jimmy carter signed the refugee of 1980 after it was unanimously passed by the u.s. senate, and had bipartisan support in the house. the act raised the annual ceiling for refugees of 1980 afs unanimously allowed in the united states, established the office of refugee resettlement, and created a process for addressing refugee emergencies. next on american history tv, a group of former government officials and refugee rights advocates discuss the history of refugee policy prior to 1980, and the legacy of the refugee act since 1980. the jimmy carter presidential library and museum and the refugee assistance organization hosted this event.

host: good morning. i'm dr. evans, director of the carter presidential library and museum. i'm excited for you to be here today. refugeeommemorating the act of 1980 signed by president .arter in march of that year on behalf of president carter, who was unable to be here, i want to welcome you to the carter presidential center. we say center because there are two fabulous entities here, the federal entity is the library and museum, which is where you are now, and a few feet away as the carter center, which is an ngf. together president carter looked at us as the center. we provide him with data, research, camaraderie, advice, and we work really hard for him as well. the refugee act is an amendment to the earlier immigration and

nationality act and the refugee assistance act. the goal was to provide permanent and consistent admission to people who were suffering in other nations, and to provide asylum. that was the whole point of it. what makes it so exciting to be here today. with marktnering haius, whohe ceo of had been doing this work for over 100 years, helping people to come to america and work getugh resettlement, and their lives back on track here in the united states. the refugee act assists with that. we have a wonderful speaker this morning. because president carter was unable to come, i could not think of anybody better than the ceo of the carter center, ambassador marianne peters. not only is she a wonderful

friend and mentor to me, she has .ad an wonderful career he was an ambassador to bangladesh, she was in foreign affair for over 30 years, and now she works for the carter center and has a global reach and a much more robust way than being a federal employee. with that said we are going to bring ambassador peters to the stage and she is going to share a few words. welcome. this is a great time. i'm looking forward to a fabulous discussion and almost enlightenment. [applause] thank you, meredith. let me add my welcome to meredith. i am delighted to be here at this celebration of the refugee act of 1980, sponsored jointly by the carter library and the hebrew immigrant aid society, now known as hias.

told you, president carter is recovering from hip surgery and is unable to be here this morning to celebrate with us. i am standing in for president carter, who supported and signed this landmark law. about the only possible benefit i could think of for having me speak this morning is that i will give more credit to president carter's role on the refugee if you -- on the refugee issue that he would have done himself. it is fair to say human beings have been sought and granted refuge since prehistoric times, but not until the last century was a right to refuge recognized. wasn't untils., it the passage of the refugee act of 1980, the milestone we are here to celebrate, that a comprehensive system was put in place to carry out the obligations growing from the right of refuge. learned from our historian,

dr. steve hochman, there he is, that the english word refugee was first used in the 17th century to describe protestants who fled religious persecution in france. and it was adopted from a french word. by the end of the century, refugee was being used in a generic sense, for anyone who sought refuge from war, religious persecution, political troubles or natural disasters. the 20th17th to centuries, many settlers in the territories that would become havenited states would been considered refugees today. however, there was no legal distinction at the time between them and those who came seeking a better life. the immigration of catholics from ireland and southern germany increased during the 1830's and 1840's, a nativist anti-immigration movement he rose -- movement

arose. immigration, continued, but anti-immigrant forces did succeed in passing the passing the chinese exclusion act in 1882. this was not our finest hour. --m sad to say that chinese the people of chinese descent remained and eligible for u.s. citizenship until 1943. in the years following the civil war, the united states was growing economically and needed an expanded labor force. new immigrants from eastern and southern europe were not legally classified as refugees yet, but again, many would have qualified as such by today's definition. especiallygrants faced discrimination and violence in eastern europe and the russian empire, and the hebrew immigrant aid society, founded in 1881, provided support for those seeking refuge in our country.

i,pping ahead to world war the turmoil that followed that armageddon brought major changes to have nations viewed the international migration of people. among those speaking refuge in the 1920's were russians fleeing the russian revolution, armenians fling turkish control plans, greeks and turks uprooted from each other's territories, and many others as well. the new league of nations attempted to address the issue, league1921 the named nansen of norway, a humanitarian who was awarded the nobel peace prize. a piece of trivia, his most famous innovation was the nansen document fortravel stateless persons.

the united states need not join the league of nation and turned away during this same period from its tradition as a refuge. the emergency quota act of 1921 and the immigration act of 1924 placed tight limits on the numbers of immigrants who could enter from the very regions that produced the majority of refugees. inin skipping ahead, december 1940 five, after the end of world war ii, president the admissioned to the united states of displaced persons and refugees under the framework of then existing laws. but it was not until the refugee act of 1953 that refugees, notably those from communist countries, were admitted above the pre-existing quota numbers. by the way, speaking of world war ii, i am sure you all know the in the world today number of refugees and displaced persons totals nearly 70

million, and that number is actually larger than the number of people displaced by the incredible up people of world war ii. by the refugee crisis that was recognized after world war ii, in 1951 a conference in geneva adopted the convention relating to the status of refugees. tot convention was limited protecting european refugees of world war ii, but it had broader ramifications for international law because it defined the word refugee and the kind of legal protection, assistance and rights the refugee was entitled to receive. in 1967 the u.n. adopted the refugee protocol which removed 1950aphical limits of the

one convention and allowed the definitions of the convention to be used universally. u.s.,ile, back in the this time good news from the u.s. front, president lyndon johnson pushed through sweeping amendments to the immigration and nationality act that abolished the quota system at the prohibition on non-white asian immigrants, and provided a permanent basis for the administrator -- for the admission of refugees into the united states. now we come to the next significant action of the u.s. government which regards refugees, the passage of the refugee act of 1980. why did president carter choose to work with his administration and congress to pass this legislation? this is a story that has not been told, or has not been told fully. president carter has never written about it, although he has written 32 books.

