Thursday, June 20, 2019

World Refugee Day: we've been here before, to our shame

The United Nations proclaims this day as an occasion to

educate the public on issues of concern, to mobilize political will and resources to address global problems, and to celebrate and reinforce achievements of humanity.

Meanwhile, U.S. Leading Decline in Global Support for Refugees Under Trump Administration.

So far, eight months into fiscal year 2019, which began at the start of October, just 18,051 refugees have been welcomed into the U.S. at a rate of around 2,250 a month.

Those numbers stand in stark contrast to the country's historic average of welcoming more than 6,500 refugees per month since 1980, with an average ceiling of 95,000 per year.

In FY 2019, the admissions ceiling has been placed at a historic low, with the cap set at just 30,000 refugees, representing less than a third of the country's historic average commitment.

The low ceiling has also been coupled with what the IRC has branded an "artificially" reduced processing capacity, with U.S. admissions slowing at times to a virtual standstill.

It's not broad public opinion driving the regime's cruel policies.

...public opinion polls have suggested that levels of support for welcoming refugees and immigrants into the country are among the highest they have ever been.

A January poll from the Pew Research Center found that more than 60 percent of people in the U.S. believed that immigrants strengthen the country. Meanwhile, another poll that month from Quinnipiac University saw more than 75 percent of people in the country say they believe immigration is "good" for the U.S.

Human decency demands that we change who is in charge.

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