Refugee Council USA Letter to the Department of State

December 11th, 2006

Dear Assistant Secretary Sauerbrey:

This is to follow-up on the discussion of Iraqi refugees during your November 20th meeting with Refugee Council USA. At that meeting, we welcomed your proposal that PRM convene a "brainstorming" session with us to formulate ideas for the resettlement of Iraqi refugees. We look forward to meeting with you on this issue as soon as possible, and ask that UNHCR be invited to participate along with your NGO partners as UNHCR will be a key player in any strategy to move Iraqi refugees.

As one immediate step toward addressing the protection needs of Iraqi refugees, we would urge PRM to move ahead with a Refugee Processing Priority, as previously proposed by the Near East South Asia Working Group, allowing Iraqi refugees to apply for resettlement on the basis of family links to the United States. While Iraqi refugees are currently eligible for Priority Three, this category is construed too narrowly to effectively promote reunion of refugees in need of protection with their family members in the United States. 

During the Holocaust, many American citizens suffered the trauma of being helplessly separated from relatives who were unable to find effective asylum from Nazi persecution in Europe.  Since that time, the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program has created programs to reunite U.S. citizens and legal residents with close family members who have fled persecution.  This has allowed hundreds of thousands of refugees to be protected by family rather than be left with little or no protection in countries to which they have fled - countries which have no asylum systems and are often not even signatories to the Refugee Convention.

Designating specific groups for resettlement in the United States during ongoing persecution is sometimes problematic.  For example, designating a "Priority Two” Group which has been targeted for "ethnic cleansing" may be perceived as facilitating that ethnic cleansing by resettling refugees instead of preparing for their return to the country of origin.

It is a different story, however, when talking about family reunion.  Whenever possible, the U.S. Refugee Program should allow U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents reunite with family members who have fled persecution and meet the refugee definition.

Under present policy, unfortunately, very few Christians, Mandaeans, and others who have fled persecution in Iraq are able to reunite with family members in the United States.  A refugee from Iraq is currently eligible for Priority Three processing only if he or she is the unmarried child, the parent, or the spouse of an asylee or refugee in the United States, and if the relative in the United States was admitted as a refugee or asylee (not as an immigrant). These restrictions mean that for many Iraqis with family in the United States there is no possibility of resettlement under this category.

The only way for others to reunite with family in the United States is through a Priority One referral for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).  UNHCR has not, however, referred any meaningful number of Iraqis for resettlement since March of 2003, and has given clear indications that they are not yet close to agreement on a strategy to pursue such referrals.

We would, therefore, again urge the creation of a Priority 2 category which would:

(1) expand the existing priority 3 eligibility to allow refugee applications from married sons and daughters, grandchildren, grandparents and siblings of U.S. Citizens and persons lawfully admitted to the U.S. as Permanent Resident Aliens, refugees or asylees.

(2) encourage UNHCR to focus its resources and efforts on identification of refugees who do not have family links to resettlement countries but who have serious protection needs.

We stand prepared to assist you in this effort.

We are also writing to Assistant High Commissioner Judith Cheng-Hopkins on this issue as the matter of Iraqi refugees was a key topic of discussion during her recent visit with US NGOs. .  A copy of that letter is enclosed.

Sincerely,

C. Richard Parkins

Chair, Refugee Council USA