Details are still vague on how the local option program would work. Trump's order calls for the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security to develop the lineaments of such a process within 90 days, so details may be forthcoming. On the essential points, though, its wording makes the order's intent unequivocally clear.
A key passage states that resettlement agencies will have to get written permission from state and local authorities before placing any refugees in their jurisdiction; the burden, that is, will be on the agencies to get approval, not on local or state leaders to initiate an objection. In a curious provision, the document adds that the secretary of state "shall publicly release any written consents of States and localities to resettlement of refugees." A decision to exclude refugees, however, can remain undisclosed.
Only President Trump and his advisers know whether the primary motive for such requirements was to make resettling refugees more politically fraught and potentially a more visible issue in the coming election season. But that is sure to be the result.
Krish O'Mara Vignarajah, president and CEO of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services (LIRS), is troubled by the prospect that the decisions of local authorities will only be publicized if they accept refugees, not if they refuse them -- a twist that may tend to "stoke xenophobia," she pointed out in an interview, and make it harder for communities to welcome refugees.
Matthew Soerens, who directs World Relief's efforts to mobilize evangelical churches on refugee and immigration issues, voiced a similar concern. Mandating a public announcement when a jurisdiction decides to accept refugees will draw the attention of "people who maybe don't want their state or local government receiving them," Soerens said in an interview. Even if 70% of the people in a community support resettlement and only 30% object, "they can make an ugly political issue," he added, possibly increasing the difficulty of bringing refugees into a community even when the authorities are in favor of resettling them. "We don't want refugees to come into a situation where there's been a big political circus about their arrival," he added. Most residents may be welcoming, but "it only takes a few to make them feel uncomfortable and unsafe."
Church World Service, HIAS, LIRS, and World Relief are four of nine national resettlement agencies. Six of them are faith-based. All nine have strongly criticized the new refugee ceiling as cruel, contrary to religious teachings of love and compassion, and against American values. ("Trump Puts Out Lady Liberty's Torch" was the headline over the Church World Service's statement.)
Worldwide Refugees at a Record High, U.S. Relief at an Unprecedented Low
The unanimous criticism from those resettlement agencies reflects how deeply Trump's latest decision will cut into future refugee relief efforts. The new ceiling of 18,000 represents less than one-fifth of the 95,000 yearly cap presidents have set, on average, since the present refugee law was enacted in 1980. Actual admissions, normally somewhat lower than the maximum allowed, are now guaranteed to fall far below the average annual rate over an even longer period dating back to the 1940s.
The number of Muslim refugees, in particular, has dropped in a stunning fashion since Donald Trump entered the White House, even though, as a recent study notes, four of the world's five largest refugee crises affect Muslim populations. That report, compiled by the Refugee Council USA, highlights how startling the change was for the most deeply troubled countries between the last two fiscal years of Obama's presidency, 2016 and 2017, and the first two full fiscal years of Trump's, 2018 and 2019.
The report's country-by-country figures show that refugee admissions from Iran dropped from 6,327 in 2016 and 2017 to 104 in 2018 and 2019. Admissions from Iraq -- where the waiting list still includes thousands of Iraqis who worked for the U.S. government or military after the American invasion and occupation of that country -- fell from 16,766 to 308, a 98% drop. For Somalia, the number went from 15,150 to 284; for Sudan, from 2,438 to 201; and for Syria, from 19,473 to 280. Altogether, the Refugee Council found that admissions of Muslim refugees had declined by 90% in the Trump era.
Hurting Refugees -- And Those Who Help Them, Too
The cut in admissions doesn't just harm refugees waiting to come to the United States but hurts those already here and the people who help them. Because the State Department gives the resettlement agencies a fixed amount of money for each individual they resettle, the sharp drop in admissions has meant deep cuts in their budgets. That, in turn, reduces their ability to help new arrivals fit into American society after their initial government-funded 90-day refugee benefits run out.
Since 2017, according to the Refugee Council study, the nine national agencies combined have closed 51 branch offices across the country. That means they can no longer help refugees in those communities find jobs or offer them language training or legal services, or assist them in enrolling children in school or obtaining public benefits they are lawfully entitled to.
If the rollercoaster keeps going downhill, says Krish Vignarajah of LIRS, it could destroy the network her organization has created in its 80-year history: "If we lose that infrastructure built over decades by faith communities, nonprofits, and local communities, that is going to take a very long time to replace."
World Relief's Soerens said his agency has closed seven offices since 2017, while halting refugee resettlement in several others, losing "really gifted, committed staff who have years and decades of experience." When possible, World Relief and similar agencies have tried to close down branches in places where other resettlement agencies are still operating, but, of course, those agencies are now stretched to the limit as well.
Trump's policies also damage the international response to the growing global refugee crisis. In sharp contradiction to the spirit of the 1980 Refugee Act, which states that "it is the policy of the United States to encourage all nations to provide assistance and resettlement opportunities to refugees to the fullest extent possible," American influence under Trump has moved in exactly the opposite direction. Instead of providing moral leadership for international efforts to meet the crisis, his example has encouraged governments and political forces across the world that strongly resist more generous efforts. As a result, tens or hundreds of thousands of desperate refugees will be trapped in their suffering for years longer, waiting for relief that may never come.
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
