Day: April 15, 2008

The “McCain Program” brings in more refugees from the Vietnam war

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

I know, I know, you are saying, but the War ended more than 30 years ago, are there still refugees we need to bring to America?   Doesn’t John McCain know we have normalized relations with Vietnam and although the country’s growth is slowed by its Communist government, generally the lives of people there are getting better.  

Surely those who wish to come to America can just get in line for a visa like others who are not “persecuted”.  Remember refugees receive all sorts of taxpayer funded benefits, job counseling and English lessons while normal immigrants are on their own.

Last night a reader brought the McCain Program to our attention.  

The McCain Amendment provides that certain sons or daughters of former Vietnamese re-education center detainees are to be considered refugees of special humanitarian concern and may be eligible for resettlement in the U.S. if they meet the following criteria: [go to the Consulate General website here]

Read this article at VDARE by Thomas Allen for more on the reopening of the Vietnam refugee program years after it officially closed.

Lobbying campaign on Iraqi displaced persons underway

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

This is going to have to be a quick mention of a very important issue, but no time today to do it justice.  Since the campaign was launched yesterday, I couldn’t let too much time pass before telling you about it.

Here is the appeal from Human Rights First.  The goal here is to get a so-called “grassroots” movement going to pressure Congress and the Administration to bring more Iraqi refugees.

On April 14-16, Human Rights First and more than 20 other U.S.-based NGOs – and activists like you – will travel to Washington to educate and persuade members of Congress to take the Iraqi refugee crisis seriously, and to make it a part of any future plan for Iraq and the region. The Iraq Action Days kick off with an all-day Iraq Policy Forum* featuring a keynote speech by the Iraqi ambassador to the United States, followed by advocacy training and Congressional visits. Our own Amelia Templeton will cond uct some of the advocacy training.

This is a great opportunity to broadcast a powerful message on behalf of the more than four million Iraqis who have fled their homes. That’s one out of every seven Iraqis – people who are now struggling to find food, shelter and medical care, unable or afraid to return to their homes.

* Check out the speakers at the Forum here.

And here are the NGO’s involved.

This is all part of the lobbying and PR campaign that began with the meeting of bigwigs earlier in the month, and includes the introduction of the Kennedy/Biden/McCain bill I wrote about yesterday.

All ties in to Judy’s excellent report on Laurence Jarvik’s paper on NGO’s and the role they play.

More later…….