Refugee Status from Red Shirt Protest

Every year millions of people around the world are displaced by war, famine, and civil and political unrest.

The U.S. government considers persons for resettlement to the U.S. as refugees. Each year, the U.S. President consults with Congress and establishes the proposed ceilings for refugee admissions for the fiscal year. For the 1999 fiscal year, the total ceiling was set at 78,000 admissions and was allocated to five geographic regions:

* Africa (12,000 admissions),
* East Asia (9,000 admissions),
* Europe (48,000 admissions),
* Latin America/Caribbean (3,000 admissions),
* Near East/South Asia (4,000 admissions), and
* the Unallocated Reserve (2,000).

While the Red Shirt Protest created civil strife and wreaked havoc on the country’s image and tainted Thailand’s economy, it does not reach the level or definition required of what the U.S. government define as a “refugee.”

A refugee is defined as a person outside of his or her country of nationality who is unable or unwilling to return because of [b]persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution[/b] on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinions.

Under U.S. law, a person who has committed acts of persecution, or has assisted in the commission of persecution in any way, on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion, is not eligible for classification as a refugee.

The bolded “well-founded fear of persecution” standard is quite high. There has to be substantial document proof from internationally recognized sources and organizations that the persecution fear is actually imminent and well documented. For example, during the Vietnam War, many refugees were granted resettlement status in the U.S. due to a recognized and fundamental fear of political persecution. The same is documented of Afghanistan and countries of war and civil unrest.