U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE

28–392 PDF WASHINGTON : 2018

S. HRG. 113–880 

THE SYRIAN REFUGEE CRISIS 

HEARING 

BEFORE THE

SUBCOMMITTEE ON THE CONSTITUTION, 

CIVIL RIGHTS AND HUMAN RIGHTS 

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY 

UNITED STATES SENATE 

ONE HUNDRED THIRTEENTH CONGRESS 

SECOND SESSION 

JANUARY 7, 2014 

Serial No. J–113–45 

Printed for the use of the Committee on the Judiciary 

( 
(II) 

COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY 

PATRICK J. LEAHY, Vermont, Chairman 

DIANNE FEINSTEIN, California 

CHUCK SCHUMER, New York 

DICK DURBIN, Illinois 

SHELDON WHITEHOUSE, Rhode Island 

AMY KLOBUCHAR, Minnesota 

AL FRANKEN, Minnesota 

CHRISTOPHER A. COONS, Delaware 

RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, Connecticut 

MAZIE HIRONO, Hawaii 

CHUCK GRASSLEY, Iowa, Ranking Member 

ORRIN G. HATCH, Utah 

JEFF SESSIONS, Alabama 

LINDSEY GRAHAM, South Carolina 

JOHN CORNYN, Texas 

MICHAEL S. LEE, Utah 

TED CRUZ, Texas 

JEFF FLAKE, Arizona 

KRISTINE LUCIUS, Chief Counsel and Staff Director 

KOLAN DAVIS, Republican Chief Counsel and Staff Director 

SUBCOMMITTEE ON THE CONSTITUTION, CIVIL RIGHTS AND HUMAN RIGHTS

DICK DURBIN, Illinois, Chairman 

AL FRANKEN, Minnesota 

CHRISTOPHER A. COONS, Delaware 

RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, Connecticut 

MAZIE HIRONO, Hawaii 

TED CRUZ, Texas, Ranking Member 

LINDSEY GRAHAM, South Carolina 

JOHN CORNYN, Texas 

ORRIN G. HATCH, Utah 

JOSEPH ZOGBY, Democratic Chief Counsel 

SCOTT KELLER, Republican Chief Counsel 
(III) 

C O N T E N T S 

JANUARY 7, 2014, 2:29 P.M. 

STATEMENTS OF COMMITTEE MEMBERS 

Page 

Cruz, Hon. Ted, a U.S. Senator from the State of Texas ..................................... 4 

Durbin, Hon. Dick, a U.S. Senator from the State of Illinois .............................. 1 

prepared statement .......................................................................................... 53 

Klobuchar, Hon. Amy, a U.S. Senator from the State of Minnesota ................... 6 

Leahy, Hon. Patrick J., a U.S. Senator from the State of Vermont, 

prepared statement .......................................................................................... 56 

Whitehouse, Hon. Sheldon, a U.S. Senator from the State of Rhode Island ...... 6 

WITNESSES 

Witness List ............................................................................................................. 27 

Groom, Molly, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office of Policy, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Washington, DC ............................................ 12 

prepared statement .......................................................................................... 44 

Lindborg, Hon. Nancy E., Assistant Administrator, Bureau for Democracy, 

Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance, U.S. Agency for International Development, Washington, DC ................................................................................ 10 

prepared statement .......................................................................................... 37 

Richard, Hon. Anne C., Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Population, Refugees, 

and Migration, U.S. Department of State, Washington, DC ............................ 7 

prepared statement .......................................................................................... 28 

MISCELLANEOUS SUBMISSIONS FOR THE RECORD 

al Muqdad, Omar, Journalist and Syrian Refugee, statement ............................ 154 

American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), Washington, DC, 

statement .............................................................................................................. 74 

American Baptist Home Mission Societies (ABHMS), Rev. Aundreia Alexander, JD, Director, Office of Immigration and Refugee Services, Valley 

Forge, Pennsylvania, statement .......................................................................... 240 

American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 

statement .............................................................................................................. 79 

Amnesty International USA, New York, New York, statement .......................... 82 

Ayoub, Christine, statement ................................................................................... 92 

Catholic Relief Services (CRS), Dr. Carolyn Y. Woo, President and Chief 

Executive Officer, Baltimore, Maryland, statement .......................................... 103 

Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL), Washington, DC, statement .................... 95 

Center for Victims of Torture, The, (CVT), St. Paul, Minnesota, statement ...... 111 

Charbaji, Mohamad Eiad, Journalist, statement .................................................. 145 

Church World Service (CWS), New York, New York, statement ......................... 117 

Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere (CARE USA), David Ray, 

Head of Policy and Advocacy, Atlanta, Georgia, statement ............................. 98 

Episcopal Church, The, Deborah Stein, Director, Episcopal Migration Ministries, and Katie Conway, Immigration and Refugee Policy Analyst, New 

York, New York, statement ................................................................................. 251 

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, The, (ELCA), Chicago, Illinois, 

statement .............................................................................................................. 118 
Page

IV 

Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL), Washington, DC, statement ...................................................................................................................... 125 

Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS), Silver Spring, Maryland, and Iraqi 

Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP), New York, New York, joint statement ... 197 

Human Rights First, New York, New York, and Washington, DC, statement .. 207 

Human Rights Initiative of North Texas, statement ............................................ 253 

Institute of International Education (IIE), Daniela Kaisth, Vice President, 

External Affairs and IIE Initiatives, New York, New York, statement .......... 129 

International Rescue Committee (IRC), Sharon Waxman, Vice President for 

Public Policy and Advocacy, Washington, DC, statement ................................ 225 

KARAMAH: Muslim Women Lawyers for Human Rights, Rockville, Maryland, 

statement .............................................................................................................. 242 

Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS), Baltimore, Maryland, 

statement .............................................................................................................. 139 

McCain, Hon. John, a U.S. Senator from the State of Arizona; Hon. Sheldon 

Whitehouse, a U.S. Senator from the State of Rhode Island; Hon. Kirsten E. 

Gillibrand, a U.S. Senator from the State of New York; Hon. Christopher A. 

Coons, a U.S. Senator from the State of Delaware; Hon. Richard Blumenthal, 

a U.S. Senator from the State of Connecticut; and Hon. Kelly A. Ayotte, 

a U.S. Senator from the State of New Hampshire; letter addressed to 

President Barack Obama, December 20, 2013 .................................................. 57 

Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), Akron, Pennsylvania, statement ........... 192 

Mercy Corps, Andrea Koppel, Vice President, Global Engagement and Policy, 

Portland, Oregon, statement ............................................................................... 218 

Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC), Washington, DC, and Los Angeles, 

California, statement ........................................................................................... 147 

National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) World Relief, Washington, DC, 

statement .............................................................................................................. 150 

Okar, Ayman A., Syrian refugee, statement ......................................................... 248 

Oxfam America, Noah Gottschalk, Senior Policy Advisor, Washington, DC, 

statement .............................................................................................................. 157 

Physicians for Human Rights (PHR), Washington, DC, statement ..................... 221 

Refugee Council USA, Washington, DC, statement .............................................. 162 

Refugees International, Washington, DC, statement ........................................... 179 

Save the Children, Michael Klosson, Vice President, Policy and Humanitarian 

Response, Fairfield, Connecticut, statement ...................................................... 133 

Syria Relief and Development (SRD), Overland Park, Kansas, and United 

Muslim Relief (UMR), Washington, DC, statement .......................................... 187 

Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS), Washington, DC, statement ............ 170 

Syrian Emergency Task Force, Washington, DC, statement ............................... 232 

Syrian Human Rights Organization Swasia, Muhanad Al-Hasani, President, 

statement .............................................................................................................. 233 

United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), Ted 

Chaiban, Director, Emergency Programs, statement ........................................ 69 

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), Most Reverend 

Eusebio Elizondo, M.Sp., Chairman, Committee on Migration, statement ..... 59 

Urang, Sally, RN, CNM, Volunteer in Jordan, statement—Redacted ................ 143 
(1) 

THE SYRIAN REFUGEE CRISIS 

TUESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2014 

UNITED STATES SENATE, SUBCOMMITTEE ON THE CONSTITUTION, CIVIL RIGHTS, AND HUMAN RIGHTS, COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY, Washington, DC. 

The Subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:29 p.m., in Room 

SH–216, Hart Senate Office Building, Hon. Dick Durbin, Chairman 

of the Subcommittee, presiding. 

Present: Senators Durbin, Whitehouse, Klobuchar, Cruz, and 

Graham. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. DICK DURBIN, 

A U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF ILLINOIS 

Chairman DURBIN. Good afternoon. This hearing of the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights will 

come to order. Today’s hearing is entitled ‘‘The Syrian Refugee Crisis.’’ We are pleased to have a large audience for today’s hearing, 

particularly on such a challenging weather day—not as challenging 

as Illinois yesterday, but challenging nevertheless. It demonstrates 

the importance of this issue. 

Thanks to those who are here in person and those who are following the hearing on Facebook and Twitter using the hashtag 

#syrianrefugees. There was so much interest in today’s hearing, we 

have moved this to a larger room to accommodate everyone. If anyone could not get a seat in the hearing room, we have an overflow 

room, 226 Dirksen. 

At the outset of the hearing, we are going to start with a brief 

video to provide some background and context. We are then going 

to have opening remarks—I am hoping that Senator Cruz will be 

joining us shortly—and then turn to our witnesses. 

At this point let us roll the tape, show the video. 

