President Joe Biden’s apparent retention of the refugee cap set by former President Donald Trump has halted the admission of “vetted refugees currently waiting in the system,” according to a senior Senate Democrat.
“The Administration’s delay in issuing the revised Presidential Determination for 2021 has had serious repercussions,” Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Menendez of New Jersey wrote in a Friday letter. “Failing to issue a new determination undermines your declared purpose to reverse your predecessor’s refugee policies and to rebuild the Refugee Admissions Program to a target of 125,000 people in FY22, and threatens U.S. leadership on forced migration.”
Biden aborted his plan to raise the refugee cap from its current historic low of 15,000, to the chagrin of Democratic allies and activists who condemned Trump’s policies. Menendez, who said that Trump “abdicated America’s global leadership” by setting the cap as low as he did, maintained a collegial tone with Biden but emphasized that the new president’s decision had hamstrung hundreds of refugees whose transit to the United States was already in process.
“The White House has not only stymied the number of refugees permitted entrance into the United States, but also it has prevented the Department of State from admitting vetted refugees currently waiting in the system who do not fit into the unprecedentedly narrow refugee categories designated by the Trump administration,” Menendez wrote. “Tragically, this has resulted in the flights of over 700 refugees being cancelled, and an indefinite suspension on arrivals of similarly situated refugees.”
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Biden had been expected to raise the refugee cap to 62,500 in fiscal year 2021, but his team concluded that target “seems unlikely” — a shortfall that the administration blamed on the state of the refugee program in the wake of the Trump years.
“While finalizing that determination, the president was urged to take immediate action to reverse the Trump policy that banned refugees from many key regions, to enable flights from those regions to begin within days. Today’s order did that,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Friday. “With that done, we expect the president to set a final, increased refugee cap for the remainder of this fiscal year by May 15.”
That statement came just hours after Menendez reminded Biden that there are “29.6 million refugees worldwide.”
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“Resettlement serves as a critical tool in providing protection to those fleeing persecution because of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion,” the senator wrote. “We look forward to working with you to restore America’s promise to refugees and hope to see the Administration take the first step by issuing a revised Presidential Determination.”
