1. Refugees: An International Perspective By ADC Legal & Policy Director Abed Ayoub

2. How does the current refugee crisis compares to past refugee crises?

3. Refugees caused by armed conflicts, past and present

4. 2014: Global forced displacement tops 50 million for first time since World War II era On June 20 2014, the UN refugee agency reported on World Refugee Day that the number of refugees, asylum-seekers and internally displaced people worldwide had, for the first time in the post-World War II era, exceeded 50 million people. 51.2 million people were forcibly displaced at the end of 2013, fully 6 million more than the 45.2 million reported in 2012

5. Refugees caused by World War II During WWII, Nazi aggression pushed German residents and their neighbors to flee their homelands and seek refuge elsewhere, especially the Jews. It is estimated that a total of about 60 million Europeans became refugees during the entire World War II period.

6. 1951: UN Refugee Convention In 1951, The United Nations codified Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which recognizes the right of persons to seek asylum from persecution in other countries. The 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees is the centerpiece of international refugee protection. It’s the key legal document in defining who is a refugee, their rights and the legal obligations of states. However, as a response to WWII, the Refugee Convention initially limited protection to European refugees who fled their countries before January 1,1951 (after World War II)

7. 1967: Refugee Protocol The 1967 Protocol removed geographical and temporal restrictions from the Refugee Convention. New Refugee Definition under the Protocol: – "A person who owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country; or who, not having a nationality and being outside the country of his former habitual residence as a result of such events, is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it..“

8. Registering as a refugee with UNHCR Registration is a fundamental component of international protection – Registration helps protect against refoulement (return to their country), arbitrary arrest and detention by making people known to UNHCR and the host government as persons of concern 2 ways to register as a refugee: – Register with a UNHCR registration center or refugee camp Registration usually lasts about 40 minutes per family Includes collection of identification information and scanning of the applicant’s iris – Register in the country where you are seeking asylum In the US, you can apply for asylum with US Citizenship and Immigration Services

9. Why are refugees seeking refuge in foreign countries? What causes them to leave their homes for an unknown environment?

10. Ongoing armed conflicts This massive increase in refugees has been was caused mainly by the war in Syria, which as of March 2016 has forced 4.8 million people into becoming refugees and made 6.6 million internally displaced. – Major new displacement was also seen in Africa – notably in Central African Republic and South Sudan. "We are seeing here the immense costs of not ending wars, of failing to resolve or prevent conflict…Peace is today dangerously in deficit. Humanitarians can help…but political solutions are vitally needed. Without this, the alarming levels of conflict and the mass suffering that is reflected in these figures will continue.“ - UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres.

11. Syrian Refugee Crisis The Syrian refugee crisis has continued to get worse as the conflict has escalated. – According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, 4.6 million Syrians have been forced to leave the country, and 6.6 million are internally displaced, making Syria the largest displacement crisis globally As the Syrian civil war enters its sixth year, the massive flow of refugees into neighboring countries and Europe is overwhelming the international refugee system (See UNHCR Situation Map on next slide).

12. UNHCR Syrian Situation Map: Response by Syria’s neighbors Turkey: 2,715,789 Lebanon: 1,067, 785 Jordan: 639, 704 Iraq: 246, 051 Egypt: 118, 512 4,815,868 total registered Syrian refugees in Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Turkey and other countries as of March 9, 2016

13. United States Response to the Syrian Refugee Crisis President Obama has committed to accepting 10,000 Syrian refugees for resettlement in the U.S. in Fiscal Year 2016, This is not enough to truly address the Syrian refugee crisis. There are 4.6 million registered Syrian refugees There are currently 26,622 UNHCR Syrian refugee applications pending with the U.S. UNHCR is seeking to resettle 130,000 Syrian refugees by the end of 2016 The International Rescue Committee has called on the U.S. to accept at least 50 percent of the 130,000 Syrian refugees UNHCR is seeking to resettle: 65,000 by the end of 2016. Oxfam America has asked the U.S. to resettle 70,000 by the end of 2016.