[Videotape played.] 

Chairman DURBIN. I would like to thank the U.N. High Commission on Refugees for allowing us to use this video and for many of 

the posters that you see around the hearing room. I appreciate 

their outstanding work in helping Syrian refugees, and this video 

gives us some context of the importance and gravity of the issue 

that we are taking up today. 

Today’s hearing will focus on the plight of Syrian refugees fleeing 

the violent civil war in their home country. This is the world’s 

worst ongoing humanitarian crisis and the worst refugee crisis 
2 

since the Rwandan genocide in 1994, and perhaps since World War 

II. 

Last year, when I visited Kilis, a Syrian refugee camp in Turkey, 

I was especially struck by the plight of the children. It is no exaggeration to say that a generation of Syrian children is at risk. More 

than 11,000 children have been killed in the conflict, including 

hundreds who have been shot by snipers or summarily executed. 

Let me add for a moment about this visit to this Turkish camp, 

and a word of gratitude to the Turkish Government. Ten thousand 

people were living in that camp, men, women, and children. Efforts 

were being made, superhuman efforts, to provide for them, for the 

basics, for food, for medicine, even for basic education. So I want 

to put my comments in that context. Many of those receiving countries who are receiving Syrian refugees are making extraordinary 

sacrifices on their own part to help. 

There are 1.1 million Syrian refugee children, 70 percent under 

the age of 12, 60 percent not attending school. One in ten Syrian 

refugee children is working to support their families, including 

some as young as 7 years of age. Thousands are unaccompanied or 

separated from their parents. And we have heard troubling reports 

of boy refugees being recruited as combatants and girl refugees 

being forced into early marriage. 

The onset of winter puts Syrian children at even greater risk, especially the hundreds of thousands living in temporary, often 

unheated, tents or shelters. Several children have already died 

from the cold, and, tragically, more are likely to follow. 

The Assad regime and, to a lesser extent, some rebel groups have 

blocked humanitarian assistance in a deliberate effort to increase 

pressure on besieged children. Several children have already 

starved to death. One medical expert who examined underweight 

refugee children said, ‘‘We have a middle-income country that is 

transforming itself into something a lot more like Somalia.’’ Aid 

workers report that signs are posted at regime checkpoints that 

say, ‘‘Kneel or starve.’’ This is a deplorable war crime, and it must 

be stopped. 

I am proud to say that the United States has provided $1.3 billion in humanitarian assistance to aid Syrian refugees, leading the 

world. We have a moral obligation to assist Syrian refugees, but it 

is also in our national interest to find a path to stability in that 

region. 

This humanitarian catastrophe has created grave challenges for 

neighboring countries—including many U.S. allies—that are 

hosting vast majorities of the refugees. These countries have saved 

the lives of untold numbers of Syrian refugees. We have to continue to support them. 

Take a look at Lebanon, a country of 4.4 million people now 

hosting 860,000 Syrian refugees. This is more than 20 percent of 

the Lebanese population. It would be the equivalent of the United 

States facing the sudden influx of 60 million people. UNHCR 

projects that an additional 1 million could arrive in Lebanon this 

year. This has increased competition for limited job opportunities, 

raised food and housing costs for all, and created severe strains on 

schools, health care, and other social services. In fact, the number 
3 

of Syrian school-aged refugee children in Lebanon is soon likely to 

exceed the number of Lebanese school-aged children. 

As the Syrian conflict grinds on, UNHCR has begun efforts to resettle especially vulnerable refugees in third countries, including 

30,000 this Fiscal Year 2014. 

For decades, the United States has received more refugees than 

any other country in the world, and the American people have 

greeted these refugees with open arms and hearts. But the United 

States only accepted 31 Syrian refugees in the last fiscal year, and 

the administration has said we are likely to accept a few hundred 

this fiscal year. 

Two years ago, I asked the administration to grant temporary 

protected status to Syrians. As a result, the United States is providing a safe haven to hundreds of Syrian visitors who were in this 

country on a temporary basis. 

But we also should accept more vulnerable Syrian refugees who 

have no way of getting to the United States. One issue that needs 

to be addressed is the overly broad prohibition in our immigration 

law that excludes any refugee who has provided any kind of support to any armed rebel group, even a group that we in the United 

States support. This would prevent a Syrian who gave a cigarette 

or a sandwich to a Free Syrian Army solider from receiving refugee 

status in the United States, despite the fact that the United States 

is providing assistance to the Free Syrian Army. 

At the same time, other countries must play a larger part in accepting Syrian refugees. For example, the Conservative government 

in the United Kingdom has said it will not accept a single one. And 

none of the Gulf Arab countries—Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and others—have committed to accept Syrian refugees. These countries 

need to step up as well and do their part. 

You heard the statistics. But it is critical to recall that behind 

those numbers are real people. A number of those Syrian refugees 

are here today. I would like to take a moment to introduce a few 

of them who have been fortunate enough to find refuge in the 

United States. 

Eiad Charbaji, please stand. Thank you, Eiad. Mr. Charbaji and 

his wife, Ola Malas—I hope I pronounced that correctly—are journalists from Damascus who took part in the nonviolent protest 

movement. Mr. Charbaji was arrested and tortured by the regime 

for publishing recordings of the regime’s violent response to peaceful demonstrations. Ms. Malas’ life was threatened, as was the life 

of the couple’s 4-year-old daughter, Julie. The family fled from 

Syria in January 2012, and Mr. Charbaji came to the United States 

with the State Department’s International Visitor Leadership Program. 

Amer Mahdi Doko, please stand. Thank you. Mr. Doko is from 

Darayya—I hope I pronounced it—a suburb of Damascus. He, his 

wife, and his baby now live in Virginia. Mr. Doko was imprisoned 

twice for opposing the Assad regime, once in 2003 and again in 

March 2012. After being released in 2012, he fled to Jordan. He 

came to the U.S. after he was admitted to a master’s program at 

Georgetown. In August 2012, the Assad forces massacred hundreds 

of civilians in his hometown and arrested two of his brothers, who 
4 

are still, sadly, missing. Mr. Doko, who received asylum in 2013, 

is now working full-time and continuing his studies. 

Omar Al Muqdad, please stand. Thank you. Mr. Al Muqdad, who 

is from Dara’a, worked as a journalist for over 9 years, publicizing 

human rights abuses by the regime. He was arrested seven times 

and was imprisoned for 2 years, between 2006 and 2008. When he 

refused to stop writing, the prison guards broke his hand. After his 

release from prison, he continued to work as a journalist. He participated in nonviolent political protests in Dara’a in March 2011 

and publicized abuses by Syrian security forces. He fled to Turkey 

in April 2011 after he was pursued by the regime. He was resettled 

in the United States by Catholic Charities after receiving refugee 

status. 

Mr. Al Muqdad has submitted a statement to the Subcommittee. 

I would like to read a portion of it. He said: 

‘‘I would like to take this opportunity to publicly thank the American people for providing me refuge in the United States. Also, I 

would like to urge you to do all that you can to make U.S. resettlement available for more Syrian refugees. Obviously, the United 

States cannot resettle all of the hundreds of thousands of people 

who have fled from Syria. But there are many very vulnerable people who could be helped, including women with problem pregnancies, girls subject to forced marriages, orphans, elderly people, 

and sick people.’’ 

As this Syrian conflict enters its fourth year, it is clear that the 

refugee crisis is going to continue. While there may be differences 

about how to resolve the conflict, even within this panel, there 

should be no disagreement that it is a moral and national security 

imperative to do all we can to help alleviate the suffering of innocent Syrian refugees. 

I look forward to our discussion about what steps Congress and 

the administration should take to address the crisis, and I now recognize the Ranking Member of this Subcommittee, Senator Cruz of 

Texas. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. TED CRUZ, 

A U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF TEXAS 

Senator CRUZ. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you to the witnesses who have come today to this hearing. 

The refugee crisis in Syria is a humanitarian disaster, and I 

want to thank the Chairman for convening this hearing and for 

helping shine the light on what is happening. 

I am the son of a refugee from Cuba who fled oppression, and 

to the refugees who have come here today, let me say welcome, and 

I think the United States should always be a clarion voice for freedom and a voice against the oppression of the innocent. 

Given what is happening in Syria, the United States is rightly 

participating in the relief efforts there, and I think it is critical 

that our aid be dispensed in a way that is consistent with the vital 

national security interests of the United States and, in particular, 

with our allies in the region and maintaining stability in the region. 

In the next few months, we are going to mark the third anniversary of the beginnings of the civil war in Syria, which, tragically, 
5 

grinds on with no foreseeable prospect of resolution in the future. 

And the humanitarian crisis continues to get worse by the day. 

Amnesty International estimates that some 2.3 million people have 

been displaced; 52 percent of them are children. One-third of Syria’s population has been forced out of their homes. Jordan’s population has increased by 9 percent, and Lebanon’s population has increased by 19 percent. 

This disaster demands the attention of the United States not 

only because Americans are and have been traditionally a generous 

people who have volunteered to step forward with assistance in humanitarian crises, but also because this crisis threatens the ability 

of some of our key allies, including Jordan, Lebanon, and Israel. 

Given its fragile political situation, Lebanon is a particular concern. It would be tragic and dangerous if the Iranian-backed 

Hezbollah militia exploited the humanitarian crisis to gain control 

of the country. And we should be particularly concerned by recent 

reports that Hezbollah is smuggling long-range missile systems 

from Syria into Lebanon, where they could be used to target Israel. 

