Washington, D.C.—Yesterday evening, the Biden administration announced the FY 2023 Presidential Determination, setting an admissions goal of resettling 125,000 refugees over the next year. CWS commends the Biden administration for taking steps to repair the damage inflicted to this vital lifeline over the past several years and calls on the president and Congress to take immediate steps to ensure its capacity is commensurate with current global needs. Earlier this year CWS called on the White House to set a resettlement goal of 200,000 for FY 2023, accompanied by the investments to strengthen the resettlement program.
“Over the past year, we’ve watched American communities mobilize to welcome Afghan and Ukrainian refugees with open arms. This shows that our communities want the United States to be a place of safety and hospitality for those fleeing violence and persecution” said Erol Kekic, Senior Vice President at CWS. “Despite many improvements to the resettlement program this past year, tens of thousands of refugees from Syria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and other nations in desperate need of protection continue to wait years to find safety and be reunited with their families through resettlement. The administration must meet this robust resettlement goal with the support and infrastructure needed to finally welcome them home.”
The U.S. refugee resettlement program is a life-saving program for the world’s most vulnerable, designed to provide lasting safety for the persecuted. Over recent years, specifically under the Trump administration, this crucial program has been undercut, underfunded, and understaffed. America deserves a refugee resettlement program and a refugee admissions goal that reflect our nation’s values of compassion and inclusivity. Humanitarian crises such as those in Afghanistan and Ukraine have proven that a healthy, well-maintained, and strong refugee resettlement program is necessary to respond to urgent needs and to resettle those who have been waiting years for permanent protection.
CWS notes that due to a weakened resettlement program, as well as relocation of vulnerable Afghans after the fall of Kabul, the United States only resettled one fifth of the FY 2022 goal, and therefore calls on the administration and Congress to fully invest in the expansion of our capacity to welcome, so it can be stronger than ever before. CWS further recognizes that our welcome should extend to all refugees. Whether from Afghanistan, Ukraine, Cameroon, Eritrea, Syria, Ethiopia, or other parts of the globe, all refugees should have the opportunity to be welcomed equitably.
For more information or to speak with Kekic, contact media@cwsglobal.org.