LIBERIAN IMMIGRATION NATIONAL ADVOCACY COMMISSION 

The Liberian Government's human rights record remained poor, and there were numerous, serious abuses in many areas.

Liberian security forces committed many extrajudicial killings, and they were accused of killing or causing the disappearance of persons.

Liberian security forces tortured, beat, and otherwise abused or humiliated citizens.

Liberian security forces continued to use arbitrary arrest and detention, and lengthy pretrial detention remained common.

The Liberian judicial system, hampered by political influence, economic pressure, inefficiency, corruption, and a lack of resources, is unable to ensure citizens' rights to due process and a fair trial. I

Liberian security forces violated citizens' privacy rights, conducted warrantless searches, harassment, illegal surveillance, and looted homes.

The Liberian Government restricted freedom of the press; it detained, threatened, and intimidated journalists into self-censorship and shut down two radio stations, one temporarily.

Liberian security forces restricted freedom of movement, using roadblocks to extort money from travelers and returning refugees.

Liberian security forces frequently harassed human rights monitors.

Violence and discrimination against women in Liberia remained problems.

The welfare of children in Liberia remained widely neglected, and female genital mutilation (FGM) continued to increase.

Societal ethnic discrimination in Liberia remained widespread, ethnic differences continued to generate violence and political tensions.

The Liberian Government continued to discriminate against indigenous ethnic groups that had opposed Taylor in the civil war, especially the Mandingo and the Krahn ethnic groups.

Forced labor persisted in rural areas in Liberia.

Child labor remained widespread, and there were reports of forced child labor in Liberia.

Ritualistic killings also persisted in Liberia.

The purpose of this document is to make a case for the passage of legislation to permit Liberians who qualify under the current "Deferred Enforced Departure" DED program to apply for permanent residency.

The Liberian Immigration National Advocacy Commission is an all volunteer organization; it serves as the clearing house and coordinating body of our national advocacy effort. The singular objective of this commission is to advocate for the passage of a bill during the 107^th Congress, 1^st Session (2001), and for its subsequent signing by President Bush, which would bring immigration relief to thousand of Liberians who have sought refuge and protection in the United States, many for more than ten years, Congressman Patrick Kennedy (D. RI) has re-introduced HR 357 to allow Liberians living in the United States under temporary and uncertain status of DED, to apply for permanent residency. Senator Jack Reed (D. RI) has indicated that he will re-introduce S. 656 seeking the same objective. The Liberian Immigration National Advocacy Commission is an independently administered project of the Union of Liberian Associations in the Americas (ULAA).

Executive Summary

The United States Immigration and Naturalization Service estimates that approximately 10,000 Liberians residing in the United States qualified for DED status , or the previously granted "Temporary Protected Status" (TPS). Legislation advocated by the commission will benefit only those Liberians who qualified under the current DED or the former TPS program Such legislation is not intended, nor would it allow mass immigration of Liberians to the United States.

Many of these Liberian citizens have arrived since the outbreak of the civil war in Liberia which dates from December, 1989. They sought refuge and protection in the United States and shared experiences of murder, rape, pillage, and ethnic conflict. The Liberian civil war has been recorded as one of the most destructive of the Twentieth Century. In 1991, the United States government on authorization of President Bush granted Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to many Liberians because of the vicious civil war in their country. In 1999 and 2000, President Clinton issued an order for Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) for all Liberians who were living in the United States as of September 1999. Under DED, and before under TPS, Liberians work and remain in the United States legally making economic and cultural contributions to their communities.

However, the long term status of these Liberians has not yet been settled. The majority have been in the United States for over ten years. When DED expires on September 29, 2001, thousands of Liberians could be forced to return home despite reports of human rights abuses, civil and social disorder, an ongoing civil war, and major cross-border armed conflicts. The Liberian government is presently reporting that 400 children in north western Liberia have been kidnaped by an armed group opposed to the government. Presently, the government is holding four journalists on espionage charges who reported a story critical of Liberian President Charles Taylor.

Deporting Liberians back to their homeland would be contrary to fundamental principles for which the United States stands, and would be inhumane and wrong, when:

The forced return of thousands of Liberians would include thousands of U.S. citizen children.

Liberian parents would be forced to either leave their U.S. citizen children here to become virtual orphans and burdens of the government or take them to Liberia, where the government generally is unable to provide for the education and health of children.

There are reports of armed kidnaping of children.

