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Homeland Security to Create Senior Refugee Position 49 Organizations Urge Secretary Chertoff to Implement Change in Light of REAL ID Act (5/23/05) (PDF- 334KB) More than 50 Organizations Urge Secretary Chertoff to Implement Report Recommendations (4/22/05) (PDF 37KB) Human Rights First Letter to New Homeland Security Secretary Chertoff (03/02/05) (PDF-139KB) Asylum Newsletter #36: New Homeland Security Secretary Should Make Reforms for Refugees (02/25/05) New Report from U.S. Religious Freedom Commission Exposes Barriers Facing Refugees (02/08/05) Ridge Resignation Offers Opportunity to Step Up Refugee Protection (November 30, 2004) Human Rights First Calls for High-Level Refugee Protection Expert in DHS Secretary Ridge's Office Operation Liberty Shield Quietly Terminated 90 Organizations Urge the Department of Homeland Security to Protect Refugees and Asylum Seekers Human Rights First Urges Secretary Ridge to Rescind New Detention Policy Department of Homeland Security Targets Haitian Refugees  Refugees |
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Homeland Security To Appoint Senior Refugee Official  Human Rights First Welcomes Adoption of its RecommendationFollowing the recommendation by Human Rights First, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, and thousands of advocates and organizations around the country, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff announced on July 13, 2005 that he will create a new senior refugee policy position within the Department of Homeland Security. This is a major victory for asylum seekers fleeing persecution, who continue to face mounting hurdles upon seeking refuge in the United States. The position will reside within the new Directorate of Policy, which will ultimately be led by an Under Secretary. On August 19, 2005, Eleanor Acer, Director of the Asylum Program, wrote a letter to Secretary Chertoff commending his decision and setting out several recommendations to ensure that the new official is effective in advancing refugee protection. Click here to read this letter. On November 16, 2005, seventy-one faith-based, human rights, and refugee organizations and academics sent a letter to Secretary Chertoff joining in these recommendations and urging the appointment of an official with extensive refugee protection expertise. Click here to read this sign-on letter. Read HRF Media Alert Since the Department of Homeland Security took over asylum matters from the former INS in March 2003, Human Rights First has urged the Department to take steps to ensure that refugees and asylum seekers are treated appropriately across the Department’s various different bureaus. In a January 2004 report on U.S. detention of asylum seekers, Human Rights First recommended that the Department create a high-level refugee protection position; and we reiterated that request to Secretary Chertoff shortly after he was appointed as the new Secretary of the Department in early 2005. In February 2002, a bi-partisan governmental commission – the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom – also recommended that the Department create such a position. In fact, the creation of this position was the Commission’s number one recommendation. A broad coalition of faith-based and refugee assistance organizations have also joined in this recommendation. The Secretary’s announcement was part of his “Six-Point Agenda” for the Department. In a press release, the Department stated that this agenda was the result of “a careful study of the department’s programs, policies, operations and structure.” [DHS Press Release; Secretary Chertoff's Remarks] Background Regarding the Department of Homeland Security Human Rights First Report: The Department of Homeland Security, Refugees, and Asylum Seekers The Department of Homeland Security: One Year Later On Saturday, March 1, 2003, the enforcement and services functions of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) were transferred to the new Department of Homeland Security. Unless the Administration, the new Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Congress take concrete steps, asylum seekers and refugees who now fall within the jurisdiction of the new Department will become increasingly more vulnerable as immigration services and enforcement functions are separated and as immigration functions are viewed narrowly as matters of security. The
mission of the Department of Homeland Security is set out in Section 101
of the Homeland Security Act. The Department’s mission includes:
preventing terrorist attacks in the U.S., reducing the vulnerability of
the U.S. to terrorism, and minimizing the damage from terrorist attacks.
There is no stated objective of ensuring that the U.S. lives up to its
obligations to refugees and asylum seekers, obligations that stem from
both U.S. law and international conventions as well as its tradition of
welcoming those fleeing persecution. There is no innate contradiction between
the new department’s security objective and the broader government
interest in providing a welcoming environment for newcomers to the United
States, and in particular shelter from persecution. The transfer of responsibilities
to the new department however requires an express recognition of the positive
contribution refugees make to this country, and a clear mission to safeguard
these U.S. values in its pursuit of enhanced security. The conduct of
fair refugee and asylum procedures and the maintenance of security are
objectives that can both be met. The former need not be sacrificed
to the latter. |
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