He seeks asylum in the United States from a refugee camp abroad but is told that he is not eligible because he has provided 'material support' to the Tamil Tigers of Sri Lanka (the $500 ransom).

Such is the state of US anti-terror laws. Draconian interpretation of anti-terror legislation has prevented asylum seekers who aided some terrorist groups under duress from having their claims processed. In response, the Bush administration promised help to a group of foreign nationals (more than 1,000) whose applications for asylum or refugee status were being hindered by such narrow interpretations. That was more than seven months ago. Since then, four asylum seekers and five refugees have been resettled after fleeing persecution in their countries and arriving in the United States.

The Bush administration is clearly reluctant to exercise its waiver authority, so that those who flee persecution can resettle in the United States without being accused of assisting rebel groups voluntarily. The United States Government continues to be deaf to the protestations of victimised people and refugees who were compelled to provide material support to certain groups (consider the case of a Columbian nurse who was abducted and forced to give aid to the FARC rebel organisation).

If the fisherman returns to Sri Lanka, he will find himself in a no-win situation. The Tamil Tigers are seeking the remainder of the ransom (he only paid half) and the Sri Lankan government is searching for him because he paid the Tigers. His prospects of survival there are slim to nil.

Homeland Security spokesman Russ Knocke had this to say about this most pressing issue: 'This [cases involving duress] is an area of enormous complexity in our immigration laws.'

I wonder if the Sri Lankan fisherman would be satisfied with that response.