and others who have published books about the admonish -- about the administration either omit it or barely mention it. i'm excited because this event today will explore the story of the refugee act and filling the gaps. one explanation for whether legislation was overlooked is that it may have been overshadowed by the other events of the year. while it should have received significant attention, it was passed during the iran hostage crisis and the soviet invasion of afghanistan. those of you who remember that time will remember that especially the former, the hostage crisis, almost completely monopolized and dominated the news. president carter was dealing with these international challenges, and a difficult economic situation at home, yet

he embraced the need to show compassion to those facing persecution in their homelands, while protecting the borders of the united states. as you know, some of you remember, including me, in his inaugural address, president carter proclaimed that the nation's commitment to human rights must be absolute. acting on that commitment, in may 19 77, early in the administration, the national security council requested a review of the foreign policy regarding human rights. i was a foreign service officer and remember the seachange that took place in u.s. foreign policy during this period. a study was written in response to the u.n. net -- the u.s. national mandate on one topic it addressed was improved access to the u.s. to refugees and dissidents. so the administration policy

regarding refugees should be understood as fitting firmly into president carter's unwavering commitment to human rights. and for president carter, the plight of refugees was an issue that touched him personally. diary, therehouse are frequent comments and reflections on the refugees of the time. he worries about refugees in eritrea,m ethiopia and jews from russia, refugees from lebanon, but his greatest concern was indochinese refugees, especially from vietnam. voiced the 1979, he need for congress to expand the number allowed into the oneida states. in the aftermath of the vietnam war, the need for a change to american policy toward refugees became apparent as hundreds of

thousands of vietnamese and cambodians led the political chaos and physical danger in their homelands. someen 1975 and 1979, 300,000 of these refugees were able to come to the united states, thanks to presidential election, because the law at the time restricted refugee admissions. many members of congress wanted to establish a more regular system of immigration and resettlement that would create a clear and flexible policy. diree same time, the conditions of the indochinese refugees were given international attention when misses carter visited cambodian and vietnamese resettlement refugee camps in thailand in november 1979. the refugee act of 1980 was passed unanimously by the senate

in late 19 79 and signed by president carter in march 1980. let's reflect on that. every single senator voted for this act that sprang from a sense of compassion and responsibility. bill raised the annual ceiling for refugees from vence -- from 17,000 to 50,000, nearly tripling the amount of refugees allowed to enter the u.s. each year, reflecting the immediate need to address conditions of indochinese refugees. what was most significant for the long run was that the act adopted the u.n. definition of refugee as a person with a well-founded fear of persecution, a standard established by u.n. conventions and protocols. the law also founded a new

office of the u.s. coordinator for refugee affairs at the office of refugee settlement, and the built on existing public-private partnerships that helped refugees settle and adjust to life in their new country. tos is the story we are here celebrate, but there is unfortunately a political tale to this story. early april of 1980, a few weeks after the law was signed, thousands of cubans seeking asylum flooded the grounds of the peruvian embassy and have havana, cuba d. fidel castro let them all go, toning the port of mariel anyone who wanted to pick them up. he also opened prisons and

mental hospitals to the flow. an estimated 120 5000 cubans were brought to the united states, overwhelming processes set in place by the new law that were to have been implemented. the vast majority were ordinary cubans, but more than 2700 were serious or violent criminals. when the presence of violent criminals among cuban migrants came to cut to the chase, the u.s. dealt with the human -- cuban challenge. of them andority their children and their children children are good, productive residents of united states. in the refugee act continues to provide proper protection to potential refugees, and allows

the united states protect its borders. so i thank all of you for gathering here at the jimmy illuminate theto history, implementation, and impact of this wise and compassionate piece of legislation. thank you very much. [applause] >> thank, ambassador peters. you'll see photographs around the room taken in 1979, when ms. carter visited refugee camps in cambodia. take a moment and see the work that has been done by the arters. and know that, as federal entity, this is what we do. we maintain the history and a vibrant archive to show the progress united states makes over time with that said, mark, please come to the podium.

