Pascrell Assails Trump Administration’s Pitiful Acceptance of Iraq Refugees

Devastating news reports highlight U.S. welcoming virtually no refugees

PATERSON, NJ – Today, Representative Bill Pascrell, Jr. (NJ-09) reacted to a report filed by Reuters that U.S. acceptance of refugees has fallen to astonishing lows. The article found that the U.S. has taken in only 48 Iraqi refugees so far in 2018, after taking in over 3,000 in 2017 and over 5,000 in 2016.

“After setting the refugee admission caps at a historic low, the Trump administration has signaled its contempt for those in need of our help. Accepting only 48 Iraqis fleeing the turmoil of their country – turmoil resulting directly from the U.S.-led Iraq War – is a disgrace. Nearly three months ago my colleagues and I demanded answers from the administration about these pathetic admission rates. They didn’t even bother to send us a response. Before Trump was put in charge of immigration policy, America was a beacon for those fleeing turmoil and persecution. In September, this administration will once again set our refugee admission rates after bringing them to historic lows. I worry, as Trump immigration policy architect Stephen Miller’s uncle recently wrote, that the individuals running our government have ‘become numb to the resultant human tragedy and blind to the hypocrisy of their policy decisions.’ I will continue to demand changes until America once again becomes that beacon of hope. As inscribed on the Statue of Liberty, ‘Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to be free. The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me: I lift my lamp beside the golden door.’”

In May, Rep. Pascrell led a letter signed by 126 of his colleagues demanding answers from Donald Trump on his administration’s refugee policies. Included in the letter were several questions on the admittance of Iraq refugees. A copy of the letter is available here. The administration never formally answered any of the questions in the letter.