RCUSA Appalled by the Trump Administration’s Heartless Revisions to the Life-Saving Refugee Resettlement Program

RCUSA Appalled by the Trump Administration’s Heartless  Revisions
to the Life-Saving Refugee Resettlement Program
New Procedures Will Unnecessarily Harm Refugees Worldwide

Washington, DC – Refugee Council USA (RCUSA) is appalled by the Administration’s proposed changes to refugee processing.  These changes enact another ban on refugee admissions and are driven by ideology rather than necessity.

Given the robust security measures already in place, these new measures do little to improve the security of Americans.  Instead, they have far-reaching consequences for vulnerable people in need, creating another de-facto new refugee ban as nefarious as the Muslim bans which have been halted in U.S. courts.

With the new executive order, the Administration has introduced more bureaucratic red tape that will unduly slow overseas refugee processing, leaving hundreds of thousands of vulnerable men, women and children in harm’s way.

The new procedures include indeterminate provisions that prevent husbands and wives and their children from reuniting in the United States.  The Executive Order also extends the four-month pause of refugee processing for refugees from 11 predominantly Muslim countries for another 90 days.

RCUSA Chair Hans Van de Weerd states, “The Administration’s actions are unconscionable, unnecessary and only serve to further decrease the humanitarian capacity of the U.S. resettlement program which goes against our national interest and values.”

Indeed, top national security advisors have informed Members of Congress that the U.S. resettlement program is already the safest refugee program in the world and that U.S. resettlement efforts advance U.S. national security interests. Furthermore, the Administration’s own data demonstrate that refugees contribute positively to American communities and the U.S. economy.

RCUSA calls on the Administration to immediately reconsider these new provisions and reverse course, to show compassion and moral leadership and to ensure that the United States remains a safe haven and beacon of hope for those who have been displaced by violence and conflict.

Contact: RCUSA Associate Director, Danielle Grigsby, dgrigsby@rcusa.org