A plan to temporarily suspend the U.S. refugee resettlement program has alarmed human rights activists, who argue that the new measures could separate families, further endanger those fleeing conflict and discredit America's long legacy of providing safe harbor for the world's most vulnerable people.
Advocates for a more stringent immigration policy cheered the proposal being considered by President Donald Trump, saying he was making good on a campaign promise to stem immigration and reassess the country's access to refugees.
The proposed changes in the refugee program, included in a draft executive order obtained by the Los Angeles Times, would suspend refugee admissions from all countries for 120 days, bar migrants from war-torn Syria for the foreseeable future, and limit the total number of refugees allowed into America at 50,000 for fiscal year 2017, among other measures.
The draft describes the goal as "protecting the nation from terrorist attacks by foreign nationals."
"Taking a temporary pause in refugee admissions is a prudent and effective approach to ensuring that national security vetting is in place and working," David Ray, communications director for the Washington-based Federation for American Immigration Reform, said in an email. "Clearly, there's much less risk in focusing resources on settling refugees in nations closer to their homes in hopes of their safe return one day. For every dollar we spend on settling a refugee in the U.S., we could do $10 worth of good overseas."
But Margaret Huang, executive director of Amnesty International USA, was sharply critical. "It's going to have an enormous impact and unfortunately a very negative one," she said. It "essentially prohibits the resettlement of refugees who are in urgent need of safety and a place to rebuild their lives."
