On October 24, 2017, President Trump issued an executive order outlining changes to the U.S. Refugee Resettlement Program that will cause massive delays and completely halt the acceptance of certain refugee applications. FCNL denounces this latest executive order as a thinly disguised refugee ban which works to dismantle refugee resettlement in the U.S. This executive order replaces the administration’s previous refugee ban that expired on October 24.
While the executive order states that the government will resume the refugee resettlement program, it also enacts several enhanced vetting measures. The administration will bar admission of refugees from 11 countries, including Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Mali, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Syria, Yemen and stateless Palestinian refugees, for 90 additional days. 44% of arrivals during 2017 came from these countries, so placing these applications on hold will create massive delays. This is compounded by the fact that refugees who have already received approval for travel will see at least one if not more of their agency background checks expire during this three month halt.
The executive order also imposes new onerous data collection requirements and a longer application process. With the refugee acceptance process so drastically slowed down, it is doubtful that the U.S. would even reach the already historically-low refugee admissions goal of 45,000 for 2018 set by the White House.
Yasmine Taeb, FCNL’s Legislative Representative for Human Rights and Civil Liberties, made the following statement:
“The Trump administration’s new executive order is just the latest attempt to pursue an anti-refugee policy. Dismantling the U.S. Refugee Resettlement Program during the largest global refugee crisis is unconscionable and reprehensible. Refugees coming to the U.S. already face an intensive screening process, and these new measures do not make our country safer. They only serve to shut out those who are fleeing violence and persecution by hampering the program’s ability to process refugee applications. FCNL along with refugee advocates and other faith organizations vehemently oppose these measures and call on Congress to do everything in their power to see them rescinded.”
