At the 2016 Annual Convention of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) held on September 29 - October 2, FCNL lobbyist for Human Rights and Civil Liberties Yasmine Taeb moderated a morning briefing on the refugee crisis and spoke about related issues at ADC’s Grassroots Empowerment Luncheon.
Yasmine was joined at the briefing on Friday, September 30 by Elizabeth Campbell, Senior Humanitarian Policy Advisor at the U.S. Department of State and Shelly Pitterman, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Regional Representative for the USA and the Caribbean. At the luncheon later in the day, Yasmine spoke alongside Eddie Ayoob, an attorney at Barnes and Thornburg LLP, ADC Staff Attorney Yolanda Rondon, and ADC Legal & Policy Director Abed Ayoub. Yasmine’s remarks focused on the challenges she experiences lobbying on the refugee crisis on Capitol Hill and with the Administration.
Leading off the morning briefing, Taeb asked Campbell and Pitterman about the outcome of the two historic UN and U.S. Summits held in September on the refugee crisis and the path forward for the international community. Pitterman emphasized the need for greater engagement and cooperation among nations, pointing out that the “vast majority” of refugees live in the developing world. Campbell expressed optimism about the commitment from multiple nations to accept more refugees, but said that more must be done to ensure that refugees in host nations have access to education and legal employment.
Throughout the morning briefing, speakers strove to address misconceptions about refugees and the resettlement process. When inquired about how community members should respond to the “difficult political climate” and the prevalent myths about refugee screening, Campbell and Pitterman stressed the thoroughness of current security measures and spoke to the often-unacknowledged humanity of refugees. Campbell noted that refugees undergo more screening than any other visitor coming to the United States. Refugees “do not represent a threat,” added Pitterman, underscoring Campbell’s remarks. “They are always the victims.”
Directing the discussion to U.S. policy, Taeb noted that members of Congress have threatened to block necessary increases in funding for the Office of Refugee Resettlement which is essential to meet the President’s admissions goals for Fiscal Year 2017. The President has raised refugee admissions to 110,000 next year but refugee accounts have been flat-lined and currently not funded to the full amount needed to meet our FY17 admissions goals.
At the luncheon later that day, Taeb described the current refugee crisis as the “worst humanitarian crisis since World War II” and said the U.S. should double the number of refugees it takes in each year. She also stressed that Congress must fully fund the Office of Refugee Resettlement, stating that it would be “unacceptable” to let funding run out. She called on attendees to contact Congress to urge their representatives to fully fund essential refugee accounts and to welcome more refugees.
