U.S. Encourages Immigration From Terror-Sponsor States

Law Sponsored by Ted Kennedy Mandates Affirmative Action for Libya, Iraq, Sudan, and Syria
U.S. Encourages Immigration From Terror-Sponsor States
By Joseph A. D'Agostino
The Week of October 1, 2001

The U.S. State Department runs a quota system designed to encourage immigration from all seven countries on the department’s own terrorist watch list.

The "Diversity Immigrant Visa Program" has the goal of issuing highly prized permanent residence visas to 50,000 foreign nationals from countries that send relatively few immigrants to the United States. These visas are specifically designed to increase the diversity of the U.S. immigrant pool and are in addition to the employment- and family-based permanent visas that are granted each year.

All seven of the nations listed by the State Department as "state sponsors of international terrorism"—Iran, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Cuba, North Korea and Sudan—are included in the program. "This was a program created by Congress," said a State Department official, and "1995 was the first year we had it."

Section 203(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which requires the State Department to run the program, was sponsored by Sen. Teddy Kennedy (D.-Mass.) in 1990 and signed into law by President George Bush.

Countries that have sent 50,000 or more immigrants to the United States in the last five years, such as Britain, Canada, mainland China, Colombia, El Salvador, Mexico, Pakistan, and the Philippines, are excluded from the program.

Applicants to the diversity program "still have to meet the same requirements as other applicants for permanent residence visas," a State Department official said. "Those requirements include copies of police records, interviews."

The application requirements, the official said, enable State to screen out dangerous people such as terrorists. "No one country may have more than 7% of the visas, but there is no minimum," she said. "No country is guaranteed to be able to have applicants approved under this program." Applicants enter a lottery each year, she said. Requirements include a high school diploma or a history of skilled work experience.

Thirteen million people filed applications for the 50,000 slots available next year. Of these, three million applications were ruled invalid. Of the ten million remaining, 1,703 people from Iran were awarded visas, 117 from Iraq, 67 from Syria, 26 from Libya, 757 from Cuba, none from North Korea, and 1,820 from Sudan.

Rep. Tom Tancredo (R.-Colo.), chairman of the Congressional Immigration Reform Caucus, had already introduced legislation to abolish the program before the September 11 attacks. Now he says he will include its abolition in the immigration reform package he plans to introduce after the House has passed the President’s anti-terrorism package. He said he expects that it will be difficult to get this reform package to the House floor.

Jack Martin, special projects director for the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), said he doubts that terrorists use the diversity immigrant visa program because obtaining permanent residence visas is such a long process that includes a more thorough background check than that involved in getting a temporary visa (for business, tourism, or study).

Posted for Education and Discussion only, Copyright belongs to Human Events 2001

Excuse me, but the only reason Kennedy proposed such a law was to . . .

. . . was to destroy the influence of the Christian Right on the politics and morals and culture of America.

Excuse me, but the only reason Kennedy proposed such a law was to get more democrats registered to vote. There was no other purpose. And ... if the repubs didn't go along - you guessed it - we were called racist!

I got news fer ya... there are an increasing number of GOP hacks who have taken to playing the same game.

"Ethnicity X voted 70% republican in the last election, so let's bring more in!"

This mindset is not only repugnant, it has become lethal, as well.

Incredible! Sponsored by TED KENNEDY; signed into law by Bush Senior. Hopefully Dubya and Congress can learn from the history of Sept. 11 and not continue to make these mistakes! Undo this terrible Law!!

There is no need or requirement within our country’s tradition or Constitution for our Immigration Service to slant the immigration numbers and quotas in favor of “non-white” people, and I resent it when the quotas are slanted in that direction. We’ve got a problem around the country right now with some Islamic people and we have a big problem in the Southwest with some legal and illegal Latin Americans who come to our country and become criminals and gang members. We are having more and more trouble with criminals coming in from the Caribbean Islands and from Africa. On the West Coast, cities are having trouble with Oriental gang members coming in from Taiwan, Hong Kong, and other Oriental countries.

For the Immigration Service to base their decisions only on race and “diversity”, rather than quality, education, and morality, is just plain crazy.

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