“However, we do not believe that this Central American refugee resettlement program should be used as justification to deny or deter refugees from seeking asylum protection under our immigration laws here in the United States”, wrote the three House Democrats.
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Secretary Kerry stated that the program will task NGO and U.N. aid workers with identifying people in need of asylum in their home countries, including those without relatives already living in the United States, differing from the previously implemented direct action program for minors already living in the country.
Later Wednesday President Barack Obama authorized the State Department to access up to $70 million from the U.S. Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance Fund “for the goal for meeting unexpected urgent refugee and migration needs related to the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program”.
The official says the program will target migrants from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.
As is the situation with the flood of refugees into Europe, the Central Americans are enticed to flee to the U.S.by lies telling desperate people that if they only get into the USA with a child, they will automatically be granted permission to remain in the country legally. The United States was already planning to admit 85,000 refugees this fiscal year, but only about 3,000 of those slots were allocated for individuals from Latin American and the Caribbean. And 10,000 of those are Syrians fleeing civil war. The mass exodus forced the government to open temporary shelters and use military bases to hold the refugees, who were too numerous to house in federal immigration jails.
Senior administration officials said the leaders would specifically review each country’s plan to dissuade families, and particularly children, from making the unsafe journey, plans for facilitating their citizens’ safe return and progress toward reducing violence, corruption and poverty.
While today’s announcements are positive, Human Rights First cautions that much of the United States’ approach to this crisis has so far been inconsistent with US refugee protection commitments.
“We also continue to explore additional options, including for those who may be at imminent risk of harm”.
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Kerry’s remarks were yet more pushback by the Obama administration against the anti-refugee stances that Donald Trump and the other Republican presidential candidates have taken.
