The United States Senate today passed an emergency spending bill for Iraq and tsunami relief that does not include harmful anti-refugee provisions strongly opposed by Human Rights First. Senator Johnny Isakson (R-GA) withdrew his anti-refugee REAL ID amendment after failing to secure the support needed to ensure its passage.
“We welcome the strong bipartisan opposition to the REAL ID Act in the Senate that caused Senator Isakson to withdraw his amendment,” said Cory Smith, Legislative Counsel for Human Rights First. “Senator Isakson withdrew his REAL ID amendment because a significant number of Republicans did not support it.”
While Human Rights First is encouraged that the REAL ID Act is not included in the Senate spending bill, we are extremely concerned that refugees will remain at risk when House and Senate conferees meet next week to reconcile the two different versions of the bill. Senate conferees will be pressured to accept the REAL ID Act in the final conference report, since the House-passed emergency spending bill includes it.
“House proponents of the REAL ID Act will attempt to press the Senate to accept the anti-refugee provisions,” noted Smith. “It is essential that the Senate conferees hold their ground and resist any effort by the House conferees to include the REAL ID Act in the final conference report.”
The REAL ID Act would make it much harder for refugees to prove that they qualify for asylum and remove safeguards that protect refugees from being sent back into the hands of their persecutors. Very small inaccuracies - like a woman's failure to recall her date of high school graduation - could be used to deny her asylum, even though she fled from horrendous persecution like genocide, rape, forced abortion, severe domestic violence, or the threat of honor killing.
“The REAL ID Act would break America’s promise to those who come seeking safety,” said Smith. “The asylum provisions of the bill deny fair treatment to refugees and violate international obligations. These are people who have suffered political, religious and other kinds of horrific persecution.”
Human Rights First calls upon the conferees to pass a final emergency spending bill that does not include the anti-refugee language of the REAL ID Act and applauds the leadership of Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS) and other Senators in opposing the anti-refugee language.
Human Rights First will continue to work with a broad coalition of human rights groups, faith-based organizations, civil liberties groups and a bipartisan group of Congressional leaders to defeat the anti-refugee provisions in this legislation.
