U.S. lifts restriction on refugee admissions

A Syrian mother cries with relief as she embraces her three young children after a rough sea crossing. Photo: UNHCR/Ivor Prickett

The United States has quietly lifted restriction on how many refugees are allowed to enter the America, a decision that represents a departure from thee Trump administration’s earlier policy to scale back refugee resettlements.

According to The New York Times, Jennifer Smith, a department official, reportedly notified refugee groups of the decision Thursday in an email stating that they could begin bringing refugees to the U.S. “unconstrained by the weekly quotas that were in place.”

Many of the organizations that received the email are private agencies that help guide individuals hoping to enter the country through the two-year U.S. application process.

The number of refugees entering the U.S. could double as a result of the lifted restrictions, refugee advocates told the newspaper.

The leap could go from 830 a week for the first three weeks of May to over 1,500 a week by next month.

A child standing in front of his ground-flattened school after a bombardment in Ainjara village in rural Aleppo, Syria. Photo: UNICEF/Khalil Alshawi

The decision appears directly related to the latest Congressional action on the issue.  Last fall, Congress had passed a spending bill that tightly constrained the budget for the State Department’s refugee resettlement program. The spending bill passed earlier this month, however, does not impose any limits on refugee admissions.

A State Department spokeswoman told the Times that State consulted with the Justice Department about its refugee quotes before making the decision to adjust them.

Refugee advocates were delighted by the State Department’s decision.

“This is long overdue, but we’re very happy,” Mark Hetfield, president and chief executive of HIAS, an immigrant aid society, said.

But many of the advocates said they were worried that any reprieve would be temporary.

“The president’s proposed budget cuts for 2018 would mean we would have a much smaller program next year no matter what happens with his executive orders,” Erol Kekic, executive director of the immigration and refugee program at Church World Service, said.