HIAS - 11.23.2004

HIAS

Specter Amendment Extended for FY 2005

Dear Colleagues:

I wanted to share with you the good news that the Specter (formerly Lautenberg) Amendment was extended as part of the Omnibus Appropriations bill for fiscal year 2005. (The omnibus is currently awaiting final approval by the House on account of a last minute resolution included by the Senate - however, this is largely procedural and should not pose a problem to the enactment of the bill.) The Specter Amendment will continue to facilitate refugee adjudications for Jews and Evangelical Christians in the FSU, as well as religious minority refugee applicants from Iran (Jews, Christians, Bahai, Zoroastrians and Mandeans). We will continue to work with the Department of Homeland Security to ensure that implementation goes smoothly. 

Emily Spero-Smith
HIAS

[According to the HIAS web site, the “Lautenberg/Specter amendment”, first sponsored by Senator Frank Lautenberg and afterwards by Senator Arlen Specter, gives special consideration in refugee processing to certain categories of persons from the former Soviet Union, Indochina, and Iran. U.S. immigration officers must take into account the historical persecution of designated categories of persons from these areas and must then apply a lower standard for determining refugee status.]