Biden’s Response Regarding Refugee Cap
Amina Tokakova
Trending Editor
Another assertion came only hours after the president gave an assurance to keep the refugee resettlement limit at an all-time low set by Trump, starting a pushback from his allies.
The White House said late Friday evening that President Joe Biden plans to raise the yearly refugee admissions limit in May – an explanation that came only hours after Biden gave an official assurance holding the yearly cap to a historical low set by the Trump organization, starting a strong pushback from Democratic politicians refugee offices, NGOs, and others.
Biden confirmed that the yearly cap will be kept at a record low of 15,000, reneging on a guarantee Biden made in February to raise the breaking point to 62,500 by 2021. The request did, notwithstanding, redistribute controversial caps set by the previous administration and said that Biden may expand the cap if 15,000 refugees are resettled before the year’s end.
The reaction to Biden’s choice to keep Trump’s cap was quick and strong.
Democrats gave their opinions on the decision. Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois called it “unacceptable.” Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington said it was “unconscionable.” Sen Bob Menendez of New Jersey, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, stated that the move “threatens U.S. leadership on forced migration.”
Evacuee organizations also censured the move, calling it “profoundly frustrating” and a “upsetting retreat.”
In the face of the wave of criticism, Press Secretary Jen Psaki released an explanation saying that the order had been the subject of “some confusion” and demonstrating that Biden would raise the cap one month from now – data that Psaki didn’t share at a public interview prior in the day or when the president’s mandate was given.
“Given the decimated refugee admissions program we inherited, and burdens on the Office of Refugee Resettlement, [Biden’s] initial goal of 62,500 seems unlikely,” Psaki said. “While finalizing that determination, the President was urged to take immediate action to reverse the Trump policy that banned refugees from many key regions, to enable flights from those regions to begin within days; today’s order did that. With that done, we expect the President to set a final, increased refugee cap for the remainder of this fiscal year by May 15.”
Refugee ceilings are caps, and the quantity of conceded displaced people has in certain years been essentially lower than the ceiling.
A flood of unaccompanied refugee minors at the boundary has stressed the resources of the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement, yet the asylum framework and the refugee system are particularly independent – however, ORR has needed to dip into refugee resettlement subsidizing to pay for the care of unaccompanied minors, as per The Wall Street Journal.
Contact Amina at aminat.tokakova@student.shu.edu