TLP in the news: Washington Post Article on Congressional Testimony

Walter Pincus featured TLP in a Washington Post article on Monday. Pincus discussed the struggles of streamlining the bureaucratic process to bring over Iraqi refugees despite maximum effort that is being expended. Congressional testimony from Wednesday's hearing in which TLP's Kirk Johnson and Iraqi refugees detailed frustrations of the process was highlighted:

Ibrahim [an Iraqi refugee who testified] said a new program, passed this year by Congress, opened up processing in Baghdad instead of requiring people to get to Syria or Jordan to be interviewed.

But, he added, the State Department coordinators in Baghdad are understaffed, don't have enough resources to process applications and require applicants to come inside the Green Zone -- though there are not enough staff members to escort them through checkpoints.

"This has led to a Catch-22. A mechanism for people to escape Iraq has been created, but only those with sufficient connections to enter the Green Zone can take advantage of it," he said.

TLP commends the Washington Post for bringing attention to the issue and would like to recognize the efforts of the small State department team working to process Iraqis through the Baghdad Embassy. As Johnson emphasized in his congressional testimony on Wednesday:

We have had very welcome and positive interaction...with the recently arrived refugee coordinator at the Baghdad embassy, who has been tasked with implementing the Kennedy legislation instruction to begin in-country processing for U.S. affiliated Iraqis.

Her efforts, and those of the very small team working with her, are without question commendable. We must not forget the harrowing circumstances in which they labor. Their laudable work on the ground, however, has not been accorded the resources necessary to successfully implement this legislation.

Furthermore, TLP has learned that the embassy's refugee coordinator and her the team has recently taken concrete steps to overcome some of the logistical pitfalls faced by Iraqis seeking interviews.

In his testimony, Johnson went on to clarify where the responsibility lies for effectively streamlining a successful processing effort:

[T]he State Department needs access, logistics and support to help the Iraqis that are in-country....Congress has expressed its intent. You guys have been trying to address this issue, but I think the responsibility relies with the president...I can't come to any other conclusion that this is a low priority or a non-priority from the White House. It's been a priority for Congress, but in the absence of any word from the president on this, I think that the bureaucracies don't have the force and the will from the president to act.

Visit the White House website and ask why nothing has been done or even said on an issue that affects our national security, moral standing, and leadership role in the world.

Washington Post Chat: The Iraqi Refugee Crisis

As part of a five-year retrospective on the Iraq War, the Washington Post hosted an internet chat with Kristele Younes of Refugees International to discuss the plight of displaced Iraqis. Ms. Younes recently returned from visits to Jordan and Syria where she assessed the situation of Iraqi refugees (read her report).

During the wide ranging and informative internet discussion, Ms. Younes tackled a variety of key topics related to the refugee crisis.

On the delay in processing Special Immigrant Visas (SIV):

The Kennedy legislation- increasing the visas to 5,000 -- and its adoption by Congress are definitely positive steps. It is now up to the administration to implement the legislation and ensure it devotes the resources needed for it. Refugees International, as for other advocacy groups, will continue watching. Congress too is watching, and the administration is obliged by law to report to Congress on its progress with the implementation.

On the danger faced by those returning to Iraq:

According to the UNHCR, the conditions in Iraq are absolutely not conducive to return for the moment. This position is supported by the U.S. State Department. Refugees International strongly believes that return should not be encouraged until Iraqis can go home, on their own free will, in safety and dignity.

Obviously, we all hope that Iraqis will be able to return one day. But those who have returned in the last few months- forced to do so because they could no longer survive in exile- have mostly been unable to return to their homes. Seventy percent became internally displaced. Some were attacked or killed. In these conditions, return is not only dangerous for the displaced, it also adds to the potential for increased instability and violence.

And, on what America can do to help out:

It is essential the American public engages on this issue. As this is an electoral year, Americans need to ask all candidates to come up with a plan to deal with the humanitarian crisis. This is a bipartisan issue, and should concern us all. We need to increase assistance to the U.N. and to the region, increase resettlement numbers, increase U.S. engagement in the Middle East, and work on ensuring that whatever military course the U.S. takes in Iraq, it will consider the humanitarian consequences and ensure that civilians will be protected against further violence.

