Rep. John Katko signed a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo encouraging him to reconsider a plan limiting the number of refugees admitted to the United States in 2020.

President Donald Trump’s administration decided in late September to cut the number of refugees who may be accepted through the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program in 2020 to 18,000, the lowest since the refugee program was founded, The Washington Post reported. The reduction represents a 40% drop from the previous refugee cap of 30,000 people. 

During former President Barack Obama’s last year in office, almost 85,000 refugees were admitted to the country, according to The Post.

Sixteen other Republican congress members signed the bill.

The letter from Katko and the other representatives states they are open to welcoming people from other countries who are suffering from oppression. 

“As the world continues to face an overwhelming refugee crisis, we respectfully urge you to uphold our nation’s commitment to assist individuals who have been displaced by violence and strife,” the lawmakers wrote in the letter.

“Continued U.S. leadership is critical in addressing ongoing humanitarian crises caused by civil war and persecution and in assisting displaced persons,” the letter states. “In our communities throughout the country, there is a long history of opening doors to assist refugees.”

A total of 1,281 refugees and 324 Special Immigrant Visas settled in New York state in the 2018 fiscal year, according to the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance’s Bureau of Refugee Services. Of those refugees, 223 have settled in Onondaga County.

Onondaga County took in 9,538 refugees between 2007 and 2016, with most coming from Myanmar, according to Syracuse.com.

Additionally, Katko signed a letter from the Congressional Refugee Caucus in August advising Trump not to lower the cap on refugees next year. 

“Cutting resettlement numbers would leave thousands of refugees who were deemed eligible to travel to the United States stranded in host countries,” the letter from the caucus states. “By diminishing the U.S. refugee resettlement program, we would be turning our backs on these vulnerable individuals.”

The Trump administration’s decision is part of a group of actions representing his pledge of changing legal immigration programs. In September, the administration also announced an executive order granting state and local governments authority to refuse refugees.

Published on October 22, 2019 at 8:32 pm

Contact Richard: rjchang@syr.edu | @RichardJChang1