PCC MEETING ON U.S. POLICY ON REFUGEES

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90M01243R001200800005-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 14
• Document Creation Date: December 23, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 27, 2013
• Sequence Number: 5
• Publication Date: August 9, 1989
• Content Type: MEMO

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SUSPENSE
Dote
Remarks To 17: Executive Registry received attached
too late for your use at today!,s PCC meeting
on refugees. Please advise if further disseminatio
is required.
STAT
ER 89-3056/1
Executiife Secretary
10 Aug 89
Date
'4627 (JO-81)
Cnr,Anll
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?,c/5 ?:918439
United mates Department of State
UNCLASSIFIED
MEMORANDUM TO:
MR. BRENT SCOWCROFT
National Security Affairs
Advisor
The White House
MR. CARNES LORD
Assistant to the Vice President
for National Security Affairs
Old Executive Office Building
MR. ROBERT S. ROSS, JR.
Executive Assistant to the
Attorney General
Department of Justice
MS-ALETHA R. OWENS
Executive Secretary
Department of Health
and Human Services
MR. H. LAWRENCE SANDALL
Executive Secretary
Central Intelligence Agency
SUBJECT:
Washington, D.C. 20520
August 9, 1989
ER.-8973056/1
MR. ROGER PORTER
Assistant to the President
for Economic and Domestic
Policy Development
The White House
COLONEL GEORGE P. COLE, JR.
Executive Secretary
Department of Defense
MR. JAMES BUCK
Acting Commissioner
Immigration and Naturalization
Service
MR. FRANK HODSOLL
Executive Associate Director
for National Security and
International Affairs
Office of Management and Budget
PCC Meeting on U.S. Policy on Refugees
Please transmit the attached paper to principals of the Policy
Coordinating Committee on refugees.
Attachments:
As stated
qL
. Stapleton Roy
xecutive Secretary
-11MmTrm_
?'5-(fi3 4!
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UNCLASSIFIED
UNITED STATES COORDINATOR
FOR REFUGEE AFFAIRS
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20520
August 8, 1989
TO: Policy Coordinating Committee Participants
FROM: S/R - Jewel Lafontant
Chairperson
PCC on Refugees
SUBJECT: PCC on Proposed Refugee Admissions for FY 1990
Enclosed is a discussion paper for the meeting of the Policy
Coordinating Committee on Refugees scheduled for 10:00 A.M. on
Thursday August 10, 1989 in the Department of State's
Operations Center Conference Room (7516).
The purpose of the meeting is to develop a proposal for FY 90
refugee admissions levels for the President's submission to the
Congress. Please ensure that representatives of your agency who
will be attending the meeting have a copy of the paper.
Please direct your questions or comments to Ada Adler
(647-2804) and let her know who will represent your office at
the meeting.
UNCLASSIFIED
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POLICY COORDINATING COMMITTEE
MEETING ON PROPOSED REFUGEE ADMISSIONS FOR FY 1990
August 10, 1989
DISCUSSION PAPER
ISSUE FOR DECISION
What level of refugee admissions should the Executive Branch
propose for FY 1990 during the consultations with the Congress?
BACKGROUND
Section 207 (8 U.S.C. 1157) of the Immigration and Nationality
Act requires that the President determine, after consultations
with the Congress and before the beginning of the fiscal year,
the number and allocations of refugees to be admitted to the
United States.
The Executive Branch will consult with the Senate and House
Judiciary Committees in mid-September on the proposed levels of
admissions as the basis for these consultations.
In order to develop an Executive Branch position to submit to
the President for his approval so that he may authorize the
consultations to begin, the Policy Coordinating Committee on
Refugees will meet on Thursday, August 10.
The Presidential Determination sets the number of refugee
admissions authorized in light of humanitarian, foreign policy,
domestic impact, budgetary and other concerns. Actual
utilization of the numbers depends on access to persons in need
of resettlement, their eligibility for admission as refugees,
and our ability to move them once approved.
Presidential Determination 89-2 of October 5, 1989 authorized
the admission of 94,000 refugees for Fiscal Year 1989
(including 4,000 numbers to be part of the Private Sector
Initiative). Presidential Determination 89-15, signed on June
19, 1989, authorized an increase in refugee admissions for FY
89 to 116,500 in order to accommodate the additional refugees
from Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. Federal funding was
authorized for a total of up to 112,500 admissions with the
remaining 4,000 numbers to be part of the Private Sector
Initiative program.
