The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) is dismayed by these decisions, which taken together distort and weaken a program that has been a beacon to the vulnerable and the oppressed for nearly 40 years.
“If the mightiest country in the world is afraid of the most vulnerable, what example does that set for some of the poorest, which have taken the responsibility of hosting hundreds of thousands of refugees, in some cases for decades?” said Joel Charny, USA Director of Norwegian Refugee Council.
"The consequences of the executive order will be profound. It's already upended countless lives, separating families and closing the door on necessary travel for work and school and dashing the dreams many refugees have for safety, security and a fresh start," added Charny, and continues:
"It's appalling to see families that have invested time and limited money to go through nearly two years of health and security screenings with the US resettlement program only to see their dreams come to dust. It's appalling to see those who translated for the United States left hung out to dry. It's appalling to see the chaos that has unfolded in light of this order in airports and border points across the United States. It’s clear that this has been a hurried and poorly conceived process with no clear directive to those expected to enforce this order."
The executive order mandates favouring persecuted religious minorities for future entry. In his own public statements President Trump has made it clear that this is code for choosing refugees based on their Christian faith. Religious bias undercuts the integrity of the process, which should be based on objective assessment of vulnerability across a range of criteria for refugee status, including persecution for reasons of race, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group, in addition to religion.
An especially perverse consequence of the new policy is denying entry to Iraqi interpreters and other support personnel who risked their lives for the American war effort in their country and are under constant risk for their assistance to the United States. Equally cruel is the singling out of Syrians for indefinite ban, people who have been under assault by all parties to that vicious conflict since 2011. Syrians are the largest refugee population in the world, and among the most desperate, yet they are no longer welcome to the U.S.
The Norwegian Refugee Council makes the following recommendations as the new policy is implemented:
- Congress should take immediate steps to overturn the executive order or at the very least correct its more problematic components by barring discrimination in keeping with previous legislation.
- Refugees already fully vetted and waiting for transportation should be allowed to enter the United States, with particular focus on family reunification cases and cases of special vulnerability and distress.
- The review of the refugee vetting process should proceed in an open and transparent manner, with the public release of the findings as the review proceeds.
- Upon completion of the review and the institution of new procedures as required, the resettlement goal for 2017 should be restored to 110,000 given the new confidence in the vetting process.
- The ban on Syrian refugees should be lifted immediately.
- The program should be predicated on objective analysis of vulnerability. If the administration continues to insist on favouring persecuted religious minorities, then the policy must be applied equitably, allowing persecuted Muslims such as Rohingya refugees from Myanmar to qualify for the protection offered by the resettlement program.
