Thousands of vulnerable refugees are currently being denied a chance to resettle in the United States because of language in the Patriot Act that bars admission to the U.S. for anyone who provided any �material support� to any armed group � even if the group is not designated a terrorist organization, and even if the refugee was forced to provide the support.  

       An estimated 10,000 to 20,000 innocent refugees are currently being denied safe haven in the United States because of this bar. Those hurt by this bar include Burmese, Cuban, Colombian, Liberian, Hmong, Montagnard, and Sudanese refugees. Many of these refugees are being denied entry to the United States for unwillingly providing their support under threat of extreme violence from a group considered a terrorist organization.

       While the material support provision is intended to exclude from protection those who make common cause with terrorists, the overly broad definitions of �terrorist organization� and �material support� have in practice worked to exclude from protection victims of terrorism whose very struggle to be free now makes them inadmissible to the United States. 

       The Refugee Council USA, presently chaired by EMM Director Richard Parkins, made repeated overtures to Congress and the pertinent government departments seeking to fix the �material support� problem. Perhaps as a result of such advocacy work, Senators Leahy and Coleman have proposed an amendment to the Patriot Act that would correct this problem.