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ISSUES FOR FY 90
Each of the principal agencies involved in refugee admissions
has been invited to submit a proposed admissions or position
paper in advance of the PCC meeting. Papers have been received
but as of August 8, none of the agencies has submitted a
consultations level.
The admissions ceiling which the PCC proposes to the President
will be an indication of our best estimate of the need for U.S.
resettlement. It will reflect concerns of private voluntary
organizations and representatives of state and local
governments. The recommendations of the private voluntary
agencies are shown in Table 1.
CONTINUING HUMANITARIAN NEEDS
The total world refugee population is in excess of 14 million.
For the vast majority of this population, resettlement abroad
is not viable; but there remain significant numbers in each
region for whom third country resettlement is the only feasible
durable solution.
AFRICA
The ceiling for admissions of refugees from Africa for FY 89
was 2,000. At the end of June, 1,014 refugees had been
admitted to the United States; there were some 700 approved
Africans awaiting departure, most of whom were Ethiopians in
Khartoum. The coup in the Sudan which put a hold on refugee
departures and the difficulty the Intergovernmental Committee
on Migration (ICM) has had in getting airline seats contribute
to the delay in movement. Unless transportation can be
arranged in the next few weeks, 700 INS approved cases will be
carried over to FY 90.
The political oppression in Ethiopia is likely to continue to
generate the largest number of refugees applying for admission
from any single African country and will add to the backlog.
In addition, there is a need to provide resettlement
opportunities for refugees from South Africa in tenuous first
asylum situations and for African refugees in other parts of
the world, especially Europe. The need for third country
resettlement would be significantly greater were it not for the
willingness of many refugee-receiving nations in Africa to
renew their committments to provide first asylum as well as
long term settlement.
Resettlement needs for this region would appear to justify a
ceiling above the FY 89 level.
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TABLE 1
REFUGEE ADMISSIONS
(000)
REGION
FY89
FY 90
CONGRESS.
REQUEST
FY90
VOLAG
PROPOSAL
AFRICA
2,000
2,000
5,000
EAST ASIA,
28,000
25,000
29,500
FIRST ASYLUM
EAST ASIA,
12,000
11,500
15,000
ODP
EASTERN EUROPE
6,500
6,500
20,000
SOVIET UNION
43,500
16,000
56,000
LATIN AMERICA/
3,500
3,500
5,000
CARIBBEAN
NEAR EAST/
7.00()
6,500
10,000
SOUTH ASIA
SUB-TOTAL
102,500
71,000
140,500
AMERASIANS
10,000
13,000
20,000
TOTAL
112,500
84,000
160,500
PSI
4,000
4,000
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EAST ASIA, FIRST ASYLUM
The flow of Vietnamese refugees to countries of first asylum
continues unabated. Over 70,000 refugees entered first asylum
in the region during the first nine months of the fiscal year.
This compares with 50,000 for all of FY 88 and 23,000 for FY 87.
In addition, under the terms of the Comprehensive Plan of
Action (CPA) which was adopted at the International Conference
on Indochinese Refugees in June, the United States made a
commitment to consider for admission over the next three years,
up to 22,000 refugees from the pre-cut off refugee population.
We need to maintain a high ceiling in order to encourage broad
participation in this international effort.
EAST ASIA, ODP
The ODP program is at the heart of USG efforts to deal with the
needs of legitimate refugees from Vietnam. Over the past year,
the United States has resumed processing cases in Ho Chi Minh
City. At the present time, we are processing some 3,000 cases
per month.
The use of worldwide standards for refugee adjudication has led
to a reduction in the use of refugee numbers for the regular
ODP program. There has been a recent agreement with the
Vietnamese for the resettlement of former reeducation center
detainees most of whom should qualify for refugee numbers. The
total number of persons who spent time in reeducation, and
their family members who would be eligible to apply for
resettlement with them are estimated at over 100,000.
Processing is likely to begin this Fall.
All these factors lead to the conclusion that the total need
for FY 90 will be about the same as that in FY 89.
AMERASIANS
Although Amerasian admissions do not count against the ceiling
of refugee numbers, they require USG admissions and
resettlement funds from the refugee program. Therefore, it
seems prudent to establish a separate ceiling for them in FY
90. The SRV is now cooperating with us in presenting
Amerasians for adjudication. Thus, we would anticipate that
the need this coming fiscal year would be higher than in the
current year.
