Presidential Determination on FY 2008 Refugee Admissions Numbers

The following is the Notice regarding the Presidential Determination on FY 2008 Refugee Admissions Numbers

[Federal Register: October 18, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 201)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Page 58991-58992]

Presidential Documents

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Title 3--

The President

[[Page 58991]]

Presidential Determination No. 2008-1 of October 2,
2007

Presidential Determination on FY 2008 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

Memorandum for the Secretary of State

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 80,000 refugees to the United
States during FY 2008 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 2008 with Federal refugee resettlement
assistance under the Amerasian immigrant admissions
program, as provided below. The ceiling shall be
construed as a maximum not to be exceeded and not a
minimum to be achieved.

The 80,000 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 of
admissions allocated to the East Asia region shall
include persons admitted to the United States during FY
2008 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):

Africa............................................ 16,000
East Asia......................................... 20,000
Europe and Central Asia........................... 3,000
Latin America/Caribbean........................... 3,000
Near East/South Asia.............................. 28,000
Unallocated Reserve............................... 10,000

The 10,000 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 admissions in regions where the need for
additional admissions arises.

Additionally, upon notification to the Judiciary
Committees of the Congress, you are further authorized
to transfer unused admissions allocated to a particular
region to one or more other regions, if there is a need
for greater admissions for the region or regions to
which the admissions 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.

[[Page 58992]]

Consistent 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 2008, 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 United States
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.

(Presidential Sig.)

THE WHITE HOUSE,

Washington, October 2, 2007.

[FR Doc. 07-5171 Filed 10-17-07; 8:45 am]

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