jimmy carter signed a refugee act after it was unanimously passed by the senate and high bipartisan support in the house. the act raise the annual ceiling for refugees allowed in the united states established the office of refugee resettlement and created a process for addressing refugee emergencies. next con american history tv that the former government officials and refugee rights advocates discuss the history of refugee policy prior to 1980 as a legacy of the refugee act since that time. this is an hour and 15 minutes. >> good morning. >> i am dr. meredith evans and the director of the presidential library and museum . i'm so excited for you to be here today. we are commemorating the refugee act of 1980 signed by

president carter in march that year. on the half of president carter who is unable to be here, i want to welcome new first to welcome you to the carter presidential center. we say center because there's two fabulous entities here, the federal entity is the library museum which is where you are now and, a few feet away is the carter center. together, president carter looks at us as the center, we provide him with data, research, commodity, advice and we work really hard for him as well. so the refugee act as an amendment to the earlier immigration and nationality act in the migration of the refugee assistance act. the goal was to provide admission to people who were suffering in other nations and provide asylum that was the whole point of it.

this is what makes it so exciting, we are partnering with the ceo who's been doing this work for over 100 years. helping people come to america and work through resettlement and getting the life more robust and back on track in more ways in the united states. this refugee act assists with that. in addition we have a wonderful speaker i couldn't look of anyone better than the ceo of the carter center and the ambassador, marianne peters. not only is she a wonderful friend and mentor to me she's had a phenomenal career, she's been an ambassador in bangladesh and in foreign affairs for 30 years and now, she gets to work for the carter center and have a global reach in a much more robust way than

being a federal employee. so, with that we bring ambassador peters to the stage and she's going to share a few words, welcome, this is a great time and i'm looking forward to a fabulous discussion and enlightenment. clap clap clap clap

credit to president carter's role in the refugee issue then he will would have done himself. it's fair to say that human beings have sought and been granted refuge since prehistoric times. but, not until the last century was a right to refuge recognize. as for the u.s., it wasn't until the passage of the refugee act of 1980 the milestone we are here to celebrate, that a comprehensive system were put in place to carry out the obligations growing from the right of refuge. i learn from our historian that the english word refugee was first used in the 17th century to describe protestants who fled religious persecution in france and it was adapted from the

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. from the 17th to the 20th centuries, many settlers in the territories that would become the united states, would've been considered refugees today but there was no legal distinction at the time between those in those who came seeking a better life. before the integration of catholics in the early 1940s, the integration movement arose. despite that, -- the act of 1882.

and even more restrictive immigration act of 1924 base

tight limits of numbers on immigrants who could enter from the region that produced the majority of refugees. again, skipping ahead, in december 1945, after the end of world war ii, president truman ãadmitted above the quota numbers by the way, speaking of world war ii, i'm sure you all know that in the world today the number of refugees totals only 70 million and that number is actually larger than the number of people displaced by the incredible upheaval of world war ii.

sport by the refugee crisis recognize after world war ii, 1951 congress and geneva adopted the convention relating to the status of refugees. that convention was limited to protect european refugees of world war ii and did have broad ramifications for international law because it defined the word refugee in the kind of legal protection assistance and right that a refugee was entitled to receive. then, in 1967 the you want adapted the refugee protocol which removed the geographical limits of the 1951 convention and allowed the definitions of the convention to be used universally. meanwhile, back in the u.s., this time good news from the u.s. front, president lyndon johnson push through, sweeping

amendments to the immigration nationality act that abolished the quota system and the prohibition of nonwhite immigrants and provided a permanent basis for the mission of refugees into the united dates. now we come to the next significant action of the u.s. government regarding refugees which was of course the passage of the refugee act of 1980. why did president carter choose to work with his administration to pass this legislation? this is actually a story that is not been told or has not been told fully. president carter has never written about it although he's written how many book? 32. others who have published books about the administration, either omitted or barely mention it. i'm so excited because this event today will explore the story of the refugee act and i hope filling the gaps in the

historical record. one explanation for why the legislation was overlooked is that it may have been overshadowed by the other events of the year. while it should've received significant attention it was passed during the iran hostage crisis and the soviet invasion of afghanistan. those of you who remember the time will remember that especially the former hostage crisis almost completely monopolized and dominated the news . >> president carter was dealing with the international challenges and with a difficult economic situation at home did he embrace the need to show compassion to those facing persecution in their homelands while protecting the borders of the united states. as you know, and some of you remember the including me.

