SIG MEETING ON REFUGEES

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP85M00364R000400550026-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 13, 2007
• Sequence Number: 26
• Publication Date: September 1, 1983
• Content Type: MEMO

Approved For Release 2007/12/13: CIA-RDP85M00364R000400550026-3
I SEP 1983
MEMORANDUM FOR THE RECORD
SUBJECT: SIG Meeting on Refugees
1. The meeting addressed three refugee-related issues.
o Admission of 200 Salvadorans (including families) freed
under the government's recent amnesty program.
o The number of refugees (72,000) from all sources that
will be admitted to the US in Fiscal 1984.
o The formation of a working group to examine possible
future Central American refugee flows.
There were no important disagreements on either of the first two
issues. On the general refugee question there was some
discussion about the political pressures that are accumulating in
countries now hosting large numbers of refugees, especially
Pakistan, Thailand, and Sudan. The SIG Chairman (Amb. H. Eugene
Douglas) argued strenuously that more attention should be paid to
the foreign policy implications of this refugee overhang.
2. The ost interesting discussion focused on a proposal to
establish an interagency working group to look at possible future
Central American refugee flows. The key question was what would
the refugee flow be if things went very bad for us in the region
and the Leftists take control. Although the Chairman insisted
this wasn't contingency planning, it comes awfully close. He
said he was pushing for an interagency group in order to avoid
any surprise along the lines of the sudden,large-scale Cuban
inflow, ala Mariel.
DCI
D'FC
RFG 11 )
Approved For Release 2007/12/13: CIA-RDP85M00364R000400550026-3
 Approved For Release 2007/12/13: CIA-RDP85M00364R000400550026-3
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These arguments were well presented; the Chairman assured State
that the terms of reference for any working group would be
extremely narrow and subject to State approval.
Deputy Director of Global Issues
DCI
DDCI
ExDi r
Exec Secretariat
DDI
D/ALA
D/OG I
NIO/LA
SECRET
Approved For Release 2007/12/13: CIA-RDP85M00364R000400550026-3