Durbin statement on Trump administration decision to slash refugee resettlement quota

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Immigration Subcommittee, today released the following statement after meeting with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Acting Secretary Elaine Duke, who confirmed that the Trump Administration has decided to allow the resettlement of no more than 45,000 refugees in the United States next year. This will bring the number of refugees allowed into the United States to the lowest level since establishment of the resettlement program in 1980.

“At a time when our world is facing the worst refugee crisis in history, it is unconscionable that the Trump Administration is setting the lowest refugee ceiling in history. Since our nation’s tragic failure to help Jewish refugees fleeing Hitler, we have set an example for the world by providing safe haven to the world’s most vulnerable people. Slashing the number of refugees admitted into the United States by more than half is an abdication of this bipartisan commitment. The Administration should focus on the real threats to our security, not innocent men, women, and children who are fleeing war and terrorism and are the most carefully vetted of all travelers to the United States.”

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