United States to welcome 125,000 refugees in 2022

Published on : 09/21/2021 – 02:01

Much criticized for his management of the migration crisis, Joe Biden makes a gesture. The United States will welcome 125,000 refugees in 2022, double the number of this year, to “meet the needs generated by humanitarian crises around the world,” the US State Department announced on Monday (September 20).

US President Joe Biden created a mini-controversy in April by refusing to increase the historically low ceiling of 15,000 refugees decided by his predecessor, Donald Trump, who had made the fight against immigration one of the markers of his presidency.

Faced with criticism from his Democratic camp, Joe Biden raised this ceiling in May to 62,500 people who can settle in the territory with refugee status in 2021.

He is keeping a campaign promise by doubling this figure for fiscal year 2022, which begins on October 1, the first full fiscal year of his presidency.

This program only concerns refugees selected after several years of reviews of their files by US security and intelligence agencies in United Nations (UN) camps around the world to be resettled in the United States. , mainly among the most vulnerable such as the elderly, widows and the disabled. Joe Biden said in February that the program would also protect members of the LGBT community.

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Canada, the first land of welcome

The announcement comes as the United States evacuated tens of thousands of Afghan civilians as part of the US military withdrawal from Afghanistan completed on August 30.

“A strong admissions program is essential to U.S. foreign policy interests and national security goals, and reflects core U.S. values,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement. .

For years, the United States has hosted more refugees than all other countries combined, but Canada overtook them in 2019 by opening the door to more than 30,000 refugees, according to UN figures.

According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the number of refugees, internally displaced people, and asylum seekers reached a record 82.4 million in 2020.

With AFP