Federal Policy

Voice for Refuge recognizes that the inclusion of refugee and immigrant voices in our federal political process strengthens our country. We must work towards policies that protect the dignity of refugees and the important right to seek asylum. 

The U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) was created in 1980 with strong bipartisan support that continues to this day. By definition, refugees are individuals who were persecuted because of their ethnicity, nationality, religion, political opinion, or social group. Resettlement is the last resort for those who can’t return to their home country or safely rebuild their lives nearby. Fewer than one percent of refugees will ever be resettled to one of 27 resettlement countries. 

Refugees are pillars of our communities, working hard, paying taxes, and creating jobs. During the COVID-19 crisis, many refugees are working on the frontlines and in essential jobs, including 176,000 working in health care and 175,000 in the food supply chain. We must ensure the policy reflects the ideals of the United States and protects immigrants and refugees’ right to justice, equity, and protection.

Take action now>>> Sign the petition to tell POTUS to support refugee resettlement

Voice for Refuge works to enact policies that recognize the dignity of refugees and the important role of refugee resettlement and access to asylum.

Our Federal Policy Impacts

+1200 signatures on our 2022 Afghan Adjustment Act Petition

100+ organizational partners joined our 2022 letter to the Biden Administration

Joined hundreds of organizations in 2021 and 2022 urging for a Presidential Determination goal of 125,000 refugees/year

Our scorecards ranking 535 members of congress on their support for Afghan resettlement and SIV applicants

Our Federal Policy Positions

The Right to Seek Asylum
The right to asylum is a critical right that is currently being undermined at the Federal level. The right to seek asylum grants any person the right to seek safety and make their case for protection from fear of persecution. Asylum is explicitly guaranteed not only by the United States, but also by international law. Any ban or policy that seeks to curtail this right to plead one’s case and apply for permanent protection would be in violation of this guarantee and impact those most vulnerable who are fleeing persecution. It is crucial that the United States maintains policies that protect those arriving at our borders, regardless of what journey they have taken to get there. We must continue to provide safe pathways for protection for all those fleeing life-threatening situations and for their families as well.
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Afghan Resettlement and the Afghan Adjustment Act
While Voice for Refuge applauds the Biden Administration for taking critical steps to allowing many at-risk Afghans a pathway to permanent residency, it is not expansive enough to protect the thousands of Afghan partners still seeking safety. We acknowledge the crucial first action in upholding the promise to Afghans fleeing persecution, the administration must continue to expand refugee and SIV processing, establish a designated parole program for Afghans, and continue to create safe pathways to life in the United States for those still left behind. This is why we will continue to urge Congress and Biden to support the text of the Bipartisan, Bicameral Afghan Adjustment Act that was introduced in Congress in 2022.
Read Our Full Statement
The Presidential Determination Goal
Voice for Refuge applauds the Biden Administration’s goal of setting the refugee resettlement admissions to 125,000. However, the United States must continue to meet the current humanitarian needs of this era. Voice for Refuge urges the administration to continue to welcome refugees and provide asylum, but more pathways of protection are necessary. Asylum protections must be prioritized, expulsion of immigrants arriving at our borders must end, and we must pass federal protections for resettled groups, such as the Afghan Adjustment Act. Refugees and immigrants form a core part of our communities' fabrics and their voices must be protected and represented. The United States must continue to use our resources to provide protections that we are capable of as we have shown we are in the past.
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The Disproportionate Response to Ukraine versus other Global Crises
As the United States has welcomed thousands of thousands of refugees from Ukraine, individuals from Africa, the Caribbean, Central and South America, and the Middle East have continued to be turned away and in some cases, sent back to violent and unstable home countries. We must protect all of those whom we have promised safety to and continue to uphold the United States ideals of welcome for all.
Read our Sign-On Letter
Robust Resettlement Funding
Voice for Refuge supports robust FY 2024 funding to the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program. We call on Congress to work with advocates to appropriately fund Refugee and Entrant Assistance (REA) to the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) to provide critical initial investments in the long-term integration and economic success of refugees and asylees rebuilding their lives. Congress should also allocate necessary funds to support Migration and Refugee Assistance (MRA) to the State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM) to help ensure that families fleeing violence and persecution can find both temporary protection in the countries where they seek refuge and long term durable solutions including voluntary repatriation back to their home country, integration into a host country, and third-country resettlement when the first two solutions are not viable. Robust funding is also needed for humanitarian protection, including for forcibly displaced people, refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced people and stateless individuals, and those fleeing conflict, natural disasters, and the negative impacts of climate change.
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