New York, NY, January 31, 2017 — David Miliband, President and CEO of the International Rescue Committee, said:
"Following the announcement over the weekend regarding green card holders, today's commitment by the Department of Homeland Security that Iraqi Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) holders will be allowed into the US, in recognition of their service, is both a welcome step forward and further evidence that Friday's Executive Order was drawn up in haste and needs further urgent review.
One quarter of the IRC's refugee caseload for fiscal year 2017 will be SIV cases and there is no justification for any question mark over their standing. However, there is equally no justification for excluding the 60,000 refugees from across the world who are trapped in limbo by this order, including thousands of other Iraqis who also served the US, but are awaiting resettlement outside the SIV program. Also excluded are refugees seeking to be reunited with families in the US, including unaccompanied children. These are the most vulnerable and most vetted of any category of people admitted to the United States.
We urge the administration to rethink this harmful policy."
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