Biden Turns His Back on Refugees Fleeing Danger
PRESS STATEMENT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 16, 2021
Media Contact: Homayra Yusufi, homayra@panasd.org, 858-869-3974
The Biden Administration announced today that it will not fulfill its commitment to restore the refugee resettlement program and repeal Trump’s harmful, xenophobic, and immorally low refugee admission levels. Biden made a campaign promise to increase refugee admissions to 125,000 asylum seekers in his first year of office. Once in office, his commitment faltered, with a pledge to admit only 62,500 this year and to ramp up to 125,000 the following year. This morning, the Administration reneged completely on its campaign promise to those who put him in office: the Administration will keep resettlement program numbers at Trump’s historically low 15,000.
The United States refugee resettlement program was created post World War II with the purpose of assuring that individuals forced to flee their homes due to war, famine, and other disasters have a safe and legal path to rebuild their lives in the United States. Once a worldwide model for welcoming refugees, the United States refugee resettlement program has seen years of underinvestment and was decimated by the Trump administration through executive orders that systematically targeted key elements of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP), including an 86% reduction in the number of refugees admitted into the U.S. between 2016 and 2020.
The Biden Administration’s announcement is a validation and continuation of this shameful trend. Instead of restoring the United State’s status as a welcoming beacon of hope for those displaced due to war and famine, the Administration now leaves refugees who have been urgently waiting for the admissions to increase with little hope for finding safety and freedom in the United States.
Homayra Yusufi, Interim Executive Director for the Partnership for the Advancement of New Americans, states, “We are disappointed and dismayed by the decision to keep the refugee cap at its current historic low. The Biden administration must be bold and courageous to demonstrate that we can provide compassion to those seeking asylum at our borders as well as those seeking refuge from abroad.”
PANA urges the Biden Administration to increase the refugee admissions cap and invest in support to refugees to meaningfully rebuild their lives in the United States. To learn more about the state of refugees in San Diego County, read the San Diego County Refugee Experiences Report.
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About Partnership for the Advancement of New Americans (PANA)
PANA is a research, community organizing, and public policy hub dedicated to advancing the full economic, social, and civic inclusion of refugees and Muslims in the region, throughout California, and across the country. PANA is committed to working with refugee communities in owning their power to bring about social change at the local, regional and national level. For more information, visitwww.panasd.org. On social media @PANASanDiego