The Trump Administration Has Found a Whole New Way to Make Refugees Miserable
The Trump administration is set to dramatically raise the hurdle for anyone fleeing war, famine, or natural disasters to enter the United States, according to State Department documents obtained by Reuters.
The heightened requirements are set to go into effect on Wednesday, as a previous 120-day moratorium on most refugees entering the country draws to a close. All refugees seeking to enter the country will now be required to provide phone, email and address information about anywhere they lived for more than thirty days, stretching back a decade—twice the previous timespan. The government will also begin collecting the personal data for a refugee’s entire family, and not simply those members with connections to the U.S. as is currently the case.
The changes come just under a month after the Trump administration capped the overall volume of refugees to be accepted into the United States at 45,000—an historic low. The White House simultaneously suppressed a report that found accepting refugees into the U.S. had resulted in contributions of more than $269 billion to city, state, and federal governments between 2005 and 2014.
In addition to the new requirements for all upcoming refugee applicants, the State Department document also mandates that those currently in the applicant pool who have been tagged for an increased security screening undergo the enhanced process. Per Reuters, that essentially means “most adult male nationals” from Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Mali, North Korea, Palestine, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen.