[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 103 (Wednesday, June 20, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4275-S4276]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           WORLD REFUGEE DAY

  Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, I rise today in honor of World Refugee 
Day and to express my deep concern over the Trump administration's 
systematic assault on refugees, asylum seekers, and the United States' 
refugee resettlement program.
  Manmade conflict, natural disasters, poverty, and violence have left 
the world in the midst of the largest refugee crisis in recorded 
history with over 25 million refugees worldwide. Tragically, less than 
1 percent of these individuals will ever be resettled to a third 
country.
  The United States was built on the hopes and dreams of those fleeing 
persecution and oppression, those seeking better lives for themselves 
and their families. The values and moral compass that embraced these 
individuals and shone as a beacon of freedom have made this country 
great. In times of crisis, the United States traditionally asserted 
global leadership through these values that have made this country so 
successful. That leadership served as an important uniting and 
motivating voice in the face of tremendous international challenges.
  Unfortunately, instead of asserting moral and strategic leadership, 
the Trump administration has chosen to retreat. The President has 
traded in our proud tradition of lifting up the most vulnerable for an 
agenda of degrading and insulting those who seek our support. Starting 
with his assertion that Mexicans are ``rapists'' and ``drug dealers,'' 
this President has spent his tenure as our Nation's leader attacking 
America's immigrant and refugee communities. The President said he 
wanted to protect Dreamers; yet he abruptly ended the DACA program 
throwing the lives of 800,000 people into great uncertainty. He imposed 
a slap-dash Muslim ban that has been repeatedly struck down by the 
courts. He has slowed refugee admissions to a trickle, closing 
America's doors to some of the most vulnerable people on the planet, 
reducing America's global leadership standing.
  Driven by vitriolic voices, the President and the Attorney General 
together have worked to effectively destroy the refugee resettlement 
program, which traditionally received broad bipartisan support. Last 
September, the President decreed that the number of refugees to be 
admitted in

[[Page S4276]]

fiscal year 2018 should be 45,000--half of the historic average. Even 
more concerning, it is now clear that this administration is further 
rigging the admissions program to ensure that only a fraction of that 
number of people will be allowed in. In the first quarter of 2018, just 
6,704 refugees were resettled, compared to 25,671 in 2017 and 13,791 in 
2016.
  The U.S. Refugee Resettlement Program--and the faith groups, 
organizations, families and individuals that assist it--supports the 
most vulnerable. These are the victims of torture, people with urgent 
medical needs, and desperate women and children. They are not safe in 
their home country. They have gone through extensive multiagency 
vetting before even reaching the United States. We are witnessing the 
intentional dismantling of a program that has helped the world's most 
defenseless, built our leadership abroad and here at home helped create 
thriving, diverse communities across the country, including in places 
like Camden and Elizabeth in my home State of New Jersey.
  Despite its effort to prove the opposite by commissioning a study by 
the Department of Health and Human Services, the administration's own 
report found that refugees have had a net positive economic impact in 
the United States over the past decade. The study concluded that 
between 2005 and 2014, refugees ``contributed an estimated $269.1 
billion in revenues to all levels of government'' and estimated the net 
positive fiscal impact of refugees over the 10-year period to be $63 
billion.
  Alarming and horrifically, we have witnessed the administration's 
callous and misguided approach to migrants and refugees most recently 
on our southern border. American citizens and people around the world 
have watched in horror as U.S. officials are forcibly pulling babies 
and children out of their parents' arms, tearing families apart, and 
using preposterous defenses for their actions. This is not the United 
States I know. This is not the United States that has stood as a 
champion for the rule of law and human rights.
  The President has blamed those fleeing persecution. He has blamed 
Democrats. He has taken no responsibility. His tweets have only gotten 
more hysterical. His repeated demands for a ridiculous wall are not a 
solution and only further fuel negative perceptions of the United 
States.
  The party of ``family values'' has become the part of ``family 
separation.'' This ``policy'' is not required by U.S. law. This is a 
choice that this administration has made. It was a policy choice to 
charge asylum seekers in criminal court with illegal entry. In essence, 
it seems that President Trump and Attorney General Sessions want to 
turn every asylum seeker into a criminal and every child into a foster 
child.
  It is easy to be distracted by the President's tweets and outlandish 
statements. The palace intrigue coming from the White House provide 
endless fodder for the talking heads on TV, but we cannot lose focus on 
the real harms being done to our fellow human beings and to our global 
standing.
  On this World Refugee Day, let us come together and remember that 
part what makes America great is our open doors that have welcomed 
people from all over the world. We have been a shining city on a hill; 
a beacon of light and hope. Since 2001, the United States has settled 
nearly a million refugees. They are our friends, our neighbors, our 
coworkers. They sit next to your kid in school, and someday, they may 
grow up to be a Secretary of State like Madeleine Albright.
  What kind of a country do we want to be? A country where we rip 
children from their parents? A country that keeps out refugees because 
of their religion? I have seen a quote posted on Twitter, pasted on 
signs at rallies, even on a church bulletin board--I don't know who 
said it first--but it bears repeating here: ``Rather than a wall, 
America needs to build a giant mirror to reflect on what we've 
become.''

                          ____________________