[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 105 (Tuesday, June 23, 2026)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E603-E604]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     RECOGNIZING WORLD REFUGEE DAY

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. GWEN MOORE

                              of wisconsin

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 23, 2026

  Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize World 
Refugee Day, which takes place on June 20 of each year, where we 
recognize the strength and resilience of those who have been displaced 
from their homes because of war or persecution.
  On July 28, 2026, we will commemorate the 75th anniversary of the 
adoption of the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, the 
landmark international agreement that defined the term ``refugee'' as 
an individual who has been forced to flee their home country and is 
unable to return due to a well-founded fear of persecution based on 
race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group 
and/or political opinion. The Convention also established the principle 
that nations should not forcibly return people to situations where they 
face harm.
  Today, there are an estimated 117 million displaced people who had 
been forced from their homes worldwide, including more than 41.6 
million refugees (over 30 percent of whom are children) and 9 million 
asylum seekers. Fewer than 1 percent of refugees are ever resettled.
  Sadly, as we celebrate this day, the number of refugees globally is 
only increasing. It has been estimated that about 2.4 million refugees 
worldwide will require resettlement in 2027 because they remain at risk 
in the countries where they currently live and cannot safely return 
home. I recently had one young woman come into my office who lived 17 
years in a refugee camp. She grew up with such uncertainty but now has 
been resettled in our country and ready to contribute to our society 
and community.
  My home state of Wisconsin has benefitted from refugees. This 
includes the Hmong who fought as our allies during the Vietnam era and 
who fled persecution and death to come to the United States as refugees 
to start a new life after the war. What would have happened to them if 
our Nation closed its doors?
  But it is not just the Hmong. Wisconsin has opened its doors to our 
neighbors from many other countries. Since 1975, Wisconsin has provided 
a home to over 50 different groups of refugees who have contributed to 
our communities in all sorts of ways from cultural to economical. 
Refugees help Wisconsin's economy by actively participating in the 
workforce, paying taxes, starting businesses, buying homes, and 
becoming U.S. citizens.
  Yet, as we commemorate World Refugee Day, refugees remain under 
siege.
  The Trump administration is going after refugees and asylum seekers 
even though refugees are one of the most closely scrutinized and vetted 
groups that come to our country.
  Yet, the Trump Administration has put a needless and harmful pause on 
the U.S. refugee program. A pause that is nearing two years for many 
individuals who have already lived decades in limbo. That decision 
canceled flights oversight for who were hours away from being able to 
finally rebuild their lives in our Nation. And that is just one of many 
actions that have effectively closed our Nation's doors to most 
refugees.
  These policies do not make our Nation any safer and put at risk the 
lives and well-being of refugees fleeing violence and persecution, 
including Iranians, Afghans, Burmese Rohingya, Sudanese and Somalis, 
among many others.
  Refugees contribute greatly to our communities. Our own laws, such as 
the Refugee Act of 1980, recognize the historic policy of the United 
States to respond to the urgent needs of persons subject to persecution 
in their homelands, including, where appropriate, humanitarian 
assistance for their care and maintenance, efforts to promote 
opportunities for resettlement or voluntary repatriation, admission to 
this country of refugees of special humanitarian concern to the United 
States, and transitional assistance to refugees in the United States.

[[Page E604]]

  On this World Refugee Day, let us recommit to keep supporting the 
safety, health, and well being of refugees and asylum seekers fleeing 
war, persecution, or torture and welcome them, not turn a blind eye.
  The search for protection, peace, hope, and religious and political 
freedom is what spawned our own Nation whose 250th birthday we will 
soon be celebrating.
  As we celebrate World Refugee Day this year, let us honor the 
strength of those who have been forced to flee their homes with no safe 
way back and support a future where everyone is given the opportunity 
to thrive, no matter where they come from.

                          ____________________