mark: thank you dr. evans. the theme of the day is welcome. i want to welcome you to the carter presidential library and museum. just as we, the people of the united states, welcomed and resettled more refugees, under president carter's leadership, than under any president in american history. it is not that the american people were more receptive to refugees in those days. the history of this country is a history of struggle, between those who want to welcome immigrants and refugees, and those who fear newcomers as a threat to our security and to our culture. that struggle long predates america. there is a reason that the torah , the old testament, the first five books of the old testament, commands us 36 times to welcome

and love the stranger as ourselves. this is repeated more often than any other commandment. not because it is the most thertant, but because it is easiest to forget or to ignore. president carter did not forget or ignore this commandment he made it law. no lessonfronted with than four major refugee crises in his four years in office. the indochinese boat crisis, soviet jerry, iranian religious mariely, and the cuban crisis. through all these, he kept human rights as is northstar. we have gathered here many people who laid the foundation for the refugee act, who helped write the wreckage he act, and who him cemented the refugee act -- who helped write the refugee act, and who implanted the refugee act. we are sorry that president

carter cannot be here. but we do feel his presence, and were grateful for all he did to make this elevation possible. a word about how this came about, after seeing present carter teach sunday school in october, my son and i knew about all of the accomplishments of the carter administration that the abbasid are just described. i was -- that the ambassador peters just described. i was looking for to sing all the exhibits about all that president carter did for refugees and asylum-seekers per it all there was in this museum was a single photograph of roselyn carter visiting the refugee camps. i was not happy. i hade to dr. evans, whom never met, and i complained about this omission. she wrote back and said that while changing exhibits is an excruciatingly long process, we can do an event together, to celebrate the refugee act of ,980 p we chose to do it today

in part because president carter was going to be available. also because we are in the lead dayo june 20, world refugee . a day when we celebrate refugees around the world and their contributions. in the day when the u.n. high commissioner for refugees releases their statistics for the air. and here we are at this event. i want to thing my colleagues, elizabethnders and roos. working hard with krista for geisler here at the library. now on with the program president carter signed the refugee act of 1980. and hampel meant it. but it is congress that -- and he implemented it but it is congress who wrote and passed the act. and it was two heroes who made that happen paired one is the late ted kennedy. one was congresswoman liz holtzman, who represented new york from 1973 to 1981. at that time, she was the youngest woman ever elected to

congress. the refugee act of 1980 was far from her only a. she fought hard and even filed a legal challenge to end bombings in cambodia under the nixon administration. she was among the judiciary committee members who recommended three articles of impeachment against president and peace -- president nixon. she authored the independent counsel legislation and was a champion of equal rights amendment. and for bringing nazi war criminals to justice. and that is just the tip of the iceberg for congress woman holtzman. she is here today because she is the mother of the refugee act of 1980. congresswoman holtzman? you,beth holtzman: thank mark, for that kind introduction.

and thanks to all of you for being here. and to the carter center and the carter library. it is a very special honor for me to join with you today and celebrate the refugee act of 1980. as chair of the house immigration subcommittee, i was privileged to have an opportunity to assist in its enactment. obviously, there are many people who deserve credit. the first, of course, president to be carter, for reporting the act and signing it into law. and also for his administration's extraordinary work in resolving the indochinese refugee problem. the backdrop of the bill. present carter, i am sorry you cannot be here today, so that you can be thanked in person. i know everyone here wishes you a speedy recovery. carterfirst lady roselyn played an important role to, traveling to southeast asia, visiting the refugee camps, and publicizing the plight of the refugees. either way, the congresswomen had a special mission at the

iny time that ms. carter was thailand. we met with her. she was visiting refugee camps and we were as well. we came back to the u.s., we also met at the white house. to consider how we would pursue the issue of helping refugees. so this is a commitment that ms. carter felt deeply. and we were honored to meet with her about that. senatorcourse, there is ted kennedy. the bill was his idea. and his commitment, perseverance, and legislative skills, were indispensable. ted kennedy understood the moral dimensions of accepting refugees, and the enhanced stature that doing so gave to the united states. staff want to thank the -- or acknowledge his staff, jerry tinker, and my staff, jim , thezer, and skip answer house judiciary committee staff

who are indispensable in writing and drafting the legislation. i also want to applaud hias for organizing the conference, and for persisting in its vital work of refugee resettlement, since the 1980's. and anna personal note, -- and on a personal note, for helping resettle my families as well. these are dark days for america because these are dark days for immigrants to this country those seeking rep. dean: status or asylum, those who are undocked minted aliens, or even those helping them -- undocumented aliens, or even those helping them. let's not forget that the pittsburgh assassin killed 11 jews at the tree of life synagogue, to retaliate for hias ' lifesaving refugee work. thecountry has been in cirque the circle of hell before. think of the -- in this circle of hell before. 1924 racist quota

law, and immigrants from southern and eastern europe, and america's refusal to provide sanctuary to people fleeing hitler's. and its failure to open its doors wide at that time. today's anti-immigrant and anti-foreigner fury shows that progress is not inevitable. over the past two and a half years, we have hurdled -- hurtled backwards as a nation, repeating some of the most cruel and bigoted moments of our history. amazingly, this new, old, bigotry has no shame. his bold and brazen. our president calls mexicans rapists, prefers immigrant from norway, and tries to shut down immigration from was a majority countries. the bigotry culminated horrifically in the policy approved at the highest levels of our government, of separating thousands of children from their parents at the southwest border,

without developing any means to reunite them. taking children from parents who were not -- who have not harmed the children, is kidnapping, plain and simple. fortunately, public outrage forced the program to end. but thousands of children still have not been reconnected with their families. where was the resistance within our own government? to the orders for kidnapping? who has been punished for it? why are the children still separated? i resigned from the homeland security advisory council over that horrific policy. thathat is not all children on- the border our custody. now recreational activities and enlist language training are being taken from unaccompanied minors in government detection. -- detention. every day we learn new forms of

