Posted on 02/13/2006 9:13:31 AM PST by lizol
Poland Deserves Better By Fred Gedrich
During his first state visit to America last week, Poland’s newly-elected president, Lech Kaczynski, championed the special long-standing relationship between the two nations. He also attempted to persuade U.S. President George W. Bush and key members of Congress to make it easier for Polish citizens to visit America.
U.S. reluctance to admit Poland into its Visa Waiver Program (VWP) since that country became free and democratic in 1990 has become a major irritant to Poland’s leaders and people. The program was established in 1986, ostensibly to foster better relations with U.S. allies and to eliminate the need for U.S. State Department consular officers to evaluate a large number of visa applications from citizens of friendly countries. So far, 27 countries participate in the program, including all of Western Europe. Because Poland is arguably the most pro-U.S. country in Europe, it is understandable why Poles are upset.
The special U.S./Polish relationship dates back to the Revolutionary War era. As America fought for its independence, it did so with major contributions from generals Thaddeus Kosciusko and Casimir Pulaski. As the world faced the Cold War’s darkest days, it was two Poles, Pope John Paul II and Solidarity’s Lech Walesa, along with U.S. President Ronald Reagan, who served as the principal catalysts for leading hundreds of millions out of their enslaved existence and into the sunshine of freedom. Today, Poland continues the brave tradition of standing alongside its American friends in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Three major waves of Polish immigrations to the U.S. (1800s to World War I, World War II, and during the 1980 martial-law period) have filled the country with a healthy and productive population of Americans of Polish descent. The Polish-American Association estimates that there are approximately 9 million Americans of Polish ancestry in the U.S., with about 40 percent located in four states: New York (986,141), Illinois (932,996), Michigan (854,844) and Pennsylvania (824,146).
State Department officials and U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)—who sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Immigration, Border Security, and Citizenship Subcommittee—say Poland is not eligible for entry into the VWP because U.S. consular officers in Warsaw and Krakow refused to grant nonimmigrant tourist visas to about 33 percent of approximately 150,000 Polish applicants in 2004. The rejections exceed the program’s maximum refusal rate of 3 percent.
Adding insult to injury, the U.S. government requires all Polish visa applicants to pay a $100 non-refundable fee, regardless of whether the application is approved or disapproved.
Marek Purowski, Polish embassy spokesman in D.C., says, “Poland’s high refusal rate has more to do with economics and educational status than anything else. Moreover, the State Department has not provided Poland with reasons why so many visa applicants have been turned down and what the criteria the refusals are based on.”
Statistics seem to support Purowski’s main contention. Poland, about the size of New Mexico and having a population of nearly 39 million, is not as wealthy as all of the 27 nations enjoying VWP status. According to the CIA’s World Factbook, Poland’s per capita gross domestic product for 2005 is estimated at $12,700, while the average GDP of the 27 VWP nations is $30,900.
Another chief State Department concern appears to be that many Poles, because of their relatively poor economic standing, are more likely to stay in the U.S. longer than the 90-day VWP limit. However, the Census Bureau reported that Poles comprise just 1 percent (92,684) of America’s total estimated illegal alien population of 8.7 million. Conversely, Germany, who enjoys VWP status, has 113,327 illegal aliens listed on the same report.
U.S. senators Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania and Barbara Mikulski of Maryland introduced legislation in 2004 to put Poland in the VWP. When scheduled for a vote, a “secret hold” of one of the other senators stopped the process. In arguing for passage of the legislation, Santorum noted that the U.S. “treats Poles as second-class” friends. Mikulski posed an important rhetorical question: “Shouldn’t we make it easier for the Pulaskis, Kosciuskos, and Curies of today to visit our country?” In 2005, two pieces of similar legislation, introduced by U.S. representatives Nancy Johnson (R-CT) and Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX) failed to get out of the House.
The desire of Poles to enter the U.S. also has a political component. Ninety percent of Poles are Catholic, and their American cousins of Polish descent are key swing voters. In this regard, according to Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, “Treating Poland with the respect it has earned would be a great way to cement this growing bond. Republicans spent several decades trying to convince Catholic voters that their pro-family, anti-communist, entrepreneurial impulses have their natural home in the party of Reagan.”
Poland’s first freely-elected president and Nobel Laureate, Lech Walesa, described entry into the VWP as a “matter of honor” for Poland. As Poland’s president in 1991, he unilaterally abolished visa requirements for U.S. citizens visiting Poland, and he expected that the U.S. would respond in kind. It’s about time it did.
"Does that include Polish Jews or just Catholics?" ---Both
Makes me wish I had more than Chuckie "the weasel" Schumer and Shrillary to write to.
Yeah, it illustrates SELF CONFIDENCE! I can wear a pink shirt because I know I'm not gay and I don't care what less confident heterosexuals think.
What I want to know is, who put on the "secret hold"?
It was Feinstein. Makes sense, why would she want to allow Poles visas when they are so conservative? It's her way of payback for supporting Bush.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.