Recently The New York Times ran an interesting article by Sabrina Tavernise and David Rohde investigating why few Iraqis who worked with the United States have been able to apply to our refugee program. I read the article on my laptop in Amman, Jordan, where I'm staying with an Iraqi who used to translate for the U.S. He fled here in January after a terrifying direct threat to his family, and has been waiting eight months for the opportunity to resettle in the United States.
I came to Amman to meet with Iraqi refugees, and make my own quick assessment of how well the programs the U.S has put in place are working.
The situation is a little better than I expected. Although nobody is offering serious comprehensive policy solutions, the U.S., the UN, and the Government of Jordan have finally admitted there is a refugee crisis. In January, the last time I was here, there was no way out for Iraqis. Now, the U.S. has opened its doors to a slow trickle of refugees. This morning, I interviewed an Iraqi man who had just been told he would be traveling to Wisconsin on September 10th. He had been imprisoned and tortured by a militia for most of last year. Now he, his wife, and his two young daughters will have the chance to rebuild their lives.
According to the NYT article, the U.S. has received about 9,000 refugee referrals, but only about five percent of these are Iraqis who worked with the United States. Tavernise and Rhode conclude that more of our Iraqi employees would seek refuge in the United States if they could apply from Iraq, without having to flee to Jordan or Syria first.
They are certainly right about that. Jordan, which has already received close to 800,000 Iraqis, has effectively closed its border. Even refugees with visa appointments at the U.S. embassy in Amman are turned back. The Syrian border is still open but the journey through the desert is dangerous, and air travel leaves many Iraqis broke.
But I think the article missed one major point: many Iraqis in Syria and Jordan who were persecuted because they worked with the United States still don't have any direct way to seek refuge in the United States. In Jordan, those who worked as military translators and a handful of embassy employees have the right to submit their refugee claim directly to the U.S. But all others -- drivers, engineers, housekeepers, technicians -- don't have this right. In Syria -- where the majority of Iraqis live -- there isn't any special resettlement program for Iraqis who worked with us. The New York Times article refers to a U.S. embassy spokesman stating that all Iraqi refugees who worked with the US would be fast-tracked by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Office. That's just not true. And it shouldn't be. The UNHCR is in charge of protecting all the refugees in Jordan and Syria, and shouldn't be asked to give special treatment to former U.S. employees.
If the United States is serious about protecting the Iraqis who are risking their lives alongside our soldiers, it needs to stop messing around and put its own comprehensive program in place. We need to ensure that translators, engineers, and drivers who are threatened in Iraq have a safe passage out of the country -- or are able to apply for refugee status from Iraq. Our Iraqi employees should be given direct access to the U.S. refugee program in any country they are in, without the requirement of going to UNHCR first. And UNHCR should be allowed to do its job, which includes protecting and resettling the most vulnerable refugees -- including victims of torture, unaccompanied children, religious minorities, and the elderly -- not just those who worked with the United States.