[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 105 (Tuesday, June 21, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3017-S3018]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         WORLD REFUGEE DAY 2022

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, on June 20, yesterday, we commemorated 
World Refugee Day. It is an important reminder that we have to 
rededicate ourselves to a cornerstone of our Nation's founding: 
providing refuge to the persecuted and oppressed.
  Since the days of the earliest European settlers, America has 
provided safe harbor to waves of refugees throughout our history. Many 
Americans today can trace their ancestry back to refugees who fled 
their homelands seeking freedom and security. Welcoming refugees is not 
just something America does; it is who we always have been.
  Americans have put this long tradition of welcoming refugees on full 
display in recent months. After the withdrawal from Afghanistan, 
Americans across the political spectrum opened their hearts, homes, and 
wallets to Afghans fleeing the Taliban's ruthless rule. To date, 
American families have helped to welcome nearly 80,000 vulnerable 
Afghans into the United States, giving them a fresh start. As a 
Vermonter, I am proud that our small State joined this cause and 
volunteered to welcome and resettle 100 refugees--100 Afghan refugees.
  Now, when Russia shocked the world and invaded Ukraine, Americans of 
all walks of life yet again stepped up to assist Ukrainians fleeing 
violence and destruction. Already, tens of thousands of Americans have 
volunteered to serve as private sponsors for arriving Ukrainian 
refugees. In fact, a Gallup poll from April confirmed that nearly 80 
percent of Americans support resettling 100,000 Ukrainian refugees in 
the United States. That happens to be a central goal of the Biden 
administration, the Uniting for Ukraine initiative.
  The deep and broad support for refugees among the American people 
has, for many years, been reflected in the Halls of Congress. I 
strongly supported

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the 1980 Refugee Act, the landmark law creating our modern U.S. Refugee 
Admissions Program and asylum system. That legislation was passed 
overwhelmingly in the House and here in the Senate unanimously. In the 
decades since, both parties have worked together to provide refuge to 
exiled Cubans, displaced Haitians, dissident Chinese, and many other 
refugee populations feeling persecution and tyranny.
  Most recently, as chairman of the Appropriations Committee, I worked 
again with Members of both parties to pass multibillion-dollar aid 
packages to fund our government's efforts to aid Afghan and Ukrainian 
refugees.
  So it should come as no surprise that both parties have more often 
than not worked together to support refugees seeking to begin anew in 
the United States. The over 3 million refugees who have resettled in 
the United States over the past several decades have enriched our 
country economically and culturally. Refugees are entrepreneurs and job 
creators. They are active and committed. They are members of our 
communities. They are our neighbors and friends. Our Nation's history 
has been defined by refugees, from Albert Einstein, to Madeleine 
Albright. Their stories and the stories of the millions of other 
refugees who come to our shores are the American way.
  Now, the Trump administration gave rise to a dark turn toward 
nativism and xenophobia, a jarring retreat from what has made America 
great. The hateful policies of the Trump administration, espoused first 
by the former President himself, aimed to demonize refugees and asylum 
seekers, to shut our doors to the persecuted and oppressed. These 
policies were shameful. They should be repudiated--repudiated 
forcefully by every Member of the Senate.
  Now, there is much more to be done to rebuild our Nation's capacity 
and welcome and resettle refugees. I will continue fighting to defend 
and support refugees in my remaining months in the Senate, just as I 
have throughout my Senate career.
  Today, though, I am hopeful. I see Vermonters coming together in aid 
of native Afghan and Ukrainian refugees over the past several months, 
and I am confident that America's highest ideals have not seen their 
last days. We, the American people, have not lost sight of our roots. 
We are still here, an imperfect but compassionate beacon of hope for 
the hopeless. We are still here, our torch held high.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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