It is also a serious concern that some of the Al-Qaeda-affiliated 

terrorists who have infiltrated the Syrian opposition have also apparently infiltrated the refugee population or are using them as 

cover to move into host nations. This has obviously been a grave 

concern to many countries who have been asked to grant additional 

visas. 

In addition, I am particularly concerned about the neglected 

plight of many Christian refugees both inside and outside of Syria. 

The reports of the ancient Christian communities that are targeted 

by extremist elements in the opposition that the regime forces cannot or will not protect are heart-breaking. And as we explore the 

visa issue, we should not neglect the tragic circumstance of Syrian 

Christians facing oppression. 

For a long time, Chairman Durbin has worked hard to ensure 

that perpetrators of human rights abuses do not attain safe haven 

in the United States, and I thank the Chairman for his leadership 

on that issue, particularly through the Genocide Accountability Act 

and the Human Rights Enforcement Act, both of which have been 

made law. 

While we have come a long way because of the Chairman’s work, 

his intention highlights that challenges still remain to improve 

Federal law and to strengthen our immigration screening system 

at the front end, thereby ensuring that dangerous people are not 

allowed into this country in the first instance. 

So not only do we have a humanitarian crisis, we have potentially a security crisis as well. I look forward to hearing the 

thoughts and learned judgment of the members of this panel on 

how we can approach these interrelated problems and hopefully on 

how we can make progress on alleviating both, and I welcome you. 

Chairman DURBIN. Thanks, Senator Cruz. 

Senator Klobuchar has asked for a brief opening statement, and 

I am going to offer the same courtesy to the other Members who 

are in attendance here today. Senator Klobuchar. 
6 

OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. AMY KLOBUCHAR, 

A U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF MINNESOTA 

Senator KLOBUCHAR. Well, thank you so much, Senator Durbin, 

and thank you for holding this important hearing. The conflict in 

Syria remains one of the most crucial foreign policy challenges that 

we face, and addressing this refugee crisis caused by the war is essential to our stability in the region but, as we can see by the people who have joined us today, the refugees, essential to the people 

of Syria. 

In April, I visited one of Syria’s neighbors—actually, two of them, 

Jordan and Turkey, with Senator Graham and Senator Gillibrand 

and Senator Hoeven. And we had the opportunity to visit the 

Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan right on the border there and to 

meet with a few of the 120,000 Syrians that were there. I will 

never forget this visit. I will never forget the one man who told us 

that the atrocities would ‘‘make stones cry.’’ And then each of the 

people that we met with went through what had happened to their 

families. 

A young boy name Yurab was only 11 years old, but it felt like 

he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. His father had 

been shot and badly injured before escaping to Jordan, and so now 

it was up to this 11-year-old boy to make sure that the rest of his 

family was taken care of. Every day Yurab would stand in line for 

food and water, and every day he would carry what he could hold 

in his hands back to his family. At 11 years old, he had seen more 

suffering and injustice than most people will see in their entire lifetimes. 

This is just one of millions of tragic stories that we heard from 

the men, women, and children who have had to flee their homes 

in Syria. My home State has always been a State of refugees. We 

have one of the largest Somali populations in the country, and we 

have the largest Hmong population in the country. We see these 

refugees, whether they be from Somalia or Liberia, as part of the 

fabric of our State and our culture, and we are much the richer for 

them. 

So I am looking forward to hearing about resettlement efforts at 

this point. I am looking forward to hearing about where aid is 

going, something that Senator Graham and I encountered when we 

were there in terms of an issue, and other steps that are being 

taken to help Syrians that are in desperate need of assistance. 

Thank you. 

Chairman DURBIN. Thank you. 

Senator Graham, Senator Whitehouse. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. SHELDON WHITEHOUSE, 

A U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND 

Senator WHITEHOUSE. Thank you, Senator Durbin. I will not 

take long. I just want to thank you for holding this hearing. I think 

it is an issue that merits our attention. 

I think we have been in a hearing on this before, Ms. Richard. 

We have been a day late and a dollar short consistently with our 

response to the Syrian crisis. And as a result, we have always been 

behind the curve, and as a result, I think there has been unnecessary human suffering. 
7 

Like Senator Klobuchar, I have traveled to the area with a bipartisan delegation. I would like to put into the record a letter that 

Senator McCain and I, Senator Gillibrand, Senator Coons, Senator 

Blumenthal, and Senator Ayotte wrote to the President urging a 

fulsome and robust response to the crisis that has developed in 

Syria. And I hope we learn lessons from this because, frankly, we 

were warned all along the way, and despite the warnings from 

Members of Congress, from allies in the neighborhood, we remained always a day late and a dollar short. And I think it has 

been a very unfortunate episode. 

Thank you, Chairman. 

Chairman DURBIN. Without objection, the letter will be entered 

in the record. 

[The letter appears as a submission for the record.] 

Chairman DURBIN. The Committee, as a matter of standard practice, swears in the witnesses, and I ask the three to please stand 

and raise your right hand. Do you affirm the testimony you are 

about to give before the Subcommittee will be the truth, the whole 

truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God? 

Ms. RICHARD. I do. 

Ms. LINDBORG. I do. 

Ms. GROOM. I do. 

Chairman DURBIN. Thank you. Let the record reflect that the 

witnesses have answered in the affirmative. 

Each witness is going to be given 5 minutes for an opening statement, and their written statements will be included in their entirety. Senator Leahy, the Chairman of the full Judiciary Committee, who has been a leader on refugee issues, has submitted a 

statement, and without objection, it will be placed in the record. 

[The prepared statement of Chairman Leahy appears as a submission for the record.] 

Chairman DURBIN. Our first witness, Anne Richard, currently 

serves as Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees, and 

Migration. Prior to her appointment, Ms. Richard was vice president of government relations and advocacy for the International 

Rescue Committee, an international aid agency helping refugees internally displaced and other victims of conflict. During the Clinton 

administration, Ms. Richard served in a variety of capacities in the 

State Department and Peace Corps and the Office of Management 

and Budget. Prior to her Government service, Ms. Richard was 

part of the team that created the International Crisis Group. She 

has a B.S. in foreign service from the highly regarded Georgetown 

University and an M.A. in public policy studies from the University 

of Chicago. 

Ms. Richard, thank you for joining us today. 

STATEMENT OF HON. ANNE C. RICHARD, ASSISTANT 

SECRETARY, BUREAU OF POPULATION, REFUGEES, AND 

MIGRATION, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, WASHINGTON, DC 

Ms. RICHARD. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I would like to 

thank the other members, Ranking Member Cruz, Senator 

Klobuchar, and Senators Whitehouse and Graham, for coming out 

today. Senator Graham has sat through and chaired a similar 

hearing, so he is a diehard fan of ours, so we appreciate that—or 
8 

at least very interested in this subject, which we appreciate. So 

thank you for holding this hearing and bringing attention to the 

tragedy unfolding in the Middle East. 

I am here today with colleagues from the U.S. Agency for International Development and the Department of Homeland Security. 

I am going to limit my remarks to the State Department’s role in 

assisting refugees overseas. We are also going to talk about aid inside Syria. Nancy will take the lead on that. And then Molly 

Groom from DHS will talk about resettlement. But I am happy to 

take questions on any of these subjects because we are working 

very closely together on all of these things, and in the interest of 

time, I will keep my remarks more restricted. 

You know that more than 2.3 million have crossed Syria’s borders and, thus, are considered refugees. They have fled to all the 

neighboring countries, most of whom are struggling to help them. 

We are incredibly grateful to these countries for letting them in, 

and we want them to keep their borders open and not push anyone 

back. In order for them to do so, these neighboring countries need 

our help. They need our help not just in delivering aid to the refugees, but they also need our help for their own poor citizens. And 

they need help for their own budgets, which are strained and overstretched by delivering services to these much larger populations. 

The impact is that schools have moved to double shifts to accommodate Syrian children. Hospital beds are filled by Syrian patients. 

Rents have risen; wages have fallen as a result of the competition 

for housing and jobs. There are water shortages in Jordan and Lebanon. The drain on water resources is especially severe in Jordan. 

And helping the host community, in addition to the refugees themselves, is an accepted tenet of refugee work. We do this, for example, in remote parts of Chad where poor Chadians are given help 

alongside refugees from Darfur, and in this case, we need to do 

more in terms of helping them provide services—health care, clean 

water, extra schooling, in addition to items like food vouchers, 

household supplies, and blankets. This will involve more than just 

humanitarian agencies. We need and are getting help from the 

World Bank and our development agencies and our colleagues at 

USAID who work on longer-term development. 

In talking about the situation of the refugees themselves, I think 

that was a very good video that we saw from UNHCR. I recently 

made my sixth visit to the region. My seventh is upcoming to Jordan this weekend. Right before Christmas I traveled to Erbil in 

northern Iraq. There I had the pleasure of wading through oceans 

of mud in cold temperatures to visit with refugee families and consult with local government officials. 

The good news is that the U.N. agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and local charities have managed to house a lot of people 

in tents and keep them warm using an extra layer of tenting fabric, 

kerosene stoves, and lots and lots of blankets. Still, this is no place 

for children to grow up. I saw kids there running around in plastic 

flip-flops without socks. This is not a good environment for families. 

