Punishing Refugees Twice
America’s excellent record of giving refuge to the persecuted is flagging — and one of the biggest barriers seems to have arisen inadvertently. Congressional authors of the Patriot Act and its sister Real ID provision tucked a clause into the immigration laws barring entry to anyone who has provided “material support” to a terrorist organization. The Bush administration has chosen to interpret “material support” to include people who act under duress. The New York TImes.