[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 141 (Wednesday, September 21, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1678]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 REINTRODUCTION OF THE RESTORING PROTECTION TO VICTIMS OF PERSECUTION 
                                  ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. FORTNEY PETE STARK

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 21, 2011

  Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, I rise with my colleague, Mr. Moran of 
Virginia, to reintroduce the Restoring Protection to Victims of 
Persecution Act, a bill that would end the practice of barring asylum 
claims by those who have been in our country for more than a year.
  In 1996, this one-year bar to asylum was enacted as a way to prevent 
fraudulent claimants from being granted asylum. Sixteen years later, 
there is no evidence to show that deadlines of this nature are 
effective in preventing fraud. Rather, the implementation of this law 
has resulted in the return of refugees to countries where they face 
persecution because of their gender, religion, nationality, or 
political involvement.
  Although the law includes exceptions to excuse those who are 
determined to have valid reasons for applying for asylum after one 
year, adjudicators routinely deny applicants who meet these exceptions. 
People who are attempting to care for their children, hide from their 
abusers, cope with past trauma, and deal with the challenges of 
surviving in a new country are repeatedly and arbitrarily denied asylum 
status because of missing the one-year deadline.
  Once denied, an applicant has only two other possibilities for 
safety: to petition for withholding of removal or to seek protection 
under the Convention Against Torture. Both these forms of relief demand 
an applicant surmount a much higher standard of proof than asylum and 
do not allow reunification with family members or provide them 
permanency.
  Everyone in Congress can agree that our immigration system is 
overwhelmed with a massive backlog of cases and in desperate need of 
reform. The one-year deadline only adds to this amassment of 
immigration cases and leads to government waste. More importantly, this 
law is hurting the very people we ought to be helping. This is a human 
rights issue that must be addressed as quickly as possible, and I 
implore my colleagues to support this desperately needed legislation.

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