International Rescue Committee (IRC) - Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association

Biden keeps U.S. refugee cap at Trump-era 15,000 – for now

Reuters Steve Holl and Mica Rosenberg — Thu, 29 Apr 2021 23:52:43 +0000

President Joe Biden signed an order on Friday limiting U.S. refugee admissions this year to the historically low 15,000 cap set under his predecessor Donald Trump, shelving a plan to raise it to 62,500 and drawing the ire of refugee advocates and some Democratic lawmakers.

But as criticism mounted, the White House issued a statement saying Biden would set a “final, increased refugee cap” for the remainder of this fiscal year by May 15.

Biden’s order to limit admissions to 15,000 was a blow to advocacy groups that wanted the Democratic president to move swiftly to reverse the refugee policies of the Republican Trump, who had set the figure as a way to limit immigration.

The program for admitting refugees is distinct from the asylum system for migrants. Refugees must be vetted while still overseas and cleared for entry to the U.S., unlike migrants who arrive at a U.S. border and then request asylum.

Biden, who took office in January, had signaled two months ago plans to raise the cap during the 2021 fiscal year ending on Sept. 30, but held off on actually doing so.

The president’s cautious approach appears to have been tied to concerns over the optics of admitting more refugees at a time of rising numbers of migrants arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border in recent months, and to not wanting to look “too open” or “soft,” another U.S. official with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

Criticism was swift. “Facing the greatest refugee crisis in our time there is no reason to limit the number to 15,000. Say it ain’t so, President Joe,” said U.S. Senator Dick Durbin, the second-highest-ranking Democrat in the Senate. Advocates say the two groups of migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers, are distinct and that resettlement was long neglected under Trump.

Hours later as the complaints flowed in, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement the original announcement had been “the subject of some confusion” and that a final refugee cap for the year would be set by May 15.

Psaki said Biden’s “initial goal of 62,500 seems unlikely” between now and the end of the fiscal year on Oct. 1, “given the decimated refugee admissions program we inherited.”

Republicans have blamed Biden for the situation at the border, faulting his moves to reverse other Trump-era hardline immigration policies.

Biden pledged in February to increase the number of refugees admitted in the next fiscal year to 125,000.

Under the presidential determination signed by Biden, the United States will offer refugee status to a wider part of the world than had been allowed by Trump by changing the allocation of refugee slots, the senior administration official said.

U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on Russia in the East Room at the White House in Washington, U.S., April 15, 2021. REUTERS/Tom Brenner

U.S. President Joe Biden speaks after the House of Representatives passed his $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, U.S., February 27, 2021. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts – RC281M9NH5NG

Under Biden’s new plan, the 15,000 slots would be allocated this way: 7,000 for Africa, 1,000 for East Asia, 1,500 for Europe and Central Asia, 3,000 from Latin America and the Caribbean, 1,500 from the Near East and South Asia, and 1,000 for an unallocated reserve.

‘UTTERLY UNACCEPTABLE’

Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wrote on Twitter that the cap was “completely and utterly unacceptable.”

“Biden promised to welcome immigrants, and people voted for him based on that promise,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote.

Democratic U.S. Representative Pramila Jayapal called Biden’s decision not to raise Trump’s “harmful, xenophobic and racist refugee cap” unconscionable.

Stephen Miller, an immigration hardliner and White House adviser under Trump, said on Twitter that Biden was likely concerned that border issues could lead to losses for Democrats in the 2022 midterm elections. Miller said he would favor “zero” refugee admissions.

Refugee advocates called the decision unjustified given that there are around 35,000 refugees who have already been vetted for security and cleared for entry to the United States, with a total of about 100,000 at various stages in the pipeline.

Refugee groups previously expressed frustration that Biden had delayed issuing the cap for months, which left refugees who were scheduled to travel stranded. Mark Hetfield, president of the HIAS resettlement agency, said around 700 flights were canceled due to the holdup.

“One can’t help but guess that they are conflating the refugee issue with what is happening at the border with the refugee program, which is a real disservice,” Hetfield told Reuters.

An increasing number of families and unaccompanied minors from Central America, many seeking asylum, have been among those detained at the border in recent months. The refugee program offers a pathway for people to apply abroad to resettle in the United States. Advocates were dismayed by the small number of slots for Central Americans in the announced cap.

Refugee admissions reached historic lows under Trump, who portrayed refugees as a security threat and made limiting the number of immigrants allowed into the United States a hallmark of his presidency.

The International Rescue Committee refugee advocacy group called Biden’s action “a disturbing and unjustified retreat.”

If resettlement continues at the current pace, the group said, Biden “is on track to resettle the lowest number of refugees of any president in U.S. history.”

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/biden-keeps-us-refugee-cap-15000-rather-than-raise-it-official-2021-04-16/

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David Miliband calls for leadership on refugee resettlement in the EU

Kate Lyons - The Guardian — Tue, 03 Apr 2018 08:20:25 +0000

Head of International Rescue Committee says the EU should increase its intake of refugees to 108,000 each year.

