New Data Indicate Annual Refugee Admissions on Pace for Historic Lows

In Could 2021, President Biden raised the all-time low refugee admissions ceiling set by former President Trump from 15,000 to 62,500. Since taking workplace, the Biden administration has sought to rebuild the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program after 4 consecutive years of cuts and a wave of resettlement workplace closures, additional sophisticated by challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In its first full six months in workplace, the administration has resettled the next numbers of refugees:

• February: 377
• March: 283
• April: 272
• Could: 915
• June: 1,530
• July: 1,463

In response to the State Division knowledge, the highest international locations of origin for resettled refugees embody the Democratic Republic of Congo (2,783), Ukraine (687), Afghanistan (494), Burma (415), and Syria (414).

“In some methods, these figures signify progress. There’s a important upward development in latest months, indicating that the administration’s efforts are making an influence,” stated Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, President and CEO of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service. “Nevertheless, admissions stay tragically and traditionally low in comparison with America’s capability to welcome and the pressing want of hundreds of thousands of households throughout the globe.”

The United Nations Excessive Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that there are 82.4 million displaced individuals, of which 26.5 million are refugees.

“Given the humanitarian crucial, particularly in battle zones like Afghanistan, we merely should do higher,” famous Vignarajah. “Whereas the challenges are quite a few, it’s vital that the administration take all crucial steps to revive this system to its full capability — in any other case, President Biden’s promise to welcome 125,000 refugees in FY2022 will stay out of attain.”