20
December 2010
Past Event
Mislabeled as Terrorists: Government Inaction Keeps Refugee Families Apart

Mislabeled as Terrorists: Government Inaction Keeps Refugee Families Apart

Past Event
Hudson Institute, Washington, D.C. Headquarters
December 20, 2010
Default Event Image
20
December 2010
Past Event

1015 15th Street, N.W., 6th Floor
Washington, DC 20005

Speakers:
Elisa Massimino,

Human Rights First

Kevin Appleby,

U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops

Galen Carey,

National Association of Evangelicals

Barrett Duke,

Southern Baptist Convention

Wendy Wright,

Concerned Women for America

Michael Horowitz,

Hudson Senior Fellow

Melanie Nezer,

Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society

During this holiday season, more than 5,000 people who have already passed the difficult test to prove they are refugees and are living peacefully in the United States — and untold numbers of refugees who remain in dangerous situations abroad — are wrongly being categorized by the U.S. government as "terrorists."

A pro-democracy Burmese student who protested against the Burmese government and was persecuted as a result, a young Sudanese man who was forcibly abducted and detained by a Sudanese rebel group, and a Burundian man who gave "material support" to a rebel group when armed rebels robbed him of four dollars and his lunch, are all wrongly labeled as terrorists by the U.S. government.

Because of the failure of U.S. agencies to adopt the procedures that Congress passed in bipartisan legislation — spearheaded by Senators Kyl and Leahy — to fix this problem in 2007, thousands of cases are being placed on hold, leaving many to languish in limbo and be indefinitely separated from their families.

Elisa Massimino of Human Rights First, Kevin Appleby of U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Galen Carey of the National Association of Evangelicals, Barrett Duke of the Southern Baptist Convention, Wendy Wright of Concerned Women for America, Michael Horowitz of Hudson Institute, and Melanie Nezer of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, called on the Obama administration to end the bureaucratic delays and the needless human tragedy suffered by law-abiding persons and their families already victimized by persecution.

Read the letter to President Obama here

Related Events
09
July 2025
Virtual Event | Invite Only
Israel’s Economic Resilience after October 7: Navigating War and Strategic Pressures
Featured Speakers:
Noach Hacker
Michael Doran
Getty Images
09
July 2025
Virtual Event | Invite Only
Israel’s Economic Resilience after October 7: Navigating War and Strategic Pressures

Noach Hacker, Israel’s minister of economic affairs, will join Hudson’s Michael Doran for a discussion on how Israel has fortified its economic foundations for moments of extreme crisis. 

Getty Images
Featured Speakers:
Noach Hacker
Michael Doran
11
July 2025
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
The Han Kuang Exercise and the Taiwanese Military’s Road to Readiness
Featured Speakers:
RADM Mark Montgomery
Brent Sadler
Bryan Clark
Moderator:
Riley Walters
Getty Images
11
July 2025
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
The Han Kuang Exercise and the Taiwanese Military’s Road to Readiness

Hudson’s Riley Walters will discuss what to look for during these exercises and what more Taiwan can do to strengthen its defense posture with a panel of military experts.

Getty Images
Featured Speakers:
RADM Mark Montgomery
Brent Sadler
Bryan Clark
Moderator:
Riley Walters
17
July 2025
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
Politics, Loyalty, and Survival: A Conversation with Salena Zito
Featured Speakers:
Salena Zito
Paul Sracic
Getty Images
17
July 2025
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
Politics, Loyalty, and Survival: A Conversation with Salena Zito

Journalist and author Salena Zito will join Hudson's Paul Sracic to discuss her new book Butler: The Untold Story of the Near Assassination of Donald Trump and the Fight for America’s Heartland, releasing July 8. 

Getty Images
Featured Speakers:
Salena Zito
Paul Sracic
21
July 2025
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
Tokyo as a Window for Global Japan: A Conversation with Governor Yuriko Koike
Featured Speakers:
Yuriko Koike
Kenneth R. Weinstein
GK
21
July 2025
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
Tokyo as a Window for Global Japan: A Conversation with Governor Yuriko Koike

Governor Koike will sit down for a fireside chat with Japan Chair Kenneth R. Weinstein.

GK
Featured Speakers:
Yuriko Koike
Kenneth R. Weinstein