Liberia lacks a basic infrastructure and the capacity to handle a mass influx of Liberians now afforded safe haven in the United States.

Incidents of ritualistic killings, in which human body parts used in traditional rituals are removed from the victim, continued to be reported .

Liberians contribute economically and culturally to their communities in the United States, and would lose their homes and other possession, as well as their business in some cases, if they are forced to leave the United States.

Liberia is a very poor country with a market-based economy that has yet to recover from the ravages of the civil war.

Liberia has an unemployment rate of 85 percent, and a 75 percent illiteracy rate.

Continuing instability and the absence of infrastructure throughout the country continued to depress productive capacity.

There are major armed conflicts occurring in the country and across its borders. Citizens are afforded little or no personal security throughout the country.

There is ongoing significant internal displacement of civilians in the country due to internal and external armed conflicts.

Liberian government police and security forces frequently tortured, beat, and otherwise abused and humiliate citizens.

Many Liberians with valid asylum claims have not able to present their claims properly or are discouraged from applying for asylum.

Government officials and former combatants continued to exploit the country's natural resources for personal benefit. Extortion is widespread in all levels of society.

There are strong historic ties between Liberia and the United States. The United States has a particular responsibility, in light of those ties, to assist Liberians, and in some cases their American off-springs in their time of need.

The legislation introduced by Congressman Kennedy and contemplated by Senator Jack Reed would allow Liberians presently under DED to apply for permanent resident status. A forced return would be inhumane and harmful to Liberians and contrary to core American principles. The continued uncertainty of status is similarly adverse.

Founding of Liberia- Ties to the United States

Since the early 1800's, Liberia and the United States have had many ties. The country was founded by the American Colonization Society, a corporation chartered by Congress. From 1882 to the end of the century, approximately 45,000 African-Americans emigrated to the newly founded country of Liberia. The first 17 presidents of Liberia were American citizens, born in the United States. Joseph Jenkins Roberts, the first president, came from Petersburg, Virginia. Other Liberians came from the South and the East Coast.

Liberian is Africa’s oldest republic. It officially came into existence in 1847, and its constitution was modeled after the United States constitution. The Liberian flag is similar to the flag of the United States; it is red, white and blue and has 13 stripes, but only a single star. The U.S. dollar was legal tender in Liberia until 1980 when the Liberian dollar was introduced. However, U.S. currency is still widely used.

The original territory surrounded the city of Monrovia. Monrovia was named after America’s 5^th President, James Monroe. As the nation grew, more territories were acquired, extending into the hinterland. The new nation of Liberia included various indigenous entities, speaking multiple languages. A political imbalance arose between immigrants to Liberia, who dominated the country, and the indigenous population. In part, this situation has continued to give rise to conflicts up to the current period.

Recent History

In this century, various entrepreneurs and corporations from outside Liberia developed rubber plantations, and exported rubber, diamonds, gold, iron or, timber, coffee and spices from Liberia. Liberia also developed a major maritime and corporate domiciliary program; its maritime program has the largest registry of vessels in the world. Unfortunately, over the years, succeeding Liberian government mis-managed or invested little of the returns from these activities in the infrastructure of the nation itself. Political administrations in Liberian have been corrupt and nepotistic. In the rural areas, much of the health and educational facilities were developed by foreign missionaries.

Despite the potential for political conflict, Liberia had a fairly stable government until April 14, 1979, when a bloody rice riot broke out in the capital. The situation eventually spilled over to April, 1980 with the overthrow of the government of President William R. Tolbert, who was assassinated. The coup was staged by 17 enlisted men of the Armed Forces of Liberia, led by the then Master Sgt. Samuel K. Doe. In 1985, elections were held and it was widely reported that Doe, who had now named himself a "general," was defeated at the polls, but nonetheless, declared the winner. Between 1985 and 1989, there were several attempts to overthrow President Doe, which led to severe retaliatory measures by the government, usually against the ethnic group of the alleged plotters. In 1989, rebels under the command of Charles Taylor began a war that resulted in the overthrow and murder of President Samuel K. Doe. The U.S. State Department has described the situation in Liberia during the next seven years as an "ethnically divisive civil war."

Various conferences in West Africa, such as the Banjul meeting in May, 1990 and the Abuja Peace Accords in 1996 tried to bring peace to Liberia. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) sent their peacekeeping forces, known as the Economic Community Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) into Liberia in mid-1990 to try to contain some of the extreme acts of violence. Despite this effort, a full scale civil war raged in the country for many years. Elections, won by Mr. Charles Taylor, were held on July 19, 1997. On September 1, 1999, the ECOMOG were completely withdrawn from Liberia.

