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President Trump's determination of the FY 2020 refugee resettlement ceiling is set to take place very soon. Some news outlets have reported that the refugee admissions this upcoming fiscal year (October 1, 2019, to September 30, 2020) are set to drop dramatically, perhaps even to zero. Outraged responses were quick to follow.
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Contrary to common claims, for most refugees, resettlement is not a matter of life and death. UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) data on its 2017 and 2018 resettlement activities shows that the vast majority of refugees referred to third countries for resettlement (including the United States) are neither the most vulnerable nor in urgent need of relocation. Only 17 percent were "urgent" or "emergency" submissions.
As underlined by the State Department, the U.S. resettlement program is intended to serve refugees "who are especially vulnerable; those who fled violence or persecution and cannot safely stay where they are or return home." But that is not who the United States is currently resettling. The majority of refugees resettled here could have stayed in the countries they fled to. While most did, undoubtedly, suffer from unemployment, destitution, and despair in their country of first refuge, those hardships alone are not grounds for resettlement.
The United States must not diverge from the raison d'être of the resettlement program, a protection tool for exceptionally vulnerable refugees in situations where it is impossible for them to remain in their host country. Even if the Trump administration decides to resettle all urgent and emergency cases submitted by UNHCR worldwide next year, a FY 2020 refugee ceiling of 15,000 is more than sufficient and commendable.
Contact:
Bryan Griffith
[email protected]
202.466.8185
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