in his inaugural address president carter proclaimed that the nation's commitment to human rights must be absolute. in may 1977, in early administration, the national security council requested a review of u.s. foreign policy regarding human rights, i was a foreign service officer, u.s. diplomat and i remember the change that took place in this policy during this period. a study was written in response to the national security council mandate and among the topics it addressed was, improved access to the u.s. for refugees. so, the administration's policy regarding refugees should be understood as fitting firmly into carter's unwavering commitment to human rights. for president carter, the plight of refugees was an issue that touched him personally. in his

white house diary, thanks to dr. hoffman that i know this, there are frequent comments and reflections on the refugees of the time, he worries about refugees in sedan, ethiopia and jews from russia and refugees from lebanon.'s greatest concern was about indochinese refugees, especially those from vietnam. in 1978 and 79 he voiced for congress to expand the number allowed into the united dates. the aftermath of the vietnam war and the need for a change to american policy toward refugees became apparent as hundreds of thousands of vietnamese and cambodians fled the political chaos and physical danger in their homelands. between 1975 in 1979, some 300,000 of these refugees were

able to come to the united states, thanks to presidential action because the law at the time restrict did refugee admissions. many members of congress wanted to establish a more regular system of immigration settlement that would create a clear and flexible policy. at the same time, the dire conditions of the indochinese refugees were given international media attention when mrs. carter, rosalynn carter visited cambodia and vietnamese resettlement refugee camps in thailand in november 1979 as you all know, the refugee act of 1980 was passed unanimously by the senate in late 1979 and signed by president carter and march 1980. let's reflect on that for a minute. every single senator voted for

this act that sprang from a sense of compassion and responsibility. the refugees from 17,400 to 50,000 literally tripling the number of refugees allowed to enter the u.s. each year and this of course reflected primarily the immediate need to address the conditions of the indochinese refugees. but, perhaps what was most significant for the long run, was that the act adopted the un definition of refugee as a person with a well-founded fear of persecution, a standard established by un conventions and protocols. the law also founded a new office of the u.s. quarter for refugee affairs in the office of refugee resettlement and built on already existing public/private partnerships that helped and still help today the

refugees settle and adjust to life in their new country. >> this is the story we are here to celebrate, but there is unfortunately kind of a political tale to this story. unfortunately for public appreciation of the new law, in early eight role, 1980, so just a few weeks after the law was signed, thousands of cubans seeking asylum flatted the grounds of the embassy in havana cuba. subsequently, fidel castro decided to let them all go, opening the port to anyone who wanted to pick them up and also opened prisons and hospitals to add to the flow. during the boatlift, hundred 25 cubans were brought to the united states the overwhelming the processes set in place by a new law that is been implemented.

the vast majority of these people were ordinary cubans but it was determined later that more than 2700 of them were in fact, serious or violent criminals, in the presence of violent terminals among the cuban migrants became known, popular sentiment turned against refugees in general. to cut through the chase, the u.s. ultimately dealt with the cuban challenge. the vast majority of the mayor leaders and their children and children's children are good productive citizens of the united dates. the refugee act that was passed and signed in nearly 40 years ago continues to provide proper protection to potential refugees and allowing the united states to protect its borders. i think all of you for gathering to eliminate the history, implementation and impact of

