Defiance: State Department Nearly Doubles Refugee Quota

What average Americans don’t realize about the issue is private agencies aiding refugees are well-funded bringing refugees into the country, either from private donations or government grants. Assisting refugees with entry is a money-making proposition in addition to a humanitarian effort.

The State Department decision to lift the current quota was communicated in an email last Thursday to private agencies around the world that help refugees manage the process needed to enter the United States.

In her email, Jennifer L. Smith, a department official, wrote that the refugee groups could begin bringing people to the United States “unconstrained by the weekly quotas that were in place.”

As a result of the change, the number of refugees now permitted entry will rise from 830 to 1,500 per week by next month.

Ironically, the State Department change was announced the same day a Federal appeals court ruled against the Trump administration’s appeal of a decision blocking the executive order that was intended to limit travel to the United States from six predominantly Muslim nations.

President Trump wants to lower the number of annual refugee admissions from 110,000 to 50,000.   His January 27 order sought to halt all admissions for four months in order to review the process and ensure proper vetting of refugees was taking place.

In contending with a hostile judiciary and defiant State Department bureaucracy, President Trump still may be able to stem the flow of refugees into the country because the Department of Homeland Security holds responsibility for security screenings.

… refugee advocates said they had seen a slowdown in security screenings by the Department of Homeland Security, whose checks are required for refugees to enter the United States.”

Another factor in the number of refugees admitted is the Congressional budget process and the amount of funding provided to the State Department for its grant program.

The department’s quotas on refugee resettlement were largely the result of budget constraints imposed by Congress in a temporary spending measure passed last fall. But when Congress passed a spending bill this month that funded the government for the rest of the fiscal year, the law did not include any restrictions on refugee admissions.”

As the 2018 budget process begins, it appears the issue will become more pronounced as the president’s proposal comes forward.

Source: The New York Times