14. The need for temporary and complementary protections The UN High Commissioner for Refugees advises countries to develop temporary protection or stay agreements in situations of humanitarian crises and complex or mixed population movements, particularly where existing responses to refugee crises are inadequate

15. Temporary Protected Status in the U.S. Immigration System Under U.S. Immigration Law, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary has authority to designate a country for TPS due to the following temporary conditions in the country: Ongoing armed conflict (such as civil war) An environmental disaster (such as earthquake or hurricane), or an epidemic Other extraordinary and temporary conditions During a designated period, individuals who are TPS beneficiaries or who are found preliminarily eligible for TPS upon initial review of their cases (prima facie eligible): Are not removable from the United States Can obtain an employment authorization document (EAD) May be granted travel authorization

16. ADC’s request to extend TPS for Syria DHS initially designated TPS for Syria in March of 2012, and has extended the designation twice. TPS for Syria is currently set to expire in September 2016 ADC believes that extending and re-designating Syria for TPS is appropriate because fear of persecution in Syria is no longer limited to those who meet the legal definition of a refugee under the Immigration and Nationality Act and the Refugee Convention – Many persons fleeing Syria would have well founded reasons for fearing that their lives would be in danger if they returned to Syria, whether or not they are able to demonstrate particularized persecution on the basis of race, religion, nationality, or membership in a particular social group or political opinion. – As a practical matter, the indiscriminate nature of the killing of civilians in Syria by both the Syrian Government and opposition groups have complicated the traditional notion of refugee, and therefore the requirements for asylum in the US,. Therefore, temporary and complementary protections such as TPS are a justified and necessary response to the Syrian refugee crisis.

17. Currently political climate regarding refugee resettlement

18. Political climate in Europe In 2015, more than 500,000 refugees crossed into the EU via the “Balkan Highway” There is a sense that Europe has lost control of its borders, which has fueled xenophobia and anti- immigrant sentiment After promising to accept 500,000 refugees each year for several years, Germany is now exploring a more politically pragmatic solution of offering Turkey $3 billion Euros to support refugees in Turkey.

19. Visa Waiver Program Administered by DHS in consultation with the State Department The Visa Waiver Program permits citizens of 38 countries to travel to the United States for business or tourism for stays of up to 90 days without a visa. Reciprocity: In return, those 38 countries must permit U.S. citizens and nationals to travel to their countries for a similar length of time without a visa for business or tourism purposes.

20. Restrictions to VWP In Dec. 2015, the Visa Waiver Program Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act (“VWP Act”) passed in the Omnibus bill. The VWP Act prohibits individuals who are citizens of VWP countries and are also dual nationals of, or have traveled to, Iran, Iraq, Sudan, or Syria, on or after March 1, 2011, from traveling to the United States under the VWP – On February 18, 2016, DHS announced that it will extend the Visa Waiver Program travel ban to persons who traveled to Yemen, Somalia and Libya since March 1, 2011. – On Feb 23 rd, 2016, ADC and a diverse coalition of 50 civil rights, immigrant rights, interfaith, and humanitarian organizations urged DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson to use his authority to remove the dual nationality prohibitions and travel bans. Result of Reciprocity: In addition to being discriminatory, the restrictions would likely cause affected countries to reciprocate. – This would affect hundreds of thousands of Americans. For example, any EU-imposed travel restriction would impact over 740,000 American citizens solely based on their national origin and/or family heritage.

21. Current Anti-Refugee Legislation On Wednesday, March 16th, the House Judiciary Committee passed H.R. 4731, "The Refugee Program Integrity Restoration Act“ by a vote of 18-9. Introduced by Congressmen Raul Labrador (R-ID) and Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), this bill an anti-refugee bill that would severely restrict refugee resettlement in the US. The bill would: – Cap and drastically reduce refugee admissions – Significantly delay refugee resettlement in the US – Increase “recurrent security monitoring” of refugees that are eventually accepted for resettlement in the US – Allow state and local governments that “disapprove” of refugees to veto resettlement in their localities – Effectively block many Arab and Muslim refugees from being resettled in the U.S. under the guise of prioritizing religious minorities from countries – Revoke the refugee status of refugees who return to their country of origin to visit loved ones or rebuild their communities

22. Suggested changes to responses