The continuing political instability in Liberia has left the country with a massive population displacement and with the erosion of any delivery of human services. Although over 300,000 refugees were repatriated since the elections, nearly 25 0,000 Liberian refugees remain in West African countries. By the end of 1998, approximately 220,000 Liberians were considered internally displaced within Liberia. The displacement continues even today. The number of refugees outside the country and internally displaced represents approximately 20% of the total population of Liberia, estimated to be 2.7 million.

Recently, The United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 1344 (2001). The Security Council demanded that the Government of Liberia immediately cease its support for Sierra Leone's Revolutionary United Front (RUF) and other armed rebel groups in the West African subregion, and it imposed wide-ranging prohibitions on Liberia. The resolution demanded in particular that Liberia expel all RUF members and prohibit all the group's activities on its territory.

By other terms of the resolution, the Council demanded that all States in the region take action to prevent armed individuals and groups from using their territory to attack neighboring countries, and refrain from actions that might further destabilize the situation on the borders between Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

United States Actions Regarding Liberians in the Country

Temporary Protected Status (TPS) was originally granted to Liberians in the United States on 3/27/91. This permitted Liberians to remain and work legally in the United States. But the designation of TPS did not give Liberians the right to permanent residency. TPS was re-designated each year from then until1997, and once more in September 1998, as new violence broke out. The 1998 re-designation was made reluctantly as the United States anticipated that elections would bring stability to the country. TPS legally ended in 1999, and then Attorney General Janet Reno determined that Liberia no longer met the requirements of the TPS legislation, and decided not to re-designate the country.

President Clinton authorized Deferred Enforced Departure beginning September 29, 1999 which permitted Liberians to live and work legally in the United States, until September 2000, and re-authorized DED again in September 2000, until September 2001.

The situation within Liberia is analogous to a political and natural disaster. Liberia has one of the highest infant mortality rates in Africa, with over 20% of all children dying in their first year. Furthermore, 75% of the pre-war health facilities are not functioning. It is estimated that out of a population of 2.7 million, 1.7 million people are without basic health care; 1.5 million people may not have access to safe drinking water and nearly 2 million may be without sanitation services. Even in Monrovia, the provision of electricity and water is not ensured. Schools are in complete disarray, lacking textbooks and desks. In addition, the government of Liberia is cutting off its support to the 75,000 displaced persons in the capital in order to force people to leave the city.

The estimated $430 million needed for rehabilitation and reintegration has not been forthcoming from the international community. The U.S. Agency for International Development

(USAID), in its proposal to Congress to give approximately $17.5 million to Liberia, clearly states that although President Charles Taylor has verbally promised to improve his record on human rights, rule of law, and curbing corruption, the government of Liberia’s actual performance in 1998 "was marked by mixed results." The report further states: "There are frequent reports of violent attacks on opposition groups, harassment of the press, intimidation of individuals critical of the government of Liberia, and irresponsible police actions." The proposed program calls for "child survival activities," repairing schools, refurbishing health clinics, and creating jobs.

Liberia is presently in a virtual state of war in its northern and western regions, near the borders with Sierra Leone and Guinea. There are persistent reports of multiple killings and abductions in these regions, and the authority of the government does not extend to many of them. Both the Liberian and Guinean government constantly threaten to invade the other’s territories in pursuit of rebels and dissidents.

Passage of a Liberian immigration relief bill would permit Liberians who qualify for DED to apply for permanent residency. This legislation is similar to what has been granted to other long-term refugees who have been extended refuge and protection in the United States. Such legislation would give Liberians a permanent solution to their immigration status by ending the perpetual uncertainty, and allow them to continue living productive lives contributing to the economies of those communities in which they live. This legislation would also allow U.S. citizen children to continue to live with their families in this country.

Moreover, Liberians, some of whom have been living in this country for over a decade now, are well acquainted with the American way of life, and they have been contributing to the economy. This group of refugees would not require a painful transition after all these years. Finally, passage of such legislation will be consistent with American principles; it is only right for this county to offer permanent resettlement to Liberians who have lived so long here, with the persistent nightmare of being forced to return to the bedlam of their former home country.

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Last updated: February 01, 2002.