November 27, 2006

The following is a true copy of a Resolution adopted by the Executive Council at its meeting on November 12 – 15, 2006 in Chicago, Illinois, at which a quorum was present and voting.

Resolved, That the Executive Council, meeting in Chicago, Illinois, November 12-15, 2006
  
1.  strongly opposes the overly broad interpretation of the “material support” provisions of the Patriot Act, now incorporated into the US Immigration and Nationality act, which provides the basis for denying bona fide refugees admission to the United States and otherwise excludes other categories of immigrants such as asylum seekers and those adjusting status and pursuing naturalization from the benefits to which they aspire;

2.  recommends an interpretation of “material support” which pertains only to members of formally designated foreign terrorist organizations and not be applied to those who are not a threat to the security of the United States such as refugees, asylum seekers, asylees, or those adjusting to permanent residence or pursuing naturalization;

3.  advocates for policies and practices that exempt those from the “material s support bar” who under duress or the threat of violence unwittingly or involuntarily associate with a terrorist organization;

4.  advocates for policies and practices that exempt those from the “material support bar” who have been members of groups who have resisted regimes which victimized or persecuted them or denied them their basic human rights.

5.  urges The Episcopal Church to join with the Refugee Council USA and other refugee programs to address the issues of the “material support bar” with the United States Government.
 
EXPLANATION
An overly broad interpretation of the "material support" provisions of the Patriot Act, reiterated in the REAL  ID Act, has effectively denied any refugee admission to the United States if he/she had any association with a so-called terrorist group.  As applied by the Department of Homeland Security, any organized resistance to oppressive governments, even those traditionally opposed by the US, is now classified for purposes of admissibility to the US as a terrorist group.  An equally broad interpretation of material support has led to the      exclusion from US resettlement those persons who even under duress may have been associated with a so-called terrorist organization; e.g., Liberian women forced into sexual slavery or Colombians trapped between opposing forces in that nation's conflict.  Ironically, without the material support bar, these persons would be classic examples of those ideally suited for settlement.

The indiscriminate application of material support also extends to those seeking asylum, persons adjusting to permanent residence or those pursuing naturalization.  The consequence has been denial of nearly 11,000 Burmese Karen refugees to the US because of their identification with an exile community which has escaped from and resisted the persecution of the Myanmar government.  Likewise, 750 Colombians are now unable to be resettled in the US because of the material support bar; and 500 persons hoping for grants of asylum are now in jeopardy because of the prospect of being trapped by an overreaching application of the material support bar.

While a limited waiver has been granted to a modest group of Burmese refugees, a comprehensive solution which reopens the doors of the US to bona fide refugees, asylees and candidates for citizenship is needed.  Otherwise, thousands with impeccable credentials will be deterred from receiving the protection and privileges which they seek and deserve.

The Rev. Dr. Gregory S. Straub
Secretary of the Executive Council and
The Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society
of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America