AdTI Issue Brief #157

Refugee Admissions: Aid for Persecuted Christians
Philip Peters

AdTI Issue Brief #157
September 17, 1997

Executive Summary

Persecution of Christians and practitioners of other religions is on the rise, as documented by recent State Department reports.

A modest increase in refugee admissions from the former Soviet Union, as proposed by Senators Abraham, Kennedy, Hatch, and Leahy, would permit the U.S. to do more to aid victims of religious persecution there, and also to aid other refugees around the world. It would also improve Washington's ability to convince other nations to share the burden of refugee resettlement.

The Clinton Administration has driven refugee admissions down nearly 40 percent. The Senators propose an increase to 87,000 refugee admissions in 1998 -- well below the 100,000-plus levels in each year from 1989 to 1995.

Refugee admissions are an expression of America's humanitarianism. And in cases such as Bosnia, refugee resettlement is part of the solution to conflicts in which the U.S. and its allies have important security interests.

Refugee Admissions: Aid for Persecuted Christians

The Clinton Administration has steadily reduced annual U.S. refugee admissions,⁽¹⁾ but this policy may come to an end as a result of a bipartisan Senate appeal.

On September 10, Senators Spencer Abraham, Edward Kennedy, Orrin Hatch, and Patrick Leahy asked Secretary of State Albright to increase 1998 refugee admissions from 78,000 to 87,000.⁽²⁾ They base their appeal on the "survival of populist anti-Semitism" and the "continued threat to Evangelical Christians and other minorities." The Senators propose that the increase of 9,000 admissions be applied to victims of religious persecution from the former Soviet Union, so that 30,000 could be admitted instead of the 21,000 in the Administration's proposal. Actual admissions for fiscal 1996, which ends September 30, will total approximately 27,000.⁽³⁾

The case for aiding these people is strong, and is well documented by the Administration itself. According to the State Department's annual human rights report and its special July 1997 report on religious persecution worldwide,⁽⁴⁾ the general increase in religious tolerance since the breakup of the Soviet Union has been marred by discrimination and persecution against Jews, Muslims, and members of Christian denominations.

About one fourth of Russia's regional governments have laws restricting religious activity.

Legislation recently passed by Russia's Duma but vetoed by President Yeltsin would require the registration of new religious groups, and would require these groups to wait up to fifteen years to obtain full legal status. During this period, it would be difficult for the groups to own property, have bank accounts, or conduct other routine activities. This law did not apply to Orthodoxy, Islam, Judaism or Buddhism; instead, it would have affected faiths new to Russia, especially evangelical Christians.

Russian authorities have made Christian missionary work difficult or impossible in some regions, and they have made recovery of property difficult for non-Orthodox faiths, including the Catholic church.

An increase in refugee admissions from the former Soviet Union would offer concrete assistance to victims of persecution, and it would permit the United States to admit more refugees from other regions. For example, in spite of the massive refugee problems in Africa, where about one million people are displaced in the Great Lakes region alone, the Administration proposes to admit only 7,000 refugees from that continent next year.

The Administration sees no need to adjust its planned admissions from the former Soviet Union because, in its view, the program has succeeded in resettling over 300,000 victims of religious persecution, and it believes the need for additional resettlement is declining. The numbers of applicants have declined, and over 27,000 individuals whose cases were approved over one year ago have not come to the U.S. The Administration claims that these patterns are also occurring in Israel's resettlement program.⁽⁵⁾

But even if these arguments hold true and 30,000 admissions slots for the former Soviet Union were not to be used in 1998, the increase in overall admissions would give the Administration greater flexibility to address other crises. This year, the Administration exceeded its planned admissions from the former Yugoslavia by 25 percent. If the implementation of the Dayton accords continues to prove difficult, the need to resettle refugees from this region will grow. And, following the historical pattern in other refugee crises, American action to resettle refugees from the former Yugoslavia will cause European and other countries to accept greater numbers of these refugees for resettlement.

Much of the recent attention to the plight of victims of religious persecution has come in the context of the China trade debate, where statements, symbolism, and indirect actions have been at issue. In contrast, refugee admissions go far beyond symbolism and exhortation, and offer concrete assistance to actual victims. By accepting the Senators' proposal, the Clinton Administration would help thousands of Christians and Jews persecuted in the former Soviet Union. It would also revitalize American humanitarian leadership around the globe, even while admitting far fewer refugees than the U.S. has admitted in recent years.⁽⁶⁾

Notes

1. The Administration's proposed 78,000 admissions in 1998 is 39 percent below the 1990-1995 average.

2. Abraham-Kennedy-Hatch-Leahy letter to Secretary Albright, September 10, 1997, released by Senate Judiciary Committee.

3. "Proposed Refugee Admissions for Fiscal Year 1998: Report to the Congress," joint report of the Departments of State, Justice, and Health and Human Services, July 1997, p.3.

4. The 1996 annual report on human rights practices and the July 1997 special report ("United States Policies in Support of Religious Freedom: Focus on Christians") are both available on the Department's website, www.state.gov.

5. Author's interview with Administration official, September 11, 1997.

6. The Senators propose an increase from 78,000 admissions to 87,000, well below the 100,000-plus admissions in each year between 1989 and 1995.