Biden quadruples Trump refugee cap after delay backlash – KIRO 7 Information Seattle

WASHINGTON – (AP) – President Joe Biden has officially raised the cap on refugee admission to 62,500 this year, weeks after suffering a setback over his delay in replacing the record cap set by former President Donald Trump.

Refugee Resettlement Agencies have been waiting for Biden to quadruple the number of refugees admitted to the United States since Feb. 12, when a proposal from the president was presented to Congress saying he was going to do so.

But the president’s resolve went without a signature until Monday. Biden said he must first expand Trump’s tight eligibility criteria, which would have kept most of the refugees away. He did that in an emergency provision last month. But it also says Trump’s cap of up to 15,000 refugees this year “remains justified by humanitarian concerns and is otherwise in the national interest,” suggesting that Biden intends to keep them.

This brought with it a sharp setback because at least the symbolic step was not taken to allow more refugees to enter the United States this year. Second-rate Senate Democrat Dick Durbin of Illinois described this initial limit as “unacceptable,” and within hours the White House made a quick course of action. The government promised to raise the historically low cap by May 15 – but the White House said it likely wouldn’t hit the 62,500 that Biden had previously outlined.

In the end, Biden returned to that number.

Biden said he received additional information that prompted him to sign the president’s emergency decision setting the cap at 62,500.

“It is important to take these steps today to clear any doubts on the minds of refugees around the world who have suffered so much and are waiting eagerly for their new lives to begin,” said Biden before signing it .

Biden said Trump’s cap “does not reflect America’s values ​​as a nation that welcomes and supports refugees.”

However, he admitted the “sad truth” that the US would not hit the 62,500 cap by fiscal year-end in September because the country’s resettlement options are pandemic and restricted – some of which his administration has attributed to the Trump administration’s policies restrict immigration.

The White House insisted it has been unable to act as of now, as the administration has been taxed by a surge in unaccompanied young migrants from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras arriving at the US southern border, despite a context refugees existed between the border and the government’s decision was not immediately clear. Refugee advocates, including Durbin, accused Biden of politics.

Biden said Monday it was important to increase the number to demonstrate “America’s commitment to protecting the most vulnerable and as a beacon of freedom and refuge for the world.”

This also paves the way for Biden to increase the upper limit for fiscal year 2022, which begins in October, to 125,000.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said work is being done to improve the US refugee processing capabilities in order to take in as many of them as possible under the new ceiling. Since the beginning of the fiscal year on October 1, just over 2,000 refugees have been relocated to the United States

Travel arrangements are being made for more than 2,000 refugees who were expelled on October 27, 2020 by Trump’s presidential resolve.

Refugee resettlement agencies welcomed Biden’s action.

“We are absolutely thrilled and relieved to have so many refugee families around the world seeking refuge in the United States,” said Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, director of the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, one of nine resettlement agencies in the nation. “It felt like a roller coaster ride, but this is a critical step in rebuilding the program and returning the US to our global humanitarian leadership.”

Biden has also added more slots for refugees from Africa, the Middle East and Central America and ended Trump’s restrictions on resettlement from Somalia, Syria and Yemen.

Around 35,000 refugees have been cleared for entry into the USA, 100,000 are still in the pipeline. Resettlement agencies, which closed more than 100 offices during the Trump administration, said the cap needed to be raised to free up resources.

“The way you rebuild capacity is by making ambitious commitments that signal national and international stakeholders that the US leadership is back,” said Nazanin Ash of the International Rescue Committee.

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Watson reported from San Diego.