For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
October 1, 2004
Memorandum for the Secretary of State
Presidential Determination No. 2004-53
SUBJECT: Presidential Determination on FY 2005 Refugee
Admissions Numbers and Authorizations of In-Country Refugee Status Pursuant to Sections 207 and 101(a)(42), respectively, of the Immigration and Nationality Act, and Determination Pursuant to Section 2(b)(2) of the Migration and Refugee Assistance Act, as Amended
In accordance with section 207 of the Immigration and Nationality
Act (the "Act") (8 U.S.C. 1157), as amended, and after appropriate
consultations with the Congress, I hereby make the following
determinations and authorize the following actions:
The admission of up to 70,000 refugees to the United States during
FY 2005 is justified by humanitarian concerns or is otherwise in the national interest; provided, however, that this number shall be understood as including persons admitted to the United States
during FY 2005 with Federal refugee resettlement assistance under the Amerasian immigrant admissions program, as provided below.
The 70,000 admissions numbers shall be allocated among refugees of
special humanitarian concern to the United States in accordance with
the following regional allocations; provided, however, that the number
allocated to the East Asia region shall include persons admitted to the
United States during FY 2005 with Federal refugee resettlement
assistance under section 584 of the Foreign Operations, Export
Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act of 1988, as
contained in section 101(e) of Public Law 100-202 (Amerasian immigrants
and their family members); provided further that the number allocated
to the former Soviet Union shall include persons admitted who were
nationals of the former Soviet Union, or in the case of persons having
no nationality, who were habitual residents of the former Soviet Union,
prior to September 2, 1991:
- Africa . . . . . . . . . . 20,000
- East Asia . . . . . . . . . 13,000
- Europe and Central Asia . . 9,500
- Latin America/Caribbean . . 5,000
- Near East/South Asia . . . 2,500
- Unallocated Reserve . . . . 20,000
The 20,000 unallocated refugee numbers shall be allocated to
regional ceilings as needed. Upon providing notification to the
Judiciary Committees of the Congress, you are hereby authorized to use
unallocated numbers in regions where the need for additional numbers
arises.
Additionally, upon notification to the Judiciary Committees of the
Congress, you are further authorized to transfer unused numbers
allocated to a particular region to one or more other regions, if there
is a need for greater numbers for the region or regions to which the
numbers are being transferred. Consistent with section 2(b)(2) of the
Migration and Refugee Assistance Act of 1962, as amended, I hereby
determine that assistance to or on behalf of persons applying for
admission to the United States as part of the overseas refugee
admissions program will contribute to the foreign policy interests of
the United States and designate such persons for this purpose.
An additional 10,000 refugee admissions numbers shall be made
available during FY 2005 for the adjustment to permanent resident
status under section 209(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8
U.S.C. 1159(b)) of aliens who have been granted asylum in the United
States under section 208 of the Act (8 U.S.C. 1158), as this is
justified by humanitarian concerns or is otherwise in the national
interest.
In accordance with section 101(a)(42) of the Act (8 U.S.C.
1101(a)(42)), and after appropriate consultation with the Congress, I
also specify that, for FY 2005, the following persons may, if otherwise
qualified, be considered refugees for the purpose of admission to the
United States within their countries of nationality or habitual
residence:
- a. Persons in Vietnam
- b. Persons in Cuba
- c. Persons in the former Soviet Union
- d. In exceptional circumstances, persons identified by a U.S. Embassy in any location
You are authorized and directed to report this determination to the
Congress immediately and to publish it in the Federal Register.
GEORGE W. BUSH
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