Subject:Protect and Assist Iraqi Refugees
Att.-Senate-passed provision on Iraqi refugees that is part of the Defense Authorization bill.
Dear Senators;
The Iraqi refugee crisis is the greatest human displacement crisis in the Middle East in almost 60 years. The U.S. response to the crisis has been insufficient to meet the needs of the two million displaced inside Iraq and the two million Iraqi refugees in neighboring countries.
The U.S. must develop a comprehensive assistance plan that includes:
-- A humanitarian aid package that provides shelter, health care, food, schooling, and helps protect refugees and the internally displaced.
-- Sufficient support to resettle additional Iraq refugees in the U.S. Priority should be given to the most vulnerable - those who worked for Americans, are persecuted minorities, or have close family in the U.S.
-- Special immigrant visas and other measures to allow vulnerable Iraqis (like unaccompanied children) to come to the U.S.
The Senate recently took a significant step toward achieving these goals through approval of the "Refugee Crisis in Iraq Act" as an amendment to the Defense Authorization bill that passed the Senate on October 1.
As a U.S. citizen, I urge you to take prompt action on this and other legislation that helps uprooted Iraqis whose lives are at risk, in many cases because of their support to the U.S. in Iraq, and provide increased aid in the near future.
Sincerely,
H.R.I.H. Prince José Manuel Mosquera y Castelo de Septimio-Bahtzabbay el Tadmur
The U.S. must develop a comprehensive assistance plan that includes:
-- A humanitarian aid package that provides shelter, health care, food, schooling, and helps protect refugees and the internally displaced.
-- Sufficient support to resettle additional Iraq refugees in the U.S. Priority should be given to the most vulnerable - those who worked for Americans, are persecuted minorities, or have close family in the U.S.
-- Special immigrant visas and other measures to allow vulnerable Iraqis (like unaccompanied children) to come to the U.S.
The Senate recently took a significant step toward achieving these goals through approval of the "Refugee Crisis in Iraq Act" as an amendment to the Defense Authorization bill that passed the Senate on October 1.
As a U.S. citizen, I urge you to take prompt action on this and other legislation that helps uprooted Iraqis whose lives are at risk, in many cases because of their support to the U.S. in Iraq, and provide increased aid in the near future.
Sincerely,
H.R.I.H. Prince José Manuel Mosquera y Castelo de Septimio-Bahtzabbay el Tadmur
