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John, 715. That’s how many refugees have seen flights cancelled due to the Biden administration’s delay in keeping President Biden’s promise to raise the refugee ceiling. During the presidential campaign and his first weeks in office, the President assured the public he would take swift action to rebuild our refugee resettlement program, which had been systemically dismantled by the previous administration. On February 6, he promised to increase the ceiling from 15,000 to 62,500 - however, on April 16, he signed a memorandum that maintains the refugee ceiling at the historically low level of 15,000, though it leaves open the possibility of increasing the ceiling later in the year. As of April 12, the Biden administration was on track to let in just 4,100 refugees for this entire year — a number far lower than even the worst years of the previous administration. The administration rightfully faced a huge backlash in response to the memorandum from immigration and refugee advocates across the political spectrum – and this puzzling decision has not only humanitarian consequences, but foreign policy and national security implications as well. Refugees often wait for years in dangerous conditions for authorization to travel to the United States, and the longer we wait to address our backlog of vetted and approved refugees – let alone the number of displaced persons around the world – the greater the long-term risk to our national security. As Elizabeth Neumann, Council on National Security and Immigration leader and former DHS Assistant Secretary for Counterterrorism and Threat Prevention noted, "I fear that [refugees] left to languish in the queue for long periods of time could become vulnerable to bad actors exploiting their resentment and hopelessness – creating potential radicalization paths for the next generation of extremism and terrorist recruits." Thursday, April 29th marks President Biden’s 100th day in office – a milestone that sets the tone for the rest of his presidency. President Biden can and must show he will continue to keep his word and honor his commitment to restore the United States as a place of welcome for refugees from around the world. The President and his administration must swiftly meet their promises and raise the refugee ceiling. Doing so will improve tens of thousands of lives and safeguard our national security interests. Join us in calling on the Biden administration to keep their promise and raise the refugee ceiling. Stay healthy and safe, Danilo Zak |
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