malicious policies visited on record is and immigrants. and americans are victims too. in a larger way, we suffer from this policy. but just an example, a woman was recently arrested for giving water to three thirsty mexican boys on a roadside. the u.s. governments heartless conduct today is exactly what our government condemned in the countries of southeast asia people exodust from indochina. i feel so passionately about this because my mother and her parents came to america as refugees. in1920, they fled pogroms the ukraine and the communist takeover. my grandfather's business he was seized. my grandmother who is 12 years old was thrown up school because she was born into a bourgeois family. my father and his family were also immigrants, fleeing desperate poverty, hoping to find a path to a decent life.

america opened its arms to all of them. goodness, because where would i be otherwise? family my mom and her had arrived here just a few years later, the doors of this country might have been shut to them, because of the racist quotas. i'm forever grateful that they had this opportunity. but too much of this country is whograteful for foreigners came here, although all americans except foreign -- except native americans came here willingly or in chains, or are descendents of those who did. too many americans see immigrants and refugees as a threat, not a resource. they see the differences, not our common umana d. they are -- common humanity. the strivingd to idealism of many refugees and immigrants who see the promise of america. the refugees do not see an america that needs to be made great again. this is why we need to revisit and celebrate the refugee act.

it shows a very different america. crisis,china refugee which prompted the 1980 act, was in full swing when i became chair of the immigration subcommittee in 1979. to understand the problem firsthand, i traveled many times to southeast asia, slogging through dozens of refugee camps, talking to refugees and government officials in every affected country. my heart went out to the boat people. the ethnic yet means among them were generally escaping political persecution because they work for the u.s. during the war. but the vietnamese government also engaged in ethnic cleansing. expelling ethnic chinese who had lived for centuries in vietnam. small, andn seaworthy boats, risking capsizing, and attacked by pirates. and even if the refugees reached a neighboring country, they can

be pushed back out to sea by the governments that did not want to accept them. in stark contrast to today, the united states government led the world in solving the problem. first, it urged countries bordering on vietnam not to push the refugees back out to sea. think about that. anding them to be patient, that the u.s. would work to get other countries to resettle the refugees. next, an international conference was held in geneva. because the u.s. agreed to accept a large number of example.and set an set an example. other countries follow suit. almost all of the refugees were resettled, in one of the most successful efforts of its kind in history, maybe the most successful. and president carter deserves huge credit for that. all of us can be proud of our

country's role. the boat people crisis also prompted the passage of the refugee act of 1980. the act created a permanent framework for the omission of refuges into the united states. foruding a mechanism for -- the admission of refugees into the u.s.. including a mechanism for annual admission. before that, it was largely on an ad hoc basis. as a nation, we were not fully committed, and committed in law, to accepting refugees. the act also broadened the definition of refugees, so that anyone fleeing persecution on account of race, religion, persecution, national origin, could qualify. what was limited was the definition of refugee. importantly, the act provided funds and offices to administer them, to make refugee resettlement here it easier and faster. and finally, the act created a

process for seeking asylum. the act was not controversial. the senate passed it unanimously. there was some opposition in the house, which wanted more congressional control over admissions. .he act had held up well initially, it set a limit of 50,000 rep. dean: annually. although the -- 50,000 refugees annually. although the president could lead the limit. in his last year, president obama called for the admission of more than a hundred thousand refugees. there was no outcry. for coming here, by the way, refugees undergo very strict scrutiny. the act, and the screwed ash -- and this circumstances surrounding it, shined a very harsh light on present-day practices and attitudes. in 1980, the u.s. welcomed refugees. the day our government shuns

them, and it cut the numbers to be admitted drastically to the lowest ever under the act, one third of the average number. in 1980, our government understood that its history and vietnam created a special responsibility to help those who work for us, and other viennese refugees. today, our government acknowledges -- and other vietnamese refugees. today, our government acknowledges no responsibility for the consequences of its behavior in the northern tropical countries of undress, el salvador, and guatemala. these acts included ousting a democratically elected president got a mollica, and propping up governments that refused to address death president of guatemala, and propping up governments that refused to address poverty and inequality. if our government wants to

tackle the northern triangle exodus, it needs to strengthen governmental institutions in those countries. this means restoring serious cuts in usaid. , enlisting the know-how of countries in the region such as guatemala. and the know-how of the u.n., to create systems of justice and economic developer programs targeting the poor. the burden of absorbing the refugees could be shared with other countries. hello? [laughter] we did that in 1980. but the sneering, bullying treatment of countries in central and south america, as well as canada, would have to stop. these approaches would be cheaper, and more effective than building a useless wall, imposing tariffs, and the treatment of refugees. but they're unlikely to be implanted. in 1980, the u.s. knew that it was wrong to expel refugees by sending them back into danger. today, we are trying to do this

