Having survived war and terrorism in Iraq and endured long bureaucratic delays to settle in the U.S, Iraqi refugees continue to struggle because of high unemployment.

 

Tens of thousands of Iraqis have fled their home country since the U.S. invasion of 2003. Congress several years ago mandated that immigration officials grant at least 25,000 visas to Iraqis over a five-year period, but after four years of the program, only 7,000 have been given out.

 

This year may witness the smallest number of Iraqis into the United States since 2007, when the Bush administration took heat for not allowing more refugees into the country.

 

Now, it’s the Obama administration being criticized for requiring new background checks for visa applicants that have helped slow down the process of Iraqis making new homes in America.

 

It didn’t help when two Iraqi immigrants were arrested in Bowling Green, Kentucky, in May and charged with plotting to send weapons and money to Al-Qaeda. That prompted Republican Senator Rand Paul, who calls Bowling Green home, to ask for hearings on immigration.

 

He got his wish, and at this week’s hearing before the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, Paul said, “I think the most serious threats to our country from terrorism come from probably travel visas, refugee visas, and student visas.”

 

For those already here, making a living has been difficult, to say the least. Unemployment among Iraqi refugees is running nearly three times the national average of 9%. It is estimated that about 2,000 of those who arrived in the past four years may have left for other countries. In fact, things are so bleak that some Iraqis are even contemplating a return home, despite the dangers that await.

-Noel Brinkerhoff

 

Visa Delays Put Iraqis Who Aided U.S. in Fear (by Tim Arango, New York Times)

Iraqi Refugees in Limbo (by William Fisher, The Public Record)

Hard Time for Iraqi Refugees in Weak U.S. Job Market (by David Sheppard, Reuters)

Senator Paul Questions U.S. Access for Terrorists at Homeland Security Hearing (Senator Rand Paul’s official website)

To Rand Paul, Legal Immigration Is Also a Concern (by Emmarie Huetteman, New York Times)

Iraqi Refugees Choose Return to Danger in Iraq over Poverty in U.S. (AllGov)