nlookers might have experienced whiplash watching President Biden’s refugee policy announcements last week. In a decision that Foreign Policy described as more reminiscent of Trump than Merkel, the Biden administration announced midday on Friday that it would be limiting the number of refugees given entrance into the United States this year to 15,000. Such a historically low level would maintain the limits set by Biden’s predecessor, and the decision quickly drew criticism from human rights activists. Hours later, the White House abruptly changed its mind, pledging to increase the refugee cap by next month.
Friday was far from the first time Biden has flip-flopped on refugee issues. On the campaign trail, Biden pledged to increase Trump administration limits and raise the refugee cap from 15,000 to 125,000. On February 12, Biden’s Secretary of State Anthony J. Blinken told Congress that the administration planned to admit 62,500 refugees into the United States before the end of the fiscal year in September. Now, following the administration’s quick take-back of its 15,000 limit on Friday, President Biden has yet to specify a precise increased number.
The Trump administration marked a sharp departure from several decades of bipartisan consensus regarding refugee resettlement in the United States. Refugee resettlement began with the 1980 Refugee Act under the Carter administration, and in the early 2000s, presidents on both sides of the aisle emphasized “a national responsibility to assist” when speaking on refugee issues. Before President Donald Trump was elected in 2016, the US resettled more refugees than all other countries combined.
However, under President Donald Trump, as human rights lawyer Becca Heller told NPR in 2016, refugee admissions were politicized “in a way that they (had) not been politicized before.” On the campaign trail, Trump called Syrian refugees “terrorists” and incorrectly blamed them for violent American attacks. In 2018, Trump said that under his administration, the US would neither be a “migrant camp” nor a “refugee holding facility.” And far from being all talk about his animosity towards refugees and migrants, throughout his presidency, Trump took action to reduce the number of refugees that came into the country. In early 2017, the president issued an Executive Order preventing any refugees from coming into the United States for 120 days. In the US, the president is responsible for setting the number of refugees allowed into the country each year. Under Trump, the US welcomed fewer and fewer refugees each year of his presidency.
In 2018, Donald Trump said that he didn’t want the refugee crisis that had unfolded in Europe to happen in the United States. Biden’s wavering refugee policy reflects similar sentiments, though likely with a different intention. Trump’s desire to avoid Europe’s refugee crisis was typical of his general xenophobia and nationalist tone; Biden likely hopes to avoid the political crisis that followed the large influx of refugees who ended up relocating to countries across Europe over the last several years. As Biden seeks to promote “the boldest domestic agenda in two generations,” he also likely seeks to prevent the rise in prominent right-wing parties that punctuated the implementation of bold refugee policies in countries like Germany and Sweden.
However, Biden’s hesitancy on refugee issues comes with a high cost. The number of forcibly displaced people worldwide had almost reached 80 million at the end of 2019 – a number which has been rising steadily since 2011. And even before last week’s announcements, a report released by the International Rescue Committee found that the administration had only admitted 2,050 refugees by the halfway point of the fiscal year, and “over 700 resettlement flights have been cancelled.” This means that tens of thousands of refugees already cleared to enter the United States have been barred by Biden’s inaction. Under pressure from human rights activists and congressional Democrats, Biden now has to decide whether he will make the United States a welcoming home for refugee resettlement once more. After all, the fates of many migrants displaced by global conflict depends on the steps his administration will take in the months to come.
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Biden’s Wavering Refugee Policy
Border wall between the United States and Mexico in El Paso, Texas. Photo by Levi Meir Clancy via Unsplash.
April 27, 2021
Biden’s hesitancy on refugee issues comes with a high cost.
O
nlookers might have experienced whiplash watching President Biden’s refugee policy announcements last week. In a decision that Foreign Policy described as more reminiscent of Trump than Merkel, the Biden administration announced midday on Friday that it would be limiting the number of refugees given entrance into the United States this year to 15,000. Such a historically low level would maintain the limits set by Biden’s predecessor, and the decision quickly drew criticism from human rights activists. Hours later, the White House abruptly changed its mind, pledging to increase the refugee cap by next month.
Friday was far from the first time Biden has flip-flopped on refugee issues. On the campaign trail, Biden pledged to increase Trump administration limits and raise the refugee cap from 15,000 to 125,000. On February 12, Biden’s Secretary of State Anthony J. Blinken told Congress that the administration planned to admit 62,500 refugees into the United States before the end of the fiscal year in September. Now, following the administration’s quick take-back of its 15,000 limit on Friday, President Biden has yet to specify a precise increased number.
The Trump administration marked a sharp departure from several decades of bipartisan consensus regarding refugee resettlement in the United States. Refugee resettlement began with the 1980 Refugee Act under the Carter administration, and in the early 2000s, presidents on both sides of the aisle emphasized “a national responsibility to assist” when speaking on refugee issues. Before President Donald Trump was elected in 2016, the US resettled more refugees than all other countries combined.
However, under President Donald Trump, as human rights lawyer Becca Heller told NPR in 2016, refugee admissions were politicized “in a way that they (had) not been politicized before.” On the campaign trail, Trump called Syrian refugees “terrorists” and incorrectly blamed them for violent American attacks. In 2018, Trump said that under his administration, the US would neither be a “migrant camp” nor a “refugee holding facility.” And far from being all talk about his animosity towards refugees and migrants, throughout his presidency, Trump took action to reduce the number of refugees that came into the country. In early 2017, the president issued an Executive Order preventing any refugees from coming into the United States for 120 days. In the US, the president is responsible for setting the number of refugees allowed into the country each year. Under Trump, the US welcomed fewer and fewer refugees each year of his presidency.
In 2018, Donald Trump said that he didn’t want the refugee crisis that had unfolded in Europe to happen in the United States. Biden’s wavering refugee policy reflects similar sentiments, though likely with a different intention. Trump’s desire to avoid Europe’s refugee crisis was typical of his general xenophobia and nationalist tone; Biden likely hopes to avoid the political crisis that followed the large influx of refugees who ended up relocating to countries across Europe over the last several years. As Biden seeks to promote “the boldest domestic agenda in two generations,” he also likely seeks to prevent the rise in prominent right-wing parties that punctuated the implementation of bold refugee policies in countries like Germany and Sweden.
However, Biden’s hesitancy on refugee issues comes with a high cost. The number of forcibly displaced people worldwide had almost reached 80 million at the end of 2019 – a number which has been rising steadily since 2011. And even before last week’s announcements, a report released by the International Rescue Committee found that the administration had only admitted 2,050 refugees by the halfway point of the fiscal year, and “over 700 resettlement flights have been cancelled.” This means that tens of thousands of refugees already cleared to enter the United States have been barred by Biden’s inaction. Under pressure from human rights activists and congressional Democrats, Biden now has to decide whether he will make the United States a welcoming home for refugee resettlement once more. After all, the fates of many migrants displaced by global conflict depends on the steps his administration will take in the months to come.