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EASTERN EUROPE
There are some 24,000 Eastern Europeans presently registered
for the U. S. admissions program, the vast majority of whom are
Polish. Hungarians comprise the next largest group. Recent
favorable political developments in Hungary and Poland have
called into question the practice of registering all Poles and
Hungarians in Western Europe who choose to apply for the U.S.
program. Although those countries seem to have undergone
radical political and social reforms, the permanency of these
reforms remains uncertain. There are some 4,000 Eastern
European refugees who have been approved by the INS and should
be admitted early in FY 90. In addition, there are significant
new numbers of Romanian refugees who should be considered for
admission.
Resettlement needs in this region would justify an increase in
the ceiling of 6,500 for FY 89.
SOVIET UNION
The liberalization of emigration restrictions has resulted in
a dramatic increase in the numbers of Soviet Jews, Evangelical
Christians and others who are now leaving their country.
Currently, Soviet Jewish emigration is at its highest level
since 1980. The number of applications by other Soviets,
principally Armenians, has risen even more dramatically: from
about 200 annually in the mid-80's to over 5,000 a month during
the current year. Included in the current group of emigres are
persons who have been denied exit permission for as long as 20
years on the grounds that the person involved or a family
member had access to state secrets. Denial on the grounds of
secrecy prevented an entire family from emigrating. Increasing
numbers of people from this group are now being permitted to
leave the country. This is expected to continue into the next
fiscal year. FY 89 approval rates do not provide a reliable
basis for projecting FY 90 admissions needs.
Resettlement needs in this region would appear to justify a
ceiling at least as high as that in FY 89 of 43,500.
LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN
We are committed under the Migration Agreement of 1984 to admit
at least 3,000 ex-political prisoners and their families from
Cuba each year. A reduction in this ceiling could be
interpreted by the Government of Cuba and by Cuban-Americans as
a sign of waning of the.U.S. commitment to the Migration
Agreement, thereby jeopardizing normal immigration and the
return of the Mariel excludables.
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The Administration also needs to consider the Central Americans
at risk. There are Nicaraguans in third countries and former
Nicaraguan guardsman in their own countries recently released
from prison who need to be considered for admission.
There is also a possibility that Panama and Haiti may generate
refugees seeking to flee political persecution. In addition,
El Salvador, unable to protect all its nationals from
persecution by non-government groups, will generate a small
number of refugees who will need resettlement in the United
States.
Resettlement needs for this region would appear to justify an
increase in the ceiling over the 3,500 level of FY 1989.
REAR EAST/SOUTH ASIA
Despite first asylum assurances for Afghan refugees in the
region, and the prospects of repatriation for others, there are
Afghans who will qualify for and need resettlement because of
political reasons.
In addition, Iraqi and Iranian refugees, particularly those
fleeing religious persecution, will need resettlement
opportunities. Factional conflicts could produce new refugee
flows and new demands for resettlement. Applications from
Iranians in Western Europe, in Pakistan, in Iraq and in India
are expected to continue at a high level. At the present time,
the UNHCR sees third country resettlement as the only solution
to most Iranian cases because repatriation and regional
resettlement are not viable.
Although few Iraqi Kurds have applied for refugee status, the
number is expected to increase and the UNHCR may recommend
additional numbers for U.S. resettlement.
Resettlement needs for this region would justify an increase in
the ceiling of 7,000 for FY 89.
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PRIVATE SECTOR INITIATIVE
This initiative continued during FY89. Under the Cuban
American National Foundation's private sponsorship program, 733
refugees were admitted by the end of FY 88 and some 1400 more
are expected to enter by the end of FY 89. Two additional
privately-funded sponsorship projects were approved during
FY89: one for the Federation of Zoroastrian Associations of
North America for refugees from Iran; and the other for the
Vietnamese Resettlement Association, which hopes to resettle
long-stayer Vietnamese refugees as part of the Geneva
agreement. The Association is also looking at a parallel
program to assist in the admission and resettlement of the U.S.
share of non-refugee longstayers. Less than 100 Zoroastrians
and less than 50 Vietnamese will enter by the end of FY 89.
All the basic costs of admission and resettlement in the three
programs were paid by the private sector. After some on scene
monitoring in Miami and both formal and informal reporting, we
have no reason to believe that any Federal, state or local
government funds have been expended in the Cuban program.