this wise and compassionate piece of legislation. thank you very much. [ applause ] thank you, ambassador peters. before we bring out mark i want you all to look around the sides of the room. what we see are photographs taken in 1979 when president mrs. carter visited the refugee camps in cambodia. so, let's take a moment to see the work that's been done by the carter's and know that as a federal entity, this is what we do, we maintain the history and a vibrant archive to show the progress that the united states makes overtime. with that said, mark, please come to the podium >> thank you dr. evans, the theme of today is welcome to i

want to welcome you to this event at the jimmy carter presidential library and museum, just as we the people of the united dates welcomed and resettled more refugees under president carter's leadership than under any other president in american history. it's not that the american people were more receptive to refugees in those days, the history of this country is the history of a struggle between those who want to welcome immigrants and refugees and those who fear newcomers as a threat to our security and culture. that struggle predates america. there's a reason that the torah, the old testament, the first five books of the old testament commands us 36 times to welcome another stranger as ourselves. this is repeated more often than any other commandment, not because it's the most important but because it's the easiest to forget or ignore.

president carter did not forget or ignore this commandment, he made it law. he was confronted with no less than four major refugee crises in his four years in office, the indochinese boat crisis, religious minorities and cuban marielle crisis. throughout each one of these they kept human rights as the norstar. today, we are gathered here, many of the key people who laid the foundation of the refugee act you helped write the act and who implemented the refugee act. were sorry president carter cannot be here with us today as he recovers from surgery, but we certainly do feel his presence and we are grateful for all he did to make today's celebration possible we are worried about how this event came about and after seeing jimmy carter teach sunday school in october this year, my son and i came to the museum and i

was very excited because i knew about all of the accomplishments of the carter administration that the ambassador just described. i look forward to having all of the exhibits about all that carter did for refugees and asylum seekers. all i had in the -- was carter visiting the refugee camp. i wasn't happy. i wrote to dr. evans and complained about the emission and she wrote back that while changing the exhibits as an excruciatingly long process we can do an event to celebrate the refugee act so i chose to do it today. hopefully carter will be available but now are also leading into june 20 which is world refugee day.

we had a un refugee releasing statistics for the year. here we are today at this event and i really want to thank my colleagues jasmine sanders and elizabeth reese whose hard work made this possible by working hard with christopher geisler here at the library now, on with the program. president carter signed the refugee act of 1980 and implemented it but it's congress that wrote him passed the act in its two individuals two heroes that made this happen. and one is a congresswoman who represented the 18th district from 1973 to 81 and who at that time was the youngest woman elected to congress. the refugee act was far from the only accomplishment. she fought hard and even ended a legal challenge under the nixon administration. was on of the among the members

who recommended articles of impeachment and authored the independent counsel legislation and equal mites and bringing [ null ] criminals to justice. that's just the tip of the iceberg . she's here today because she's the mother of the refugee act of 1980 . >> [ applause ] >> thank you very much, that's a kind introduction. thanks to all of you for being here and to the carter center and the carter library. it's a very special honor to join with you today and celebrating the refugee act of 1980. as chair of the house and

subcommittee it was privileged to have the opportunity to assist in its enactment. obviously, there are many people who deserve credit for the first of courses president jimmy carter for supporting the act and signing it into law. and also the administration's extraordinary work for the chinese refugee problem. the backdrop of the bill, president carter, i'm sorry you couldn't be here today, so you could be thanked in person. i know that everyone here wishes a speedy recovery. the former first lady rosalyn carter played an important role, traveling to southeast asia and publicizing the plight of the refugees, a congresswoman had a special mission it was carter in thailand and we met with her visiting refugee camp, we were as well and when we came back to the u.s. we also met at the white house to

consider how we would pursue the issue of help refugees. this was a commitment that mrs. carter felt deep the about and we were committed to meet with her about that. >> senator ted kennedy, the bill was his idea, and his commitment, perseverance and legislative skills were indispensable. ted kennedy understood the moral dimension of except refugees and the enhance stature that doing so gave to the u.s. i also want to thank the staff, his staff, jerry tinker and my staff jim sweitzer and skip is here and the judiciary committee staff who are indispensable in writing in drafting the legislation. i also want to applaud highest and we should all do that for organizing the conference and persisting in the vital work of refugee resettlement since the