David Miliband at IRC headquarters, New York. Under the IRC proposal, the EU would take in more refugees from countries such as Jordan, Turkey and Lebanon. Photograph: Mike McGregor/Commissioned for The Observer

David Miliband has called on the European Union to bring half a million refugees to Europe over the next five years, which would mean providing homes for almost 10% of the world’s most vulnerable refugees each year.

Under the targets proposed by the International Rescue Committee (IRC), of which Miliband is chairman, the EU would commit to increasing targets of European resettlement schemes to take in 108,000 refugees every year for five years from refugee camps and communities in countries such as Jordan, Turkey and Lebanon.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that there are 22.5 million refugees worldwide, and of these roughly 1.2 million are in need of resettlement, because they are sole parents caring for children, are victims of torture, have severe disabilities or are vulnerable for other reasons. Each year between 5-6% of eligible people are resettled.

In 2017, 65,000 refugees were resettled worldwide, a third of the number resettled the previous year (189,300). The EU provided resettlement places for 23,000 refugees – or 1.9% of those eligible for resettlement. Under the target being called for by the IRC, the EU would resettle 9% of eligible refugees.

Miliband said Europe had been “playing catch up” with the refugee crisis as it dealt with large numbers of people arriving and claiming asylum over the past few years, but now had an opportunity to “become a proactive player” on this issue.

“Europe needs to recognise that this refugee crisis around the world is not going away and Europe needs to have a proactive policy which includes the option of refugee resettlement for a portion of the most vulnerable who are identified as qualifying for refugee resettlement,” he said.

Miliband said the need for Europe to provide world leadership had increased after the Trump administration announced last year it would slash the US resettlement target from 110,000 places in 2017 to a maximum of 45,000 places in 2018. The US has traditionally taken the most refugees through resettlement programmes of any country.

The European parliament has called for a similar target to that imagined by the IRC – calling on the EU to bring in 230,000 refugees over two years. That target, which is part of the Union Resettlement Framework, is under negotiation between the European parliament and council.

However, the calls are likely to face opposition from some member states, which have refused to share the responsibility of refugee hosting across the EU. Last year, the European commission began a legal case against the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland for refusing to participate in a programme that relocated refugees that had arrived in Greece and Italy.

Under the IRC’s proposal, all EU member states would be required to set a target for refugee resettlement, proportionate to GDP and population. Most countries would have to dramatically expand their resettlement programmes to meet this target.

The IRC suggested Britain might take in 15,000 refugees a year, up from 6,859 resettled in 2017. However, Miliband said given the wealth of European countries, these numbers were possible.

“It’s doubling from a very low number to another very low number,” he said. “In Britain the number of refugees coming in [each year through the resettlement programme for vulnerable Syrian refugees] is the equivalent of six per parliamentary constituency. No one’s going to tell me that my former constituency of South Shields is going to be overwhelmed by six refugees.”

“It’s a matter of standing up for the values of the best of the west, and the best of the west has been to say that people who are fleeing persecution should have havens in western pluralist democracies.”

Husn and Haiyan in Coventry

Syrian refugees Husn Alsankari and her husband Haiyan Srihini. Photograph: Daniel Hambury/Stella Pictures Ltd

Husn Alsankari said if she had the opportunity to speak to the prime minister, she would beg her to take in more Syrian refugees.

“Firstly, I would thank her because she brought us here, and then [I would say] if you can bring all Syrians who are suffering I would give you a thousand thanks, because they suffer lots and lots and lots.”

Alsankari, 38, her husband Haiyan Srihini, 36, and their two children arrived in the UK in 2015, as four of the 20,000 Syrian refugees the then prime minister, David Cameron, promised Britain would take in under the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme, which he announced in 2015, following the death of three-year-old Syrian boy, Aylan Kurdi.

Alsankari and Srihini fled from their home in Hama, Syria, after repeated attacks: their house was burned down, Srihini was shot twice, detained multiple times and tortured while imprisoned.

The family fled to Lebanon but while there they received threats after Srihini refused to join a terrorist organisation. Srihini was beaten and their young son was kidnapped. Alsankari remembers exactly how long they were living there.

Husn Alsankari, right, and Haiyan Srihini with two of their children. Photograph: Daniel Hambury/Stella Pictures Ltd

They registered with the UNHCR for resettlement programmes and six months later flew to the UK. Arriving at their new home in Coventry was the first time Alsankari had felt safe in years.

“You will laugh when I tell you, I slept for two days [after arriving] because of the fear I had before. I slept without any fear that somebody would call or knock on the door,” said Alsankari.

“Definitely we were very happy. First of all just to get away from the problems we were having in Lebanon. We didn’t have an idea about life in Europe, how to live there, how to get by, but we were very happy that we can go.”

Since arriving, Srihini has been able to receive medical treatment and physiotherapy; the two older children are in school and thriving and Srihini and Alsankari have had two further children, two boys, aged 18 months and three months old.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/apr/03/david-miliband-calls-for-leadership-refugee-resettlement-eu

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