The Trump administration heralded the United States as being the world’s most humanitarian nation on World Refugee Day in the midst of a crisis at the southwest border that has plagued the White House and various federal departments over the past week and does not appear to be dwindling down.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the United States “provides more humanitarian assistance than any other single country worldwide, including to refugees.”
The top diplomat said the U.S. has taken in more than 3.3 million refugees for permanent resettlement since 1975, adding that that figure was higher than any other nation, according to a State Department statement.
Pompeo touted $8 billion in assistance the U.S. gave humanitarian efforts, including food, shelter, healthcare, education, and other livelihood items and services, during fiscal 2017.
However, his message may fall flat among advocates who are concerned about migrants fleeing violence and a poor economy in some Central American countries.
“In recent weeks, the Trump administration has heightened attacks on asylum seekers and their families. In an effort to deter asylum seekers from entering the country, the current administration is criminalizing parents who are fleeing extreme violence and separating families pursuing their lawful right to asylum,” the Urban Justice Center’s Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project said in a statement.
Pompeo said the U.S. is “commemorating the strength, courage, and resilience of millions of refugees worldwide who have been forced to flee their homes due to persecution and conflict,” but migrant advocates argue the country is neglecting a flood of asylum hopefuls at its southern border at this very moment.
“Forcibly separating minor children from their parents is unconscionable. This policy could mean that even if a family is seeking asylum, parents can be criminally prosecuted, and their children will be taken away from them, to be placed in a shelter where they face deportation proceedings alone,” Beth Werlin, executive director of the American Immigration Council, said in a statement. “The United States should instead honor its legacy of providing safety to those fleeing violence and its commitment to family unity.”
More than 2,000 adults who attempted to illegally enter the U.S. from Mexico between ports of entry have been referred by U.S. Customs and Border Protection to the Justice Department for prosecution, forcing about the same number of children to be taken into federal custody, a Homeland Security Department official told reporters Tuesday.
Exactly 4,548 individuals came to the border as part of 2,235 family units and were apprehended between May 5 and June 9. The number of adults referred for prosecution was 2,206, resulting in 2,342 children being turned over to the Health and Human Services Department within 72 hours.
After being charged with illegal entry, the adults are still permitted to apply for asylum.
Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said in May that only one in five people are granted asylum and that the large majority of illegal entrants and those who legally apply for asylum at a port of entry do not meet the standard.
The Justice Department began prosecuting all illegal entrants, including first-time offenders, in April. Because children cannot remain with parents during the proceedings, HHS takes custody of the minors and will look for another family member or family friend in the U.S. to send the child to live with while his or her parent is in federal custody.
