US President Joe Biden has finally returned to his position on refugee policy. He has announced that more than 15,000 refugees will be given shelter in the United States annually.
Under pressure, last Friday, Biden backed away from his promise to reduce the number of asylum seekers in the United States. It is reported that Biden will adhere to the rule of maximum 15,000 refugees per year set by his predecessor Donald Trump. Within 48 hours of the announcement, President Biden changed his position.
Before leaving Wilmington, Delaware on April 17 local time, Biden said the cap of 15,000 refugees a year would be lifted.
However, Biden did not specify how many refugees will be accepted this year, even if he deviates from the previous decision.
When Trump was in power, a directive set a maximum annual limit of 15,000 refugees to the United States. During the election campaign, Biden talked about lifting this limit.
After Biden took office as president after winning the election, the border problem became evident in the United States. The flow of undocumented people across the border increased severalfold. It becomes difficult for President Biden to manage the border and refugee issues together.
Deciding whether to raise the annual cap on the number of refugees the United States can accept complicates matters for Biden. Forced in this situation, Biden suddenly announced on Friday that the United States will be limited to 15,000 refugees this year. His announcement caused a strong reaction.
Moderate Democrats favor maintaining Trump-era policies. They say accepting more refugees in the current reality will put pressure on the immigration system. On the other hand, the liberal wing of the Democratic Party has been demanding an increase in the number of refugees admitted to 125,000 annually.
The liberal side of the Democratic Party was quick to react after President Biden's announcement on Friday. Congresswomen Ilhan Omar and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez released statements expressing their dismay. They said such a decision is a breach of promise. Failure to increase refugee admissions as promised by Biden before the election would be a betrayal of immigrant-friendly citizens and civic organizations. In the face of such criticism, Biden changed his decision.
Biden mentioned on Saturday that the immigration department will not be able to accept the pressure of accepting more refugees while handling the flow of immigrants through the southern border of the United States. He said, they cannot do multiple tasks at the same time. However, he told reporters that more refugees would be accepted than were accepted during the previous administration.
White House Press Secretary Jane Sacchi also said that President Biden is consulting with his advisers on the matter. The US immigration year ends in September. It may or may not be possible to achieve the target of 62,500 refugees expected for the rest of this year.
Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez congratulated President Joe Biden on his decision to raise the maximum number of refugees. In a tweet, he said, through this decision, the united power of the American progressive movement has been reflected.
All over the world every year many people are expelled from their homeland for various reasons. Sometimes these people are forced to leave the country due to political ideology, sometimes due to the repression of the rulers. The number of refugees around the world has increased in recent times.
The United States had been sheltering refugees for years under its humanitarian program. The United States is known as one of the places of refuge for displaced people from different parts of the world. But during the time of former President Trump, the United States moved away from this position. He set a ceiling of 15,000 refugees a year. Due to his decision, the liberal political parties and civil organizations of the United States joined the movement. President Biden's latest decision is seen as a victory for the liberal side.
