11/29/2007

The United States Administration needs to demonstrate active support for Congressional legislation to allow the resettlement of individuals currently barred due to prior membership in groups that carried out armed resistance to governments that the U.S. has labeled as persistent violators of human rights. To smooth the resettlement process the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the government of Thailand need to work together to make timely decisions on the refugee status of Burmese asylum seekers.

• The Departments of State and Homeland Security have created discretionary waivers for the admission of otherwise eligible Burmese ethnic Chin, Karen, and Karenni refugees barred due to membership and/or low level support of their national organizations. But the U.S. continues to bar the admission of leaders of these groups and anyone who participated in armed actions or military training, even if this occurred years ago. The U.S. Senate several times has considered amendments that would have corrected the overly-broad interpretations of what constitutes “material support” and its application to organizations and armed groups that operated against repressive and seriously abusive governments. The Administration should support such amendments or the enactment of H.R.2940 to fully address this issue.



• On its recent mission to Thailand, Refugees International was concerned to hear anecdotal reports that refugees were still being denied admission because they were forced to porter ammunition for the Burmese armed forces, or for making contributions to Karen National Union New Year’s celebrations. RI was also surprised to be told that there had been no DHS reversals in Thailand of any cases denied admission to the U.S. Many cases were rejected on credibility grounds. The application of any waivers was discretionary on the part of DHS, thus making it difficult for the applicant to seek to have his or her case reconsidered.



• The government of Thailand supports third country resettlement of the 140,000 “displaced Burmese” now living in nine temporary shelters and hopes to empty these camps. UNHCR prescreens eligible families and presents the cases to the United States and other resettlement countries. To meet its pledge to resettle 60,000 Burmese by 2010, the U.S. needs to speed up its processing. To assure that resettlement can proceed at a high pace and to improve protection for Burmese and other refugees in the region, the U.S. needs to increase its regional refugee staff, particularly in Thailand.



• About 50% of the Burmese in camps have expressed an interest in resettling to a new country. The reasons some refugees hesitate include reluctance to abandon their dreams of restoring democracy to their homeland; concern about their ability to adapt to a new country, new language and culture; and fear that their leadership roles in organizations opposed to the repressive Burmese regime may render them ineligible.



• U.S. resettlement processing requires extensive documentation of the applicant, his or her background and medical condition; security checks; and finally an interview by officers from the refugee corps of the Department of Homeland Security. DHS determines if the applicant is credible, meets the refugee definition and is admissible. This process can take more than six months from start to conclusion, and longer if any issues develop.



• While preparing a case for resettlement, the U.S. should substantially increase the amount of English language training and cultural orientation available to the refugees. Educational programs providing basic language skills for adults and children would give the refugees a worthwhile activity that would prepare them for an easier transition to work and community life in the United States. Such programs would provide reliable information as opposed to the rumors that circulate in the camps, and could be accomplished at costs substantially below what post-arrival services would require.



• Some Burmese families after lengthy processing have to delay their departures or consider leaving a family member behind because the individual does not appear on official Thai registration lists. Without evidence of camp registration, Thailand will not issue the documentation needed for an eligible refugee to exit the country. Some refugees explained to Refugees International that they needed to work outside the camps to provide for themselves and their family, and unavoidably missed the registration in 2004. For example, a young woman working in a noodle shop far from the isolated camp was unable to get back in time. Hoping for another registration, she stayed in camp for three years. Last year she married another long time resident. After waiting some time to see if his wife’s registration could be fixed, her husband was advised to resettle. Now his pregnant wife waits patiently to join her husband in Texas.



• UNHCR compiles these cases and submits lists to the provincial authorities for formal approval and issuance of an exit visa. In some cases, no explanation has been forthcoming as to when, or even if, such cases will be approved. The government of Thailand should establish a uniform policy for approving registration requests as expeditiously as possible, given the psychological pain family separation can cause, and to expedite international resettlement and family reunification.