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President’s Corner: U.S. Needs to Ratchet Up Response to Iraqi Refugees
October 24, 2008 | Kenneth Bacon | Tagged as: Congress, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, U.S. Administration, United Nations
Last Friday the State Department held a press briefing to celebrate the fact that it will exceed its goal of resettling 12,000 Iraqi refugees this year. The celebration is justified.
I must confess that ten months ago I had grave doubts that State would meet its goal for the fiscal year, ending on Sept. 30th. For the first three months of the fiscal year, resettlements were averaging only 350 a month, well below the required pace. On top of that, the teams from the departments of State and Homeland Security that process Iraqi refugees for resettlement to the U.S. had missed their 2007 fiscal year goal by a wide margin. After announcing plans to resettle 7,000 Iraqis in the last fiscal year, the administration had brought only 1,608 to the U.S. Even Ryan Crocker, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, urged Washington to do more.
At the end of the last fiscal year, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice appointed Ambassador James B. Foley as Senior Coordinator for Iraqi Refugee Issues. Working closely with a colleague from the Department of Homeland Security, Foley helped build the processing infrastructure needed to meet the target. In fact, with two weeks left in the current fiscal year, it’s possible that approximately 13,000 Iraqis may be resettled here. Foley and his team deserve credit for meeting their goal, even if the goal was too low to start with.
One in every five Iraqis is displaced. Most fled to escape sectarian violence. About two million are refugees who fled to Syria, Jordan and other countries, while the rest are displaced within Iraq. Most want to go home when security in Iraq improves, and safe return is the desired solution to any displacement crisis. However, earlier this year the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees estimated that 88,000 Iraqis will need immediate protection through resettlement next year.
The U.S. generally admits 50% of all refugees resettled in the world each year, so the U.S. goal for next year should be 44,000. However, Foley announced that the goal for fiscal year 2009 is to resettle a minimum of 17,000. In addition, the U.S. could admit as many as 9,000 Iraqis under a special immigrant visa program created by Congress.
Since 2006, when the full dimensions of Iraqi displacement became clear, Refugees International has argued that the U.S. has not done enough to protect displaced Iraqis, a problem that arose from the violence and chaos that swept Iraq following the U.S. invasion in 2003.
In response to pressure from advocacy groups and from Congress, the administration has worked hard to increase resettlement opportunities, as well as aid to displaced Iraqis. On Friday, Foley announced that U.S. assistance to displaced Iraqis will top $318 million this year, up from $171 million in the previous fiscal year.
U.S. efforts to protect displaced Iraqis must continue to expand. But a bigger challenge is convincing the Baghdad government that Iraq won’t be stable and secure until displaced Iraqis feel safe enough to return home.
Over the summer, RI and 20 other non-profits issued a joint statement calling on Washington and Baghdad to do more to meet the humanitarian challenge in Iraq. The U.S. is doing a better job, but the challenge of Iraqi displacement is still greater than the response.
--Ken Bacon
I must confess that ten months ago I had grave doubts that State would meet its goal for the fiscal year, ending on Sept. 30th. For the first three months of the fiscal year, resettlements were averaging only 350 a month, well below the required pace. On top of that, the teams from the departments of State and Homeland Security that process Iraqi refugees for resettlement to the U.S. had missed their 2007 fiscal year goal by a wide margin. After announcing plans to resettle 7,000 Iraqis in the last fiscal year, the administration had brought only 1,608 to the U.S. Even Ryan Crocker, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, urged Washington to do more.
At the end of the last fiscal year, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice appointed Ambassador James B. Foley as Senior Coordinator for Iraqi Refugee Issues. Working closely with a colleague from the Department of Homeland Security, Foley helped build the processing infrastructure needed to meet the target. In fact, with two weeks left in the current fiscal year, it’s possible that approximately 13,000 Iraqis may be resettled here. Foley and his team deserve credit for meeting their goal, even if the goal was too low to start with.
One in every five Iraqis is displaced. Most fled to escape sectarian violence. About two million are refugees who fled to Syria, Jordan and other countries, while the rest are displaced within Iraq. Most want to go home when security in Iraq improves, and safe return is the desired solution to any displacement crisis. However, earlier this year the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees estimated that 88,000 Iraqis will need immediate protection through resettlement next year.
The U.S. generally admits 50% of all refugees resettled in the world each year, so the U.S. goal for next year should be 44,000. However, Foley announced that the goal for fiscal year 2009 is to resettle a minimum of 17,000. In addition, the U.S. could admit as many as 9,000 Iraqis under a special immigrant visa program created by Congress.
Since 2006, when the full dimensions of Iraqi displacement became clear, Refugees International has argued that the U.S. has not done enough to protect displaced Iraqis, a problem that arose from the violence and chaos that swept Iraq following the U.S. invasion in 2003.
In response to pressure from advocacy groups and from Congress, the administration has worked hard to increase resettlement opportunities, as well as aid to displaced Iraqis. On Friday, Foley announced that U.S. assistance to displaced Iraqis will top $318 million this year, up from $171 million in the previous fiscal year.
U.S. efforts to protect displaced Iraqis must continue to expand. But a bigger challenge is convincing the Baghdad government that Iraq won’t be stable and secure until displaced Iraqis feel safe enough to return home.
Over the summer, RI and 20 other non-profits issued a joint statement calling on Washington and Baghdad to do more to meet the humanitarian challenge in Iraq. The U.S. is doing a better job, but the challenge of Iraqi displacement is still greater than the response.
--Ken Bacon
Labels: Iraqi Refugees, President's Corner
