Special Report: They're Refugees, Not Terrorists

When Post-9/11 Measures Go Too Far

Right now thousands of refugees are unable to be granted refugee or asylum status in the United States because a broad interpretation of anti-terrorism law brands some victims of terrorism and allies of the U.S. "terrorists."

IRC senior policy advisor Anna Husarska has been talking with as many of these refugees as she can and telling their stories. Here are just a few:

The Gray Family
Background: Karen
Home: Burma
Now Living In: Tham Hin Refugee Camp, Thailand

Albert Gray with his wife, son, three daughters, and first grandchild, little Valerie, born last June. According to current U.S. legislation this former captain in the Karen National Union is barred from entering the U.S. because his past as a freedom fighter is branded as “terrorist activity.” He is willing to separate — perhaps forever — from his family to give his children and grandchild a chance to be resettled in the U.S. Story >

Xo Chia Vue
Background: Hmong
Home: Laos
Now Living In: Bangkok, Thailand

Xo Chia Vue spent 14 years fighting for the CIA in Laos. He and other Hmong were the de facto ground forces in the U.S.-led air campaign aganst Communist forces there. Unbelievable as it seems, their past heroic struggle on behalf of the CIA is now regarded as "terrorist activity." Xo Chia Vue’s granddaughter is also barred from entry because she cooked for him in the jungle, thereby providing "material support" to "terrorists." Story >

The Kur Family
Background: Dinka
Home: Southern Sudan
Now Living In: Shimelba Refugee Camp, Ethiopia

Dominic Kur’s wife Angelina and their children are welcome to come to the U.S. as refugees, but Kur is denied entrance because he fought with the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA). Kur’s letter from Homeland Security labeling him a terrorist arrived the same day that Salva Kiir, the SPLA leader who is now president of southern Sudan, was welcomed to the White House by President Bush. Story >

Chin Refugee
Background: Chin
Home: Burma
Now Living In: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

This 62-year-old ethnic Chin was a member in Burma of the National Democracy League, headed by the Nobel-prize winner Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. He refused to sign the declaration self-disbanding the NLD in his village. He hopes to join his sister’s family in Dallas, TX. Although he has never even met anyone from the Chin National Army, he may be barred from entering the U.S. His story on the IRC blog > More about the Chin in Malaysia >