On Jan. 27, President Trump halted the resettlement of refugees to the United States for (at least) 120 days, and cut the 2017 refugee resettlement program by half – if it ever resumes. With a stroke of the pen, he turned his back on some of the world’s neediest, and most deserving, people.
President Trump, I am assuming, has never visited a refugee camp. Empathy not being one of his defining characteristics, he probably cannot imagine what it is like to live in one. But as president, he ought to be aware that resettled refugees are already the most carefully scrutinized entrants to the United States. I know this from experience.
I worked for the U.N.’s refugee agency, UNHCR, for 32 years, running large refugee programs. Candidates for resettlement are first screened by UNHCR. A select few are referred to the U.S. for possible resettlement. American officials interview them, sometimes multiple times, to decide if they meet the very restrictive U.S. eligibility criteria. If so, these refugees move on to security screening by a multitude of U.S. agencies and finally, medical screening. The process can take years.
Only a handful of the world’s refugees get a chance to resettle in the United States. They are already subject to rigorous vetting. To slam the door on them is cruel and unnecessary. If you can imagine how it feels to be a refugee, I appeal to you to stand up and be counted. We need to show the Trump administration that we care.
JUDITH KUMIN
Hopkinton