course mexco energy joining with us. today, our country is a of admitting refugees. then, we admitted at least 750 thousand indochinese refugees, in addition to 600,000 cuban refugees, and hundreds of thousands of jewish refugees from the soviet union. 750,000those numbers, indochinese, 600,000 cuban refugees, and hundreds of thousands of soviet jewish refugees. there was barely an outcry. what has caused the difference in the response? , and of president carter think of president trump. and his whipping up public hostility with false and bigoted claims. learning the lessons of the 1980 refugee act would allow us to tackle today's refugee problems more humanely, and more

successfully. we have done it once, and we can do it again. thank you. [applause] >> it is now my great pleasure mirta ojito, pulitzer-prize winning journalist . she shared a pulitzer prize for series on race in america. and she recently shared an emmy for telemundo coverage of pope francis's visit to the americas. she is here today because before becoming a success journalist, she herself during the carter

administration, was a mariel refugee, who fled cuba by boat with her family, at the age of 16, with her sister mabel who is also here today with us. mirta wrote about the experience and the mariel manana".in, "finding this is her second experience speaking here at the presidential library of jimmy carter. mirta. [applause] ojito: good morning. teach, so i was do that. -- so i always do that. you to mark, thank for remembering me, because we had never met. but he had read my work. and to jasmine for organizing

this and making it possible for my sister able to be here. she is a teacher, so is she is able to be here because of her vacation. for inviting me to the carter library and museum. this is my second time here. and i conducted part of my research for my book here in the library. so thank you for allowing me to do that. and thank you to ambassador peters, for being the first person i have ever heard getting the numbers right, and it comes to the mariel boatlift, and the number of criminals came with the boatlift. thank you. [laughter] castroeople say that open the jails and leave it at that. and while that is technically aue, one would have to go little deeper and find out exactly who were kept in those

jails and those insane asylums. and people who have experience with repressive routines know that not everyone who was behind bars or in insane asylums, deserve to be there. so, out of more than a hundred 25,000 people who came in this five months, as ambassador 2700s quickly said, about were concluded to be hardened criminals. ,hat is a tiny amount especially compared to that bad reputation we all received after the boatlift. anyway, i wanted to tell you a little bit about why i became . refugee a little bit, not too much, because i know reading for books is not too cool. just a bit, because they asked me to do that. about my experience and why i became a refugee. i grew up, my sister and i, we grew up knowing that one day we

would leave cuba. that the life we are supposed to live had been robbed from us. my comments may seem strange now, or the very least outdated, at a time when probably each person here knows of a person who has traveled to cuba recently, as a tourist, or wants to. so now it may be hard to imagine what the 70's were like, the late 1960's and the 1970's in cuba. even the 1980's and 1990's. so i want to read a little bit from a book to remind you of that time. in may,6 until we left 1980, the main topic of conversation at home and with friends who stared my kit -- who shared my parents obsession was if, and when, and how we would leave cuba. the united states closed off to immigrants from cuba, the freedom flight stopped in 1973, our chances were slim. we knew that some desperate

people took to the treacherous waters of the gulf of mexico, rating dangerous currents and sharks to make it to miami. once in a while he hear stories who made it, but we did not hear of those who did not. the ocean was not an option for us. i nature, my mother was pessimistic, my father cautious. neither knew how to swim. routen we go to the other , and request a visa through spain, because we had no relatives in that country. and no one in that family had even bothered to trace the roots to a spanish ancestor. at last, something extraordinary happened. a deeply religious man with a commitment to upholding human seats assumed the senate of the united states in 1977 -- exceed the press assumes the presidency -- assumed the presidency of the united states in 1977. at this point i get emotional, that is why wish you were here.

and announced that he wanted to -- is just that if it were not for him, we would not be here. that he wanted to revamp his country's foreign policy. there was no need to have enemies. antagonism had no place in the world he envisioned. almost immediately, castro sought judy carter, an ally. the united states president who would finally acknowledge that castro was the rightful president of cuba. and americano who would give him the recognition he craved. evers of congress started traveling to cuba. officials from both countries again discussing issues of boundaries and fishing rights. an american journalist question castro on cuban shall -- television, and prisoners he kept throughout the island. and young cuban-americans return to their homeland to pledge

their support and youthful enthusiasm to the revolution there parents had refused. blessing978, with the of the carter administration, cuban-americans began a dialogue with the cuban government, that led to the release of hundreds of, a nurse, -- hundreds of political prisoners, and the visits of thousands of exiles who returned to the island loaded with gifts. the visits were a jolt to the country and its people. for almost a decade, cuba had lived in complete isolation from the western world. no one could get in, no one could get out. god and the beatles were forbidden. men with long hair were arrested. oma sexual and artist were sent to labor camps. anyone who expressed a desire to emigrate was immediately ostracized, harassed, denied jobs and higher education. those who openly disagreed with the government were jailed or executed. neighbors spine and neighbors, and everyone -- neighbors spied on neighbors, and everyone was

expected to give up all allegiances for the good of the revolution, including alliance to family and friends. in that mill you of anxiety and trust, the government surprises all by walking back exiles. people were stunned and confused , and began to look for a way to escape. embassy break-ins became everyday occurrences. by christmas of 1970 nine, there were more than 100 cubans sheltered in latin american embassies and have anna. havana.nt -- in despondent that some of the people seemed eager to leave his socialist paradise, castro responded by using the only weapon he had. in a repeat of the boatlift, he threatened to flood south florida with refugees. in april, 1980, he invited cuba next asked to return to the island to cap their raft file -- to the pickup the relatives at president marietl.