Except for recent problems in securing continuing
catastrophical medical coverage at a price individual sponsors
can afford, the program has been running smoothly.
As the Initiative has become better known this year, the number
of inquiries about it has greatly increased, but almost all of
those with serious interest are discouraged by the potential
costs of providing health coverage. Some general resolution of
this problem will be needed if the program is to attract the
substantially increased private resources we need. In the
meantime, however, the three current program administrators
believe they can continue using early employment with medical
coverage, short-term insurance that can be extended if
required, and pro bono health care.
In light of the continued interest in the program and the
potential for its expansion in the future, it would appear
desirable to allocate somewhat increased numbers for the
program this year.
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BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS
As Tables 2 and 3 make clear, we face a serious funding
shortfall in FY 90. The State Department FY 90 budget
submission was predicated on an admissions ceiling of 84,000
fully funded refugees. It is now clear that this ceiling will
be inadequate to meet resettlement needs. The FY 90 request
for admissions is $72 million less than the level of resources
available to fund admissions in FY 89 (see table 2). Since
admissions for FY 89 will be below the ceiling, as much as $15
million in FY 89 funds may be available to fund admissions in
FY 90 (the FY 89 supplemental appropriation was no year
money). There will still be a sizeable budgetary shortfall,
however, if the FY 90 admissions ceiling is set at the FY 89
level of 112,500.
The shortfall is serious for assistance as well as admissions.
The two major multilateral assistance agencies, UNHCR and ICRC,
are in the midst of financial crises that threaten many vital
ongoing programs. The United States has been unable to
maintain its traditional show of support in the face of a
doubling of the number of refugees in the 80's nor has it been
able to respond positively to emergency funding appeals by
these two organizations. Furthermore, new opportunities for
solutions in South and East Asia as well as growing needs in
Africa require that the assistance budget for FY 90 be above
the FY 89 level. At present it is $36 million below the 1989
level, which is itself the lowest of the decade.
The final FY 90 appropriations legislation could have an
additional inpact on the availability of funds for admissions
and assistance. Although the House of Representative
appropriated the full $370 million the Administration
requested, it transferred $21.9 million from the MRA account to
the HHS budget. Further it earmarked $25 million for refugees
to Israel, a $5 million increase over the Administration's
request. These measures serve to increase the shortfall. On
the other hand, the House provided $50 million in ERMA funds,
an increase of $40 million over the Administration's request.
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Table 2
State Department Budget
Migration and Refugee Assistance
($000)
FY 89 FY 90
(Request)
Administration 8,000 8,000
Refugee Admissions 228,684+ 156,500
Refugee Assistance 211,850* 175,200
Refugees to Israel 28,000 20,000
Other 12,600 10.300
TOTAL 489,134 370,000
+Includes $3.7 million in ERMA funds
*Includes $23.5 million in ERMA funds
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HHS will also face budget issues under the proposed ceiling.
The Administration's FY 90 budget request for the domestic
refugee program is based on a projected flow of 84,000 refugees
to the United States in FY 90. The budget request also
proposed to reduce the duration of Federal refugee funding to
the States for cash and medical assistance for needy refugees
from the current 24 months after a refugee's arrival in the
United States to 15 months. The proposed 15 month policy, if
accepted by the Congress, does not affect the eligibility of
needy refugees for assistance but means that more of the costs
of refugee assistance will be borne by the States and less by
the Federal Government.
If the admissions ceiling is raised above 84,000, additional
funds would be needed for assistance to States if the
Administration should wish to maintain the 15-month budget
policy. States already object to the 15-month proposal and
would object more strongly if a higher refugee admissions
ceiling, not accompanied by additional Federal funds, were to
result in a further reduction in the Federal share of refugee
costs.
Therefore the Administration must weigh the degree which
increases in refugee admissions resulting from high priority
and humanitarian and foreign policy considerations will
need to be accompanied by increased Federal grants-in-aid to
the States for assistance and services to refugees.
The Consultations with the Congress are supposed to focus on
the next year's admissions numbers and are not a hearing on the
budget. Nevertheless, the Administration's witnesses must be
prepared to explain to the Congress how we intend to meet any
budgetary shortfall that arises in light of admissions levels
above those projected in the FY 90 budget as well as increased
assistance requirements.
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REF'S :
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OTHER COMMENTS() bCir
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EXECUTIVE REGISTRY FILE NO: 4-- ci (3
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