[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 40 (Wednesday, April 1, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3010-S3011]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                 ASYLUM

 Mr. DeWINE. Mr. President, I rise today to express my concerns 
about the implementation of the immigration laws that Congress passed 
in 1996, since we are fast approaching an important deadline. Today is 
the deadline for those immigrants who have lived in the United States 
for one year who wish to apply for political asylum.
  The concerns I raised and shared during the debate on the 1996 
Immigration bill are even more relevant today. People who have the most 
credible asylum claims--those under threat of retaliation, those 
suffering physical or mental disability, possibly as a result of 
torture they endured in their home country--may find themselves barred 
from ever applying for asylum if they miss this deadline.
  To protect those who flee persecution and abuse and seek refuge in 
the United States, the INS should, at the very least, promulgate a 
final rule that includes the broad ``good cause'' exceptions from the 
Senate-passed version of the 1996 immigration law. Senators Kennedy, 
Feingold, and I sent a letter on February 12, 1998 to INS urging that 
the final rule include the Senate's more expansive definition of ``good 
cause'' exceptions for missing that deadline.
  The INS should not issue regulations that might exclude the very 
applicants that the concept of asylum was meant to include. For this 
reason, our letter urges INS to promulgate a final rule that adopts the 
Senate's entire definition of ``good cause'' for missing the one-year 
filing deadline:

       ``Good cause'' may include, but is not limited to, [1] 
     circumstances that changed after the applicant entered the 
     United States and that are relevant to the applicant's 
     eligibility for asylum; [2] physical or mental disabilities; 
     [3] threats of retribution against the applicant's relatives 
     abroad; [4] attempts to file affirmatively that were 
     unsuccessful because of technical defects; [5] efforts to 
     seek asylum that were delayed by the temporary unavailability 
     of professional assistance; [6] the illness or death of the 
     applicant's legal representative; or [7] other extenuating 
     circumstances as determined by the Attorney General. [Section 
     193 of Senate bill; *numbers added for reference].

  Mr. President, the very least our country should offer these victims 
of

[[Page S3011]]

persecution, are clearly and fairly stated exceptions to this one-year 
filing deadline.
  My second concern is that the implementation of the summary exclusion 
or expedited removal provisions of the new immigration law may prove to 
be even more harmful to those who flee from persecution and seek refuge 
in the United States. When this bill was being debated in 1996, Senator 
Leahy and I sponsored an amendment that would have limited such 
expedited removal procedures to only emergency situations. While that 
amendment passed by one vote in the Senate, it unfortunately did not 
survive in conference.
  I said in May of 1996, and I still believe today, that victims of 
politically motivated torture and rape are the very ones who are most 
likely to have to resort to the use of false documents to flee from 
repressive governments--yet the use of such fraudulent documents 
subjects them to summary exclusion under the 1996 law.
  I also remain concerned that while the INS may instruct its 
inspectors not to assess the credibility of an asylum claim--but 
instead refer the claim to an asylum officer--who can say how this 
process is actually being implemented nationwide at all of our 260 
ports of entry? Other outside agencies are not permitted to monitor 
this process. Some credible cases are being assessed at secondary 
inspection sites by INS officials who are not trained asylum officers. 
As a result, I urge the Attorney General to appoint someone from her 
office to oversee the functioning of secondary inspection sites to 
ensure that anyone stating a fear of persecution or abuse is not forced 
onto the next plane back to his or her persecutors.

