Washington, D.C. (December 10, 2020) - The president's "Report to Congress on Proposed Refugee Admissions for Fiscal Year 2021", released this October, provides a snapshot of the Trump administration's refugee and asylum policy in FY 2020 and its projections for FY 2021.
Nayla Rush, a senior researcher at the Center for Immigration Studies, analyzes the report in a new Backgrounder. Rush said, "The FY 2021 Report to Congress on Refugees provides detailed information on the Trump administration's record on refugees and asylees and a specific vision of what 2021 would look like under a second administration. However, under a Biden administration, the policy and numbers would look very different."
Highlights of the report:
- In FY 2020, the United States admitted over 11,000 refugees for resettlement (under a ceiling of 18,000) and granted asylum to approximately 31,000 individuals.
- Recent years have seen an increase in asylum claims by migrants encountered along or near the U.S. southern border with Mexico, adding to the lengthy backlog of pending claims and undermining the integrity of the asylum system. According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the United States led the world in the number of new asylum applications received in calendar years 2017, 2018, and 2019.
- The CDC issued an order in March suspending the introduction of persons into the United States at or near the U.S. borders with Canada and Mexico. Although the number of such encounters dipped at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, it has now returned to its pre-pandemic level. (We can expect even higher numbers under a Biden administration since Joe Biden vowed to end "Trump's detrimental asylum policies".)
- The Covid-19 pandemic has made it harder for resettled refugees to attain self-sufficiency. Widespread hiring freezes, layoffs, and reduced hours, wages, and benefits in the hospitality and transportation industries hit many refugees, who often find their first jobs in these sectors. (This will be even more problematic with the resettlement of up to 125,000 refugees in FY 2021, as Biden has pledged.)
- Enhanced security vetting is applied to refugee candidates for resettlement in the United States. Refugees from high-risk areas of terrorist presence or control such as Somalia, Syria, and Yemen are not allowed in. (Joe Biden, in a video address to Muslim advocates, announced putting an end to these restrictions on day one of his presidency.)
- U.S. humanitarian assistance reaches millions of displaced people worldwide, including those who will never be considered for resettlement in a third country. The Trump administration prioritizes proximity help and the safe and voluntary return of refugees to their home countries — the solution that most refugees prefer. (A Biden administration is likely to favor increasing the number of resettlement spots as well as to look for "other channels" or "private sponsorships" to admit more refugees into the United States.)
- In FY 2021, the Trump administration projects receiving 290,000 new asylum claimants and 15,000 resettled refugees. (Under a Biden administration, we can expect at least 700,000 refugees, 125,000 resettled refugees, and 580,000 new asylum claimants — that's double Trump's projection, but numbers could be much higher.)
- The Trump administration estimates the cost for refugee resettlement at $814 million in FY 2021, down from FY 2020's $932 million. (The cost for refugee resettlement in FY 2021 under a President Biden is likely to be double that amount.)
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