Thread: US Congress seeks to help Iraqi refugees

US Congress seeks to help Iraqi refugees

Washington - US senators Tuesday proposed easing entry requirements for Iraqi refugees, including providing 5,000 special immigrant visas for Iraqis who fear for their lives after working for the US. Senator Edward Kennedy, a Democrat who has championed the cause of Iraqi refugees, cited an initial US State Department pledge this year that the US would resettle 7,000 of them. But fewer than 1,000 have actually been admitted to the US, he said.

"We cannot afford to continue to jeopardize the lives of one of our most valuable and essential partners in Iraq - the Iraqi people who bravely support us in the face of constant fear and danger," Kennedy said Tuesday.

More than 2 million Iraqis have fled Iraq, facing extended waits for the chance to apply for admission to other countries, and another 2 million Iraqis have been displaced within Iraq, he said. The bulk of those who leave the country flee to Jordan and Syria.

The proposal, which also has several Republican backers, would allow Iraqis who worked for the US government to apply for refugee status directly in Iraq, "eliminating months of delay and saving lives in the process," Kennedy said.

A special programme would offer 5,000 US immigrant visas over five years to Iraqis who worked for the US for at least a year in or after 2003, when US-led forces invaded Iraq and toppled Saddam Hussein.

The measure is attached to a 2008 defence spending bill that Congress is considering.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has referred about 10,000 cases of would-be Iraqi refugees to US authorities, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Tuesday.

Some 7,500 of these have been prepared for interviews by US homeland security officials, he said.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will name a coordinator to ensure that the process works efficiently, McCormack said.

"She wants to make sure that we are doing our part as the US government to fulfil our obligations, not only to the refugees, but also to protect the American people," he told reporters.

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http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/109942.html

Congress is always eagar to help anybody as long as they aren't Americans!

LET THE IRAQUI REFUGEES GO TO ANOTHER COUNTRY TO HIDE. THIS COUNTRY IS FULL. THERE ARE MANY OTHER COUNTRIES THAT CAN TAKE THEM. IT DOESNT ALWAYS HAVE TO BE USA

Senator: US can't ignore Iraqi refugees

KIMBERLY HEFLING ASSOCIATED PRESS
Originally published 02:41 p.m., March 31, 2009, updated 01:43 p.m., March 31, 2009

WASHINGTON (AP) - A Democratic senator is warning that as U.S. troops are withdrawn from Iraq, the U.S. should not ignore the plight of millions of Iraqis who are displaced from their homes in Iraq or living as refugees in other countries.

Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey says in prepared remarks Tuesday that the United States has a moral and security interest in helping them. He spoke at a meeting of the Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee he chairs.

He says the U.S. should bolster efforts to resettle Iraqi refugees to the United States and develop a more comprehensive strategy to address the issue.

President Barack Obama wants all U.S. combat troops out of Iraq by September 2010 and remaining American forces home by late 2011.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/200 ... efugees-1/

Why have we spent 5 years and thousands of American lives to secure Iraq and bring forth a Democracy, if we are now simply going to open our doors to these people when the going gets a tough for them!

It's time the Iraqi people stand on their own two feet and make some sacrafices of their own! this includes remaining in your country and making it a better place! Those Iraqi refugees living in other countries can just as easily make their way back to Iraq as they can the United States!

Whenever you hear our government utter the word comprehensive regarding anything to do with immigration, then you have a pretty good idea what they mean!

"We cannot afford to continue to jeopardize the lives of one of our most valuable and essential partners in Iraq - the Iraqi people who bravely support us in the face of constant fear and danger," Kennedy said Tuesday.

How can we ever expect Iraq to come around to our way of thinking if we relocate those that support us and our efforts? We need our Iraqi supporters to stay right where their at!

"We cannot afford to continue to jeopardize the lives of one of our most valuable and essential partners in Iraq - the Iraqi people who bravely support us in the face of constant fear and danger," Kennedy said Tuesday.

Support us! What are they supporting? Our efforts to liberate Iraq, FOR THEM, while millions of Iraqi refugees seek sanctuary in the US.

I don't get it!

Originally Posted by Molly

Congress is always eagar to help anybody as long as they aren't Americans!

my thoughts exactly