Speech #1140037224

I again urge the administration to end the misguided policy of family detention. We must also do more to address the humanitarian crisis in Syria. Almost 4 million Syrians are officially recognized as refugees by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The vast majority of these are women and children. including hundreds of thousands of children under the age of 5. The United States traditionally accepts at least 50 percent of resettlement cases from UNHCR. However. we have accepted only approximately 700 refugees since the beginning of the Syrian conflict. an unacceptably low number. Congress also plays an important role. Soon I will reintroduce the Refugee Protection Act to improve protections for refugees and asylum seekers and provide additional support and improvement to the national resettlement program and groups such as the Vermont Refugee Resettlement Program. This bill. which I have long championed with Representative ZOE LOFGREN. reaffirms the commitments made in ratifying the 1951 Refugee Convention. and will help to restore the United States to its rightful role as a safe and welcoming home for those suffering from persecution around the world. As we pause to take stock on World Refugee Day. let each of us reflect on what this great country means to those escaping persecution. Let us now and always live by and burnish the light of Lady Libertys torch. our eternal beacon of hope to those struggling to breathe free.