Trump Administration Makes Mockery of U.S. Refugee Program
Statement from Refugees International:
“The Trump administration’s announcement today of the Presidential Determination (PD) on refugee admissions makes a mockery of refugee protection and of American values. The administration plans to admit only 7,500 people via the United States Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) in the coming fiscal year – who will be “primarily” white South Africans.
Let us be frank: whatever hardships some Afrikaners may face, this population has no plausible claim on refugee status – they are not fleeing systematic persecution. Indeed, the PD seems to concede this by referring to them as victims of “discrimination” rather than persecution. Meanwhile this decision does material harm to tens of thousands of refugees abroad who the United States previously vetted and approved to resettle and unite with family. People truly facing persecution today – Afghan women, Congolese survivors of sexual violence, Sudanese genocide survivors, political dissidents, oppressed religious minorities – are now blocked from access to resettlement in the United States.
This PD is meant to send a blatantly racist political message about who belongs in America, not to provide protection to persecuted people. For decades, USRAP has saved lives, advanced U.S. leadership, and fostered shared growth and revitalization in communities across the country. The Trump administration has now turned the program inside out, remaking it along racist lines to solely include white people.
In 1980, Congress created USRAP explicitly to resettle refugees based upon their humanitarian need, not based on their race or nationality. Using USRAP to score political points or advance an ideological agenda betrays its purpose and is contrary to the law. The Trump administration has also not fulfilled its legal obligation to consult with Congress about who to resettle. And its PD is out of step with the majority of American people who believe in the importance of the U.S. refugee resettlement program.
Refugees International calls on the administration to reverse this reckless decision and reaffirm that U.S. refugee policy will be guided by humanitarian need, not white identity politics.”
For more information or to schedule an interview, please contact Etant Dupain at edupain@refugeesinternational.org.