Washington
Update
September 2003
It’s Time
To Fight
By Merritt Becker, LIRS Policy Advocate
The U.S. refugee resettlement program remains
in crisis. As we feared last year, the record low levels of
actual refugee admissions in fiscal year 2002 have continued
in 2003. The president authorized 70,000 admissions in 2003,
of which 50,000 were allocated to specific regions and 20,000
were placed in an “unallocated reserve.” Yet as
of the end of July, ten months into the fiscal year, only 20,500
refugees had arrived—only 36 percent of the number that
arrived during the same time period in 2001.
President Bush will soon make his presidential
determination on refugee admissions numbers for fiscal year
2004, which begins October 1. We are concerned by rumors that
he may set a ceiling of 50,000, with only 30,000 of those allocated
to specific regions. If he does so, it will deal the U.S. Refugee
Resettlement Program a blow from which it may never recover.
That would spell disaster for at-risk refugees everywhere, as
the ceiling affects budget allocations for the International
Organization for Migration; the Bureau of Population, Refugees
and Migration; and other vital programs and services.
As I write this in the last week of August,
it is clear we must fight for increased refugee admissions.
In cooperation with Refugee Council USA, on August 27 we began
a fax-in
week—calling for letters to President Bush urging
him to set a refugee admissions ceiling of 90,000 for fiscal
year 2004.
Can we count on you to help? Between now and
September 3, please take the time to write in support of generous
admissions. A
sample letter is available. If you don’t have time
to personalize the letter, that’s OK—just copy it
onto your agency, church or business letterhead and fax it today.
And ask everyone you know who cares about refugees to do the
same right away. The window of opportunity to influence the
president on this issue will only be open a little while longer.
The few minutes you spend writing and faxing a letter could
potentially help many vulnerable people in desperate circumstances.
If you read this after September 3, check
our homepage for news of whether
the determination has yet been announced before sending your
letter.
Want to do more? Another thing you can do
is visit your congressional representative. Take a refugee with
you if possible. Tell your representative why the refugee resettlement
program is important to you and your community. And ask your
representative to urge President Bush to set a generous refugee
admissions ceiling of 90,000 for fiscal year 2004.
Several months ago some members of Congress,
concerned about the growing crisis in the U.S. refugee resettlement
program, formed the Bipartisan
Congressional Refugee Caucus to heighten awareness about
the plight of refugees. Currently there are only 45
members. We need many more! When you visit your representatives,
ask them if they are members of the Caucus. If they are, thank
them for their support for refugees. If they are not, urge them
to join right away.
Don’t forget, we can do together
what we could never do alone. Thank you!
Read
past Washington Updates.
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