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Balanced Program
NO. 179
It is in this context that the President is recommending
the proposed admissions ceilings for East Asia both for
those in first-asylum countries and for those able to leave
Vietnam by means of the UNHCR's Orderly Departure Program. As
I stated during last year's consultations, we see the need for
balance in this program:
"Indochinese refugee resettlement must be balanced against
other, regional solutions; balanced as a fair share of an
international resettlement effort; balanced in terms of its
budgetary implications; balanced in terms of other
immigration and domestic policy considerations; and
balanced against the need to provide resettlement to
deserving refugees from other parts of the world."
The Ray Panel has proposed guidelines to help us achieve
this balance in ways that respond to the needs of the
refugees. We will continue to assure the first asylum states
of the durability of our commitment to help ease their burden
and to provide continued resettlement opportunities in the
United States.
The proposed ceiling for refugees in first asylum will
enable us to process those currently eligible for the U.S.
program, those new arrivals who qualify under our priority.
categories, and a part of the long-stayer caseload under a