2007 Iraqi Refugee Admissions: An Overview

• Total number of Iraqi refugees admitted in the 2007 fiscal year: 1,608
• Of these, number referred by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees: 1,510
• Number referred by a U.S. embassy program for Iraqi employees: 98
• Special immigrant visas issued to translators and their family members: 820

The administration's Iraqi admissions goal for FY 2008: 12,000

Country of origin of the 1,608 Iraqis resettled in FY 2007

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) interviews each refugee referred to the U.S. program. DHS does not have permanent staff in the region. Teams of four to six DHS officers visit the region for several weeks at a time on "circuit rides" to interview refugees.

Number of DHS circuit rides in FY 2007 by country

Too Many Without Protection

The United States initially committed to accepting 7,000 refugee referrals from the UNHCR. By June 2007, the UNHCR had referred more than 8,000 Iraqis to the U.S. refugee admissions program.

By the end of the fiscal year, Sept 30, 2007, the U.S. had admitted only 1,608 of these Iraqis. The individuals referred by the UN include, among other categories, victims of torture and detention, individuals at risk of deportation from Jordan or Syria, and orphaned children. Put simply, these 8,000 Iraqis were all considered in urgent need of resettlement and protection. Delays can have devastating consequences for their lives.

The U.S. has failed to yet bring to safety more than 6,000 refugees whose cases have been fully its responsibility since June.

Emergency Visas Unused

In 2007 the United States had an unallocated reserve of 20,000 refugee admissions slots, to be used in response to unforeseen refugee crises. On April 17, 2007, at a UN conference in Geneva, the State Department official in charge of refugees, Ellen Sauerbrey, suggested these visas could be used for Iraqis.

"... 20,000 was an unallocated number to be used wherever needed. So I think it is fair to say that if we get the referrals we could resettle up to 25,000 Iraqi refugees within the President's determination this year."
— Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees and Migration Ellen Sauerbrey

These 20,000 admissions slots went unused this year. Faced with the worst refugee crisis in the Middle East since 1948, the U.S. should have used this unallocated reserve for Iraqis.

Some Progress: A Pipeline in the Making

Prior to February 2007, the United States had not resettled any of the roughly 2 million Iraqis who fled the country after 2003. The U.S. had no ability to process Iraqi applications in Jordan, Syria, or Iraq.

Some significant initial progress has been made developing the infrastructure needed to process Iraqi refugees.

• Since February 2007, an average of 195 Iraqi refugees have been admitted each month, with a high of 889 in August 2007.
• Although the U.S. cannot process any refugees in Iraq, the embassy in Baghdad is able to make referrals for some Iraqi employees, and refers on average two individuals per week.
• The International Organization for Migration (the U.S.-contracted Overseas Processing Entity) is now working on the ground in Jordan and Syria to help prepare Iraqi refugee applications for U.S. approval.
• A special program in Jordan allows translators and a handful of elite employees to apply directly to the U.S. refugee program, without having to wait for a referral from the UNHCR.

Problems

In addition to the disappointing total number of refugee admissions during FY 2007, Human Rights First notes several problems.

Lack of Commitment from Leadership. The President has never publicly acknowledged the Iraqi refugee crisis, although it is the worst refugee emergency the Middle East has seen since 1948. The administration opposed recent bipartisan legislation in the Senate that would aid Iraqis working for the United States, stating that "existing authorities provide the requisite funding and programmatic flexibility to respond to the current situation." The U.S. resettled only 1,608 refugees over the last year. The U.S. goal of resettling 12,000 Iraqis over the next year is not commensurate with the scope and gravity of the refugee crisis, the U.S. moral obligation to address this crisis, and the need to alleviate the inordinate strain placed on neighboring states that are hosting more than 2 million Iraqi refugees.

No Access from Iraq. The U.S. has not established a means for persecuted Iraqis to apply to our refugee program while still inside Iraq. Although there are legitimate concerns as to how to establish secure refugee processing facilities in Iraq, the U.S. must make this a priority. Syria closed its borders on October 1, 2007, and 2.2 million Iraqis have fled their homes and are already internally displaced within Iraq, including many who have worked with the United States. This problem is likely to grow worse.

No Interviewers in Syria. The majority of Iraqi refugees (about 1.5 million) have fled to Syria, including many Iraqis persecuted for working with the United States. Several thousand Iraqi refugees in Syria have been prepared for resettlement in the U.S., but fewer than 300 have been resettled. The rest are now stuck because DHS officers have not been allowed to enter the country for interviews. Human Rights First urges Syria to allow refugee processing to take place. The U.S. needs to break this deadlock or find an alternate way to process refugees in Syria, such as video conferencing.

A 10-Month Wait

As U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker described in a recent cable, the current system is plagued by bottlenecks and backlogs. DHS, the State Department, and and the U.S.-contracted Overseas Processing Entity (OPE) have blamed one another for this problem but not taken adequate steps to solve it.

Questions for the Administration

• This year, the United States had 20,000 refugee slots in reserve to use in case an emergency refugee crisis developed. Why weren't those slots used to bring Iraqi refugees to safety?
• The Iraqi refugee crisis is the worst displacement of people in the Middle East since 1948. The president speaks regularly about the humanitarian obligation of the United States in Iraq, but has not commented on the refugee crisis. Why hasn't the President spoken about the crisis?
• The Democratic leadership in Congress has pushed for a reduction or withdrawal in U.S. troops in Iraq. What is their plan for protection, assistance, and resettlement of displaced Iraqis in the event of a drawdown of U.S. troops?
• Why did the administration oppose recent bipartisan legislation in the Senate that will make it easier for Iraqis working with the United States to get refugee status here?
• On October 1, 2007, Syria began restricting entry to Iraqi refugees. Today, Iraq's neighbors have all effectively closed their borders. In addition to providing aid to assist refugees, what steps is the U.S. taking to address this situation and to alleviate the strain on Iraq's neighbors? Is the U.S. preparing to process refugees inside Iraq's borders?
• DHS and the State Department recently announced the administration's decision to aim to admit 12,000 Iraqi refugees next year. There are 2.2 million Iraqi refugees. Why hasn't the president directed that more Iraqi refugees be brought to the U.S.?
• In FY 2007, the U.S. resettled 1,608 Iraqi refugees. The U.S. has announced it will resettle 12,000 Iraqis in the next fiscal year. How many Iraqis does DHS plan to interview each week to meet this goal? Will they be able to interview 1,000 Iraqis a month without stationing permanent staff in the region?
• Next year, the U.S. will have 10,000 refugee slots in reserve to use for refugees. Will the U.S. commit to using these slots for Iraqis?
• Roughly 40 percent of the 1,608 Iraqi refugees the U.S. admitted this year came from Turkey. Why?
• In Syria, several thousand Iraqi refugees have been prepared for resettlement in the United States. But DHS officers have not been able to enter the country to interview these refugees. What is going to happen to these Iraqis?