Reuters

The newspaper La Jornada
Saturday, September 7, 2024, p. 22

Washington. The administration of US President Joe Biden plans to maintain its goal of accepting 125,000 refugees next year, according to an internal report to lawmakers seen by Reuters, indicating the increase will continue if Kamala Harris wins the White House.

The Biden administration is on track to bring 100,000 people to the United States through the Refugee Admissions Program in fiscal year 2024, which ends Sept. 30, according to the previously unreported document. If achieved, it would be the highest level in three decades.

Immigration is one of the main concerns of voters ahead of the November 5 elections, which will pit Harris, a Democrat and Biden’s vice president, against Republican Donald Trump.

The former president greatly reduced refugee admissions during his presidency from 2017 to 2021 and has promised a broad crackdown on immigration if re-elected.

The Refugee Admissions Program is available to individuals who are outside their home countries and are facing persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion. Applicants must be outside the United States to qualify for this status.

Biden’s first goal was to achieve 125,000 refugee admissions in 2022, an ambitious target that has remained elusive even after years of ramping up refugee processing.

The Biden administration has also increased refugee intakes from Latin America and the Caribbean as part of a strategy to provide more legal pathways into the region amid record levels of displacement.

More than 16,000 refugees from this region arrived in the United States between October 1, 2023, and July 31, 2024, according to data from the U.S. Department of State.

In the report to lawmakers, the State Department and other agencies said the refugee plan It draws on the long and enduring history of American communities providing a warm welcome to those fleeing persecution..