And I have met with Syrian refugees in all of the other countries 

bordering Syria. In Lebanon, they continue to keep its borders 

mostly open, and it is now hosting the largest number of refugees 
9 

in the smallest country in the region. You have already mentioned 

its refugees make up 20 percent of the population in Lebanon on 

top of 400,000 Palestinians who have been there for decades. 

More than a million refugees are split between Turkey and Jordan, and those are just the registered refugees. There are many 

more citizens from Syria living in both of those cities. Iraq and 

Egypt also have large populations of Syrians. 

It is important to know—and I am so grateful that some of you 

have visited the camps, but most refugees do not live in the camps. 

In early December, my Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Simon 

Henshaw visited refugees in cities of southern Turkey, Kilis and 

Gaziantep, and there he saw the work of NGO’s and municipal governments struggling to deal with an influx of refugees living in the 

cities and towns of Turkey. 

Despite their efforts, most refugees were not getting services and 

were living in substandard conditions. For this reason, one of our 

top goals is to focus more attention on the plight of urban refugees 

and do everything we can to get aid to these families. 

Other challenges that we talk about in the testimony are children. The U.N. High Commission for Refugees and UNICEF have 

come together. There is a press statement that came out today that 

Save the Children and World Vision were also involved in an initiative that we support called ‘‘No Lost Generation,’’ trying to make 

sure that we keep these children inside and fleeing from Syria safe, 

healthy, educated, and away from danger. They need a future. 

Another issue of great concern to all of us is protection of women 

and girls, and here we have, I know, a lot of bipartisan support. 

We also have support from Secretary Kerry, who has put together 

an initiative called ‘‘Safe from the Start,’’ to make sure we protect 

women and girls in this crisis. We are also concerned about them 

surviving the winter. 

Final remarks. I would like to say that on January 15th we will 

be in Kuwait for a pledging conference to reiterate American support for the humanitarian response. Of course, beyond that, our 

Secretary will be heading to the Geneva II conference to try to 

bring peace to this very troubled area. This is not the only crisis 

to which we are rushing humanitarian aid. South Sudan is suffering a political crisis that has displaced 190,000 of its citizens, 

with another 32,000 streaming across its borders. In the Central 

African Republic, UNHCR’s latest update puts the number of displaced at 930,000. This is 20 percent of that country’s population 

displaced, the same proportion as there are refugees in Lebanon. 

This administration is addressing all of these crises and other 

crises at the same time with high levels of vigor and energy and 

dedication. The most senior members of the administration are 

fully engaged, including Ambassador Power, National Security Adviser Rice, and my boss, Secretary of State John Kerry. But their 

attention does not necessarily mean that these tough situations are 

easily solved, and we cannot do much without your support. Especially in the case of humanitarian endeavors, support for our budget and the budgets of all our diplomatic and foreign aid activities 

is very helpful. 

Thank you. 
10 

[The prepared statement of Ms. Richard appears as a submission 

for the record.] 

Chairman DURBIN. Thanks, Ms. Richard. 

Nancy Lindborg serves as USAID Assistant Administrator for 

the Bureau of Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance, 

where she leads the efforts of more than 500 team members in 9 

offices focused on crisis prevention, response, recovery, and transition. She has led DCHA teams in response to the ongoing Syrian 

crisis, the Sahel 2012 and Horn of Africa 2011 droughts, the Arab 

Spring, and numerous other global crises. She was back to her 

home base in Chicago a few months ago discussing the typhoon in 

the Philippines, so I know you have a very busy schedule. 

Prior to joining USAID, she was president of Mercy Corps for 14 

years, with a B.A. and M.A. in English literature from Stanford, an 

M.A. in public administration from the JFK School at Harvard. 

Ms. Lindborg, I want to take this opportunity to thank you again 

for coming to Chicago and for all your good work. 

Please proceed. 

STATEMENT OF HON. NANCY E. LINDBORG, ASSISTANT 

ADMINISTRATOR, BUREAU FOR DEMOCRACY, CONFLICT, 

AND HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE, U.S. AGENCY FOR 

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, WASHINGTON, DC 

Ms. LINDBORG. Thank you very much, Chairman Durbin. 

Thanks, Ranking Member Cruz and other members of the Subcommittee. We really appreciate your having this hearing today to 

shine a light on this crisis and, most importantly, put a human 

face on it. 

We have heard the staggering statistics, and the numbers are 

really hard to comprehend, and thank you, Senator Klobuchar, for 

the stories that you told. 

Those in need in this crisis are equal to the entire State of New 

Jersey, and the displaced are as if the entire State of Massachusetts were out of their homes. And, most importantly, the 5 million 

children who are affected is equal to the children in the entire 25 

largest school districts in this country. So that is all of New York, 

all of Los Angeles, you know, et cetera, et cetera, for 25 school districts. This is a generation of Syrian children who have been traumatized by bombs, many of them have lost their homes, their families, their friends. And, unfortunately, similar to Massachusetts 

and New Jersey, the region also faces one of the worst winters in 

the last 100 years, adding to the hardship of families out of their 

homes. 

Working in partnership with the international community, the 

United States humanitarian response has reached millions. We 

have saved millions of lives. But we also know that the needs are 

escalating faster than any of our collective responses can manage 

to reach. 

So I would like to cover three quick areas today. 

First, a quick update on our very significant life-saving humanitarian response, which does include a focus on the most vulnerable, 

especially women and, very importantly, children who will steer 

the future course of this country and this Nation. 
11 

The United States has made a total contribution, as you noted, Senator Durbin, of $1.3 billion, and we are reaching regularly 

about 4.2 million people in all 14 Governorates inside Syria as well 

as the 2 million refugees in neighboring countries. And we have 

doubled the number of our partners inside Syria, and we are working through all possible channels—the United Nations, NGO’s, 

international groups, and local. We are reaching about 2.7 million 

people with medical care, and thanks to the many extraordinarily 

courageous doctors, nurses, and health workers who risk their lives 

every day inside Syria. 

We are the single largest donor of emergency food aid, and 

thanks to the very flexible tools that allow us to provide vouchers 

and do local/regional purchase, we are able to feed about 4.2 million people inside Syria and 1.3 million refugees every day who depend upon that food. 

Finally, all of our assistance takes into account the vulnerability 

particularly of women and children and women who experience 

gender-based violence. As Anne noted, we have an initiative called 

‘‘Safe from the Start’’ that prioritizes this in all of our assistance. 

Also as Anne noted, we are working very closely with the international community on the No Lost Generation strategy that looks 

at programs to help children inside and outside of Syria, and today 

is the start of a very major multi-partner media campaign to put 

a face on this crisis that has dragged on into its third year now. 

So a few key challenges that I want to note. The first is that the 

insecurity of this war zone complicates every day the ability to deliver assistance. Roads are closing, hundreds of checkpoints make 

it very dangerous for aid workers to cross lines and to get into communities. 

Most concerning, there is an estimated 250,000 people who have 

been completely and deliberately cutoff from humanitarian assistance for many months now in areas that are besieged by the regime, as you noted, in campaigns that are unconscionable, ‘‘Kneel 

or starve.’’ 

In October, the U.N. Security Council passed a Presidential 

statement that urges all parties of the conflict to facilitate immediate access. This statement lays down a very clear set of markers 

for the Syrian regime regarding the world’s expectations that it will 

provide the access that it has long denied, and by taking these 

clear steps, the regime has the power to enable life-saving assistance to reach more than 200,000 people in need immediately. 

Finally, resources remain a key constraint, and as we head to 

Kuwait next week for the donors conference, we are making a 

major push for all donors across the globe to step up to the plate 

to help with this escalating burden. 

We have also within USAID reoriented our development activities in the neighboring states. We are working with our development and humanitarian resources and with our partners to help 

create a comprehensive response for the neighboring states that 

are straining to accommodate the needs of their own people in addition to the millions of new refugees, and we are seeing this convergence of the poorest communities hosting the largest number of 

refugees. So in Jordan, for example, where the domestic water supply is among the lowest in the world, USAID used $20 million from 
12 

our Complex Crises Fund to help communities with that large refugee population. So our efforts are both to assist with the development needs of communities as well as contribute to the region’s 

stability. 

We know that humanitarian assistance is not the solution to this 

horrible crisis, and it absolutely cannot end the bloodshed. But it 

is saving countless lives every day. It is helping to protect the vulnerable from a very, very devastating conflict. 

The United States remains committed to using every possible 

tool that we can to reach Syrians in need and to bring in our full 

diplomatic weight to help attain greater access. 

So thank you for your time today and for the vital congressional 

support that makes our work possible, and we look forward to your 

questions. 

[The prepared statement of Ms. Lindborg appears as a submission for the record.] 

Chairman DURBIN. Thanks, Ms. Lindborg. 

We are now going to hear from Molly Groom, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Immigration and Border Security 

at the Department of Homeland Security. Ms. Groom is detailed to 

her current position from her permanent role as Chief of the Refugee and Asylum Law Division in the Office of Chief Counsel at 

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. She has worked in a 

variety of capacities on immigration law in the Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security. A graduate of Duke 

with an A.B. in English, a J.D., and her master’s of social science 

from Case Western, received the National Security Law LLM from 

Georgetown University. 

I came to know Ms. Groom when she was on detail with Senator 

Menendez to work on the bipartisan comprehensive immigration 

bill that the Senate considered this year—last year, I should say. 

Ms. Groom, it is nice to see you again. The floor is yours. Do you 

want to push the button in front of you there? 

