Posted: April 21, 2021
VICTORY UPDATE 05-03-2021: Thanks largely to pressure from faith groups, the White House has reversed course and announced that it will keep President Biden's promise after all, fully raising the refugee cap to 125,000/year! Though belated, we applaud this bold, moral decision.
Read the White House announcement here
[Original petition text] As a candidate, Joe Biden pledged to welcome 125,000 refugees a year. As president, he began to break that sacred promise, signing an April decree that kept Trump's historically low cap of just 15,000 refugees, then reversing it only under pressure.
The backlash against Biden's betrayal was fierce, swift, and deserved -- especially from faith-based refugee resettlement agencies like Church World Service, World Vision, and the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service.
So far, the pressure is working. Within hours, the Washington Post declared, "Biden reverses course on refugee cap after faith groups express outrage."
The good news is the White House now says Biden will increase the refugee cap in May. The bad news is they're remaining mum about whether that increase will be to a full 125,000, or if Biden still plans to leave tens of thousands of refugees out in the cold.
Biden's decree was the result of political attacks from the right, which means we can't let up on our counter-pressure for vulnerable refugees. Biden needs to hear from grassroots Christians who stand with the refugee resettlement agencies, demanding he stop the mixed signals and finally turn the page on Trump's xenophobic policies.
Sign the petition:
Love thy neighbor.