Utahns react to executive order on refugee cuts
By Emma Wills
On October 1, the Trump Administration lowered the refugee cap to 18,000 refugees. This is the third time President Trump has scaled back on the number of refugees entering the country. The first was lowered to 30,000 upon claiming office. Compared to Barack Obama’s policy that allowed 11,000-45,000 refugees, this is significantly lower. Then in 2018, President Trump lowered the cap to 23,000 refugees.
The new criteria for the refugee program reached a record-breaking low since the advent of the national program in 1980.
The US is now accepting 5,000 religiously persecuted refugees, 4,000 Iraq refugees with US military experience, and 1,500 refugee executively from Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras. The enacted plan leaves 7,500 available slots for other refugees, though President Trump wants to prioritize crises closer to American soil rather than from across the world.
In Utah, the Trump Administration’s immigration and refugee policies led to a 72% decrease in resettled refugees, and a lot of elected officials disagreed with the president’s decision. Governor Gary Herbert wrote a letter to President Trump asking him to let Utah accept more international refugees. According to the Utah Department of Health’s statistics, the state’s refugee entrance lowered from 1,553 to 519 people between 2016 to 2018.
“In Utah we still have about 65,000 refugees, so our program was able to stay running, but it is hard to say what the future holds,” says Halima Hussein, the women’s refugee coordinator for Refugee Services Office.
For the past 15 years, Ms. Hussein has seen firsthand how presidential administrations have impacted refugees and communities in the Salt Lake. But President Trump's recent decisions were especially concerning to her.
“It is very hard for the people wanting to come here still. There are a lot of people who will not settle because there is no country for them to go to.”
Upon hearing the news, Ms. Hussein recalls feeling really sad. “I was hoping things would change immediately.”
The cuts had a huge backlash. Some Americans are getting involved and speaking out against the current policies. An organization called We Are All America hosted an event in Salt Lake City protesting in coordination with other cities around the country to fight for the refugees' behalf.
Ms. Hussein encourages the youth to get involved too.
“Students should call their representatives, go to the Capitol to have conversations about the refugees, and vote for people who care about these issues,” Ms. Hussein said. “I also encourage students to get to know some refugee families to understand why they are here because it is also about religion, violence, oppression, war and the things that refugees must face when entering this country.”
