US Rejects Asylum Requests of Around 100 Religious Minorities from Iran

American media outlets report that the US government has rejected asylum applications from approximately 100 Iranians who are members of religious minorities.

This decision has been met with reactions from members of the House Human Rights Committee, who have requested the Department of Homeland Security to provide explanations regarding it.

The publication “Foreign Policy” reports that this group of refugees, who are mainly Christian, have been waiting in Vienna, the capital of Austria, for more than a year to receive US visas and now face the risk of deportation from Austria to Iran.

This comes as Donald Trump’s administration, the US President, has condemned Iran’s treatment of religious minorities and specifically pledged to help address the problems of Christians in the Middle East.

Iranian religious minorities have applied for US visas under a law called the “Lautenberg Amendment,” which is designed to grant refugee status to persecuted religious minorities.

It is reported that before Trump came to power, the vast majority of these visa applicants were granted visas. Applicants undergo preliminary reviews before arriving in Vienna, and then Austria issues them transit visas at the request of the US State Department.

Foreign Policy writes that this process previously took weeks to months, but has now virtually stalled during Trump’s administration. Human rights groups said this may violate US laws.

The US State Department has stated that the Department of Homeland Security rejected the decision to deny visas to this group. An official from this department told Foreign Policy that the asylum applications of this group of Iranians were rejected after receiving information from other departments and government agencies.

The official, who was not named, also said that the United States and Austria are examining possible options for these refugees, including resettling them in another country.

Congressional Concerns Expressed

Randy Hultgren, a Republican representative, and James McGovern, a Democratic representative of Congress, who chair the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, have expressed concerns about this decision.

They wrote: “After years of successful and immediate acceptance of religious minorities from Iran to the United States under the Lautenberg program, the Department of Homeland Security should provide information to Congress about the reason for rejecting their visas.”

They wrote that the security and safety of this group should be prioritized: “Asylum seekers should under no circumstances be returned to Iran, where they face the risk of detention and torture.”

Iran denies persecuting religious minorities.

The two representatives said that the Lautenberg program should continue and the State Department and Department of Homeland Security should “continue all efforts to continue accepting thousands of religious minorities from Iran.”

They had previously written in a letter to Mike Pence, the US Vice President, that Iranian applicants in Austria include elderly people and people with disabilities who “could hardly be imagined as a security threat” to the United States.

Foreign Policy writes that based on the Lautenberg program since 2004, approximately 30,000 Iranians have received asylum in the United States.

Source: BBC