TNAG-1537-FCO40-2101-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-refugees-resettlement-in-third-countri-1986 — Page 7

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NO. 179

an increased admissions ceiling for Eastern Europe and

the Soviet Union;

expanded refugee admissions from Latin America and the

Caribbean;

an increased ceiling for Africa to accommodate African

refugees located far from processing posts in Africa, and

those who have been stranded in Europe for several years;

an increased admissions ceiling for the Near East and

South Asia to allow for admissions of those fleeing

religious persecution and Soviet occupation;

and an unallocated reserve, intended to give the

Administration the flexibility to respond to critical

admissions needs that are unpredictable.

As a preamble to a discussion and justification of the

proposed refugee ceiling, I would like to reflect on what we

have accomplished in our refugee programs in recent years, and

the way in which we have been able to achieve these objectives.

Mr. Chairman, the beginning of fiscal year 1981 marks a

suitable starting point for such a review. It coincided with

the election of President Reagan, and it followed by only a

short interval the major refugee shocks of the previous