[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 15]
[Senate]
[Page 20782]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


         MATERIAL SUPPORT AND TERRORISM BARS IN IMMIGRATION LAW

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. Presdient, following the attacks of September 11, 
2001, Congress made dramatic changes to our immigration laws that were 
intended to strengthen barriers to entry to the United States for those 
believed to be engaged in terrorist activity. This was a laudable goal, 
but as with so much of the Federal Government's response to the 
September 11 attacks, fear overtook reason and sound judgment. Rather 
than limit the scope of changes to the law, Congress passed vastly 
overbroad revisions to the definition of terrorist activity, resulting 
in harm to asylum seekers and refugees. As a result, many who deserve 
and are otherwise eligible for protection under our laws have suffered 
needlessly.
  The post-September 11 changes to the law expanded bars to entry for 
those accused of providing ``material support'' to terrorist 
organizations, or who are believed to have engaged in ``terrorist 
activity.'' The new definition of terrorist organization was so broadly 
written that an individual who was forced at gunpoint to provide 
medical or other assistance, no matter how slight, to any group of two 
or more people acting against the law of their country, are considered 
to have materially supported a terrorist organization. As a result, 
those who bravely fought repressive governments in their home 
countries, and those who joined the United States in opposing despots, 
can now be called terrorists and barred from protection in our Nation.
  I have worked for years to restore common sense to the bars in our 
immigration laws that apply to material support for terrorism. 
Unfortunately, as a result of the previous administration's inaction, 
and slow progress within the new administration, these laws remain a 
stain on the reputation of the United States as a leader in the cause 
of human rights. The time to end the terrible consequences of these 
laws is long overdue.
  I called upon the previous administration to exert leadership in 
solving the longstanding problems associated with these restrictions to 
admission to the United States. I worked with Senator Kyl to provide 
the Bush-Cheney administration with the authority to implement waivers 
so that those deserving of our protection were not wrongly denied 
sanctuary in the United States. Little was done with the authority we 
provided.
  We can and must do better. Today I renew these calls for leadership 
in the new administration. I call on President Obama to take the steps 
necessary to implement the authority granted by Congress to protect 
bona fide refugees and asylees.
  I recognize that the waiver authority Congress provided to the 
executive branch resulted in some positive changes in recent months. 
The executive branch is granting waivers to those whose ``support'' 
under the overly broad definition of terrorist organization was 
provided only under duress. Some others, whose support was provided to 
groups exempt from the definition of terrorist organization, are also 
being granted protection. But that is not enough. The third tier of the 
law's definition of terrorist organization continues to ensnare those 
deserving of our protection who pose no legitimate threat to the United 
States. Currently, over 7,000 individuals who were granted refugee 
status or asylum, and who have since petitioned the Government for 
lawful permanent residence, are on hold and in legal limbo because the 
agency has not implemented the authority granted under law. These are 
individuals whom our Government has already screened and deemed 
eligible for protection under the same set of facts now being held 
against them to erroneously claim that they are threats to the United 
States.
  And in some cases, these are people that bravely stood by the United 
States in Iraq and elsewhere. Saman Kareem Ahmad served as a translator 
for the U.S. Marines in Iraq. He came to the United States on a special 
visa, supported by the Marine captain with whom he served, and with 
commendations from GEN David Petraeus. But because he had served with 
the Kurdish democratic party in Iraq in opposing Saddam Hussein, Mr. 
Ahmad was initially denied a green card because he was deemed to have 
been part of a terrorist organization under the law's definition. It 
took press reporting and congressional oversight to resolve this 
injustice. Such a result is at odds with our values.
  As the result of legislation Senator Kyl and I sponsored, and which 
became law, the agency was directed to establish a process for 
exempting certain groups from the material support bars. In practice, 
an individual who is granted refugee status or asylum is eligible to 
later petition to adjust their status to lawful permanent residence. 
Yet, rather than apply the exemption authority granted under law, the 
agency appears to assume the terrorism bars apply in many of these 
cases, and then holds the cases until it determines whether the 
individual applicants are eligible for a waiver. This is not what 
Congress intended. A significant percentage of the more than 7,000 
pending cases are petitions from refugees or asylees who were 
previously admitted to the United States. They are being penalized for 
actions that took place prior to their admission to the United States, 
often for activity that was not barred at the time, and which they 
disclosed prior to lawful admission to our nation. These individuals 
should be granted a presumption of admissibility, assuming no other 
factors of inadmissibility apply to their cases.
  Equally troubling is the effect of agency inaction on individuals in 
removal proceedings. Asylum seekers in removal proceedings are not 
considered for a waiver of the terrorism-related bars unless and until 
a final order of removal is issued. This inefficient system forces 
asylum seekers to engage in a lengthy appeals process if they believe 
they have a valid claim for relief. Reviewing such cases for waivers at 
the early stages of removal proceedings will lead to more efficient 
operations within the agency and the immigration courts. It will also 
save genuine asylum seekers from unnecessary anguish and enable them to 
more quickly integrate into American society.
  I intend to work in earnest with the Obama administration to solve 
this problem once and for all. If the executive branch is unwilling or 
unable to make the needed administrative changes to policy, then I will 
introduce legislation once again. Should legislation be necessary, I 
expect the administration and the agencies to work with me in a 
constructive manner to restore common sense and fairness to our 
treatment of refugees and asylum seekers.

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