Thread: U.S. taking in 27,500 Iraqis who helped Americans

July 9, 2008, 8:16PM
U.S. taking in 27,500 Iraqis who helped Americans
In each of the next 5 years, about 5,000 refugees who risked their lives by working for the government are getting special visas


By STEWART M. POWELL
WASHINGTON — The Bush administration on Wednesday symbolically opened the nation's arms to as many as 27,500 endangered Iraqis who have rendered ''faithful and valuable service" to Uncle Sam since the invasion of Iraq.

The branch of the Department of Homeland Security that handles immigration applications unveiled guidelines for admitting up to an estimated 5,000 additional Iraqis in each of the next five years who face ''an ongoing serious threat" stemming from their ties to the United States.

The refugees worked as translators for American military units or in other high-profile jobs. They are among the estimated 4.2 million who have fled their homes to another country or to other parts of Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.

The coveted visas previously have been limited to 500 Iraqis in each of the past two years.

The program to provide special immigrant visas to Iraqis who have worked for the government or its contractors promises unlimited visas to spouses and children — even if the former employee dies.

Since it was started in October 2006, the program has admitted 1,480 people — 777 translators and 703 family members.

Dario Lipovac, an official with the YMCA of the Greater Houston Area, said the arrival of Iraqis with direct ties to the United States would pose new challenges. The Houston YMCA has resettled 29 out of the 165 Iraqi refugees coming to the area over the past year.

"The majority of refugees that we resettle face fear of persecution in one way or another," Lipovac said.

"But Iraqis who receive special immigrant visas generally speak good English, have a good education and have previously held good jobs. We face challenges with their career placement — matching their expectations with the reality of the jobs that are available."

Retraining and recertification in the United States for an Iraqi physician could take years.


6% of refugees came to Texas
Texas resettlement agencies such as the YMCA already have taken responsibility for 370 out of the 6,463 Iraqi refugees admitted to the United States in the past year, or roughly 6 percent of the total, said Gina Wills, a spokeswoman for the State Department's refugee bureau.

The announcement implements congressionally-mandated changes initially sought by Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., an ardent critic of the Iraq war who has pressed the White House to admit Iraqis imperiled by their roles as translators for U.S. military units and others who work for U.S. forces and officials in Iraq.

Some critics have accused the Bush administration of resisting admission of large numbers of the refugees because it would signal setbacks in Iraq.

But Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has defended delays, citing concerns that terrorists might sneak into the United States as refugees, the logistics and manpower challenges of interviewing thousands of refugees in Syria and Jordan, and the hope among the administration that many of the displaced Iraqis might eventually return home.

Some administration officials downplayed the rollout of the guidelines as a minor bureaucratic marker in a lengthy process.

The 5,500 special immigrant visas could be issued each year for the next five years, but the quota might not be filled because of security screening requirements, officials cautioned.


'Rigorous screening'
To qualify, Iraqi applicants must satisfy several requirements including receiving the recommendation of their senior U.S. supervisor and clearing a background check.

The administration has repeatedly highlighted the tight scrutiny that it uses for Iraqi refugees seeking admission. U.S. Customs and Immigration Services, for example, said in June that it would continue "conducting the most rigorous screening in order to ensure that those being admitted through the refugee program are not seeking to harm the United States."

The State Department and Department of Homeland Security have dramatically stepped up Iraqi refugee screening and admissions over the past year even before expanding the separate program to grant admission to Iraqis with ties to the United States.

Immigration authorities have interviewed at least 14,376 Iraqis for admission since Oct. 1, 2007; approved at least 9,903 Iraqis for resettlement, and admitted at least 4,872 Iraqis — almost five times the monthly rate of action by officials the year before.

U.S. Ambassador James Foley, the State Department's coordinator for Iraqi refugees, told the Houston Chronicle last fall that the goal for admitting Iraqis in the fiscal year ending in September is 12,000.

stewart.powell@chron.com



http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5879999.html

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