5 WAYS IN WHICH
Trump’s politics will harm refugees:
#1: The suspension of the U.S. refugee resettlement program for 120 days and the indefinite banning of resettlement for Syrians leaves 20,000 refugees already approved in limbo. Syrian refugees are among the most vulnerable in the world and singling them out is especially cruel.
#2: President Trump has stated that when the resettlement program starts up again that it will favour Christian refugees. This is a violation of anti-discrimination clauses in the Refugee Convention and of U.S. law.
#3: The fact that the wealthiest and most powerful country in the world is reducing its commitment to refugee resettlement sends a message to other countries that reducing their obligations to the most vulnerable is fine. Middle income and poor countries such as Jordan, Lebanon, and Uganda, which are generously hosting hundreds of thousands of refugees, might re-think their commitments.
#4: The wider immigration ban focusing for now on seven conflict-affected Muslim majority countries may also impact refugee resettlement and protection. The executive order calls for these countries to provide information to the U.S. to allow for their citizens to be eligible for entry, including for entry as refugees. These governments are likely to be unable or unwilling to cooperate with the Trump administration in this way.
#5: The overall context for the measures is the contempt of Trump’s inner circle of advisors for the global order created in the aftermath of World War Two, which in their view has benefited a global elite at the expense of the U.S. and the interests of citizens. The refugee protection regime is therefore vulnerable, including the institutions that oversee it, such as the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. This will harm refugees worldwide to the extent that UNHCR and the global international order are weakened.
