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On the Hill: Neglected responsibilities - The U.S. response to the Iraqi refugee crisis
March 11, 2008
By Christina Caspersen
On Capitol Hill Tuesday, two House subcommittees held a joint briefing to discuss what measures the United States can take to improve the situation in Iraq with regards to Iraqi refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs).
Representative Gary Ackerman (D-NY) opened the discussion with the charge that the Bush administration is doing next to nothing to help refugees in Iraq. He cited an example of a refugee referral that took five months to obtain – not to mention the screening process that would result from the referral. Ackerman criticized the U.S. for pushing Iraqis toward Syria because the U.S. is unable to handle the situation. He concluded by advising the Administration to fix the situation and “rehabilitate [the United States’] image in the Middle East.”
Representative Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) expressed his uneasiness about Iraqi resettlement by using the same example he provided at a recent House hearing pertaining to IDPs in Iraq. He discussed the women he spoke with during his trip to Iraq who were “abusing the system” and refusing to return to their homes because they “didn’t want to pay rent.” Again expressing his outrage in recounting this experience, Rohrabacher reiterated the need for the U.S. to quickly return the refugees to Iraq and not admit them to the U.S. He argued that the Administration needs an alternative to the current practices within Iraq and that expanding the system will not help the situation.
Representative Bill Delahunt (D-MA) politely criticized Rohrabacher, saying that he was misinformed and that the statements of the refugees he spoke with did not reflect the reality of the situation. Delahunt cited the “Pottery Barn rule” fist invoked by then-Secretary of State Colin Powell, saying of the occupation of Iraq “you break it, you own it. And [the U.S.] owns it.” The situation is a “huge humanitarian issue that the U.S. needs to deal with, as a moral responsibility,” he added. Delahunt also stressed that it is in the U.S.’s best interest to prioritize the issues at hand and respond in a timely manner. He said he fears that if the U.S. does not do more to help IDPs and refugees, the camps will become a breeding ground for terrorism and anti-Americanism.
Witnesses included James B. Foley, Senior Coordinator for Iraqi Refugee Issues for the State Department; Lawrence Butler, Deputy Assistant Secretary for the State Department’s Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs; Lori Scialabba, Special Adviser to the Secretary of Homeland Security for Iraqi Refugees; Greg Gottlieb, Senior Deputy Assistant Administrator, Bureau for Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance for USAID; and Stephen A. Edson, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Visa Services for the State Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs.
Ambassador Foley provided a progress report on the efforts to meet the 12,000-resettled-refugee goal set by the Administration for Fiscal Year 2008. Currently, the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) estimates that 4.5 million Iraqis are displaced, with 2.5 million internally displaced. The most critical problem facing the IDPS is escalating poverty, Foley said. Recognizing this, USAID allotted $171 million to assist IDPs, with Congress giving $200 million for emergency funding. He put the overall estimate for funding needed for 2008 at $900 million. The State Department is committed to reaching the12,000 person benchmark, Foley said, and hopes that with greater cooperation from the Syrian government, the goal can be achieved.
Scialabba discussed the application process that was implemented to expedite refugee admittance. The mission in place is centered around offering the most vulnerable Iraqi refugees resettlement to the U.S., she said. To keep the process moving, the Overseas Processing Entities (OPE) who prescreen the applicants now continue to do so while U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services begins processing the interviews. Prior to this change, interviewing could not occur until the OPE cleared the applicant.
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