1980s on a personal note on my family as well. these are dark days for america because these are dark days for immigrants to this country both seeking refuge your asylum, undocumented aliens, and even those helping them. let's not forget that the pittsburgh assassin killed 11 jews at the tree of life synagogue to retaliate against life-saving refugee work our country has been in the circle of before. think of the anti-immigrant party in the 1840s, the chinese exclusion act of 1882 and the 1924 races quota law and the immigrants in southern and eastern europe and america's refusal to provide sanctuary to peep hole fleeing hitler and failure to open the doors wide

at that time. >> today's anti-immigrant and anti-foreign fury shows progress is not inevitable. over the past 2 1/2 years, we have hurtled backwards as a nation are repeating some of the coolest most bigoted moments in our history. amazingly, this new bigotry has no shame it is bold and brazen to our president calls mexicans rapist, prefers immigrants from norway and tries to shut down immigration from majority countries. the bigotry culminated to approve at the highest levels of our government, separating thousands of children from their parents at the southwest border without developing any means to reunite them. taking children from parents who haven't harmed the children is kidnapping, plain and simple.

fortunately, public outrage forced the program to end, but thousands of children have still not been reconnected with their families. one is a resistance within our own government to the orders for kidnapping who has been punished for it, while children are still separated. i resigned from the homeland security advisory council over that horrific policy. but, that's not all, children on that border have been held by our government in cages, three children have died in u.s. custody, now recreation opportunities for english language training are being taken from unaccompanied minors and government attention. every day we learn new forms of malicious statistic policies and visited by our own government of refugees and immigrants. americans are victims also, directly, of course in a larger way we suffer from this policy.

but, just as an example, a woman was recently arrested for giving water to three thursday mexican boys on the roadside. the u.s. government heartless conduct today is exactly what our government condemned in the countries of southeast asia during the but people exodus from and to china. i feel so passionately about this because my mother and my parents came to america as refugees. in 1920 they escape the ukraine and the communist takeover. my grandfather small business was season my mother who is 12 years old was thrown out of school because she was -- my father and his family were also immigrants, full of desperate poverty hoping to find a path to a decent life. america opened its arms to all of them, thank goodness, where would i be otherwise. but, if my mom and her family had arrived here just a few years later, the doors to this

country might've been shut to them because of the racist quotas. i am forever grateful that they had the opportunity, but too much of this country is not grateful for foreigners who came here and were all americans except native americans, came here willingly or in chains or are descendents of those who did. too many american immigrants see refugees as a threat not a resource, they see the differences not our common humanity they are blind to the idealism of many refugees and immigrants who see the promise of america. the refugees done see in 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. this act was in full swing when

i became chair of the subcommittee in 1979. to understand the problem first and i traveled many times to southeast asia through dozens of refugee camps, talking to refugees and government officials and in every effect country. my heart went out to the people, the ethnic vietnamese and among them generally escaping political persecution because they worked 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. most fled in small riverboat risking capsizing and attacks by pirates and even if the refugees reached neighboring countries they could be pushed back out to sea by the governments that didn't want to accept them. in stark contrast to today, the u.s. 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. telling them to be patient and that the u.s. would work to get other countries to resettle refugees. and next, and international conferences held in geneva. because the u.s. agreed to accept a large number of refugees and set an example all , set an example to other countries followed suit, almost all the refugees are resettled and one of the most successful efforts in this history may be the most successful and president carter deserves huge credit for that all of us can be proud of our country's role, the but people crisis also prompted the passage of the refugee act of 1985 act that you heard created a permanent -- refugees in the u.s.

