FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 9, 2020
PRESS CONTACT
Henrike Dessaules
hdessaules@refugeerights.org
516.838.1269
AFTER ELECTION RESULTS, IRAP CALLS ON PRESIDENT-ELECT JOE BIDEN TO RESTORE PROTECTIONS FOR DISPLACED PEOPLE
(New York, NY) – In response to the election of Joe Biden as the 46th President of the United States, Nisha Agarwal, Deputy Executive Director of the International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP), today issued the following statement:
“The Trump administration has caused great harm to refugee and immigrant families in need of safety around the globe and has done extraordinary damage to the refugee resettlement and asylum systems here in the United States. We are hopeful that the new administration will protect the rights of immigrants and refugees, and we call on them to follow through on their campaign promises, including their proposal to set an annual global refugee admissions target of 125,000 and work with Congress to establish a minimum admissions number of at least 95,000 refugees annually.
“We encourage the Biden administration to not only commit to returning to previous standards in refugee resettlement and the asylum process, but to actively work with the affected communities and advocates to improve the system and ensure that these programs will be stronger, fairer, and better protected from future xenophobic attacks. At IRAP, we have created a number of blueprints on how to accomplish that goal.
“We are excited to be working with the new administration and with bipartisan allies to make our vision a reality that everyone has a safe place to live and a safe way to get there.”