In response to reports that President Trump will set the yearly refugee admissions ceiling at the lowest level in the history of the refugee resettlement program, Abby Maxman, President of Oxfam America said the following:
Washington, D.C. – “Oxfam is deeply alarmed at reports that President Trump plans to set refugee admissions at the lowest level in the history of the refugee resettlement program. If the President moves forward with this historically low number it would represent a failure of American leadership and an insult to the world’s most vulnerable people.
We must not let President Trump turn his back on the proud, bipartisan American tradition of welcoming refugees to our country, or our global responsibility as a world leader in responding to humanitarian crises. We are urging President Trump to not slam the door on refugees and to admit, at the very least, 75,000 of the world’s most vulnerable refugees over the next 12 months. Any target below 75,000 is simply unacceptable and a rejection of our common humanity. Congress should demand the President fulfill this patriotic responsibility during tomorrow’s consultation with the administration.
There are currently 22 million refugees, 1.2 million of whom need to be resettled into countries around the world in the next year. While the entire world needs to step up in the face of such staggering need, 75,000 refugees is a fraction of what the United States is capable of resettling. Any less would be a failure of leadership and an insult for persecuted people around the world who look to the United States as a beacon of hope.”