including annual admission and before that admission was largely on a ad hoc basis. as a nation, we are now fully committed and committed to accepting refugees. the act also broadened the definition of refugee so that anyone fleeing persecution on account of race, religion, national origin or medical opinion could qualify and the path was limited to people fleeing communist countries or the middle east. it's important that funds were provided to administer them, to make refugee resettlement here easier and faster. finally, the act created a process for seeking asylum. surprisingly, the act was not controversial. the senate passed unanimous the. there was some opposition in the house

that wanted more congressional control over admission. the exes held up well and initially 50,000 refugees annually although the president could lift the limit in certain circumstances. and in the last year obama, there was no outcry and before coming here refugees undergo very strict scrutiny and the act and the circumstances surrounding it as well as the implementation to the past 2 1/2 years, shine a very harsh light on present-day practices and attitudes. in 1980, the u.s. welcomed refugees. today, our government shows them and the custom members to be admitted drastic to the lowest ever under the act, one third of the average number. in 1980 our government understood that its history in

vietnam created a special responsibility to have those who work for us and other vietnamese refugees. today, our government acknowledges no responsibility for the consequences of its malign behavior in the northern countries of guatemala, honduras and el salvador. these acts included the democratically elected president of guatemala and the governments that refuse to address widespread corruption, not to mention domestic and gang violence and the terrible drought in guatemala. if the government wants to tackle the exodus and needs to strengthen governmental institutions in those countries and this means restoring serious cuts in usa's aid and the know-how of one to create

effective systems of justice as well as economic development programs targeting the poor. the burden of absorbing the refugees could be shared with other countries hello. we did that in 1980. but, the treatment of countries in central and south america as well as canada would have to's.. these approaches would be cheaper and more effect than building a useless world imposing taxes and cruelly mistreating refugees. in 1980, the u.s. knew that it was wrong to expel refugees by sending them back into danger. but today are our countries are frightened of admitting refugees that when we admitted at least 750,000 and a chinese refugees

in addition to 600,000 cuban refugees and hundreds of thousands of jewish refugees from the soviet union of the numbers, 750,000 chinese refugees, 600,000 cuban refugees and hundreds of thousands of soviet jewish refugees. what has caused the difference in the response? think the president carter, and think of president trump and think of his public hostility and false and bigoted claims. learning the lessons of the 1980 refugee act would allow us to tackle today's refugee problem the more humanely and more successfully. we've done it once and we can do it again. thank you. [ applause ]

>> it semi-great pleasure to introduce the pulitzer prize- winning journalist, highly accomplished to shared a pulitzer prize for reporters for a 2001 series on race in america. more recently she also shared an emmy for the coverage of pope francis's visit to the americas. but, she is here today because before becoming a successful journalist, she herself during the carter administration was a 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. she read about the experience

in about mary oh boat lift in finding mañana and this is her second year speaking at the presidential library of jimmy carter. [ applause ] . >> good morning. customer first of all, thank you . thank you to mark for remembering me because we had never met that he knew my work and to jasmine for organizing this and making it possible for my sister come able to be here. she's a teacher and she's able to be her because of her vacation and this is my second

time here as he said and i conduct that part of my research for my book here in the library so thank you for allowing me to do that. thank you to ambassador peters for being the first person that i have overheard getting the numbers right when it comes to the boat lift in the number of criminals that came in the boat left. you remember that? thank you. also people say the capture open the jail and while that is technically true, one would have to are kept in the internal asylum to people that have and about 2700 were

completed to be hardened criminals and that's a very tiny amount, especially compared to the bad reputation we received after the boat lift. but anyway, i want to tell you a little about why we became a little from the books it's not very cool but just because they asked me to do that. and and at a time when probably

each person here >> from 1966 until may 1980 the new topic of conversation where shared by obsession and if an how we would leave cuba. closed off to immigrants from cuba but this is not an austin

for us. my mother was optimistic and my father cautious. . >> they are tracing the roots to the spanish ancestry. . >> a deeply religious man for human rights assume the presidency of the united states so everyone, if it weren't for him we wouldn't be here.

