By Rachel L. Swarns
05/05/2006

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Below is an excerpt of an article from the New York Times:

WASHINGTON (New York Times) — After months of deliberation, the Bush administration has agreed to move forward with the resettlement of thousands of Burmese refugees, a State Department official said Thursday.

The refugees' indirect support for armed rebels opposed to their repressive government had put them in technical violation of an American antiterrorism law.

The decision was welcomed by officials at the United Nations and refugee resettlement agencies who had criticized the administration for delaying the processing of the Burmese refugees because of a provision in the USA Patriot Act.

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The Patriot Act denies entry to anyone who has provided material support to a terrorist or armed rebel group, and it applies even if that support was coerced or if the aims of a group in question match those of American foreign policy.

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United Nations officials and members of Congress said the refugees posed no known security risks to the United States. In an acknowledgment of that, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice signed a waiver this week to allow the United States to proceed with the processing of about 9,300 Burmese refugees, who are now in a camp in Thailand.

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Kenneth H. Bacon, president of Refugees International, echoed those concerns. "The waiver is a breakthrough, but a limited one," Mr. Bacon said.

United Nations officials noted that the waiver did not apply to Burmese refugees who had been members of rebel or armed groups. Those refugees, who may include people who worked as teachers or nurses in rebel-held territories, will still be barred from the United States.