  DOJ oversight could also prevent future inhumane actions--cases of 
physical and mental abuse that some INS officials have allegedly 
inflicted on asylum seekers who are shackled to benches at JFK 
Airport--or at least provide accountability for a process sorely 
lacking such oversight. A man from Somalia, Mohamoud Farah, who was 
recently granted asylum, yesterday described his ordeal during a press 
conference sponsored by the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights. I will 
ask that his full statement be printed in the Record at the conclusion 
of my remarks, but I will highlight some of it now. While Mohamoud 
endured 14 and a half hours shackled to a chair at JFK Airport, without 
food or water or even restroom breaks, he experienced abuse from INS 
officials and saw them abuse others who had been detained in the 
secondary inspection waiting area.
  Being kicked, cursed at, and shackled to a chair is not how any of us 
envision proper treatment of people who seek refuge in our great 
nation--in fact, I imagine that kind of treatment as only occurring at 
the hands of the persecutors in the very countries from which these 
refugees flee.
  Finally, I am concerned about the consistency with which INS 
implements its own rules and regulations in compliance with the 1996 
immigration law. For example, in the General Accounting Office's report 
that was sent to me yesterday, the GAO describes inconsistencies among 
the eight asylum offices in the process of conducting ``credible fear'' 
interviews. Some offices failed to document whether a required 
paragraph on torture was read to the asylum seeker, or whether 
questions about torture were asked. I am concerned about these 
inconsistencies--especially since information about torture would 
provide a solid basis on which to grant asylum.
  INS should also be consistent in allowing for effective 
representation when an asylum applicant appears before an immigration 
judge. This means that immigration judges should allow the attorney or 
representative of the asylum seeker to participate at the hearing by 
speaking or asking questions.
  The right to have a trained asylum officer hear an asylum claim or to 
have counsel speak during a review hearing before an immigration judge 
should be a consistent right of all asylum seekers--not just a right 
that depends on which airport a person lands in or which immigration 
judge that person ends up appealing to.
  In conclusion, Mr. President, the Senate must remain vigilant in its 
oversight duties if we want to keep our asylum system working. We have 
to remember that there's a reason for having an asylum system in the 
first place--and that is to keep the torch of liberty lit for truly 
oppressed people. This is a basic American value, and America should 
not turn its back on this fundamental principle.
  I ask that the statement of Mohamoud Farah be printed in the Record.
  The statement follows:

                      Statement of Mohamoud Farah

        (represented by the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS))

       I arrived at JFK airport in New York City on October 31, 
     1997, on an Egypt Air flight from Cairo. When the plane 
     landed, I informed someone at the airport that I was a 
     refugee without a visa to enter the United States. I 
     overheard this person tell a uniformed INS officer that I was 
     ``illegal''. This INS officer insulted me, cursed at me, and 
     asked me why I came to the United States. He pushed me 
     backwards, and I fell down. Before I knew what was happening, 
     three or four INS officers were putting shackles on my arms 
     and legs. They bound my wrists and ankles to the legs of a 
     chair. As the shackle was short, I was forced to lean forward 
     in an uncomfortable position. The officers yelled and cursed 
     at me. One of them pulled my ear. I tried to explain that I 
     was a refugee from Somalia, but they just continued to shout. 
     I saw the officers kick some other people, who were then 
     taken away.
       I remained shackled to the chair, leaning forward, for 
     fourteen and a half hours. During that time, despite my 
     requests, I was not given any food or water, nor was I 
     allowed to use the restroom. I saw two shift changes take 
     place while I was still bound to the chair. At one point, 
     employees from Egypt Air came with my luggage and ticket and 
     said they were trying to send me back. I was afraid that if I 
     were sent to Egypt, I might be put in jail. I told them I 
     would rather be in jail in the United States.
       They eventually sent me to another office where someone 
     from INS began to take a statement from me about why I left 
     Somalia. This statement would be used by the Immigration 
     Judge in my proceedings. I was expected to discuss very 
     painful experiences with the same people who were being 
     abusive to me. This interview took a long time, as there was 
     another shift change, and a new officer had to finish the 
     statement. After they took the statement, I had to wait in 
     that office for three more hours. I still was not allowed 
     water or given permission to use the restroom. Finally, I was 
     transported to the detention facility, near the airport in 
     Queens, NY, at about 3:30 a.m. At that point, I was finally 
     able to have some water and use the restroom, but received no 
     food until lunch the next day. In the detention center, I 
     began the process of applying for asylum in the United 
     States. I was represented by Olga Narymsky, an attorney with 
     the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS). After 101 days in 
     detention, on February 9, 1998, I was granted political 
     asylum.
       I never expected that I would be treated this way in the 
     United States. I know America is a great nation and that the 
     way I was treated is not normal. I hope that by telling my 
     story, I can help prevent anyone else from having to endure 
     what happened when I arrived seeking refuge in this country.

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