Immigrant-ARC Responds to White House Refugee Data Showing US Falling Short on Promises

NEW YORK, NY (06/07/2022) (readMedia)-- The White House released data yesterday showing that for the month of May only 1,898 refugees were resettled in total, falling far short of President Biden's promise earlier this year to welcome upwards of 125,000 refugees from Ukraine by October.

In response, Immigrant ARC (I-ARC) issued the following statement:

"The latest data on refugee resettlement from the White House is just one more piece of evidence that our immigration system is out of sync with our values. While President Biden made the welcome announcement earlier this year that the U.S. would resettle 125,000 Ukrainian refugees by October, millions of whom are fleeing their homes, our immigration system is so broken and convoluted that last month only 77 Ukrainian refugees were resettled. We've made similar commitments to Cameroonians, Haitians, Afghans and many others who were fleeing violence, and many are still waiting for a path to safety in this country. The crisis in Ukraine must lead to new, more responsive immigration systems in our country, so we can fulfill our promise to protect and welcome the world's most vulnerable," said Camille Mackler, founder and Executive Director of I-ARC.

About I-ARC

Immigrant ARC is a collaborative of over 80 organizations and professional associations providing legal services to New York's immigrant communities throughout the State. Born out of the legal effort at JFK Airport during the Muslim Travel Ban in 2017, our mission is clear: to mobilize New York State's legal service providers by facilitating communication and information sharing to better support our immigrant communities; to organize and respond to issues as they arise by coordinating resources and fostering best practices among providers; and to resist and challenge anti-immigrant policies by shining a light on injustices and confronting inequalities faced by our communities in the legal system.