attorney General. With your permission, I have a statement that ought to be included in the record at this point. Senator KENNEDY. Excuse me. I apologize. Your remarks will be included. OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR COCHRAN Senator COCHRAN. Mr. Attorney General, I join in welcoming you, Ambassador Palmieri, and the others who are with you, to the Judiciary Committee. You are here at a critical time. There has been a complete failure so far by this administration to cope with the problems of refugees and illegal immigrants. I hope you can give us some reason or optimism that the implementation of the Refugee Act of 1980 will bring about a more coherent and praiseworthy handling of our policy. As a matter of fact, it has been extremely difficult to ascertain exactly what the policy of this administration is in this area. For over a year there has not even been anyone in the position of Commissioner of the Immigration and Naturalization Service. What is the explanation for such a failure of leadership? OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR THURMOND Senator THURMOND. I welcome this opportunity for the American public to find out just exactly what this administration is doing to handle the present refugee situation. I recognize the complexity of this problem and the difficulties inherent in finding a solution. In my opinion, it is imperative that there be a clear plan and procedure to deal with this problem. The administration has not been able to propose a definite plan for handling the problems with refugees that we have seen in the past few months. I hope that you will be able to explain to us today what you have done, what you plan to do, and why administration has followed the particular course it has. As you know, I have been fairly critical of the administration's handling of the refugee situation in recent months. I would like to be able to change my view on that and in turn assure the American people that everything is being done to curb the Cuban refugee flow and at the same time deal effectively with those who are here. I look forward to your testimony and any solutions you may have in regard to this problem and to refugee matters generally. OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR DOLE Mr. DOLE. Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to participate in today's hearing and welcome Attorney General Civiletti, Ambassador Palmieri, and our other distinguished witnesses. Today's hearing is the second hearing of its kind under the new refugee act. It is a central part of the consultation process between the President and the Congress which is required under the act. This hearing is part of the effort of Congress to reassert a more dominant role in making immigration and refugee policy. I feel that such hearings, when conducted vigorously, serve a vital purpose not only in setting our refugee policy, but in giving American citizens, through us, their elected representatives, some avenue for making their concerns known to the Government officials who administer our immigration and refugee system. And as we all know, Americans are increasingly concerned about our immigration and refugee policy, or our seeming lack of a policy. The aliens we admit for residence in this country, whether they intend to become citizens or not, must be treated with the dignity due all human beings, and under our law, must be given the majority of rights due to American citizens. And certainly this Senator would not argue that they should be deprived of help if in need. But what concerns Americans, and what we cannot fail to recognize, is the effect of the uncontrolled admission of aliens into this country on the well-being of this country for all who are here, whether they are established citizens or new immigrants attempting to make this land their home. With our economy in recession and unemployment rising, we as Members of Congress have the responsibility for making the hard judgments about how many aliens, whether immigrants or refugees, we allow to enter the United States for permanent residence. And of course, the really fundamental problems do not necessarily involve the refugees or immigrants who are in need of the humanitarian services our State, local, and Federal governments provide. Even the newly admitted alien who can survive without such assistance contributes to most major problems we face just by virtue of the fact of being here in this country. Whether viewed as another individual seeking work in a job market plagued by unemployment or as another user of our depleting energy resources, a new immigrant compounds many of our major economic and social problems. Furthermore, whatever logical analysis we wish to make about the problems resulting from the admission of new immigrants or refugees, we are talking about the fate of human beings, many of whom have close relatives already here, and many of whom, as in the case of refugees, are in dire plight. This Senator doesn't claim to have all the answers. But we cannot afford to be cavalier about these problems. The American people will not let us shirk the hard decisionmaking that is necessary. I look forward to the testimony of all the witnesses and hope that we will soberly address all the tough issues which now must be confronted. Senator KENNEDY. Mr. Civiletti, please proceed. PANEL OF ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALS: STATEMENT OF HON. BENJAMIN CIVILETTI, ATTORNEY GENERAL, ACCOMPANIED BY AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE VICTOR PALMIERI, U.S. COORDINATOR FOR REFUGEE AFFAIRS, DEPARTMENT OF STATE; ROGER WINTER, DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES; DORIS MEISSNER, DEPUTY ASSOCIATE ATTORNEY GENERAL; DAVID CROSLAND, ACTING COMMISSIONER, IMMIGRATION AND NATURALIZATION SERVICE; CHRISTIAN HOLMES, DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE, BUREAU FOR REFUGEE PROGRAMS, AND DIRECTOR, CUBAN-HAITIAN TASK FORCE, DEPARTMENT OF STATE; JOHN NEGROPONTE, DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE FOR EAST ASIAN AND PACIFIC AFFAIRS AND FRANK LOY, DIRECTOR, BUREAU FOR REFUGEE PROGRAMS, DEPARTMENT OF STATE Mr. CIVILETTI. Good morning, Mr. Chairman and Senator Cochran. I am pleased to have the opportunity to consult with this committee in accordance with the Refugee Act of 1980, regarding the proposals and plans of the administration for refugee admissions and resettlement for fiscal year 1981. And, as you have noted, there are other representatives of relevant agencies here with me this morning, including Victor Palmieri, the Ambassador and U.S. Coordinator for Refugee Affairs. As you have also noted, the Refugee Act of 1980 is a major step forward toward establishing a uniform, coherent, and manageable policy necessary for handling refugee admissions to this country. As the administration and as Congress recognized at the time of the passage of the Refugee Act in 1980, and in our first consultation this past April, the act signals the beginning of the long and difficult task of formulating a more rational and equitable basis for our entire refugee program. The fiscal 1981 proposals and the progress we have made in implementation of the act since last spring are steps in that direction. I would like to review briefly with you this morning the increasingly serious refugee problems we have experienced in these past several years and what we expect to see persist in the near future, as well as some of the details of our proposed fiscal year 1981 admissions and resettlement programs. In accordance with the requirements of the act, the committee has received a comprehensive set of background materials which explain and support our program recommendations.' 1 See appendix I for these reports. |