To learn more about what was discussed, read the full transcript.

In Focus: The British Plan to Airlift 1,500 Iraqi Refugees

Last week, we first highlighted Britain's announcement to airlift 1,500 Iraqis (British armed forces interpreters and their families) to the United Kingdom. Because this is such an important development in addressing the Iraqi refugee situation, it is necessary to provide a more in-depth examination of the topic.

According to a UPI article from February 16, interpreters must prove that they worked for British personnel for 12 continuous months to be eligible. The provision also requires that Iraqis show that they worked with British personnel since 2005.

Iraqis granted asylum will receive free housing and benefits to assist in the resettlement process. Ishbel Matheson of Minority Rights Group International penned an op-ed on the resettlement plan in which she described a British precedent for taking in thousands of refugees during the Bosnia and Kosovo conflicts. Matheson goes on argue that the plan does not go far enough and charges that it is an attempt by the British government to deflect negative criticism associated with the Iraq War. Regardless of the motivations behind Britain's new policy, this is clearly a step in the right direction.

This week EU lawmakers released a report that seemed to support increased assistance to resettling Iraqi refugees in Europe:

The EU should make it easier for Iraqis to find refuge in its member states and scrap "arbitrary criteria to granting protection and prevent any forced return," the report said.

And in a congressional hearing on Tuesday, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman William Delahunt had strong words regarding America's obligation to do more:

"This sad reality imposes a moral responsibility on this administration and this congress, for we cannot deny that the proximate cause of this human tragedy is the invasion of Iraq and its aftermath."

With the British airlift due to commence in April, and increasing sentiment that we cannot continue to turn our backs on Iraqi allies, it is time that we turn rhetoric into policy. Everyday that we delay, Iraqi allies who risked their lives to help American colleagues are in greater danger. Perhaps a US-sponsored airlift in the near future is the only way to reach the State Department's stated goal of admitting 12,000 Iraqi refugees into the US for FY 2008.

News Roundup: Week of February 4

State Department officials described the Iraqi refugee situation this week as a "looming problem" for the Middle East, while also acknowledging what has become tragically apparent: the U.S. may fall short of its pledge to admit 12,000 Iraqis between October 2007 and September 2008 (Fiscal Year 2008). As detailed in a Washington Post article on Tuesday, only around 10% of the goal has been fulfilled through four months.

Read the full briefing from State here.

This week a diverse group of prominent figures were in the news calling attention to the Iraqi refugee crisis. U.S. Representatives John Dingell and Alcee Hastings wrote a letter to Condoleeza Rice asking for increased government involvement:

"In addition to the moral and humanitarian elements of this problem, the lack of resources being provided to refugees and displaced persons from the United States and the international community is creating a potential security crisis, as the most vulnerable Iraqis are turning to extremist elements for assistance."

To read the full text of the letter, go to Congressman Dingell's website.

In her capacity as a goodwill representative for UNHCR, Angelina Jolie visited Iraq and met with aid organizations and high level Iraqi and US officials including General David Petraeus. Click on this AFP article to read more about the visit and issues being discussed.

Finally, a new play by George Packer on the plight of Iraqis who risked their lives to help the U.S. opened in New York. "Betrayed" is adapted from Packer's March 2007 New Yorker story of the same title.

Charles Isherwood discusses the play in a New York Times theater review.

News: The US Will Likely Default on Refugee Promise

George Packer of The New Yorker, is skeptical that the US will admit the 12,000 Iraqi refugees in the fiscal year that it has promised:

Two months ago, I mentioned the State Department’s latest promise to resettle twelve thousand Iraqis in the United States in the coming fiscal year. Since then, the monthly totals have dropped from 450 in October to 362 in November and 245 last month. At this rate, the government will have to admit almost eleven thousand Iraqi refugees in the next nine months—more than twelve hundred a month—in order to achieve its own goal: doubtful.

In the same blog post, Packer comments on the departure of the lead State Department official on refugees, Ellen Sauerbrey, as well as his latest proposal to shame President Bush into resettling more Iraqi allies in the US.

