The US Refugee Admissions Program is not dead yet as the refugee industry fears it soon will be—see myprevious post.
For new readers, I’m too lazy to give you a full background report on the subject of Australia’s rejects—migrants who attempted to break into Australia were placed in detention centers on offshore locations. Their fate was, and is, Australia’s responsibility, yet Obama promised Australia we would take hundreds of them to live in your towns and cities.
Trump, much to my shock, agreed to honor the Obama deal. You can go through my “Dumb deal” archive by clicking here.
On Friday we learned that nine more are on the way bringing Trump’s welcome to over 400 so far. By the way, these are mostly young men who have spent years in detention camps.
Really, with all the much more important and interesting news coming at us every other minute, I am sure the US Refugee Admissions Program is the farthest thing from your minds.
However, it isn’t for the resettlement contractors under their lobbying umbrella, the Refugee Council USA*** which held a press call earlier this month to wail and moan over the status of the program.
You can read the story yourself at the Catholic publication Crux, but here is one little snip of the press call (unclear how much press was even on the call).
As federal fiscal year nears, refugee resettlement agencies fear the worst
You will remember that refugee champion, California Rep. Zoe Lofgren, played a major role in the Trump Impeachment charade.
In a Sept. 10 press call hosted by Refugee Council USA, which included a panelist from Catholic Charities Dallas, a volunteer at a Catholic refugee resettlement agency, and Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren, among others, participants expressed worries about how the administration has chiseled away at the program and its possible demise if a second term of the Trump presidency comes to fruition.
“The administration has systematically reduced our commitment to resettling refugees,” said Lofgren, a Democrat from California and chair of the House Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship. “The Trump administration, regrettably, has completely betrayed the spirit and the letter of the Refugee Act.”
Meanwhile at a rally in Minnesota Trump focused on Joe Biden’s plan to rev-up the refugee program if he wins in November. From Politico:
Trump at Minnesota rally: Biden will turn state into a ‘refugee camp’
Expect some news in the next ten days as fiscal year 2021 arrives on October first.
Remember that there is no requirement in the Refugee Act of 1980for the President to admit a single refugee.
All posts on this year’s determination aretagged FY2021.
***I have an extensive archive on the Refugee Council USA,the Washington DC lobbying office created under the auspices of Church World Service, that works to promote refugee resettlement.