STATEMENT OF MOLLY GROOM, ACTING DEPUTY ASSISTANT 

SECRETARY, OFFICE OF POLICY, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF 

HOMELAND SECURITY, WASHINGTON, DC 

Ms. GROOM. Yes, thank you so much, Chairman Durbin, and 

thank you, Ranking Member Cruz and the distinguished members 

of the Subcommittee. I appreciate the opportunity to address the 

refugee resettlement and other humanitarian efforts that we are 

undertaking to address the crisis in Syria. 

As you are all aware, the U.S. has a proud and longstanding tradition of offering protection, freedom, and opportunity to refugees 

from around the world who fear persecution. Refugee resettlement 

is a cornerstone of our national character and reflects our country’s 

commitment to humanitarian ideals. It is this commitment which 

must be carried out in conjunction with our overarching commitment to protecting our national security. 

DHS, along with the Department of State, is committed to ensuring that the U.S. continues to take a leading role in refugee resettlement and other humanitarian protections. The U.S. Refugee Admissions Program serves a critical role in identifying individuals in 
13 

need of protection who do not present a risk to our national security and who are otherwise admissible to the U.S. as refugees. 

It is DHS’ U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services that is responsible for determining whether individuals meet the refugee 

definition. They do this by conducting individual in-depth interviews and considering the results of security checks, extensive security checks. 

In 2005, USCIS created the Refugee Corps, a cadre of specially 

trained officers who travel overseas to adjudicate applications for 

refugee status. The officers receive extensive training which includes information about the specific populations they will be interviewing, including the likely types of claims that they will encounter, fraud trends or security issues, and detailed country-of-origin 

information. All refugee status determinations undergo 100 percent 

supervisory review before a final decision is reached. 

Security checks are an integral part of the refugee resettlement 

process, and coordinating these checks is a shared responsibility 

between the Department of State and the Department of Homeland 

Security. The refugee vetting process in place today employs robust 

security measures to protect against risks to our national security, 

and DHS would never approve a refugee applicant for travel until 

all required security checks are completed and cleared. 

Refugee vetting happens at different stages of the process, and 

the procedures include initial biographic and biometric security 

checks against DHS holdings, FBI holdings, Department of Defense 

holding, State holdings, and intelligence community holdings, and 

those checks are performed again, the interagency checks, pre-departure—that is, before the refugee is scheduled to travel to the 

United States. 

While no screening is infallible, we believe that our current refugee screening systems are more likely today to detect individuals 

with derogatory information should they apply. 

DHS works early on with the Department of State to provide 

feedback on which refugee groups being considered for resettlement 

are likely to qualify and which may pose eligibility concerns. The 

broad definitions of terrorist activity and terrorist organizations 

under U.S. immigration law are often a hurdle to resettling otherwise eligible refugees who pose no security threat. Examples of 

these groups include the ethnic Burmese who provided food to an 

individual or Iraqis who paid ransoms for the release of family 

members. 

Given the complexities of the crisis in Syria, we believe certain 

refugees fleeing the crisis may fall within the terrorism-related inadmissibility grounds as they are defined in the Immigration and 

Nationality Act. With the breadth of these grounds, the law also 

gives the Secretaries of State and Homeland Security, in consultation with the Attorney General, broad discretionary authority to 

issue exemptions when the circumstances might justify an exemption. DHS, DOS, and the Department of Justice engage in an interagency consultation process on the exercise of this exemption authority. This process is used to ensure that the terrorism-related 

inadmissibility grounds are applied in a way that protect our national security but also allow individuals who pose no threat to po-
14 

tentially receive immigration benefits that they are otherwise eligible for. 

If the Secretary of Homeland Security or the Secretary of State 

exercises the exemption authority, the Department of Homeland 

Security or the Department of State may then apply these exemptions on a case-by-case basis, taking into consideration the totality 

of the circumstances. Any individual who poses a threat to the 

safety or security of the U.S. would not be eligible for an exemption. 

We are ever mindful that addressing humanitarian needs must 

be coupled with robust measures to protect national security, including the security screening of refugee applicants. With regard to 

the population fleeing Syria, the Department of Homeland Security 

and the Department of State have had a series of conversations 

with UNHCR on how best to address resettlement of Syrians and 

any potential exemption-related issues. With regard to possible 

new exemption authority, interagency consultations are ongoing. 

I appreciate the opportunity to testify and for your interest in 

how we are approaching resettlement of refugees fleeing the crisis 

in Syria, and I would be happy to answer any questions you may 

have. 

[The prepared statement of Ms. Groom appears as a submission 

for the record.] 

Chairman DURBIN. Thanks, Ms. Groom. 

UNHCR has begun efforts to resettle especially vulnerable refugees in third countries, including 30,000 in Fiscal Year 2014. I am 

struck by that number, that they are trying to resettle 30,000 and 

we are talking about an order of magnitude in the millions of refugees, but 30,000 is the UNHCR target number. 

Now, the United States typically accepts more than half of resettlement refugees under this type of program. Ms. Richard, administration officials previously told the staff of our Subcommittee that 

the United States is likely to accept only a few hundred Syrian refugees in this fiscal year, which ends in October, October 1st. However, in your testimony today, you said, and I quote, ′′We expect to 

accept referrals for several thousands refugees in 2014.′′ 

Can you please clarify that? 

Ms. RICHARD. Thank you for your question, and I get asked a lot 

about whether we will accept refugees in the United States, not 

just here in Washington but also when I travel overseas, because 

the neighboring countries would like us to, out of solidarity with 

them, bring in our share of refugees as well. And I explain to them 

that it is our tradition to do so. We have every intention of doing 

so. We are not at all opposed to bringing Syrian refugees to the 

United States. 

The fact that we have not brought many so far is due to: 

First, our hope, and now discarded, that this conflict would be 

over quickly and they would be able to go home quickly, and that 

has not been the case. 

Second, we take refugees after they have been referred by the 

U.N. High Commission for Refugees, UNHCR, and so that process 

did not start at once, but instead started after a period of time. 
15 

And now our own process takes a little while. It is very deliberate and careful. It is designed to be that way to make sure that 

we only take bona fide refugees. 

So we are working very quickly now to respond to referrals from 

UNHCR and to start that process of bringing in refugees. And so 

I think that UNHCR’s desire to send 30,000 to new homes in other 

countries this year is ambitious, and I want to do everything we 

can to bring in as many as we can to the United States before the 

end of the fiscal year, but in all honesty, I do not think you will 

see big numbers until next fiscal year, the end of this calendar 

year. 

Chairman DURBIN. And, of course, it is difficult to speak to our 

allies and friends and ask them to also bear the burden if we do 

not do it as well. 

Ms. RICHARD. That is right. And the good thing is, I was able to 

say that we could be counted on to bring in refugees, in part because we have this tradition that has bipartisan support on the 

Hill of bringing refugees. Last year, we brought 70,000, and that 

was the closest we had come in 30 years to reaching our target 

level. We got 99.9 percent of the refugees we plan to bring in we 

brought in, so we have done a lot of things to make sure our process works quickly and well. But it is deliberately supposed to be 

designed that bona fide refugees come in and bad guys do not come 

in, and that process that Molly Groom has described very well of 

checking to make sure that we are only bringing bona fide refugees 

does take a little time. 

Chairman DURBIN. So let us go to the bad guy issue and talk 

about it for a moment. I mentioned it at the outset because of concerns over what we have heard in terms of applying the rules as 

written, that if someone is seeking refugee status and they have 

somehow even supported an armed rebel group, which the United 

States is directly supporting, it could in some cases raise questions 

if not disqualify them. 

The same questions have been raised about those who help 

groups under duress. It was a witness before this Committee or a 

case before this Committee of a Colombian nurse who, at the point 

of a gun, was providing medical assistance to a FARC injured rebel 

and was disqualified as a refugee because of her involvement, even 

though her actions were under duress. 

The point made by Senator Cruz is obvious and valid. We do not 

want anyone to come into the United States who will be a threat 

to our security. That is something I think we owe the American 

people, is the assurance we have done everything humanly possible 

to stop that from occurring. 

So let me ask you at this point, Ms. Groom, as you reflect on 

this, can you update us on the status of exemptions that have been 

prepared for cases like those that I have described? And what is 

the timetable for a decision about a proposed exemption to the material support bar, which I think is an overarching description of 

what we have been describing? 

Ms. GROOM. Thank you for the opportunity to talk about the 

TRIG grounds, as we call them, terrorism-related inadmissibility 

grounds, and the exemption process. As you note, the terrorism-related inadmissibility grounds are quite broad because of the defini-
16 

tion of ‘‘terrorist organization’’ and because of the definition of ‘‘terrorist activity.’’ A terrorist organization includes any undesignated 

terrorist organization, which means any two members who use a 

firearm or other weapon with the intent to endanger. That is a terrorist organization if they engage in terrorist activity. 

So the exemption process is the flexibility that is provided for in 

the law, and the interagency working group that I mentioned has 

exercised an exemption for those who provide medical care under 

duress. There is also an exemption for those who provide material 

support under duress. So those exemptions are already in place 

and may be useful with the population fleeing Syria. 

I believe you were asking about something that we have been 

discussing for quite some time and whether or not there should be 

an exemption for insignificant amounts of material support. And 

with that exemption, it is on an accelerated track. We are nearing 

the finish line, and we are at the point of senior-level engagement, 

and we are going to bring this to a close in the interagency and 

it will be moving to the secretarial level for decisionmaking very 

shortly. So I hope to have good news on that front soon. 

