难民国际(Refugees International)主席埃里克·P·施瓦茨(Eric P. Schwartz)说：“这是一个自豪和历史性的时刻。在人道需求巨大之际，欢迎难民不仅是道义上的必须，而且还推进美国国家安全，促进我国经济，丰富我们的社区，并显示我们愿意与其他政府共同努力来处理一些世界上最为复杂的问题。”
Statement by President Joe Biden on Refugee Admissions
Today, I am revising the United States’ annual refugee admissions cap to 62,500 for this fiscal year. This erases the historically low number set by the previous administration of 15,000, which did not reflect America’s values as a nation that welcomes and supports refugees. The new admissions cap will also reinforce efforts that are already underway to expand the United States’ capacity to admit refugees, so that we can reach the goal of 125,000 refugee admissions that I intend to set for the coming fiscal year.
It is important to take this action today to remove any lingering doubt in the minds of refugees around the world who have suffered so much, and who are anxiously waiting for their new lives to begin.
The United States Refugee Admissions Program embodies America’s commitment to protect the most vulnerable, and to stand as a beacon of liberty and refuge to the world. It’s a statement about who we are, and who we want to be. So we are going to rebuild what has been broken and push hard to complete the rigorous screening process for those refugees already in the pipeline for admission.
The sad truth is that we will not achieve 62,500 admissions this year. We are working quickly to undo the damage of the last four years. It will take some time, but that work is already underway. We have reopened the program to new refugees. And by changing the regional allocations last month, we have already increased the number of refugees ready for departure to the United States.
The budget that I have submitted to Congress also reflects my commitment to the goal of 125,000 refugee admissions in the first fiscal year of my presidency. That goal will still be hard to hit. We might not make it the first year. But we are going to use every tool available to help these fully-vetted refugees fleeing horrific conditions in their home countries. This will reassert American leadership and American values when it comes to refugee admissions.
美国总统乔·拜登(Joe Biden)改变了最初的决定，于星期一(5月3日)宣布把美国今年接纳难民的总人数翻两番。拜登最初曾决定维持前任做出的把美国每年收容难民人数上限降至历史低点的政策。
“我把本财年美国年度接受难民人数上限修改至62500人，” 拜登星期一下午在一项声明中说。“这取消了前届行政当局制定的15000人的历史低数字，那一数字并不反映美国作为一个国家欢迎并扶持难民的价值观。新的接受人数上限还将加强已在进行之中的扩展美国接受难民能力的努力，好让我们达到我打算为下一财年制定的接受125000名难民的目标。”
两个星期前，白宫曾宣布本财年的接受难民人数上限将维持在15000人，这是前总统唐纳德·特朗普(Donald Trump)制定的标准。拜登曾允诺，在他1月就任后将重大扩展难民收容项目，但是白宫却宣布了维持前任设置的上限的决定，这一举动引起了拜登在国会的一些民主党同仁以及难民权益倡导者的反弹。
白宫最初宣布那项决定时，在野的共和党人正抨击拜登未能妥善应对南部边境的移民潮。白宫官员已经承认，那项宣布是发出了错误的讯息。他们说，星期一宣布的决定重新强调接收难民事关美国国际地位的关键。
“今天采取这项行动具有重要意义，这是为了消除世界各地难民心目中残留的疑问，他们已经遭受了这么多的苦难，正在焦虑地盼望着开始新的生活，”拜登在他的声明中说。“悲哀的事实是，我们今年不会实现62500人的目标。我们正在迅速努力，修复过去四年来造成的破坏。这需要一些时间，但是那项努力已经在展开了。
在拜登宣布这项决定后不久，国务卿安东尼·布林肯(Antony Blinken)宣布：“向那些寻求庇护的人打开大门，这是我们国家DNA的一部分，而且以公平和体面方式对待那些申请这些项目的人，仍然符合我们的国家利益。”
难民国际(Refugees International)主席埃里克·P·施瓦茨(Eric P. Schwartz)说：“这是一个自豪和历史性的时刻。在人道需求巨大之际，欢迎难民不仅是道义上的必须，而且还推进美国国家安全，促进我国经济，丰富我们的社区，并显示我们愿意与其他政府共同努力来处理一些世界上最为复杂的问题。”
卡托研究所(Cato Institute)移民研究主任阿列克谢·诺拉斯克(Alex Nowrasteh)认为，虽然提高接纳难民上限值得欢迎，但“现实是，今年这个决定来得太迟，不会带来真正的影响”。他说：“难民机构已经不堪重负了，如果今年62500的人数上限有四分之一能够填满，我们就算幸运了。”
诺拉斯克对美国之音说：“有必要对难民系统进行系统性的改革、扩展和私有化，这样一来，未来像特朗普这样的行政当局就无法大笔一挥便斩掉一个这么重要的项目了。”
来自田纳西州的共和党众议员、众议院军事委员会成员斯科特·德加雷斯(Scott DesJarlais)提到，拜登上个月曾经承诺维持特朗普设置的人数上限。他说，拜登总统增加接受难民人数的决定，“直接威胁我们的国家安全和公共卫生安全”。
众议院最大的保守派党团共和党研究委员会(Republican Study Committee)反对拜登的这项举措。
共和党研究委员会在推特上说：“在我国出现20年所未见的非法移民潮之际，乔·拜登把难民上限提高了400%。让我们把话挑明：这种自我施加的危机绝对是故意的。”
特朗普在四年总统任期内削减了难民项目规模。难民项目与移民申请庇护系统是不同的。
“我们作为一个国家所能作的最强有力的事情就是以身作则发挥领导力，”外交政策为美国(Foreign Policy for America)执行主任安德鲁·艾伯森(Andrew Albertson)说。“今天拜登总统做出的宣布清楚地表明，美国已准备好再次发挥领导力。”
来自新泽西州的民主党参议员、参议院外交关系委员会主席鲍勃·梅嫩德斯(Bob Menendez)说，拜登宣布的决定“是延续我们通过重新安置而为难民提供保护的两党自豪传统的一项重要步骤”。
Statement by President Joe Biden on Refugee Admissions
Today, I am revising the United States’ annual refugee admissions cap to 62,500 for this fiscal year. This erases the historically low number set by the previous administration of 15,000, which did not reflect America’s values as a nation that welcomes and supports refugees. The new admissions cap will also reinforce efforts that are already underway to expand the United States’ capacity to admit refugees, so that we can reach the goal of 125,000 refugee admissions that I intend to set for the coming fiscal year.
It is important to take this action today to remove any lingering doubt in the minds of refugees around the world who have suffered so much, and who are anxiously waiting for their new lives to begin.
The United States Refugee Admissions Program embodies America’s commitment to protect the most vulnerable, and to stand as a beacon of liberty and refuge to the world. It’s a statement about who we are, and who we want to be. So we are going to rebuild what has been broken and push hard to complete the rigorous screening process for those refugees already in the pipeline for admission.
The sad truth is that we will not achieve 62,500 admissions this year. We are working quickly to undo the damage of the last four years. It will take some time, but that work is already underway. We have reopened the program to new refugees. And by changing the regional allocations last month, we have already increased the number of refugees ready for departure to the United States.
The budget that I have submitted to Congress also reflects my commitment to the goal of 125,000 refugee admissions in the first fiscal year of my presidency. That goal will still be hard to hit. We might not make it the first year. But we are going to use every tool available to help these fully-vetted refugees fleeing horrific conditions in their home countries. This will reassert American leadership and American values when it comes to refugee admissions.