Washington, DC – Repeal and strengthen, heal and transform. “This is the path to a new paradigm for U.S. immigration policy, one that centers human dignity rather than repression, coercion, and control,” said Peniel Ibe, Policy Engagement Coordinated with the American Friends Service Committee and Co-Director of the Interfaith Immigration […]
Refugees
76 posts
After the Biden administration announced last week that it would keep former President Trump’s historically low refugee admissions numbers of 15,000, it received significant and apparently unexpected pushback from people of faith, refugee advocacy groups, and immigrant rights groups, who challenged President Biden for breaking his promise to refugees.
The only way forward is for President Biden to restore the U.S. refugee resettlement program by welcoming as many refugees as possible this fiscal year, including by revising the admissions goal to the promised 62,500, and honoring his commitment to resettling 125,000 refugees in FY 2022.
More than 600 religious leaders and faith-based organizations across traditions are deeply concerned that President Biden has not yet signed a revised refugee Presidential Determination for Fiscal Year 2021, despite his promises.
Over a month ago, President Joe Biden promised to expand refugee protection in the United States, and proposed a revised Fiscal Year 2021 refugee admissions goal (or “Presidential Determination”) of 62,500, an increase from the previous administration’s refugee admissions goal of 15,000 – an historic low. To date, President Biden still has not made the change official, and more than 700 flights have been cancelled. This delay is devastating to the refugees who are at risk of seeing their security checks expire and facing prolonged family separation.