Chairman DURBIN. Thank you. 

Ms. Lindborg, when I visited the refugee camp in Turkey, 10,000 

people—and as I said, I thought it was an extraordinary effort by 

the Turkish Government to accommodate a large number of people, 

men, women, and children—we went into the classroom, and I am 

sure these children were completely beside themselves to figure out 

who we were or why we were there. They were Syrian children who 

were in a classroom being taught in Turkish and greeted by American visitors in English. I am sure that they were puzzled as to 

what life held for the next day. 

But it raises a question that you have addressed here, the socalled lost generation. What are we going to do with these children 

as they lose their opportunity for a normal, regular education? 

What efforts, as you mentioned, are underway to try to avoid this? 

Ms. LINDBORG. Well, there is a unified campaign and strategy 

under the heading of No Lost Generation that is looking at how do 

we pull together the resources from both our humanitarian accounts with our partners as well, both inside and outside Syria and 

in the neighboring countries, and how do we focus in on all the 

ways that we can help children both access education and be provided with the kind of safe spaces and opportunities that create a 

little more normalcy in their lives? 

So, for example, in Lebanon, in addition to the assistance that 

we are providing through our humanitarian efforts, we are also 

with our development funds focusing in on education, because one 

of the big challenges is the number of Syrian children in Lebanon 

who need to be accommodated by an already overburdened school 

system. You already have double shifts in a lot of the schools in 

Lebanon. 

So the focus is to create that comprehensive approach where we 

are able to bring in the development funds that help both the communities but also get kids into school, get kids into ways that they 

have more of a sense of future and hope. 

Unfortunately, inside Syria, it is much more complicated because 

it is difficult to restore infrastructure when they are still under 
17 

aerial bombardment. So in those instances, it is more of a focus of 

the kind of psychological or safe spaces that we can help to provide 

those kids, and also just that they get clothing and food to eat. 

Chairman DURBIN. Thanks. 

Senator Cruz. 

Senator CRUZ. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you to each 

of the members of the panel today. 

Assistant Secretary Richard, could you put the impact of the displaced Syrian refugees into historical perspective? What comparable events have we seen in the past? And what have been the 

consequences of those? 

Ms. RICHARD. We have not seen anything like this in several decades, and, you know, the Rwandan genocide sent people fleeing 

from Rwanda, but it was a very short period of time in which they 

were on the move, and then there was a larger effort to address 

the situation after they had fled to Zaire, the modern-day Democratic Republic of Congo. 

We saw widespread chaos in the Balkans in the mid-1990s that 

involved pulling together a lot of different parts of the United Nations, peacekeepers, diplomatic measures. 

This is different in many ways in that one of the things that has 

happened—and this was referenced earlier—is we have seen a 

country lose about 35 years of development. In a sense, it is the 

suicide of Syria because the hospitals have been bombed, schools 

have been bombed, civilians have been killed by the tens of thousands. And when we talk about No Lost Generation, this ought to 

be the generation that will be the future of Syria. I do not know 

where the leaders are going to come from if they are not in school 

and if their families are torn apart and they are traumatized from 

what they have witnessed. 

So this sets a horrible new standard, I think, in our historic annals in terms of the amount of mayhem and tragedy that can be 

spread in a couple years. 

Senator CRUZ. And in terms of prior refugee crises, what efforts 

have been undertaken to alleviate those crises? And how successful 

would you characterize those efforts as having been? 

Ms. RICHARD. I think today we see the fruits of some of the lessons learned in the past, because never before have I seen such an 

impressive group of U.N. agency heads, including a few Americans—Tony Lake runs UNICEF, and Ertharin Cousin from Chicago runs the World Food Program. So we have a lot of very good 

relations with the U.N. leadership there, and also we have some 

really good experience behind them. And also we have much more 

professional aid workers on the ground using more time-tested 

techniques to help people. 

The problem is that it is such an overwhelming crisis that even 

though so many lives have been saved and so many people have 

gotten help in the places to which they have run, it is not enough. 

It requires more. This is why we are taking extraordinary measures like the Kuwait pledging conference, held for a second year 

soon, and trying to pull the world together, get new donors to the 

table, get never before degrees of coordination among all the players in the field to work together. 
18 

Senator CRUZ. And this is a question for anyone on the panel 

who would care to respond, but in your judgment, how would you 

assess the impact of this crisis on U.S. allies in the region and, in 

particular, Lebanon in terms of the stability and security? 

Ms. RICHARD. I will start. I think it is having a devastating impact. It is undermining the stability of the region. It is no longer 

a Syria crisis; it is a regional crisis. And, you know, we have very 

close relationships in Jordan. Our embassy works very closely with 

the government there. They are very, very worried about their 

abilities to host this third wave of refugees because they have 

hosted Palestinians for decades, they have hosted Iraqi refugees, 

recently an uptick in refugees from Iraq coming into Jordan, and 

now they have opened their homes and cities and towns and 

schools to the Syrians. 

The only place worse off than Jordan in terms of the concerns 

and the fears of the government officials with whom I meet is Lebanon, and Lebanon has just not got a society and a government organized to respond as robustly as some of the other countries. And 

so there has been increased tensions within that society. Even as 

they brought in more refugees than any other state, and even as 

they have been very generous in letting people come and kept their 

borders open, the tensions have built, and the internal sectarian 

tensions are also on the rise. And so we should all be very concerned about what this crisis means for the countries in the region. 

Senator CRUZ. And let me again ask the panel, in your judgment, 

how serious a threat and how widespread are we seeing the infiltration and exploitation of refugees by Al-Qaeda and radical extremists? 

Ms. RICHARD. I will answer that. It is not large numbers. Most 

refugee groups that you meet, most in the camps are civilians, families, law-abiding people who are just shattered by what is happening in Syria. The thing that we know, though, is it does not 

take a lot of evildoers to cause a lot of havoc. And so it is not a 

wide problem, but it is a real problem. 

And so that is why I respect your concern that we do everything 

we can to avoid radicalization and also to make sure that borders 

are guarded carefully so that only legitimate refugees come across, 

which will be the—most of the people will be legitimate refugees, 

but also that bad element is kept out. And what I fear for, though, 

is I do not want Americans to equate refugees with terrorists and— 

they are not. And the refugees here today with us are journalists 

and scholars and, you know, family people. So that is—I guess I 

do not have to convince you if your parents were refugees, but I 

do think that sometimes Americans who have not personally met 

refugees are fearful. Once they meet refugees, usually they are convinced. Refugees themselves make the best Ambassadors to this 

program. 

Senator CRUZ. Thank you very much. 

Chairman DURBIN. Senator Klobuchar. 

Senator KLOBUCHAR. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. 

Thank you to all of you, our witnesses. 

The one thing that I thought was good that you talked about 

early on is that we focus a lot on the camps. Several of us, as you 

noted, have been there, but that, in fact, most of the refugees are 
19 

out in the countries in Jordan for the most part and other countries. And I understand nearly 520,000 refugees are in Jordan, increasing that country’s population by 9 percent, over 750,000 in 

Lebanon, adding 20 percent. 

When we visited Jordan last April, we met with the king, and 

he met with us for a significant period of time and talked about 

how the refugee situation was increasingly difficult for his country 

to handle. 

To you, Secretary Richard, and then Administrator Lindborg, 

how do you assess the current stability of Jordan considering the 

massive refugee influx? 

Ms. RICHARD. First, I would just like to say that Nancy Lindborg 

is from Minnesota. She is not from Illinois, okay? So we should just 

out her right there. 

Senator KLOBUCHAR. I can tell by her last name. 

Ms. LINDBORG. But I lived in Chicago for 4 years. 

Ms. RICHARD. I lived there for 2 years. 

So we are very concerned about Jordan, which is why we spend 

a lot of time visiting with our colleagues who work in Jordan, and 

also with the Ambassador here, and we have a very active embassy 

there led by Ambassador Stu Jones, and we have a lot of colleagues 

who are working in Jordan to work very carefully with the government, which is very aligned in their approach to the crisis to provide assistance. They know that our funding in the State Department Population, Refugees, and Migration Bureau that I lead goes 

through the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, goes through 

the International Organization for Migration—— 

Senator KLOBUCHAR. Is it true that—-just speaking of the U.N. 

High Commission, I know when Senator Graham and I were there, 

we were really concerned that the aid goes through—when it comes 

from the United Nations, it only goes through the Assad regime. 

Is that correct? 

Ms. RICHARD. No, that is not correct. 

Senator KLOBUCHAR. So—— 

Ms. RICHARD. The Assad regime does not benefit from U.S. taxpayer support to—— 

Senator KLOBUCHAR. So the U.N. aid can go through the rebel 

groups? 

Ms. RICHARD. What is true is that—and Nancy I can tell wants 

to pick up on this. What is true is that the U.N. agencies need the 

permission of the Assad regime to bring their staff in on visas and 

to set up their operations in Damascus, and then they try to get 

as far around Syria as they can get. 

Senator KLOBUCHAR. Okay, but that does mean that they have 

control over where the aid goes, and it makes it harder for it to 

go to certain regions. Is that right? 

Ms. RICHARD. Yes. 

Senator KLOBUCHAR. Okay. If you want to go back to the original 

question—— 

Ms. LINDBORG. Yes, to both, but just to finish on this, the constraints on providing assistance from a Damascus base are the core 

parts of this October statement that was released that has a very 

specific list that we are happy to send to you all, that says these 

are the things that we need for that assistance to be able to reach 
20 

people in need more effectively, and it is in particular the 200,000 

who are in areas besieged by the Syrian regime as well as about 

2 million people who are in conflict-affected areas. So we have a 

lot of concerns about the ability to reach everyone in need. 