the advise the president of cuba , he had was given the recognition he craved and members of congress started traveling to qb and officials from both countries began with modern issues and fishing rights. an american journalist question castro on cuban television about the presidency throughout the island and one cuban- american return to the homeland a place of support and enthusiasm through the revolution. in late 1978 with a blessing to the americans begin a dialogue with the cuban government with the release of hundreds of political prisoners

and thousands return to the island and for almost a decade cuba lived in complete isolation for the rest of the world, no one could get in or out. god and the beatles were forbidden come in with long hair were arrested, homosexuals and others were sent to labor camps. anyone who expressed a desire to immigrate was immediately ostracized and those who disagreed and everyone was expected to give up and including obligation because of loyalty to friends.

they responded that so many people were told to abandon the socialist paradise by using the only weapon that had and he threatened to flood self florida and in april 1980 he invited cuban exile to return to the island at the port her for president carter preoccupied with domestic crisis with the election campaign initially ignored the threat that cubans , desperate to be reunited once again raced to havana's shore.

my father's uncle was one of them and on may 7, 1980 the police knocked on my door and they must've finally made it to the proper immigration booth because that day within a matter of minutes they left the home . >> a problem of great hope. . >> what we live through in cuba >> the reason the actress passed and the the very definition of refugee, to this day -- slightly edited it reads, in a person who is outside of his or her country, resident or nationality and were unwilling

to return to it because of persecution or fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinion. as i hope the sections but this is the very day that a blessed driver plowed the embassy and unleashed a series of offense for political asylum that led directly to the muriel boat lift into the arrival of more than 125,000 cubans. all of them, myself included benefited from this refugee act. today for two days after my arrival my parents and i started taking english lessons

in the evening for free. we didn't need the government help because we had family and my parents found jobs right away. my father was a truck driver and my mother was a seamstress i went to work at a fact

will force displacement currently stands. more than over the next couple

of days. more than 70 million women men and children forcibly uprooted from their homes by violence and persecution. 25 million who have crossed international borders and over 40 million in their own countries known as internally displaced persons where refugees and state lists are our core constituency we also join with partners to protect the internally displaced. this often involves working in war zones under extremely dangerous conditions. as deputy high commissioner i am enormously proud of over 17 thousand people i work with day in and day out and 90% are working in the field often in remote and challenging locations. both the establishment and the adoption of the refugee

adoption were in response to the events of world war ii. they are collected decisions to learn from the toughest of lessons. the initial job therefore was to help millions of europeans that were uprooted by their homes during the war. in the decade sense, our world has extended we are leaving response to refugee situations around the globe and we have operations in over 138 countries. we provide many forms of life- saving assistance directly and through important partners. i was so pleased to see this in ecuador in action. we work with long-term solutions but our core mandate remains the protection of refugees. this role is enshrined in the convention itself which prohibits governments from

forcibly returning refugees to countries where they fear persecution. central to that prohibition is the question who is a refugee. as mentioned a refugee is outside of his or her home country and can't return due to a well-founded prosecution they relate to the fundamental aspect of a person's identity. things that cannot or should not have to change. during world war ii millions of populations were targeted. unfortunately, around the world today we continue to see the egregious human rights violations carried out against people because of who they are. we see this in the targeting of the ethnic targeting. we see this in myanmar, south

america and in many places around the globe. we see this in attacks and we see this in the horrific violence perpetrated by isis. this is also against the vast majority of sunnis. although it has changed many times, the human ability to demonize and oppress others. as you have heard from others the u.s. formally associated itself with definitions and oppositions.

