Wednesday, March 14, 2018

The State Departments new Appointee

There is new proof that the President may be trying to end the United States refugee resettlement program. He has appointed Andrew Veprek to fill the position of deputy assistant secretary in the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM). The article from POLITICO notes that Veprek has been known to harbor anti-immigrant views, which was made evident by his role in encouraging the Trump administration to not participate in international talks concerning migration issues.
His position prior to this appointment was a Foreign Service officer for the White House where he worked closely with Stephen Miller and the Domestic Policy Council. According to the article, Veprek "argued in favor of dramatically lowering the nation's annual cap on refugee admissions." (Toosi, Politico) Under this administration the number of refugee admissions has slowed to a crawl. The current cap on refugees that the U.S.is willing to accept is 45,000 per year, down from President Obama's commitment to accept 110,000 refugees annually. In justification for this decrease the current administration and its allies in Congress have portrayed refugees as being potential sources for terrorism. Those in opposition to this policy say that all refugees that are admitted to the U.S. are thoroughly screened first. Lastly by having an isolationist, populist foreign agenda, the United States is further complicating the problems that "65 million people who are displaced around the world because of war, famine, and other calamities" (Toosi, Politico) already face.

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/03/08/andrew-veprek-state-department-refugee-admissions-448210

   

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