The US has announced the number of refugees increased for the fiscal year of 2021. Joe Biden announced that he is increasing the maximum possible allowed numbers for refugees to 62,500. He changed this from the 15,000 cap imposed by his predecessor Donald Trump.
Mr. Biden said, “it was doubtful the United States would be able to welcome a total of 62,500 refugees by the end of the current fiscal year on 30 September or reach a goal of 125,000 admissions next year”.
Joe Biden reversed his decision just announced two weeks. In the last week of March 2021, Biden initially allowed 15,000 refugees. But soon after having criticized by human rights organizations and other sources, Biden too decided to increase the numbers for allowed refugees.
The allocations for the increased cap matched an earlier plan the President sent to Congress, according to a memo signed by Mr. Biden. The memo allows following a number of refugees from different countries:
- 22,000 from Africa;
- 6,000 from East Asia;
- 4,000 from Europe and Central Asia;
- 5,000 from Latin America and the Caribbean;
- 13,000 from South Asia;
- Another 12,500 unallocated spots will also be available.
Decision backgrounds
Joe Biden, the US president signed an order on 16th April 2021 to allow 15,00 asylum seekers this year in the state. The order restricted U.S refugee acceptance to the record low 15,000 cap set under his predecessor Donald Trump.
Biden committed in February that the number of refugees entering the next fiscal year would be increased to 125,000.
Biden who took the official charge in January had indicated 2 months ago (announced in February 2021), the goals to expand the cap during the 2021 financial year ending on Sept.30.
Other migrants supporting acts of Biden
On 18 March, it brought joy to the faces of millions of immigrants living in the United States without legal permission. The House passed 2 proposals that would legalize around eleven million immigrants living illegally in the US. These proposals would create a track to citizenship for the subset of those who are living in the US without legal permission.
If signed into law, the illegal immigrants will be able to get a permanent residency of 10 years subject to eligibility criteria.
These two proposals are as given below:
- The American Dream and Promise Act of 2021
- The Farm workforce Modernization Act of 2021
With nine Republicans, all House Democrats voted in favor of passing the American Dream and Promise Act, which was passed by a vote of 228 to 197. The Democratic-led House passed the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, with 247 to 174 votes.
The American Dream and Promise Act of 2021
This proposal will allow obtaining permanent residency and US citizenship with around 2.3 million “Dreamers” or illegal migrants who arrive at the U.S as minors and beneficiaries of specific temporary humanitarian plans.
The Farm workforce Modernization Act of 2021
This act would provide legal status to thousands of farmworkers living illegally in the US. In addition that Mr. Biden’s plan to authorize most of the country’s undocumented people has been met with broad Republican rejection, the stand-alone proposals may represent Democrats’ healthy opportunity of getting immigration legalization via the evenly split Senate.“
With the approval of this law, the American Dream and Promise Act would make beneficiaries of the Obama-era Deferred Action for Children Arrival (DACA) scheme and other undocumented immigrants brought into the country under the age of 18 to apply for a ten-year period of conditional permanent residence if they fulfill the complete requirements.
Source: Reuters, Umer Rasib, BBC, visa-guru.com