US authorities have allowed about a dozen Christian refugees from Iran into the US after a federal court ordered their cases reopened, but the fate of hundreds of other Iranian refugees seeking American visas remains uncertain, lawyers say.
Iranian Christians attend Christmas Eve mass at the St. Joseph Armenian Catholic Church in Iran on Dec. 24, 2016.Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings.U.S. authorities have allowed about a dozen Christian refugees from Iran into the U.S. after a federal court ordered their cases reopened, but the fate of hundreds of other Iranian refugees seeking American visas remains uncertain, lawyers said.
The whole process is"completely shrouded" in secrecy, and U.S. officials have yet to explain why a small number of Iranian refugees were granted entry while others were not, said Martin Zogg, of the non-profit International Rescue Committee. Applicants in Ukraine and other former Soviet states have been admitted without major delays, humanitarian groups said.
The State Department acknowledged that more applicants had been denied in the Lautenberg program, but a spokesperson said the department was not able to comment on the specific reasons why some applications have been approved and others denied. The lawsuit by the International Refugee Assistance Project also accuses the administration of making"arbitrary" and"capricious" changes to the Lautenberg-Specter program in violation of federal law. The court has not yet ruled on that part of the complaint.
The number of Christian refugees admitted to the United States declined by about 36 percent in fiscal year 2018 compared to the previous year, according to Lindsey Sharp, of the International Rescue Committee. The drop is part of a broader decline in overall refugee admissions.
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