For Immediate Release
Contact: Dan Gordon, 617-651-0841
Oct. 1, 2020

Noorani Responds to Historically Low Refugee Ceiling

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Trump administration late Wednesday night sent a report to Congress that it plans to set a refugee ceiling of 15,000 for fiscal year 2021, a new low for the fourth consecutive year. The following is a quote from Ali Noorani, President and CEO of the National Immigration Forum:

“With another reduction in refugee resettlement, the Trump administration has affirmed yet again that the president does not have our national security interests or our moral commitments in mind.

“Furthermore, the administration failed to meaningfully consult Congress before the end of the fiscal year — a step required by law.

“Refugees are the most thoroughly vetted group of people arriving in the U.S. These are people — including persecuted religious minorities — who are fleeing violence and discrimination and seeking safety and freedom.

“This is a new low — literally and figuratively — for our nation. The president has no justification for such a reduction, and his rhetoric vilifying refugees is an insult to the hundreds of thousands of former refugees working alongside native-born Americans on the front lines of our nation's COVID-19 response.”

For additional resources on U.S. refugee resettlement under the Trump administration, see the Forum’s fact sheet on refugee resettlement, paper on the economic contributions of refugees and a recording of this week’s press call with national security, faith and business leaders.

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