According to government officials, the United States will reduce the number of refugees for resettlement to 45,000 over the next year. Last year, the United States accepted 84,995 refugees from around the world, and this year, we are on course to take in approximately 50,000. According to PRI, “The United States is still the world’s biggest destination for refugees, but arrivals are well down from a high of more than 200,000 in 1980.”
The International Refugee Assistance Project reacted sharply to the announcement. “It’s hard to comprehend why the administration would move to limit resettlement, when the need is greater than ever,” says Betsy Fisher, IRAP’s policy director. “We are abandoning desperate people in life-or-death situations, including children with medical emergencies, U.S. wartime allies, and survivors of torture.” The advocacy group also states that the United States is abdicating its leadership role on humanitarian issues at time when the world is grappling with the largest number of refugees since World War II.