TLP in the News: An Iraqi Ally Adapts to Life in the US

This week a Houston Chronicle news article outlined the daunting process that Iraqi refugees must undertake just for the chance to gain US residency:

• Refugees outside of Iraq must register with the United Nations refugee agency.

• Refugees are given medical examinations by the U.N.

• Refugees are interviewed by U.N. workers to determine whether they have well-founded fears of persecution or if they committed war crimes.

• U.N. workers, after lengthy investigations, recommend refugees for resettlement in the U.S. About 14,000 have been referred so far.

• Refugees are directed to go to a U.S. Embassy for more interviews.

• Refugees are screened by U.S. personnel and by the International Organization for Migration. FBI agents and CIA officers review the reports.

• A Homeland Security Department worker interviews the Iraqis who have passed the FBI and CIA checks. About 5,600 interviews have been completed, U.S. officials say.

• Refugees selected for resettlement are fingerprinted, photographed and allowed to travel to the U.S.

• Refugees are re-interviewed by federal security personnel upon their arrival in the U.S.

While this blog has highlighted many of the challenges facing four million displaced Iraqis, the Chronicle article offers a glimpse into a rarely mentioned topic: struggles faced by the few Iraqi refugees who have made it to the United States. Ms. Media Al-Sewaili, whose name was included on one of the earliest lists that TLP founder Kirk Johnson presented to the State Department, escaped her war-torn country with her two children. The former UNICEF employee overcame bureaucratic red tape to come the US, but now faces new challenges:

Little things that Americans take for granted, like getting a driver's license, take huge swaths of al Sewaili's time, especially since she doesn't have a car and doesn't really know her way around the city.

She tried to enroll her 22-year-old son and her 20-year-old daughter into a college so they could continue their dentistry studies, but bureaucratic delays mean the two can't start until at least September. Both have found work as dental assistants. She is hunting for a job as an educational planner.

"We are losing time, we want to do things and catch up," said al Sewaili. "I want the children to continue their studies. They were both outstanding students in Iraq."

Al-Sewaili and other new arrivals are assisted by refugee organizations who strive to ensure they land on their feet. Still, these efforts are funded by State Department grants that expire after only 90 days. Congressional legislation that could increase assistance to Iraqi refugee arrivals is currently pending.

News: US admitting few Iraqi refugees

Much more to come tomorrow, but for tonight, some quick, bad news The AP reports:

The United States admitted only 362 Iraqi refugees in November, almost 100 fewer than in October, and far less than half the number it needs per month to meet a goal of 12,000 by the end of this budget year... In the first two months — October and November — of fiscal 2008, only 812 Iraqi refugees have been allowed into the country, meaning the Bush administration must now accept more than 11,000 over the coming 10 months to reach the target it has set for itself, the figures show.

This report comes on the heels of a November 29th briefing from the the State Department, in which Ambassador James Foley, Senior Coordinator on Iraqi Refugee Issues, said:

Finally, let me conclude with a comment about the goal I mentioned at the top; namely, to admit up to or at least 12,000 Iraqis refugees into the U.S. this fiscal year. I believe we are on track to achieving that goal, but we are not going to be in a position to substantiate that for a number of months to come. At present, we do not have enough -- we do not have sufficient cases in the pipeline to generate more than perhaps several hundred arrivals per month. This is due largely to DHS's absence from Damascus for virtually the past six months. Thanks though to this recent agreement, we now have indeed ambitious plans to interview Iraqis in the region during the second and third quarters of the fiscal year, and we believe this will result in arrivals of well over one thousand per month in later stages of the year.

Unfortunately, we have heard this story before...

Struggles don't end with resettlement

While the efforts like the List Project to get Iraqi allies through the red tape and into the country are important, those that do make it through often face difficult times. In a story in the Washington Post today, Omar Fekeiki describes life for 34 of the 1600 refugees that were accepted in the US last year. After being resettled in Tuscon ("This is not America that I've seen in the movies," said Bushra Abdulatif, 32, who arrived with her husband and two sons. "I want lots of mountains and snow." ), many Iraqis are finding life here difficult, if not as dangerous, as before:

Like the Cuban, Vietnamese, Laotian and Sudanese refugees before them, some
of the Iraqis are going through a difficult adjustment period, feeling
disoriented, alone and even abandoned by the social service agency that is
supposed to serve them. They do acknowledge that, whatever their travails, they
would not trade them for the difficulties of life in Iraq itself.

