President Trump on Monday signed an executive order suspending refugee resettlement in the United States.
“The United States lacks the ability to absorb … refugees, into its communities in a manner that does not compromise the availability of resources for Americans, that protects their safety and security, and that ensures the appropriate assimilation of refugees,” the executive order reads.
The suspension is indefinite, although it will be subject to periodic reviews.
Who Is a Refugee?
Since its introduction in 1951, the UN Refugee Convention has been the basis for the global refugee system. It defines who a refugee is.
A refugee is someone who has been forced to flee his or her country because of persecution, war or violence. To qualify as a refugee, a person must have a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group. War and ethnic, tribal and religious violence are leading causes of refugees fleeing their countries.
Currently, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), there are 43 million refugees worldwide. About 73 percent of all refugees and other people in need of international protection come from just five countries: Afghanistan, Syria, Venezuela, Ukraine and Sudan.
The first step for most individuals seeking refugee status is to register with the UNHCR in the country to which they have fled. UNHCR may identify refugees for whom permanent resettlement in a third country is the best or only solution.
What is the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program?
The U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, under U.S. immigration law, requires the Executive Branch to:
- review the refugee situation or emergency refugee situation.
- project the extent of possible participation of the United States in resettling refugees.
- discuss the reasons for believing that the proposed admission of refugees is justified by humanitarian concerns, grave humanitarian concerns or is otherwise in the national interest.
A Presidential Determination establishes the overall admissions levels and regional allocations of all refugees for the upcoming fiscal year.
The Departments of Homeland Security and State work to screen and vet all refugee applicants in close coordination with law enforcement and intelligence partners.
Applicants who are approved for admission to the United States are assigned to a resettlement agency or private sponsor group in the United States, and travel is arranged.
Trump and Biden’s Records
When he first took office in 2017, President Trump initially paused the refugee program. Then, he used the annual cap to sharply cut the number of refugees allowed into the country. In 2020, the last year of Trump’s first term, just over 11,000 refugees were admitted into the United States — a precipitous drop from the more than 80,000 that were admitted in the year before he took office.
President Biden Jr. slowly restored the refugee resettlement operation during his four years in office. By 2024, the United States had allowed more than 100,000 refugees to enter the country, the highest total in three decades.
International Cooperation Is Required
America should take a leadership role in mitigating the international refugee crisis.
We should strive for a world where people who are in grave danger have the opportunity to rebuild their lives in safety.
Judeo-Christian traditions regarding the treatment of refugees should not be cast aside. “Do not oppress a foreigner; you yourselves know how it feels to be foreigners, because you were foreigners in Egypt” (Exodus 23:9).
Besides, host communities benefit from the tremendous energy and drive to start new lives which refugees bring.
Only if other countries believe America is doing its fair share, will they too be encouraged to also follow through on refugee-hosting commitments.
Trump’s executive order suspending refugee admissions is dishonorable, bringing shame and disgrace on our country.
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