Bush’s Immigration Policy Misleads Soviet Jews, Berman Charges

Rep. Howard L. Berman (D-Panorama City) exhorted Bush Administration officials Thursday to tell Soviet Jews seeking to emigrate that only those who have applied will be granted refugee status in the coming year under a new Administration policy.

Berman said the Administration should “hang out a sign on the door in Moscow for 1990 refugees: ‘Need not apply,’ ” because Bush’s refugee policy will delay their admission into the United States.

The Administration has proposed admitting 50,000 Soviet Jews during the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1, out of a total of 125,000 refugees to be admitted from all locations. More than 60,000 Soviet applicants already await processing in a growing backlog in Moscow and Europe.

“In reality, we’re saying for 1990, no new applications should be accepted,” Berman said. “Why torture these people any more?”

Berman, an influential lawmaker on immigration and refugee issues, made his remarks at an often-acrimonious House subcommittee hearing on the processing of Soviet emigres. He was addressing Jewell S. Lafontant, the State Department’s coordinator for refugee affairs, two of her aides, and Gerald Coyle, chief of staff for the Immigration and Naturalization Service.

Rising Criticism

The Bush Administration faces mounting criticism in the wake of the relaxation of Jewish emigration under Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev’s policy of glasnost , or openness.

The United States has insisted for years that Soviet Jews should have complete freedom to choose their destinations. But faced with skyrocketing numbers of would-be Soviet emigres, Administration officials have said the United States cannot accept all those who want to come. They have cited budget constraints and the need to address those fleeing political or religious persecution in other parts of the world.

“We’re dealing within the constraints of our budget and management abilities,” Princeton Lyman, director of the State Department’s Bureau for Refugee Programs, told the joint meeting of Foreign Affairs’ subcommittee on Europe and the Middle East and Judiciary’s immigration, refugees and international law subcommittee.

But critics, such as Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), have accused the Administration of “turning victory into problems.”

Under questioning by Berman and other House Democrats, Administration officials acknowledged that all 50,000 slots proposed for Soviet refugees in the 1990 fiscal year would go to pending applicants in Moscow, Rome and Vienna. The Administration estimates that an additional 150,000 to 200,000 Soviet Jews, evangelical Christians and other emigres will seek to come to the United States next year.

Until recently, the only way most Jews and Pentecostals could leave the Soviet Union was through Israeli visas. Many traveled to Vienna and Rome, where their applications for U. S. refugee status were reviewed by American immigration officers.

Until September, 1988, the United States had automatically granted refugee status to Soviet Jews. As recently as 1987, the number of such refugees was only 8,155.

But faced with liberalization within the Soviet Union, the Reagan Administration instituted a new policy under which each Soviet applicant would be interviewed to see if he or she could demonstrate “a well-founded fear of persecution.” Those who could not were denied refugee status.

The growing exodus, combined with the new screening requirements, have led to a backlog of about 20,000 Soviet Jews in various stages of processing in Rome and Vienna and more than 40,000 waiting for interviews in Moscow. Presumably, they will be processed in the coming year.

“We were hoping to get the backlog cleaned up by early 1990,” Lyman said.

In the meantime, Berman said the Administration should be more forthright about the prospects for those Soviet Jews who will seek to come to the United States next year.

“Apply now,” he said prospective emigres should be told. “But understand that it’s going to be a year or more before it’s even considered.”

The 50,000 Soviet refugees that the Administration proposes to admit next year represent an increase over the 43,500 admitted this year. But the U. S. government would pay resettlement costs for only 40,000; private groups would pay for the rest.

Under the Refugee Act of 1980, the President determines quotas. He is required to consult with Congress on the reasons for allocating the total among various parts of the world. Bush’s 1990 plan includes 51,500 refugees from East Asia, 6,500 from the Near East and South Asia, and 6,500 from Eastern Europe.

Berman’s east San Fernando Valley district is home to a growing number of Soviet refugees.