01 September 2006
United States Waives Restriction on Karen Refugee Resettlement
Those who supported Karen National Union may apply to enter United States
Washington -- Exercising its discretionary authority under U.S. immigration law, the Department of State for a second time has waived a restriction that blocked thousands of Burma's ethnic Karen people, now living in refugee camps in Thailand, from applying for resettlement in the United States.
The department announced August 30 that Karen refugees who meet all eligibility requirements of the U.S. Refugee Admissions and Resettlement Program will not be excluded for having "provided material support" to the Karen National Union (KNU), an ethnic secessionist movement that has been active in southeastern Burma since that country's independence from Britain in 1948.
Under terms of the USA PATRIOT Act -- passed in the wake of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States -- and the Real ID Act of 2005, the U.S. government adopted a broad definition of what constitutes a "terrorist organization," ensnaring the KNU, a rebel militia. (See related article.)
"Material support" also was defined broadly, applying to general categories such as transportation, communications, funds, or "other material financial benefit."
Final determinations on all applications under the Refugee Admissions Program are the responsibility of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
THOUSANDS DISPLACED
More than 100,000 Karen refugees are living in camps on the Thai-Burmese border. Some have lived in the camps for more than 20 years, and the numbers have grown as thousands have fled from attacks by the Burmese army over the last 10 years, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
The KNU, which has operated as a de facto government in the areas it controls, entered a loose cease-fire with Burma's military regime in 2004 but has been unable to negotiate an agreement on autonomy. Fighting continues on a regular basis between Burmese army forces and the Karen National Liberation Army, the armed wing of the KNU.
In May, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice first authorized a waiver of the resettlement restrictions for potentially eligible Karen refugees in the Tham Hin camp in Thailand's western Ratchaburi province. (See related article.)
The State Department designated the refugees a "population of special humanitarian concern to the United States due to the privations they have experienced" and determined that resettlement was the only "durable solution" for many.
About one-third of more than 9500 refugees living in the crowded camp sought consideration for resettlement. The United States was able to approve the applications of 2700. Resettlement operations began August 15, and more than half of those approved are expected to arrive in the United States by October 1, according to the State Department. The remainder will arrive before the end of the year.
RESETTLEMENT APPLICATIONS ENCOURAGED
Ellen Sauerbrey, assistant secretary of state for population, refugees and migration, and UNHCR Antonio Guterres visited the Tham Hin camp August 29, according to a U.N. press release.
The visit to the Tham Hin camp was part of Sauerbrey's current trip to Bangladesh (August 21-24), Malaysia (August 24-26) and Thailand (August 26-September 2) to discuss refugee programs and policy. She will return to the United States September 2.
"Within the next year, we hope to bring thousands from Tham Hin and also to begin processing refugees from the other six camps where there are Karen," the assistant secretary said in a press conference.
The United States accepted 54,000 refugees from 54 countries in 2005, Sauerbrey told refugees at the camp.
"We encourage all [Karen refugees] who are interested to step forward [to apply for resettlement] and they will be welcome in the U.S.," she said.
Every year, 70,000 refugees are resettled worldwide, Guterres said. The United States takes in two-thirds of that total. The high commissioner welcomed the U.S. decision to waive restrictions on resettlement of the Karen refugees.
"Refugees are victims, not a threat," he said. "They have been victims of conflict and persecution and sometimes they may be victims again if security considerations do not take into account their real situation."
For more information on U.S. policy, see Humanitarian Assistance and Refugees, Response to Terrorism and U.S. Support for Democracy in Burma.
A fact sheet on the U.S. Refugee Admissions and Resettlement Program, the full text of the State Department's August 30 media note and a press release from UNHCR are available on the department's Web site.
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
