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Jul. 30th, 2007
The Least We Can Do
Jul. 30th, 2007 02:14 pmHilzoy covers most of it here, but here's a quick rundown.
There are a lot of people in Iraq who tried to help out the US and actually believed the lines we gave about freedom and democracy. Or at least figured they could help make things less bad. Those people's lives are in danger because the Bush Administration has failed at every turn and let Iraq spiral in to chaos. They're seen as collaborators, and are being killed now, and will likely be slaughtered when we leave. And we will leave, if for no other reason than to keep from completely breaking the army.
Therefore, since we fucked up their country and lives, and can't fix it, we should offer them asylum, here. Because otherwise, they're going to be killed.
But since 2003, the US has let in less than 800 Iraqi refugees. There's a lot more than that. We need to have been letting them in years ago, but that failing, we should be bringing them here, now.
There are two bills, one in the Senate, and one in the House. I'll quote Hilzoy's piece for the descriptions.
"Senator Kennedy has introduced a bill, S.1651, that would provide up to 5,000 visas a year for Iraqis who have worked for the US Government for at least a year, and for their families. It would also designate as "Priority 2 refugees of special humanitarian concern under the refugee resettlement priority system" Iraqis who have worked for US media organizations, NGOs, or agencies that the US has contracted with or given grants to. Earl Blumenauer has introduced legislation (HR 2265) in the House that's similar, except that it provides special visas not just for Iraqis who have worked for the US government for a year, but for those who have worked for American media organizations, NGOs, etc., and it provides 15,000 a year, not 5,000."
Write your Senators and Congresspeople. Or to the policy head of immigration at DHS. His address is here, and behind the cut is my letter I wrote to him.
Carlos E. Iturregui
Chief, Office of Policy and Strategy
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Washington, D.C. 20528
( Rest of the letter below )
There are a lot of people in Iraq who tried to help out the US and actually believed the lines we gave about freedom and democracy. Or at least figured they could help make things less bad. Those people's lives are in danger because the Bush Administration has failed at every turn and let Iraq spiral in to chaos. They're seen as collaborators, and are being killed now, and will likely be slaughtered when we leave. And we will leave, if for no other reason than to keep from completely breaking the army.
Therefore, since we fucked up their country and lives, and can't fix it, we should offer them asylum, here. Because otherwise, they're going to be killed.
But since 2003, the US has let in less than 800 Iraqi refugees. There's a lot more than that. We need to have been letting them in years ago, but that failing, we should be bringing them here, now.
There are two bills, one in the Senate, and one in the House. I'll quote Hilzoy's piece for the descriptions.
"Senator Kennedy has introduced a bill, S.1651, that would provide up to 5,000 visas a year for Iraqis who have worked for the US Government for at least a year, and for their families. It would also designate as "Priority 2 refugees of special humanitarian concern under the refugee resettlement priority system" Iraqis who have worked for US media organizations, NGOs, or agencies that the US has contracted with or given grants to. Earl Blumenauer has introduced legislation (HR 2265) in the House that's similar, except that it provides special visas not just for Iraqis who have worked for the US government for a year, but for those who have worked for American media organizations, NGOs, etc., and it provides 15,000 a year, not 5,000."
Write your Senators and Congresspeople. Or to the policy head of immigration at DHS. His address is here, and behind the cut is my letter I wrote to him.
Carlos E. Iturregui
Chief, Office of Policy and Strategy
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Washington, D.C. 20528
( Rest of the letter below )