carter initially ignored the threat. but miami's cubans desperate to be reunited with their relatives, raised to have on us short. i father's older brother was one of them. day before980, the place knocked on our door, harness may have finally made it to the top of the immigration list. that day, we left our home, aron riverhead, our lives. home, our neighborhood, our lives. we left the way one leaves a cherished love, our hearts heavy with regret, but beating with great hope. what we lived through in cuba is reasons that are his agents such exist. the reason the ready act was passed. the very definition of refugee adopted by the act, to this day, makes me emotional. slightly edited, it reads, any

of his or is outside her country of residence or nationality, and is unable or unwilling to return to it, because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution, on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion. as i hope the section i read for my book makes clear, my family was definitely part of the latter group, because of our political opinions. but we were not the only ones. the refugee act of 1980 became effective the very day that a desperate bus driver plowed a bus against a fence of the peruvian mc in havana, and saw -- the peruvian embassy in havana, launching a series of events that led directly to the mariel boatlift, and ultimately

to the arrival of 125,000 cubans in five months. all of us benefited from the act. after the arrival, my parents and i started taking english lessons in the evening for free. we did not need more government help because we had family, and my parents found jobs right away. but we knew it was therefore needed it. my father was a truck driver and my mother was a seamstress and went to work at a factory, two days after arrival. i want to leave you with this. there are people in this room, or watching this meeting from home, as i hope present carter is, that are directly responsible for us being here today. especially congresswoman ho ltzman. especially, my thanks to you. to all of you, i say thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart. everything we are, my family, my three wonderful west born sons, careers,o nephews, our

and our family they are addition to myself, a teacher, a pilot, a budding journalist, and home in butte for miami, my terrific years of the new york times, my love for new york, my travels around the world, the fact that i'm a practicing journalist who has never been silenced. everything. and my tester -- my sister teaches 70 kids. everything, we owe to this country. and therefore to those of you who opened the doors. and as president carter said 70 years ago, welcomed us with open hearts and open arms thank you. [applause] mark: know we are joined by a

representative united nations of the united nations deputy high commissioner for refugees in geneva. command, kelly t. clements who had a long career at this state department. recently deputy assistant secretary of state for population and migration. around the world in the refugee field, she is known as the dhc. to me she is known as kelly. i have known her for over 20 years, and she was a congressional relations at the state department, refugee bureau, and we took congressional staff to meet with refugees in west africa and the middle east together. kelly? [applause] kelly clements: thank you, mark. mirta, you are a hard act to

follow. ambassador peters, andsentative holtzman, guests and friends. i'm honored to be with you to celebrate the refugee act of 1980. and i bring greetings from the high commissioner felipe grande. the ongoing commitment to refugee protection, and for recognizing the need to rededicate ourselves to the service of the world most vulnerable populations. , manyng very personally of you here in the room have served as mentors to me, and friends for me, for three decades. i entered the state department 10 years after the refugee act was adopted. but when i started at the state department, it implantation was in full throttle.

global force displacement currently stands, as was mentioned earlier, at the highest level in recent history. and i can say that, the next couple of days you'll hear it. more than 70 million women, men, and children, forcibly uprooted from their homes by violence and persecution. some 25 million who have crossed an international border, and over 40 million, remaining within their own countries, known as internally displaced persons. stateless --s and glad to hear that mentioned -- are our core constituency, we also join as partners to protect and assist the internally displaced. a mission that often involves working in war zones under extremely dangerous conditions. foreputy high commissioner unhcr, i am nervously proud of over 17,000 people that i work with day in and day out -- i am

enormously proud. they're working in the field and often in remote and challenging locations. both the establishment of unhcr of the, and the adoption refugee convention the following year, where to sponsor the events of world war ii, as was discussed this morning, and our collective decision to learn from the toughest of lessons. job was to help the millions of europeans uprooted from their homes during the war. in the decades since, our role has expanded. we are now leading the response to rep. dean: situations around the globe. and we have operations in 138 countries. we provide many forms of lifesaving assistance, both directly, and through important who i wasike hias, privileged to see last year in action in ecuador. and we work to achieve long-term

solutions for displacement but our core mandate remains the protection of refugees. this role is enshrined in the convention itself, which prohibits government from forcibly returning refugees to countries where they fear persecution. and essential to that prohibition is a question of, who is a refugee? as mentioned by ambassador peters and reppo sedative -- thesentative holtzman, convention defines a refugee as someone who is outside their country and cannot return to to a well-founded fear of persecution on those five theyds stated by mirta. relate to the fund mental aspects of a person's identity, things that should not or should not have to change. during world war ii, millions of jews and other populations were targeted for such reasons. and unfortunately around the world today, we continue to see agree just human rights violations -- egregious human

rights violations carried out against people because of who they are. we see this in the targeting of yanmar,ingya in the m the murder of teenage boys resisting gangs in central america, and the disappearance of activist around the globe. we see this in the brutal attacks against south sudanese civilians believed to be reporters -- supporters of the opposition, and we see this againsted by isis minorities, such as christians di's, andie's, - yazi also sunnis, who do not hold the groups ideology. to demonize and repress others, to deny their humanity, sadly remains. as you have heard from others this morning, the u.s.

