Mercy Corps Statement in Response to U.S. Administration's Reduced Refugee Admission Decision

PORTLAND, Ore. — In response to the Trump Administration's decision to reduce refugee admissions to the US to 18,000 in the coming year, Mercy Corps' Vice President for Policy and Research, Dafna Rand, issued the following statement:

Mercy Corps is deeply concerned by the Administration’s decision to cut refugee admissions to 18,000 — a 50% reduction — for the coming year. This decision undermines U.S.leadership globally, as well as our responsibility to protect the world’s most vulnerable people. Today, 70.8 million people have been displaced from their homes, including nearly 26 million refugees, which is the highest level since after World War II.

At Mercy Corps, we work with governments and communities around the world, from Colombia to Jordan, who are generously offering their homes, their schools, their hospitals and their generosity to refugees. The U.S. administration’s decision to further reduce its openness to refugees sends a dangerous signal, suggesting that America expects other nations to show generosity while the United States retreats from its obligations.