US defends efforts to help Iraqi refugees
AMMAN (AFP) — US Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff on Monday defended his country's procedures on admitting Iraqi refugees to the United States, saying the process was "efficient."
"I think we have a process that is efficient, quick but thorough. Obviously we want to make sure that the process of admitting refugees is not abused for the wrong purposes and that our security concerns are met," he told reporters in Amman after visiting an interviewing and processing centre.
"Last year nearly 2,000 Iraqi refugees were admitted. We would like to have as many as 12,000 Iraqis admitted," said Chertoff who arrived in Jordan from Iraq, where he took part in a ceremony for more than 100 foreign-born service members to become US citizens.
The US government, which led the Iraq invasion in 2003, has come under fire from both non-government organisations and Congress for its slow response to the needs of Iraqi refugees, many of whom fear for their lives for having collaborated with the American occupation.
It announced last month that its plans for 2008 "include processing enough Iraqi refugees to admit 12,000," and US President George W. Bush has told Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in an official memorandum that his country looked to welcome a maximum of 80,000 refugees over the next 12 months.
"If the people we are interviewing can't substantiate their stories, then it is going to be a lower number," said Chertoff.
"We are not operating under a system where we have a certain target, but I do think we have the capability to meet the target assuming the applicants have good cases to be made."
Around 2.4 million Iraqis have fled their country since the invasion, creating crises in neighbouring Syria, which has 1.4 million refugees, and Jordan that has up to 750,000.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees has estimated that another two million people have been displaced inside Iraq.
