Biden raises US refugee admissions cap to 62,500 after delay sparks anger

President said last month he would leave Trump-era figure of 15,000 in place this year.

Joe Biden has formally raised the US cap on refugee admissions to 62,500 this year, weeks after facing bipartisan blowback for his delay in replacing the record-low ceiling set by Donald Trump.

The move was a stark turnaround from the Biden’s administration’s previous announcement last month that it would keep the number of refugees admitted to the US at the historical low of 15,000, sparking widespread outrage.

Refugee resettlement agencies have waited for Biden to quadruple the number of refugees allowed into the United States this year since 12 February, when a presidential proposal was submitted to Congress saying he planned to do so.

But the presidential determination went unsigned until Monday. Biden said he first needed to expand the narrow eligibility criteria put in place by Trump that had kept out most refugees. He did that last month in an emergency determination, which also stated that Trump’s cap of up to 15,000 refugees this year “remains justified by humanitarian concerns and is otherwise in the national interest”.

Biden had reportedly been reluctant to increase the cap amid news reports of a large increase in migrants arriving at the southern border. But allies, including Democratic politicians, and refugee advocates were appalled at the president’s decision, which reportedly went against the advice of top aides.

In a statement issued on Monday, Biden said the “historically low number set by the previous administration of 15,000” did not “reflect America’s values as a nation that welcomes and supports refugees”.

“It is important to take this action today to remove any lingering doubt in the minds of refugees around the world who have suffered so much,” he added.

However, Biden added that did not expect that the actual number of refugees admitted to the country would reach 62,500 this fiscal year, which ends in October, given the pandemic and limitations on the country’s resettlement capabilities – some of which his administration has attributed to the Trump administration’s policies to restrict immigration.

Since the fiscal year began last 1 October, just over 2,000 refugees have been resettled in the US.

“We are working quickly to undo the damage of the last four years... We have reopened the program to new refugees. And by changing the regional allocations last month, we have already increased the number of refugees ready for departure to the United States,” he said in his statement.

Next fiscal year, Biden said he will commit to further increase the cap to 125,000. “We are going to use every tool available to help these fully vetted refugees fleeing horrific conditions in their home countries,” he said.

Biden said it was important to lift the number to show “America’s commitment to protect the most vulnerable, and to stand as a beacon of liberty and refuge to the world”.

Refugee resettlement agencies applauded Biden’s action on Monday.

“We are absolutely thrilled and relieved for so many refugee families all across the world who look to the US for protection,” said Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, the head of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, one of nine resettlement agencies in the country. “It has a felt like a rollercoaster ride, but this is one critical step toward rebuilding the program and returning the US to our global humanitarian leadership role.”

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) said in a statement that Biden’s move was “a global signal that America is back to a role of humanitarian leadership.”

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

“We are dealing with a refugee resettlement process that has been eviscerated by the previous administration and we are still in a pandemic,” said Mark Hetfield, president of Hias, a Maryland-based Jewish non-profit that resettles refugees. “It is a challenge, but it’s important he sends a message to the world that the US is back and prepared to welcome refugees again.”

The US saw a record number of unaccompanied children attempting to cross the border in March, and the largest number of border patrol encounters overall with migrants on the southern border – just under 170,000 – since March 2001.

Migrants from Central America and Mexico are fleeing rampant corruption, organized crime, as well as hunger caused by failing crops and the impact of climate change. The right to claim asylum is enshrined in international and US laws.

Numbers grew sharply during Trump’s final year in office but further accelerated under Biden, who quickly ended many of his predecessor’s policies, including one that made asylum seekers wait in Mexico for court hearings in the US.

Source: theguardian