In March of this year, 15,918 children from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador crossed into the U.S. at our southern border—the highest number of children since we began collecting data in 2010. Although this number has dropped in recent months, the children who have made this long and dangerous crossing without their parents are of […]
Category: Headquarters
USCRI Statement on the Presidential Determination of the Refugee Admissions Ceiling
For immediate release May 3, 2021 Media contact: Annette Sheckler (571)289-1731 or asheckler@uscrimail.org Arlington, VA—The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) is pleased to note that President Biden has raised the refugee admissions ceiling to 62,500. This ceiling replaces one set by the previous administration at an historic low of 15,000. With […]
Statement of the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants on the Presidential Determination Signed Today for Refugee Admissions Ceiling
The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) is disheartened by President Biden’s decision not to lift former President Trump’s refugee resettlement cap of 15,000 for fiscal year 2021 in the Presidential Determination signed today. Under the previous administration, refugee admissions to the U.S. fell to this historic low of 15,000. In February of […]
Unaccompanied Children’s Arrivals are a Humanitarian Challenge – But a Solvable One
For much of 2020, U.S. authorities turned away all asylum seekers at the U.S. southern border, including both families arriving together and unaccompanied children. The prior Administration attempted to justify the restrictions by a novel invocation of Title 42 of the United States Code, which grants a weak form of quarantine power to the Centers […]
Honoring the Legacy of Barbara Harrell-Bond
My interview with Angelina of Hope Restoration South Sudan was inspired by the work of Barbara Harrell-Bond, a pioneer in refugee rights and an original critic of the work of the United Nations. Barbara’s work with refugees began with the arrival of Hungarian refugees in the United States in the 1950s, and continued with her […]
The U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021: USCRI Analysis
The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) presents the following bill analysis of the U.S. Citizenship Act (USCA) of 2021. The Administration sent the USCA to Congress on January 20, 2021. On February 18, 2021, Representative Linda T. Sánchez (D-CA-38) and Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) introduced the USCA. Representatives Zoe Lofgren (D-CA-19), Lucille Roybal-Allard […]
Policy & Legislative Recommendations to Increase Protections for Refugees and Other Forcibly Displaced Persons
The United States has traditionally been the global leader in refugee protection across both Republican and Democratic administrations. Yet, as global need reached an all-time high of 80 million people displaced in 2020, the United States set its all-time low refugee admissions goal of 15,000. U.S. refugee resettlement operates in a public-private partnership known as […]
Policy Recommendations to Improve the Protection and Care for Unaccompanied Children
Thousands of refugee and immigrant children come to the United States alone or with their families each year, many having fled life-threatening dangers in their countries of origin. In fiscal year (FY) 2019, more than 69,000 unaccompanied children entered the custody of the U.S. federal government. Unaccompanied children (UCs) are under 18 years old, have […]
USCRI Statement on President Biden’s Executive Orders on Refugee Resettlement and Immigration
by Eskinder Negash USCRI is greatly encouraged by newly elected President Joseph Biden’s actions to restore the country’s robust refugee resettlement program and other paths to immigration . The President has pledged to raise the annual refugee admissions ceiling from its historic low of 15,000 to 125,000 beginning next fiscal year. He has signed Executive […]
Out of the Cold: Forced Marriage Trafficking Victims Need to Be Included in U.S. Definition
The Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act (TVPA) was passed into law in October 2000 by Congress and President Clinton. At the time, it was praised as a bipartisan solution to address human trafficking as a distinct crime. Prior to 2000, human trafficking crimes were prosecuted using several different federal and state statutes that […]