To your question about Jordan, I think that for both Jordan and, 

as Anne said, Lebanon as well, there is a lot of concern about the 

stability when you have that level of influx of refugees. In Jordan, 

we have put about $1 billion of assistance through development aid 

to Jordan, both for budget support as well as into those communities that have the greatest refugee burden. There is a lot of concern about stressed infrastructure and about very scarce resources, 

and so we have put much of our development assistance focus on 

that. 

We are also, as we provide humanitarian assistance, looking at 

ways that not only it benefits the refugee population but also the 

locals. So because of this flexibility that we have with some of our 

food aid assistance, we have done vouchers that enable the refugees to buy food in local stores. So it is a revenue benefit for the 

local merchants, which makes a huge difference in terms of community acceptance. 

Senator KLOBUCHAR. Ms. Groom, I was looking at the numbers 

from Southeast Asia, and I think we got 130,000 Southeast Asian 

refugees that came to the U.S. at the end of the Vietnam War. And 

many of them are in Minnesota, and also I would note you mentioned the Burmese, many of them are in Minnesota as well. And 

I am just concerned when I hear these numbers, hundreds that 

Senator Durbin was talking about, even though Assistant Secretary Richard talked about thousands, but I am very concerned 

about the numbers when I think that we should be making it easier, while still checking everything you need to check. 

I know in the immigration bill there are actually some provisions 

that have passed the Senate that would make it easier to speed up 

some of these asylum applications. Would that be helpful? 

Ms. GROOM. Yes, thank you so much for the question. As you 

note, in Senate bill 744 it does remove the 1-year filing deadline 

from asylum claims, and that is something we have seen. In the 

past year, 1,335 Syrians have applied for asylum. Now, while there 

is an exception for the 1-year filing deadline right now, if it were 

removed and the Senate bill were passed, it would make those 

claims move more quickly. And it seems to be the right result given 

the crisis there. 

There are also some other changes to the refugee program that 

are contained in the bill that might be useful for resettling refugees, and then there are changes also to the expedited removal and 

the credible fear process. 

Senator KLOBUCHAR. How many do you think we are going to be 

able to resettle in the U.S. in the coming year when there are 

135,000, or whatever, that have applied? 

Ms. GROOM. Well, I think Assistant Secretary Richard spoke to— 

the numbers will really probably—the referrals are starting, are 

going to start coming in very shortly, but then the process works, 

and it takes a bit of time. So we are going to start seeing arrivals 

not until the end of this year, likely. 
21 

Senator KLOBUCHAR. It just seems like such a long time, and I 

will just end with that, and just say to the refugees that are here 

with us today, the three that got here, Mr. Doko and Mr. Charbaji 

and Mr. Muqdad, how sorry I am about this. And on Christmas 

Eve, our church, like many churches in the U.S., everyone holds a 

candle, and we go around and sing ‘‘Silent Night.’’ And I had been 

thinking of Syria for a number of weeks, I will be honest about 

that, and that was all I could think about when I stood there, was 

those refugees that, when we went and visited them, the rebels 

were doing much better. And we said, ‘‘Oh, we know this is going 

to improve for you by the end of this year. We know the situation 

is improving.’’ And to me, it has only gotten worse. 

And so that is why I am so much interested in this idea of the 

resettlement and working with our allies and leading so that other 

countries in Europe and other places will also bring in these refugees as we do not see an immediate end to this conflict. So I appreciate your efforts. Thank you. 

Chairman DURBIN. Thanks, Senator Klobuchar. 

I want to thank my colleague Senator Graham for his patience 

in waiting and especially for his dedication to Syria and the challenges it faces. Senator Graham. 

Senator GRAHAM. Well, thank you, Mr. Chairman, for, one, 

hosting this hearing. I think most Americans are concerned about 

a lot of things, and Syria is hard to get people’s attention about, 

not because Americans are hard-hearted but the complicated world 

in which we live. So hearings like this are very important, and I 

want to compliment my Ranking Member here. I think he understands exactly what is going on. 

Ms. Groom, in 2014, does Congress need to do anything pretty 

soon to make sure that we can achieve our fair share of the refugees in changing the laws? Do you have any proposals? 

Ms. GROOM. I do not have any proposals to offer you today, but 

we have offered to work with the Senate—— 

Senator GRAHAM. Well, I guess what I am saying, I do not see 

a comprehensive immigration bill passing anytime soon, so when it 

comes to changes in our laws, exemptions, if you need something 

beyond the ability you have within the body that you work, please 

let us know, because I think a lot of us may have different views 

about immigration but would be willing to accommodate some legal 

changes if it would help expedite this process. So that is an opportunity for you. 

Ms. GROOM. And I welcome that opportunity. 

Ms. RICHARD. A couple of ideas right off the top of my head, 

never missing an opportunity. You know, we have this sort of 

tradeoff to make within our budget at the State Department. How 

much do we devote to bringing refugees to the U.S.? And how much 

do we devote to helping refugees overseas in the places where they 

live? We help far more overseas. And so it sounds like there is support here for bringing even more refugees to the United States beyond the 70,000 that we brought. But in order to do that, we would 

hate to undermine our overseas programs, and so we need support 

for both. 

Senator GRAHAM. Well, let us talk about this. I think there is bipartisan support for trying to do a better job in terms of assimi-
22 

lating non-terrorist refugees in the United States. I just think Senator Cruz represents what can happen when you take people from 

other countries. You know, our country benefits. And I am sure 

there are Democrats who were refugees, too, so we do not want to 

make this partisan. 

[Laughter.] 

Senator GRAHAM. But the bottom line is I think America has a 

pretty good track record of assimilating people. 

Now, about the budget, the World Food Program, how much of 

their budget is allocated to Syria? 

Ms. LINDBORG. Increasingly, a large percentage. I can—— 

Senator GRAHAM. Well, I just met with a lady in Rome. She says 

they are being overwhelmed. 

Ms. LINDBORG. They are overwhelmed. We are the largest single 

donor, and it vacuums up all of our flexibility. 

Senator GRAHAM. Her budget is being destroyed. 

Ms. LINDBORG. As is our—— 

Senator GRAHAM. Every other refugee problem in the world is 

being displaced by Syria, so the World Food Program is being devastated by Syria. 

Now, when it comes to appropriations, Ms. Richard, I am the 

Ranking Republican working with Senator Leahy. We tried to increase funding, and there is a limit to what we can do. But could 

you provide the Appropriations Committee and the Judiciary Committee with what you think would be a 2- or 3- year plan here? 

Could you see the war ending this year? 

Ms. RICHARD. Regrettably, no. 

Senator GRAHAM. Do you think Al-Qaeda is going to go to Geneva, too? 

Ms. RICHARD. Well, I do not hang out a lot with Al-Qaeda, so—— 

Senator GRAHAM. I know, but I do not think they are going to 

be invited. 

Ms. RICHARD. I think the chances for Geneva II making some 

modest successes are increasing just in these last few days, but I 

defer to Robert Ford on that. 

Senator GRAHAM. Well, I hope you are right, but here is what I 

see—— 

Ms. RICHARD. But I think—I know where you and I agree is that 

this is not an easy crisis to end, to clean up. 

Senator GRAHAM. What I am trying to lay out is that the worst 

is yet to come. Do you agree with that? 

Ms. RICHARD. I hope that is not the case. 

Senator GRAHAM. Hope is not my question. Do you agree that the 

worst is yet to come? 

Ms. RICHARD. If I were not a hopeful person, I would not be in 

my job. 

Senator GRAHAM. Okay. Well, just from an analytical point of 

view, Ms. Lindborg, do you think the worst is yet to come? 

Ms. LINDBORG. Well, we do know that this is the largest U.N. appeal in history, and it is more than two-thirds of the rest of the 

global appeals put together. 

Senator GRAHAM. Well, do you think, Ms. Richard, that 2014 is 

dramatically better for Syria or worse in terms of the refugee—— 
23 

Ms. RICHARD. What concerns me is the idea of donor fatigue taking hold. We have been trying to get more donations from other 

countries, and so if it continues the way it has—and I would be 

stupid to suggest it might not. If it continues that way, we have 

got to somehow enlist new donors to come and—— 

Senator GRAHAM. Well, do you think it would be wise for America to plan for the worst and hope for the best when it comes to 

Syria? 

Ms. RICHARD. I agree that in dealing with a refugee crisis of this 

magnitude, we have to have contingency plans for some—— 

Senator GRAHAM. So let us put a scope on what—— 

Ms. RICHARD. Really scary scenarios. 

Senator GRAHAM. Okay. Let us start to talk about some of those 

scary scenarios that are not unrealistic. You were at the—and, you 

know, you do a good job. I do not mean to be combative here. At 

the hearing we had in Appropriations, didn’t the Lebanese Ambassador say his country was saturated? 

Ms. RICHARD. Absolutely. He had—UNHCR has provided the 

photos to show that there are Syrian refugees on every square turf 

in Lebanon. 

Senator GRAHAM. He says basically they cannot take any more 

people. What is the likelihood in 2014 of Lebanon closing their borders to Syrian refugees? 

Ms. RICHARD. I am going to try—— 

Senator GRAHAM. Would you agree that would be a bad situation—— 

Ms. RICHARD. To keep that from happening? 

