This text discusses the contrasting approaches to refugee resettlement in the United States under different presidential administrations, specifically focusing on the experiences of liberian refugees. Here’s a breakdown of the key points:
1.The Obama Management:
Initial Growth: Refugee resettlement saw steady growth.
Challenges: Security checks were increased, and some human rights groups assisting refugees lost federal funding and had to close.
2. The Biden Administration:
Significant Growth: Resettlement grew steadily, even during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Increased Funding: Funding for refugee and resettlement networks tripled.
New Initiatives: experiments like allowing individuals to sponsor refugees were launched.
Ambitious Target: Biden left a target of 125,000 admissions for 2025, which was expected to be honored by Kamala Harris.
3. The Trump Administration:
Immediate Ban: Upon taking office, Trump banned all refugee resettlement.
Canceled Flights: 10,000 refugees who had completed security screenings had their flights canceled.
Suspended Contracts: Contracts with resettlement agencies were suspended.
Justification: Trump cited the need to protect Americans from “disastrous effects of unlawful mass migration and resettlement,” and characterized immigrants as “illegal aliens,” “potential terrorists,” and “hostile actors.”
4. The Liberian Refugee Experience:
Integration: Liberians who arrived in 2003 have become lawful citizens, worked, and paid taxes.
Bureaucratic Hurdles: Some faced long and difficult processes to gain citizenship, like Ibrahim who battled for fifteen years due to his surname appearing on a terrorist list.
Affiliation with the US: Liberia has ancient ties to the US (founded for freed slaves,capital named after a US president),and the US has the largest Liberian diaspora.
Rejection of Trump’s Rhetoric: liberians strongly object to Trump’s derogatory remarks about African countries and people, emphasizing their gratitude and lack of “malicious intent.”
The Nature of refugees: The text highlights that no one chooses to be a refugee; it’s a result of persecution and despair.
Renewed Unease: Despite years of citizenship, a new sense of unease has settled upon them due to current policies.
Vulnerability of Imperfect Papers: individuals with imperfect papers or uncertain claims, like Sherif (whose children’s birthright citizenship is threatened) and Mateny (who wants to bring his wife), face anxiety and consider hiding.
Abandoning Tradition: The text argues that the US,a nation built by immigrants and refugees,is abandoning its tradition of welcoming the oppressed under Trump’s “spirit of xenophobia and racism.”
* Future Outlook: The author believes that the “great American dream” embodied by individuals like Ibrahim, Mateny, and Musa will not be accessible for the foreseeable future.
In essence, the text contrasts the welcoming and supportive policies of the biden administration with the restrictive and xenophobic policies of the Trump administration, using the experiences of Liberian refugees as a poignant example of the human impact of these political shifts. It emphasizes the historical role of refugees in building America and laments the perceived abandonment of this tradition.