According to the article, the State Department has asked local non profits to ease the transition, but the organizations can only offer three months of rent, and little to no help finding jobs or other means of support.

Read the whole article here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/07/AR2007110702658_2.html?sid=ST2007110702820

Opinion: The Disgrace at State

This powerful blog piece by George Packer of The New Yorker is an absolute must-read. In it, he describes a State Department that attempts to obstruct Iraqi refugee legislation, makes promises it has no way of keeping to our Iraqi allies and falls short on promises already made. Perhaps most remarkably, he finds that military and State Department personnel who wish to act responsibly on this issue must turn to the press for help:

"...a desperate department official wrote to me, describing the sluggishness with which refugee applications in Syria and Jordan are being reviewed:

There is no excuse for this kind of mindless bureaucratic approach. I can’t find anyone here who seems to care that some of them seem to be on the verge of abandoning their cases. Know anyone who could do a one-page article somewhere to get the ball moving again?

So conscientious people on the inside have nowhere to turn but the press."

Read the full article on Huffington Post, or Mr. Packer's New Yorker Blog.

News: US Falls Short of Refugees Goal

Officials from the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security have been saying that 12,000 Iraqi refugees are expected to be admitted into the US over the next fiscal year (October 2007 - October 2008) - at least 1,000 per month. State Department statistics for October show that the US is starting well off that pace, having admitted only 450. While disappointing, that number is actually a large improvement over the last fiscal year, when a total of only 1,608 were admitted.

Assistant Secretary of State offers upbeat assessment

In a recent interview published by the State Department, Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees and Migration Ellen Sauerbrey offers a very optimistic report of the current refugee situation and the American response. Among the key questions and answers:

MR. MCCORMACK: Let's just start off with getting from you a little bit of an overview of where we stand now with respect to Iraqi refugees. I know we've set out some goals and we came pretty close to hitting the targets. Could you lay out for us right now where we are with respect to the goals and what we might expect over the next, say, six months to a year in terms of the number of refugees actually getting into the U.S.?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY SAUERBREY: Sure. Our goals, though, are twofold. And the first goal, of course, is assistance to the larger quantity numbers of refugees that will remain in the region, and I'll come back to that. But in terms of your question about resettlement, we will resettle 12,000 this year. And I have no doubt that we will make that goal.

MR. MCCORMACK: So this -- this calendar year we'll have about 12,000?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY SAUERBREY: Yes. We spent many months putting together a very complicated infrastructure. There are many moving parts in refugee resettlement, including the security clearance process, and getting all the pieces in place -- the diplomatic clearances, training the people that do the screening -- took time to get up and running, but it's running pretty smoothly now. And so I have no doubts that we will easily reach 12,000.

In terms of those Iraqis who have helped coalition forces:

MR. MCCORMACK: Let me ask you about the home front here. There are a lot of questions about what our responsibilities are to those Iraqis who work for us, whether it's for the military or for the State Department, in Iraq. What are we doing to help change the law so that we can meet our obligations to these people who work for us?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY SAUERBREY: Well, we have two ways that those that are affiliated with the U.S. in some way can enter the country. Through the refugee program, which of course, it's my bureau, whereby what is called a special immigrant visa. There actually are now about 800,000 that have come in on special immigrant visas and, as you know, over 1,600 that have come in through the refugee program.

They are greeted in the United States by a wonderful resettlement program that we have run by voluntary organizations, 365 individual affiliates throughout the country that meet the refugees. And we contract with them to provide initial shelter, household goods, to train new arrivals in the English language, skills training, get them enrolled in -- get the children enrolled in school, and most importantly to get them employed. We're very successful in getting them employed very quickly.

Read the rest of the interview here.