His procrastination had earned him strong criticism within his own camp. The president, Joe Biden, finally decided, Monday, May 3, to increase from 15,000 to 62,500 the number of refugees admitted to the United States for the current year. “Today, I am modifying the annual admission threshold for refugees in the United States, which increases to 62,500”, said the tenant of the White House in a statement.
For the following year, Joe Biden set a threshold of 125,000 refugees, while recalling that this goal, like that of the current year, would be difficult to achieve due to the need for “Rebuild” the refugee admission program. “We are working hard to repair the damage of the past four years”, he said.
This program only concerns refugees selected by American security and intelligence agencies in United Nations (UN) camps around the world to be resettled in the United States, mainly among the most vulnerable.
Cacophonie in Washington
If the Democratic president insists that his decision erases the figure that had been set by his predecessor and “Did not reflect America’s values”, he does not evoke the imbroglio of recent weeks. Evoking, at the beginning of February, the “80 million displaced people suffering in the world”Mr. Biden had announced, as he had pledged in the campaign, his intention to increase by eight the number of refugees who could be admitted to the United States. But, to everyone’s surprise, he had chosen, in mid-April, to temporarily keep the ceiling set by his Republican predecessor.
The particularly cacophonous communication from the White House in the following days had helped fuel criticism. The deputy Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, figure of the left wing of the party, had denounced a choice “Absolutely unacceptable”.
“Biden promised to welcome immigrants, and people voted for him based on that promise. Maintain the xenophobic and racist policies of the Trump administration ” is “Simply bad”, she tweeted.
“American tradition”
The Democratic Chairman of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, Bob Menendez, who had spoken loudly of his displeasure, welcomed Monday’s announcement, seeing it “An important step” in order to maintain the “Tradition” American Refugee Protection.
The figure of 15,000 refugees was announced nearly a month before the November 2020 presidential election lost by Donald Trump. The billionaire had made the fight against immigration – legal as illegal – one of the hallmarks of his presidency. Under the tenure of his predecessor, Democrat Barack Obama, 100,000 people were welcomed each year on average.
“Opening our doors to those in need of refuge is part of our DNA as a country, said the chief of the American diplomacy, Antony Blinken. And it is in our national interest to treat the individuals who apply for these programs fairly, with dignity and respect. “
