13 July 2009
Palestinians from Iraq Being Resettled in the United States
Washington — Approximately 1,350 Palestinian refugees from Iraq are being considered for resettlement in the United States after being referred to the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
A State Department spokesman told America.gov July 13 that the resettlement process for the group actually began in 2008, and so far 24 Palestinians from Iraq have arrived in the United States.
Palestinian refugees have lived in Iraq for decades, coming in distinct waves as a result of wars between Israel and its Arab neighbors in 1948 and 1967, and the 1991 Gulf War when many Palestinians who had settled in Kuwait moved to Iraq.
Out of an estimated 15,000 Palestinians currently living in Iraq, 2,642 refugees are living in “dire conditions” in camps on the Syrian-Iraq border, the State Department spokesman said. They have been receiving assistance from the United States through UNHCR since 2006.
“UNHCR says third-country resettlement is the best answer for this group,” the spokesman said, and UNHCR has referred 1,350 of the Palestinians to the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program. The spokesman added that other resettlement countries are participating in the program as well.
According to a July 7 article in the Christian Science Monitor newspaper, many of the refugees will be resettled in southern California.
Bill Frelick, a refugee policy director at Human Rights Watch in Washington, told the Monitor that “for the first time, the United States is recognizing a Palestinian refugee population that could be admitted to the U.S. as part of a resettlement program.” The article said only seven Palestinians in 2007 and nine in 2008 were resettled in the United States.
Todd Pierce, a spokesman for the State Department's Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration, said the Iraqi population of Palestinians falls under a different category from those living in Gaza and the West Bank. Pierce told the Monitor that the applicants will be carefully scrutinized for ties to terrorist groups.
The State Department says it anticipates that most of those found eligible for admission will arrive in the United States by early 2010. “These applicants are currently at different stages of the admissions process. Under U.S. law, however, refugee processing is a multistep process that typically takes many months to complete,” the spokesman said.
He said the refugees will be offered the same treatment, at the same cost, as other refugees who are admitted to the United States.
The State Department works with agencies to place the approved refugees within a network of 350 local programs around the United States. “Like any other admitted refugees, the Palestinians will be served by these programs in communities that have linguistic and culturally appropriate service capacity, affordable housing, and employment prospects,” the spokesman said.
During their first weeks in the United States, initial resettlement services for the refugees, such as housing, food, clothing and assistance in obtaining medical care, employment and other social services, will be provided by the State Department’s Reception and Placement program. Afterward, they are eligible to receive services from other U.S. federal agencies, including the Department of Health and Human Services and the departments of Agriculture and Labor.
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