active in domestic laws to welcome refugees to the world and the sentiment was not only on the side of refugees. the various laws that allowed refugees were debated this conversation has never been easy. in 1975. such leadership together they push back against fear and this information against the notion that these refugees would never assimilate the result as we know was a law that welcomed and assisted vietnamese and other southeastern refugees. 4 years later's president

carter took the bold step. that active u.s. leadership helped to convince other countries to take similar action. soon after president carter representatives were to enact the act we are celebrating today as a un official that also happens to be american i believe i am within my rights to save 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 and have nowhere else to turn.

our country can be proud that hundreds of thousands of people around the world would risk everything they have including their own lives. speaking safety on its shores is sadly lacking in many parts of the world today. that sentiment is needed now more than ever. today, world ride placement is often referred to as a global refugee crisis. it is not often how it is pretrade in the media. the persecution, war and oppression are collectively a crisis. the ability to resolve -- too

often the movement against governments often respond by shutting doors denying those victims of persecution a safe haven they most urgently need. we see this on every continent on the world today. we saw this in 2015 when more than 1 million refugees and migrants cross the mediterranean in search of eight in europe. almost 85 percent of those arriving were from the world's top 10 refugee producing countries. this is including syria and afghanistan. the response by some governments was chaotic with orders being blocked by tens of thousands of people. eventually a more coordinated approach to continue to see an uneven response to can asylum- seekers governing disembarkation, reception and

access to asylum system. instead of an equitable burden arrangement. we sometimes see denial of access which can force refugees even further into the hands of smugglers and traffickers. we have seen this in asia, as well. in 2015, thousands of refugees took the boat. either directly or from neighboring bangladesh and sought access to ports throughout southeast asia. many of them denying access. after images stranded

the response by the government and the people of bangladesh have been incredibly generous but the pressures to return to myanmar are mounting. another vote crisis will hopefully not occur but it is possible. despite a long and proud tradition in africa, of hosting refugees, we have also seen people denied protection on that continent. in 1996. thousands of liberian refugees were rejected at one west african port and and donna and in sierra leone they disembarked. today, more than a quarter of the world's refugees with many countries hosting as they become interrelated. the force of asylum seekers

still occurs on regular basis and this is not a solution. here in the u.s., a bigger space 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 that is causing central americans to flee and seek solutions and affix to their dilemma. we are helping the government to enhance their asylum system so individuals and families from honduras, guatemala and el salvador can find protection closer to home. at the same time we call access to asylum systems. we stand ready to offer assistance and guidance in helping the u.s. respond to a

challenging humanitarian situation. we are working to help governments in venezuela the largest exodus in the recent history of latin america. 3 to 5000 refugees leave due to violence, insecurity and lack of a central service. 4 million refugees now live abroad in countries in south america. they believe the majority of those fleeing venezuela are of international refugee protection. i spent a week in south america with the team in south america and columbia we met with venezuelans that had left the country and to be quite blunt it was desperate. in host communities and the openness of communities in the

region. on the surface many leaving venezuela were in search of food, shelter access healthcare support and, time and again we were able to hear the full story. the refugee domitian became very clear. scratching below the surface of poverty and you hear the story of persecution and targeted violence often at the hands of paramilitary street gangs. a political crisis. millions leaving venezuela are in need of protection. we met people described being swarmed by motorbikes after her husband, a professor, the government took away their home and denied them access to public food. her husband was stabbed and she

fled with her three kids. while she has been there for a week when we talked to her, her husband is in peru recovering. their family is in chile and columbia. obviously she was trying to rejoin them. a couple of days later near the border of venezuela within a youth shelter specializing in support for victims of sexual exploitation. already a major problem within the colombian community in one of the most impoverished states. the center director described young venezuelans as many unaccompanied and as a atomic bomb. the risk so that serious. the exodus of venezuela is fast approaching.

