CARDIN. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce a resolution to
mark World Refugee Day, and to address the ongoing displacement crisis
across the globe. War, conflict and persecution have forced millions of
people to leave their homes, creating more refugees, asylum seekers and
internally displaced people than at any other time in history. Today,
there are more than 65 million displaced men, women, and children
worldwide, the highest level ever recorded in history. To put this
number into perspective--if the global displaced population were a
country, it would be the 21st largest country, more populated than the
United Kingdom. The global displacement trends we are witnessing now, due to
conflict, severe human rights abuses, and climate change, are not going
away. U.S. leadership in responding to these crises, whether it is the
immense suffering of refugees from South Sudan or the plight of the
internally-displaced in Syria and Iraq, is critical. How we respond--or
whether we respond at all--will undoubtedly shape the landscape and the
lives of future generations for years to come. The United States has a long and proud history of providing safe
harbor to the world's most vulnerable refugees--women and children,
survivors of torture and other violence, and those with severe medical
conditions. This included after World War II and after the fall of
Saigon, when we resettled hundreds of thousands of refugees. At the same time, we take the security of our citizens seriously. That is the reason the United States has the most rigorous refugee
screening process in the world, involving the Department of Defense,
Department of State, Department of Homeland Security, Federal Bureau of
Investigation, and National Counter Terrorism Center. The process
includes biometric checks, medical screenings, forensic testing of
documents, DNA testing for family reunification cases, and in-person
interviews with highly trained homeland security officials. The U.S. Refugee Resettlement program has been and should remain open
to those of all nationalities and religions who face persecution. The
Trump Administration's proposals that would have the U.S. State
Department disqualify refugees from protection based on their
nationality or religion fly in the face of the very principles this
Nation was built upon. They also contradict the legacy of leadership
our country has historically demonstrated, and dishonor our shared
humanity. It is clear, however, that the Trump Administration is determined to
undermine longstanding American tradition and values, and in doing so
they weaken our National security. As we all know, one of President
Trump's first executive orders sought to drastically reduce the number
of refugees entering the United States and turn away refugees from
Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. This un-American policy,
rooted in fear not fact, cannot be tolerated. We collectively must
reject the misplaced notion that some refugees are more deserving of
protection than others. Again and again, the Federal courts are signaling to the White House
a real need for the President to immediately rescind his discriminatory
executive order targeting Muslim refugees and travelers. Even while
stayed by the courts, President Trump's executive orders have made
America less safe, damaged our relationships with our allies, and
harmed countless numbers of law-abiding citizens, travelers, and their
families. America is a compassionate nation steeped with a history of
welcoming immigrants and refugees. I was proud to join Members of Congress who filed legal briefs in
opposition to the President's discriminatory executive orders, along
with HIAS in Silver Spring, Maryland, whose motto is to ``welcome the
stranger'' and ``protect the refugee.'' Recently the U.S. Court of
Appeals for the Fourth Circuit provided a valuable check and balance on
the President's authority. The court correctly pointed out that the
President's most recent Executive Order ``speaks with vague words of
national security, but in context drips with religious intolerance,
animus, and discrimination'' which violates the Establishment Clause of
the First Amendment. No American president is above the law. Turning away refugees--whether they are from Syria or Somalia, Burma
or Iraq, whether they are Muslims or Christians, Hindus or Jews--means
turning our backs on the international humanitarian system and the
mechanisms of stability and security that are the bedrocks of
international order. Refugees remain powerful ambassadors of the
American Dream and our Nation's founding principles of equal
opportunity, religious freedom, and liberty and justice for all. The Trump Administration again revealed its determination to erode
American leadership with the release of its Fiscal Year 2018 Budget
request. Their FY18 budget represents a wholesale repudiation of U.S.
global leadership on virtually every critical matter, including
humanitarian assistance and protection of the most vulnerable
populations. The President's budget called for a 44 percent cut in
humanitarian assistance--a truly horrifying reduction made even more
appalling given the level of global need. According to a group of
leading NGOs, the human cost of these cuts could be staggering. The
proposed 18 percent cut to the Migration and Refugee Assistance account
could result in over 3.5 million refugees and internally displaced
persons not receiving assistance globally, including about 1 million in
the Middle East and 1.1 million in Africa. The United States has been a beacon of hope for so many around the
world for centuries, and it is imperative that we remain so for others
in this century, and beyond. We need to be unified on this and the
United States must lead by example.
Keywords matched
Refugee asylum seekers immigrants Refugees refugee refugees family reunification