informally associated -- formally associated itself with the conventions when it became party to the 1960's and protocol. even before that, the u.s. had enacted to mastech laws to welcome refugees from varies parts of the world -- had enacted domestic laws to welcome refugees from varies parts of the world. though public sentiment was not was on the side of refugees. and the various ad hoc laws that allowed for the omission of refugees were hotly debated. in the late 70's -- in the late 1970's, this was still by much the case. this conversation has never been easy. what made the difference then as is now was one thing. leadership. in 1975, such leadership came in the form of representative holtzman, and a small group of congressional champions. together, they back against fear and misinformation, against the notion that vietnamese refugees would never assimilate, or that they posed a threat to u.s.

values. a lawsult as we know was that welcomed and assisted vietnamese and other southeast asian refugees. four years later, when president carter, who i hope very much is listening today, took the bold step of doubling monthly resettlement number for southeast asian refugees. that act of u.s. leadership helped to convince other countries to take similar action. soon after, president carter, reppo sedative holtzman and others worked to enact -- representative holtzman, and others worked to enact the act. that created a permanent law, to grant asylum permit vigils from anywhere in the world. who also official, happens to be an american, i believe that i'm within my rights to say that the world could use such leadership today. in his 1981 state of the union address, president carter noted,

we cannot hope to build a just and humane society at home, if we ignore the humanitarian claims of refugees, their lives at stake, who have nowhere else to turn. our country can be proud of that hundreds of thousands of people around the world would risk everything they have, including their own lives, to come to our country. countrynciple that a should be proud that victims of persecution and violence the -- seek safety on its shores, is sadly lacking in many parts of the world today. yet that sentiment is needed now more than ever. today, worldwide forced displacement is often referred to as the global refugee crisis. and, indeed, it is a crisis. although not the way that it is often portrayed in the media. the persecution, war, the oppression that are drivers of displacement, are collectively.

the failure of the international community to prevent or resolve conflicts, that is a crisis. the inability of victims of conflict to find safety is, again, a crisis. yet, too often, the displaced themselves are seen as the problem. as if their movement across borders is all that needs to stop. as a result, governments often respond by shutting doors, denying victims of persecution the safe haven they desperately need. we see this on every continent in the world today. we saw this in 2015, when more than a million refugees and migrant crossed the mediterranean in search of safety and aid in europe. almost 85% of those arriving were from the world's top 10 refugee producing countries. including syria and afghanistan. the initial response by some governments was chaotic. with the various borders being locked, and tens of thousands of people left stranded.

eventually, a more coordinated approach took hold. but we continue to see an uneven response to asylum-seekers. and consistentne policies governing disembark haitian, reception, death this embarking,, and access to systems, we sometimes see denials of access which can force refugee seekers further into the hands of smugglers and traffickers. we have seen this in age as well. mid-20 15,000 of rohingya refugees took to boats. either directly from myanmar or from neighboring glow --. -- neighboring bangladesh. governments in the region responded with various policies, many initially denying access. after images of desperate rohingya stranded at sea on ricky both went viral, several boatsies -- on rickety

went viral, several countries allowed them to come ashore. fledthan 700,000 rohingya into bug lead -- after renewed violence in myanmar. who joined to under 50,000 had already been there for decades. the response by the government and the people of bangladesh has been incredibly generous. but the pressures on the rohingya to return to the anbar are mounting. to myanmar are mounting. despite a long and proud tradition in africa, posting refugees, we've also seen people denied protection on that continent as well. thousands of liberian refugees spent days at sea, rejected at onewest african part after another. until ghana and sierra leone finally relented and let them disembark.

africa is-saharan home to more than a quarter of the world's refugees, with many countries hosting each other's citizens, as conflicts become interrelated. asylum forced return of seekers still returns on a regular basis. this is not a solution. here in the u.s., a vigorous debate regarding how to respond appropriately to an increase in the number of asylum-seekers from central america. we welcome this discussion as an opportunity to draw attention to the brutal violence in central which is causing central americans to flee and to seek solutions to these dilemmas. as part of that solution, we are working to help the mexican government enhance its asylum system. so that individuals and families fling honduras, guatemala, el salvador, can find protection closer to home, without read consorting to and dangers on returning -- without resorting to a dangerous onward journey.

at the same time, we call on countries to provide access to asylum systems. offerstands ready to technical assistance and guidance in helping the u.s. respond to what is clearly a challenging humanitarian situation on its southern border. we are also working to help governments in the americas respond to movement of venezuelans, in what constitutes now the largest exodus in the recent history of latin america. refugees, 3000 5000 venezuelans, leave due to violence, insecurity, and lack of essential services. 4 million refugees now live abroad, mainly in countries in south america. we believe that the majority of those fleeing venezuela now, are indeed of international refugee protection. before arriving yesterday here in atlanta, i spent a week in south america with our teams in ecuador and colombia. we met with venezuelans had left the country recent lay.