emergencies that can define an entire region for generations. although uniquely complex in a economic, social and political factor. the situation facing those an increasing reminder of the reality faced by refugees around the world. despite the media focus on refugees crossing the ocean to reach western nations. the overwhelming majority of refugees across just one border. they remain very close to home. in ecuador we met many who moved further south. they would do so out of desperation to keep safety and support that was elusive further north. after seeing people sleeping on the streets in northern columbia, i can see why. this, again, is a recurring theme. as a result, in the past several years, the world bank

have began pursuing a new approach to response. the approach contains four key components. first, increasing support to the refugee posting communities and country such as jordan and lebanon, kenya, uganda bangladesh and mexico. it will allow them to not only help refugees but to improve the well-being of their own citizens. second, we are giving refugees more opportunities to go to school and to earn a living. inclusion. third, we are providing more opportunities over settlement and other legal migration pathways such as work visa and scholarship. finally we are doubling our efforts to bring these conditions that enable refugees to return voluntarily to their home country. refugees fleeing violence and

persecution clearly need safety but they also need to be included in the societies hosting them and have the chance to create a better future. with skills and education they can also help to rebuild their home countries once conflict has ended. this is something called the comprehensive refugee response framework and it is achieved to receive a more equitable response. we need a stronger and more equitable response to large refugee movements and situations of prolonged displacement. in the decades since the convention was adopted it has become clear that sustainable solutions through refugee situations cannot be achieved without significant cooperation or without leadership. here, in the united states, issues of refugee and change have been debated. as happens in other parts of the globe and sometimes

courageous leadership allows humanity to win out. sometimes, fear takes hold as it did when st. louis was denied to land and hundreds of jewish people were returned to europe. the united states remains the biggest financial donor. the u.s. also remains one of the world's top countries in settlement send asylum which would clearly not be the case if it were not for the refugee act of 1980. despite the debate and challenges, i am confident the traditional leadership and generosity of the american government and people, as exemplified by president carter and so many others here in this room, will enjoy. as president carter once told us, whether the borders that divide us our picket fences or

national boundaries, we are all neighbors in a global community. thank you very much. good morning everyone. i am with special projects officers and with the efforts of many we were able to have vice president mondale send us a short message. please sit back in march.

this is a special edition of american history tv a sample of the compelling history programs that air every weekend on american history tv like lectures and history, american artifacts, real america, the civil war, world history, the presidency, special event coverage about our nations history. enjoy american history tv. now, and every weekend on c- span 3. c-span has live coverage of the 2020 presidential candidates at the iowa state fair. saturday live at 10:00 a.m. eastern.

watch the 2020 presidential candidates live at the iowa state fair friday and saturday on c-span. watch any time online at www.c- span.org or listen live from wherever you are, on the go using the free c-span radio app. wheat next we are featuring american history tv and a preview of what's available every weekend on c-span 3. a look at the 50th anniversary of the river fire in 1969 which helped start clean water and environmental movement. even though it was not the worst fire the river had seen.

a historian joins us to talk about the fire, the myths associated with it in the campaign to find solutions. the co-author of where the river burns, carl stokes and the struggle to save cleveland. american history tv. friday at 8 pm eastern on c- span 3. saturday on 8 pm eastern. female activist and the civil rights movement. >> while they were instrumental in putting things together, the events which pearly -- were pearly dominated by men. the significance of the declaration of independence during and after the american revolution. >> multiple translations of our declaration also made their way to colombia, venezuela and ecuador over this 50 year period. a century known to scholars as the age of revolutions. at 6:00 tm eyewitness accounts from inside the white

house during the apollo 11 lunar landing. we really staked ourselves into the cabinet room. throughout the day you could see the windows were dark. the module landed at 4:15 pm and the astronauts did not walk until later. explore our nations passed on american history tv every weekend on c-span 3. american history tv continues with government officials that helped to write the refugee act. how these issues are still with us today. president jimmy carter signed the refugee act. held that the jimmy carter presidential museum in atlanta. let's get started. we will start with our