REVIEW OF INDOCHINESE REFUGEE PROCESSING

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP10M02313R000100930001-7
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: April 16, 2012
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: March 16, 1983
• Content Type: MEMO

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WASHINGTON
March 16, 1983
MEMORANDUM FOR. THE HONORA$LE GEORGE: P. SHULTZ
Secretary of State
THE HONORABLE WILLIAM FRENCH SMITH .
Attorney General '
THE. HONORABLE H. EUGENE DOUGLAS
U . S ...Coordinator for Refugee Affairs
SUBJECT: Review of Indochinese Refugee Processing
Twelve Senators sent the~attaehed letter to the President
concerning the processing of~refngees in Indochina. Press
reports last month focused on this matter as well.
Proper implementation of the program in a manner consistent
with United States policy and law is, as you know, important
to' U.S. political and htunanitarian objectives. The President
has requested a prompt reviev~ of this situation. This should
identify what steps have been taken, or will need to be taken,
to ensure such implementation of the program.
This review should be prepared by the Coordinator for Refugee
Affairs, in coordination with `the Secretary of State and the
Attorney General. It sTzonld be forwarded by March 3I.
William. P. Clark
Attachment
Tab A Letter dtd.2/16/83
cc: The Director, Office of Management and Budget
The Director of Central Inte]:li:gence
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~Cni~eb ~.~fof es ,~enaf?
February 16, 19$3
The President
The White House
Washington, D.C.. 20500
125952
Exe;ttive Rvgis;ry
Dear Mr. President: .
Recent reports from: Thailand document the appalling performance
of the Immigration. and. Naturalization Service field. officers
charged with the responsibility ot" processing Indochinese
refugees seeking resettlement in the United Sfiates. Attorney
General Smith visited Thailand in October,. 1982, and. subsequently
sent a Special INS tears overseas to assist in the review and.
processing of refugee applications..
While we were pleased with Attorney General Smith's valuable
intervention in this matter of considerable international.
significance, we are still concerned that the intransigence of
the INS field staff has persisted.. Because of the serious
implications which would attend the perception that the United
States is indifferent to the concerns of the Thai government and
the plight of Indochinese refugees, we feel your personal
intervention in this dispute is desperately needed.
At issue, Mr. President, is the United States' ability to enforce
the policies promulgated by you with respect to Indochinese
refugees. As you know, the United States approved a ceiling of
64,000 Asian refugees for Fiscal Year 1983:= Reports from
Southeast Asia show that by dubious application of facts and law,
the middle-level INS officers in Thailand have prevented your
Administration.'s refugee policy from being implemented fairly.
The definition of "refugee" has been inconsistently applied, as-
recent media reports have documented, and the re3ection rate of
refugee applicants who were pre-selected by the State Department
underscores the argument that the Thailand INS operation has been
arbitrary, if not hostile,,. in processing Vietnamese, Cambodian,
and Laotian refugees. INS field officers in Thailand have
conducted themselves in such a fashion as to warrant a cable from
Washington detailing explicit rules of conduct and courtesy for
those officers to follow when processing Indochinese applicants..
This is not only an embarrassing instance of impropriety, but it
reflects the clear fact that the policy of continued asylum in
Southeast Asia for refugees who flee communist regimes (and whose
ties to America brand them as pariahs) is 'in grave jeopardy..
Mr. President, we are not seeking higher levels of refugee
admissions to this country.. In fact, the United States will not
be able to admit even ha].1" of the approved number of, refugees
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" Tk~e President February 16, 1983 Page 2
from Southeast Asia because of the lamentable performance of INS
field officers in Thailand.- The Thai government has grown weary
of the inconsistent application of expressed Administration
policy on refugee admissions, and we fear a program of forced
repatriation is. no longer a mere remote possibility. The .United
States'. role,. both in the interests. of consistent foreign policy
and-humanitarian concerns, must not be unt3ercut by feuding,.
uncooperative INS officers.
We are anxious for your prompt, personal involvement irr this
matter.
Sincerely,
Mark 0. Hatfi ld.
Mark N. Andrews
Paul E. Tsongas.
arren u an
Car-~Lev~
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The President
? February 16, 1983 Page 3
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