the situation, to be blunt, is desperate. despite the generosity of post-communities and the openness of countries in the region. and while on the surface many of those leaving venezuela are simply in search of food, shelter, access to health care support, time and again we were .ble to hear the full story the refugee be at dimension became very clear. straps below this surface of poverty and desperation, and you hear the stories of persecution, intimidation, targeted violence, often at the hands of paramilitary street gangs called, tebow's. tivos. this is simply not an economic crisis, but a political one. in quito, ecuador, we met joiner describedk -- he

being swarmed by 30 motorbikes, masks, by men in white after her husband, a professor, switch political sides government took away their home, denied them access to food, and after the collect tebow's - collectivos stabbed her husband, she fled. her husband is in peru recovering. and their family is and she lay and colombia. and obviously, she was trying to rejoin them. near theof days later border with venezuela, we visited a youth shelter specializing in support for victims of sexual expectation and abuse. already a major problem within the colombian community, in one of the most impoverished states. the center's director describe the influx of young venezuelans, many unaccompanied, trafficked and smuggled, as an atomic bomb. the protection risks are just

that serious. the exodus from venezuela is fast approaching the scale of some of the other mega crises in recent history, such as syria and indochina. emergencies that can define an entire region for generations. although uniquely complex in its mix of economic social, and palooka factors, the situations facing those living -- and political factors, the situation facing those leading the country reminds us of the situation of refugees around the world. despite the media's focus on refugees crossing oceans, deserts to reach western nations, the overwhelming majority of refugees cross just one border and remain close to home. in ecuador, we met many moving further south. they were primarily doing so of desperation, seeking safety and support that was elusive further north. after seeing people sleeping on the streets in northern columbia, i can see why.

this is a recurring theme. and trend. as result, the past several unhcr and about mated seas and the world bank have begun pursuing a new approach to refugee response. the approach contains four key components, first in proving support to the refuge he hosting committees and lebanon, kenya and gonda, bongo -- and mexico, in ways -- can you and you gonda , bangladesh and mexico, in ways that will help them improve the lives of their own citizens. second, giving refugees opportunities to go to school and earn a living, inclusion. third, we are asking the international community to provide more opportunities for resettlement and other legal migration pathways, such as work visas and scholarships. finally, we are redoubling our efforts to bring about the conditions that enable refugees

to return voluntarily to their home countries. refugees feeding violence -- fleeing violence and persecution need safety. they also need to be included in the societies hosting them, and have the chance to crate a better flute or. with skills -- future. the skills and education they can hope to rebuild their home countries once conflict has ended. this is called the comprehensive refugee response framework. it is intended to create a more predict will and could of all responsibility sharing among donors, refugee hosts, resettlement countries, and others. we need a stronger and more equitable sponsor to large refugee movements and situations of prolonged displacement. in the decades since the 1951 can do invention was adopted, it has become clear that sustainable solutions to refugee crises cannot be achieved without significant international cooperation or without leadership.

here in the united states, issues of refugee protection and aid have, for decades, been debated. the response has sometimes shifted, as we have heard this morning. as happens in other parts of the globe, sometimes courageous toership allows humanity win out. as it did in 1980. and sometimes, however, fear takes hold, as it did when the st. louis was denied permission to land, and hundreds of jews were returned to europe in 1939. today, with a record number of global force displacement, the united states remains the biggest donor to unhcr and other partners. to. remains atop country resettlement and asylum, which would clearly not be the case if it were not for the refugee act of 1980. despite the debates, i am confident that the traditional leadership in the generosity the

american government and the american people, as exhibit five by present carter and so many others here in this room -- as exemplirfiedas by present carter. whether the borders that divide us our picket fences or global boundaries, we are all residents in a global community. thank you very much. [applause] as exemplified by president carter. jasmine: good morning. through the efforts of many newly elected board chair, we were able to have vice president mondale sent

us a short message. we sit back and watch. [video] >> mr. secretary general, some indiscernible ][ that language itself breaks beneath the strain. instead, we -- for metaphors. we speak and the dialect of the human heart. [indiscernible] of human misery, our

civilization is impoverished. and the decency of self-respect of a civilized world. each nation [indiscernible] it is heartbreaking to think of the desperate human being testitarian, it is also a they begin with high hopes, if we fail the test of civilization

one hunter 68,000 refugees the governors and embers of delegation, asr well as outstanding [indiscernible] our symbol of their enduring commitment of present carter and the american people. -- president carter and the american people. working together, conflictll risk southeast asia [indiscernible] action my friends, not for words.

the same enjoyed today. [indiscernible] people these great principles, seem so far away. on the eve of this one is that the atmosphere is so much let's not be like that legacy of shame. let's reach beyond, let us honor principle. l - let's do something meaningful.

problem in a world solution. dear friends gathered at the jimmy carter presidential library, first and most importantly, i wish jimmy carter aced -- a speedy recovery. thank you for celebrating the refugee act of 1980. that achievement. heart.rican [indiscernible] where enriched in honor over the decades. expressed in a

test of civilization speech more.us forever on this, the 75th anniversary of d-day, i thank you for the , godlege, the decency bless you. [applause] ♪ [fife and drum corps music]

♪ >> next on "lectures in history," university of texas at austin professor peniel joseph teaches a class on the life and career of civil rights pioneer ronald walters. in 1958, walters organized a desegregation sit in, and was influential in the spread of african-americans as a scholarly field. he also served as advisor to the founding members of the congressional black caucus, and was campaign manager and