Senator GRAHAM. Yes, but, you know, trying—I am trying to plan 

for the worst case. 

Ms. RICHARD. A worst-case scenario would be a lot more refugees 

streaming out of Syria. The amazing thing to me is that not more 

have. They clearly are trying to stay put. 

Senator GRAHAM. I think the worst-case scenario would be if they 

had no place to go. So what is the likelihood of Lebanon and Jordan closing their borders, because their countries’ sovereignty and 

security is at risk, to Syrian refugees in 2014? 

Ms. RICHARD. We have seen that what is happening is that the 

borders have already been moved from being open in most cases to 

being managed. 

Senator GRAHAM. Could you give me a plan? Let us assume the 

worst now. What would our response be as a world and as a nation 

if in 2014, God forbid, the Lebanese closed their border, the Jordanians closed their borders? You do not have to answer that question now, but I think we need to get really serious about this, because I think the worst is yet to come. And, God, I hope I am 

wrong. I hope I am wrong. 

Ms. RICHARD. One of the things that is good is that the U.N. appeals assume, you know, more challenging scenarios and so—and 

build in those funding. 

In terms of our being able to respond, I think that we have benefited from your work and Senator Leahy’s work last year that provided—— 

Senator GRAHAM. But it really is inadequate over time, don’t you 

think? That what we are doing today, if this continues, that the 
24 

Congress needs to seriously look at coming up with a funding plan 

for—— 

Ms. RICHARD. The reason it is inadequate is because we have not 

seen other countries step up, and we have other crises to deal with. 

And the other piece that I want to make sure I mention to you all 

today is that the Department of Health and Human Services helps 

refugees once they have arrived in the U.S. We provide the aid, 

thanks to you all, for the first 30 to 90 days. But after that, it is 

up to HHS to provide aid through the States. That has been underfunded. 

Senator GRAHAM. I am giving you an opportunity here to tell us 

that maybe the worst is yet to come and prepare Members of Congress who are sympathetic with a bill you may send us. So if I were 

you, I would suggest to take this opportunity to sit down and write 

out what we may be facing as a Nation in terms of our obligations 

to stabilize the region. That is all I am asking. 

Ms. LINDBORG. And we very much appreciate that. Just to your 

point, we keep passing the worst-case scenario. So we need to be 

thinking of that. There have already been extraordinary strains on 

the system. We keep coming up with new ways of addressing it, 

and we will continue to be faced with that pressure, and we would 

very much welcome the opportunity to work with you all further 

on envisioning what that might take. 

We were able to do the response that we did in this last Fiscal 

Year because of the very important support that we received, especially from the Senate. So we thank you for that, and I think that 

the partnership into the future will be really, really important. 

Chairman DURBIN. Thanks, Senator Graham. 

I want to ask three last questions, and I will allow Senator Cruz 

if he would like to as well. We have not mentioned Egypt, which 

is receiving over 130,000 Syrian refugees. We read about Egypt 

every day and the political instability and violence in that nation. 

In Lebanon and Jordan, I have a different mind’s image of what 

is going on on the ground. There is weakness, vulnerability, and 

worry. 

But in Egypt, it looks like clear instability. And I would like to 

ask, Syrian refugees who fled to Egypt face challenges because of 

this political turmoil. Conditions for Syrian refugees who fled there 

appear to have deteriorated in recent months as their political environment has deteriorated in Egypt. Some Syrian refugees in 

Egypt have reportedly faced arbitrary detention and deportation 

back to Syria. 

Ms. Richard, has the U.S. Government taken any steps to address the concerns that have been raised about the treatment of 

Syrian refugees in Egypt? 

Ms. RICHARD. Yes, Senator. As you said, more than 130,000 Syrian refugees have been registered in Egypt. There is an additional 

20,000 awaiting registration. Most are living in greater Cairo; significant numbers are also in Alexandria. And on July 8th, the interim Egyptian Government imposed restrictive entry procedures 

requiring Syrians to have a valid visa and prior security approval. 

Tensions have resulted in increasing hostility toward Syrians and 

Palestinians from Syria and have led to detention and deportations 

of refugees. 
25 

So the U.S. is providing funding to UNHCR and other U.N. agencies to address their needs, and UNHCR has appealed to Egyptian 

authorities to admit and protect all Syrians seeking refuge. 

At this morning’s State Department’s staff meeting, we were 

joined by Assistant Secretary Anne Patterson, who until recently 

was our U.S. Ambassador to Egypt, so I know she is fully aware 

of this. And she was part of a conversation this morning about Syrian refugees. 

Chairman DURBIN. Ms. Lindborg, there is a practical issue here 

on this No Lost Generation that gets down to something very basic, 

and that is the fact that babies are being born in these refugee settings. A recent UNHCR survey on birth registration revealed 781 

Syrian newborns in Lebanon; 77 percent of them had no official 

birth certificate. They are technically stateless at this point. These 

numbers are a concern because, as UNHCR indicates, unregistered 

refugee children can face increased risk of exposure to violence, 

abuse, and exploitation. The numbers may be low when you consider the universe of refugees, due in part to the barriers at birth 

registry that refugee families encounter in Jordan and Lebanon, including complex registration procedures. 

Has the U.S. Government taken any steps with UNHCR, NGO’s, 

and host governments to address the issue of statelessness among 

Syrian refugee children? Either Ms. Lindborg, Ms. Richard, or Ms. 

Groom. 

Ms. RICHARD. I will take that and get back to you on that. I 

know statelessness is one of the UNHCR’s key mandates, fighting 

statelessness, and it is something we pay a lot of attention to globally. And I do not know the answer, so I will get back to you on 

that, Senator. Thank you. 

[The information referred to appears as a submission for the 

record.] 

Chairman DURBIN. So let us use this opportunity to give a shoutout, if we fail to, to private sector efforts to try to help in this refugee situation. I understand IKEA is trying to develop a new shelter. I do not know much more about it—— 

Ms. RICHARD. They have developed it. It is really nifty, as you 

would expect. But the IKEA Foundation helps refugee situations in 

other places, too, but their new shelter is something that can be 

folded up into a suitcase so that that way the home can travel with 

the refugees wherever they are. 

Chairman DURBIN. It was reported only recently Lebanon started 

to allow these IKEA refugee housing units to be used to shelter 

Syrians for fear that housing too sturdy and protective would encourage them to stay indefinitely. I have always found that interesting. When I travel around the world and I visit with refugees, 

they are okay, but they are usually complaining a little bit—not 

enough foods, problems here, there, and the other place. And the 

administrators of many refugee settings have said, ‘‘We do not 

want them to get too comfortable. We want them to consider where 

their next move will be. Hopefully it is back home.’’ Well, back 

home is out of the question now with Syria’s circumstances here. 

But could you address either this particular issue or that general 

concern of the administrators of refugee camps? 
26 

Ms. RICHARD. Well, I have had discussions about this with the 

Minister of Social Affairs in Lebanon, Abu Faour, and he—because 

I was trying to convince him to allow these IKEA shelters to be 

used by the refugees. And so I am very pleased that they have 

made this change in their policy. 

What several governments in the region are concerned about is 

that they will host the refugees for a long, long time, and the reason they are concerned is because Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria were 

three of the five fields where Palestinian refugees live. And now 

Palestinian refugees are fleeing from Syria, which had been a very 

safe place for them to live, and primarily going to Lebanon. 

And so I think we have to respect the government officials who 

are concerned about protracted refugee situations in this part of 

the world because they have firsthand experience with it, and that 

is partly why I feel we should support them and make it easier for 

them to host the refugees, even as we try to do everything we can 

to get the Syrian refugees home. 

Chairman DURBIN. There has been a great deal of interest in today’s hearing. The turnout evidences that, and dozens of organizations—I am going to read their names because some of them are 

doing extraordinarily good work. Catholic Relief Services and others have presented testimony, which will be part of the record. The 

Center for Victims of Torture, Church World Services, the Episcopal Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, Human 

Rights First, International Rescue Committee, joint statement of 

the Iraqi Refugee Assistance Project and HIAS, Human Rights Initiative of North Texas, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services, Mercy Corps, Oxfam, Refugee Council USA, Refugees International, Save the Children, Syrian American Medical Society, 

UNICEF, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and World Relief, 

and without objection, we will place their statements in the record. 

[The information referred to appears as a submission for the 

record.] 

Chairman DURBIN. The record is going to be open for a week. 

You may get a few additional questions, and you promised me a 

few additional responses, and I appreciate what you had to say. 

And I will say in closing here this was a pretty diverse political 

group sitting up here, and this is not always the type of topic that 

attracts anybody other than the Chairman and a Ranking Member. 

And it is an indication to me of something good and positive. We 

see a problem. We are a caring people. We want to do something 

about it. We want it to be thoughtful, as Senator Cruz says, not 

to endanger the United States in any way, but to do our part to 

deal with a worldwide problem, which he appreciates more than 

any of us could on this panel. 

So those who have given up on this institution, I hope today’s 

hearing is an indication that sometimes we kind of do move in the 

right direction, even if we have different starting places. 

If there are no further comments from our panel, I want to thank 

the witnesses for attending, my colleagues for participating, and 

the hearing stands adjourned. 

[Whereupon, at 3:54 p.m., the Subcommittee was adjourned.] 

[Additional material submitted for the record follows.] 
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A P P E N D I X 

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD
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