New York State Senator Sean Ryan and Assemblymember Jon Rivera are two of 385 elected officials that are calling for President Joe Biden to beef up the number of refugees allowed into the US, thus honoring his initial commitment. In 2022, the US is on pace to settle fewer than 25,000 refugees – a far cry from the 125,000 cap that was originally announced by the Biden administration. Ryan and Rivera are hoping that the country, and NYS, can get back on track, by boosting the numbers in 2023.
Thanks to the creation of the New York State Enhanced Services to Refugees Program in 2017, cities in Upstate New York have been able to maintain much of the service infrastructure for refugees, which means that there is room to accommodate more people who are fleeing their war torn home countries. This year’s state budget delivered a record $6 million in funding for the program.
Ryan and Rivera feel that the refugee resettlement programs offer a win-win for the fleeing refugees as well as their host cities. Relatively large refugee communities have settled in neighborhoods such as Buffalo’s West Side, which have greatly enhanced the diversity of the city, helped to increase census numbers, and brought about a wide range of cultural amenities that have contributed to the revitalization of the city as a whole.
“Welcoming people displaced from their homes is a moral imperative for a nation whose strength stems from its diversity,” said Senator Sean Ryan, who, along with Rivera, sent a letter urging President Joe Biden to provide the resources needed to restore the United States’ refugee resettlement infrastructure and allow the nation to resettle more refugees in 2023. “But not only that – here in Buffalo and throughout New York, the economic contributions of immigrants and refugees provide enormous economic benefits. President Biden’s commitment to restoring refugee admissions was an important first step after the restrictive policies put in place by the previous administration, but the incremental progress of 2022 has left more work to do. There are still millions of people in need of resettlement services, and it is vital that we follow through with the support required to reach the goals the President put in place.”
Both Ryan and Rivera feel that Biden should be doing more to address the situation at hand, by restoring the refugee resettlement infrastructure and allowing the nation to resettle more refugees in 2023.
“The previous federal administration eviscerated refugee resettlement structures and caused long-term damage to refugee populations across the nation by enacting enormous cuts to refugee admissions,” said Assemblymember Jon D. Rivera. “While New York has been proactive in ensuring that refugee agencies are sufficiently funded, more must be done at the federal level to restore our nation’s resettlement program so that it has both the resources and flexibility to respond to humanitarian crises when they arise.”
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