![]() Internationally, close to 4.9 million Syrians had been registered as refugees as of early January the vast majority are in first-asylum countries such as Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, and Iraq only a fraction are likely to ever be permanently resettled. In total, 18,007 Syrian refugees were resettled in the United States between Octoand December 31, 2016. The Obama administration surpassed its goal of admitting 10,000 Syrians via the refugee resettlement program in fiscal year (FY) 2016, up from just 36 in FY 2013 (see Figure 1). This comes after a year of record low refugee arrivals.In response to the civil war in Syria that began in 2011 and has resulted in the displacement of more than 11 million people within and beyond the country’s borders, the United States in 2015 began to accept for resettlement significantly more Syrian refugees than ever before. On Thursday, the Department of State made official refugee admissions for 2019, with a cap of 30,000, the lowest number in the history of the refugee resettlement program. The prior executive order, which some referred to as a “Muslim ban”, barred entry from several majority Muslim countries, including Iraq and Syria.Ī report by the International Rescue Committee shows that, nationwide, Muslim refugees were more likely to be impacted by refugee cuts than Christians. government's operational capacity and screening and vetting procedures following the President's issuance of Executive Order 13780, Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry Into the United States.”Įxecutive Order 13780 is a revised iteration of the President Trump’s original travel ban, which had been challenged in courts and struck down. The statement went on to say, “The number of FY 2018 refugee arrivals (22,491) is consistent with the U.S. “There is no ban on any nationality or religion,” a department spokesperson said in a written statement. Department of State denies that the ban discriminates based on religion. His organization resettled the single Syrian refugee in Texas and h e attributes drops in refugees from Syria and Iraq to the travel ban. “Syria and Iraq are two of the greatest areas of conflict on the planet right now,” said Stoecker. Stoecker said cuts to refugee resettlement are coming during a historic humanitarian crisis.Ī record 68.5 million people are displaced worldwide, according to the UN Refugee Agency. “There’s a lot of anxiety and uncertainty about if people will be able to have their families rejoin them back here in the United States or even in Houston,” said Dan Stoecker, CEO of The Alliance, which offers refugee services in Houston. She said there are refugee families in Houston who can't be reunited with family members facing dangerous situations abroad because of the ban. “Our president ran his campaign and one of his strongest and most vocal points is that he called for a ban on all Muslims,” said Siddiqui. Sobia Siddiqui, communications coordinator for the Council on American-Islamic Relations Texas Chapter, said the cuts are discriminatory. The number of Syrian refugees went from 455 to just one in fiscal year 2018. Iraqi refugee resettlement dropped from 949 to 25 in Texas. Some of the starkest drops in ref ugee arrivals were from Iraq, Iran and Syria, majority Muslim countries. Texas welcomed 67 percent fewer refugees in fiscal year 2018 than in 2017, down to 1,697 people from 4,768. ECHO continues to fund partners like IOM to ensure basic services are available. Flickr/European Commission DG ECHO/Photo credit: IOM Iraq Domiz refugee camp, in northern Iraq, hosts around 65 000 Syrian refugees since its opening in April 2012.
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