In reaction to the President’s proposal for the refugee resettlement limit in Fiscal Year 2021 to be set at 15,000- a historically low number, Isra Chaker, Oxfam America Senior Migration and Protection Campaign lead said:
“President Trump’s heartless decision to slam the door on refugees is un-American, immoral, and will have disastrous consequences for the lives of thousands of vulnerable families fleeing horrendous violence and persecution. While it may be tempting to overlook this announcement as just the latest in this administration’s shameful and cruel track record of xenophobic policies and statements, the reality is this decision deals a devastating blow to countless families for whom resettlement to the US is a matter of life-or-death.
This inexcusable new admissions ceiling is a mere fraction of the number of refugees the United States can and should resettle in a year. During the final year of the previous administration, the US safely and successfully resettled an average of 15,000 refugees every two months. To make matters worse, the Trump administration is unlikely to even meet its historically low new ceiling based on the experience of the last few years. With 26 million refugees around the world, the US can and should do much more to welcome families who desperately need to find a safe place to go.
In small towns and big cities across the country, Americans stand ready to welcome refugees. Mayors, governors, business people, and religious leaders of all denominations have raised their voices to condemn the Trump administration’s outright hostility towards refugees and to affirm their readiness to make refugees welcome in their communities. But this administration has ignored this resounding message time and again, turning their backs on the world’s most vulnerable people and rejecting human rights.
We cannot let this indefensible policy go unchallenged. With so much at stake, we must stand up for refugees, we must stand up for our American values.”