WASHINGTON, C.M.C. – The United States has eased the entry of refugees from the Caribbean and Latin America even as New York and other states vehemently protest the unprecedented number of Caribbean and other nationals seeking refugee and asylum status.
Many of the asylum and refugee seekers arriving in New York from the southern border states are nationals of Cuba, Haiti, Venezuela, and Guatemala.
President Joe Biden has signed the Presidential Determination on Refugee Admissions for Fiscal Year 2024, setting the refugee admissions target at 125,000 for this upcoming fiscal year.
“By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, by section 207 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (the “Act”) (8 U.S.C. 1157), and after appropriate consultations with the Congress, I at this moment make the following determinations and authorize the following actions,” said Biden in a White House Memorandum to Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken.
“The admission of up to 125,000 refugees to the United States during Fiscal Year (F.Y.) 2024 is justified by humanitarian concerns or is otherwise in the national interest.”
He said the admissions numbers should be allocated among refugees of particular humanitarian concern to the United States by the following regional allocations: Africa — 30,000-50,000; East Asia — 10,000-20,000; Europe and Central Asia — 2,000-3,000; Latin America/Caribbean — 35,000-50,000; and Near East/South Asi — 30,000-45,000.
“The above allocation ranges are intended to provide flexibility as needs arise, but the total admissions among all regions may not exceed 125,000,” Biden told Blinken.
“Upon providing notification to the Judiciary Committees of the Congress, you are at this moment authorized to transfer unused admissions allocated to a particular region to one or more other regions if there is a need for greater admissions for the region or regions to which the admissions are being transferred.”
Biden said consistent with the Migration and Refugee Assistance Act of 1962, he has determined that assistance to or on behalf of persons applying for admission to the United States, as part of the overseas refugee admissions program, will “contribute to the foreign policy interests of the United States and designate such persons for this purpose.”
Blinken said in a State Department statement, “The world is facing an unprecedented global displacement crisis in which record numbers of people have been forced to flee war, persecution, and instability.”
He said the United States has worked to rebuild, streamline, and expand the U.S. Refugee Admissions Programme.
Blinken noted that, in 2023, the Department of State, in coordination with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, launched the Welcome Corps, an innovative program that empowers everyday Americans to welcome refugees arriving through the U.S. Refugee Admissions Programme, as well as Welcome Corps on Campus, a targeted higher education sponsorship initiative that enables U.S. colleges and universities to play a leading role in resettling refugee students.
“Admitting 125,000 refugees, an ambitious target not achieved in three decades, is now within reach,” said Blinken, adding that, as part of the determination by President Biden, the United States has “exponentially increased” its resettlement efforts for individuals from Latin America and the Caribbean “to provide protection pathways in our region.
“Our leadership on refugee resettlement reflects our history as a nation of welcome,” he said, adding that since the passage of the Refugee Act in 1980, the United States has admitted over three million refugees.
“Alongside robust humanitarian aid and diplomacy, U.S. refugee resettlement helps promote stability in regions experiencing crisis and demonstrates U.S. responsibility-sharing with refugee-hosting countries.
“The United States will continue to be a global leader in providing safety and opportunity for the world’s most vulnerable,” Blinken added.
The easing of entry for Caribbean refugees comes as New York Governor Kathy Hochul late last week deployed an additional 150 members of the New York National Guard to support the ongoing response to the asylum seeker and migrant crisis.
Hochul said the state will be able to assign 250 National Guard personnel the full-time responsibilities of case management professionals.
She said this deployment and the US$ 50 million state investment in case management thus far will help asylum seekers and migrants file the appropriate paperwork to attain legal work status and exit taxpayer-funded shelters.
“We must help secure work authorization for asylum seekers and migrants in New York,” Governor Hochul said.
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