US rejects asylum requests of about 100 religious minorities from Iran
American media reports that the US government has rejected the asylum requests of about 100 Iranians who are members of religious minorities.
This decision has been met with a reaction from members of the House of Representatives Human Rights Committee, who have asked the Ministry of National Security to explain it.
Foreign Policy reports that the group of refugees, mostly Christians, have been waiting in Vienna, the capital of Austria, for more than a year to receive US visas and now face the risk of being deported from Austria to Iran.
This comes as the administration of US President Donald Trump has condemned Iran's treatment of religious minorities and has specifically promised to help resolve 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 asylum to persecuted religious minorities.
It is reported that before Mr. Trump took office, the vast majority of these applicants were granted visas. Applicants undergo initial screening before arriving in Vienna and are then issued an Austrian transit visa at the request of the US State Department.
Foreign Policy reports that the process, which used to take weeks to months, has now been almost halted under Mr. Trump. Rights groups have said it may violate US law.
The US State Department said the decision to deny the group’s visa application was made by the Department of Homeland Security. A department official told Foreign Policy that the group’s asylum application was denied after receiving information from other government departments and agencies.
The official, who was not named, also said that the United States and Austria were exploring possible options for the refugees, including resettling them in another country.
Representatives express concern
Republican Representative Randy Hultgren and Democratic Representative James McGovern, who co-chair the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, have expressed concern about the decision.
“After years of rapid and successful admission of religious minorities from Iran to the United States under the Lautenberg Plan, the Department of Homeland Security should provide Congress with information on the reasons for their visa denials,” they wrote.
They wrote that the safety and security of the group should be a priority: “Those seeking asylum 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 that the Departments of State and Homeland Security should continue “all efforts to continue accepting thousands of religious minorities from Iran.”
They had previously written in a letter to US Vice President Mike Pence that Iranian applicants in Austria include elderly and disabled people who are “hard to imagine posing a security threat” to the United States.
The magazine "Foreign Policy" writes that, based on the Lautenberg Plan, about 30,000 Iranians have been granted asylum in the United States since 2004.
Source: BBC
