MAR 30 2021
The Refugee Resettlement Program is a life-saving system for tens of thousands of people each year. Rebuilding the program isn’t just imperative – its urgent.
By Hannah Lee, Director of Community Engagement
In early 2020, the Canopy office was abuzz with excitement: we had just received a new travel notification. A new household was set to travel and arrive in the US within the month, and as with all new arrivals, our staff was excited to receive and help resettle our newest neighbors. On the day of the flight, however, we received heartbreaking news. The flight had been canceled. After waiting- possibly for years- to be resettled in a new, safe home; passing the rigorous vetting process; preparing to leave their entire life behind to build a new one here in the US— shattered while standing in the airport, waiting to board their flight.
During the past year, many of us have experienced the distress of being separated from family members due to the pandemic. The pandemic exacerbated delays in refugee processing and kept some families apart for an additional year. Now, due to rigorous screening and testing before travel, we can safely commence refugee travel without concern of further spread of COVID-19.
Yet, the refugee program is still operating under the restrictions set in place by the Trump Administration. As the resettlement program was dismantled over the past four years, many refugees had flights canceled or saw their security clearances lapse due to the stark reduction in resettlement numbers. And while the Biden administration has committed to restoring admissions to a historic norm, President Biden has yet to sign the Emergency Presidential Determination for Fiscal Year (FY) 2021. We have already seen drastic consequences: over 700 refugees have already had their flights cancelled.
“As of March 1, the U.S. has resettled less than 2,000 refugees in FY21 — a significant disparity with the projected 6,000 new arrivals we were set to receive in this timeframe.”
— SOURCE: WRAPSNET
Rebuilding the resettlement program with haste is imperative for many reasons, and the urgency only continues to deepen. Here are 3 significant reasons why we must act quickly as a welcoming nation to restore resettlement as quickly and efficiently as possible.
forced migration Continues to Grow.
In 2009, the United Nations High Commission on Refugees were watching around 36 million forcibly displaced people around the world. A decade later, that number has more than doubled. Today, over 85 million people have been forcibly displaced from their homes — and of that staggering number, 26 million are refugees.
This reality is close to home for many of our new neighbors right here in Northwest Arkansas. The majority of Canopy’s arrivals are from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a country that continues to face turmoil. Currently, there are reportedly more than 800,000 Congolese refugees in the world. On top of that, over 4 million Congolese are internally displaced due to ongoing violence across the country. The DRC is just one of many examples where forced migration continues to expand.
As the global refugee crisis continues to grow, the need for a safe, stable refuge for some of the most vulnerable people in the world is more pressing than ever.
The Pandemic Has Exacerbated Already Dangerous Living Conditions.
Refugee camps are already less than ideal living situations, with many camps completely overpopulated. In Lebanon, for instance, there are no formal refugee camps, leaving over a million Syrian refugees to live in overcrowded —and often dangerous, temporary shelters. The global pandemic has only served to worsen those living conditions. 90% of the world’s refugees live in developing, often resource-poor areas. This challenge is exacerbated still within refugee camps, where crowded living conditions in many camps make social distancing impossible. There is also a lack of clean water in many camps, making sanitation another particularly difficult obstacle for millions of refugees.
As the United States expands Covid-19 testing and rolls out vaccines, the resettlement program is ready to receive more refugees. As with every household, each person must undergo rigorous health screenings before being resettled. The process is safe and thorough— and a life-saving program for refugees waiting to rebuild their lives in a safe place.
only the most vulnerable ever resettle—and they are being forced to wait even longer.
Of the 26 million refugees worldwide, only the most vulnerable groups will ever actually be resettled in a new country through a resettlement program—approximately just 1% of refugees each year. In many places, the wait in camps averages over ten years, and for many of Canopy’s own households, this wait was over two decades. Every day that passes without signed executive action to increase resettlement numbers for this fiscal year is another day that hundreds of especially vulnerable refugees are forced to wait even longer.
Canopy – alongside resettlement agencies across the country – is ready to welcome new families.
we need to act noW.
You can urge the Biden Administration to sign the Emergency PD here — and use this template as a guide.
Ask your elected officials to encourage the Emergency PD signature here.
Amplify your voice on social media using this toolkit from RCUSA as a guide.
Ask your faith leader to add their name to this sign-on letter here.
Your voice matters! Thank you for standing in solitary with our newest neighbors.
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