The US must support refugees or end policies perpetuating their misery

Over the last few weeks, there has been a flurry of legislative proposals in connection with the president’s supplemental funding request from October which linked aid to Israel and Ukraine with heightened border security measures. 

These proposals, each with varying degrees of harm, are both startling and revealing — shedding light on how many members of the U.S. government view certain vulnerable communities reeling from violence or persecution.

The first failed proposal included disastrous obstacles for those seeking asylum in the U.S. and would violate international human rights law. Its provisions would have made it much harder for asylum seekers to enter the country and, with billions of dollars for border security and immigration detention, the U.S. would have made it clear that people seeking safety are simply not wanted. It also prohibited funds to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) while providing an additional $14 billion to Israel. 

Another proposal that passed the Senate is in limbo in the House and is clean of border security provisions. 

A third aims to tighten border control and revive the Trump-era draconian migrant protection protocols known as “Remain in Mexico.” This would also violate U.S. and international law. Under the Trump administration, approximately 71,000 migrants and asylum-seekers were expelled and put in harm’s way under this policy. This third proposal does not include the prohibition of funds to UNRWA and is gaining favor among those who voted against the previous bills.

A framework released by the House New Democrat Coalition also calls for an increase in border security and increased resources to process asylum-seekers but does nothing to address the harm asylum-seekers currently face in light of the asylum ban.  

As negotiations between bad versus worse take place, two things are clear: Militarized policies are not going anywhere and marginalized communities, both at home and abroad, remain collateral damage.

While the Senate-passed bill is stripped of border provisions, that’s probably not how it will remain, and its harm still extends to vulnerable populations beyond U.S. borders. It allows the U.S. to assist Israel — notwithstanding that rhetoric has become more critical of Israel over time — unconditionally as it relentlessly bombs Gaza while blocking funds for UNRWA. 

Cuts to UNRWA come as Israel accused 12 out of 13,000 UNRWA staff members in Gaza of participating in the horrific attacks by Hamas on Oct. 7. The accusations led major donors, including the U.S., to immediately suspend funding to UNRWA. 

In response to the cuts, other countries increased their funding. UNRWA responded by promptly terminating nine employees, and two of the 12 accused are reported to be dead. The U.N. announced the formation of an independent investigation to assess UNRWA. 

The United Nations established UNRWA in 1949 to provide relief to Palestinian refugees. UNRWA offers direct services, including schools, primary health centers and various social services, to 6 million Palestinian refugees inside and outside of Palestine. 

Cuts to UNRWA will have a devastating and compounding impact on Palestinians; it provides “lifesaving” aid. Since Oct. 7, Israel has killed more than 27,000 Palestinians — mostly civilians, including over 150 UNRWA staff — and displaced approximately 1.7 million.

The Biden administration has already offered “unwavering” support to Israel and enacted restrictive border policies, including limiting access to asylum and reinstating a revised Remain in Mexico policy due to a court order. What is happening in Congress right now exposes how far we are as a nation from acting out of a sense of human rights and justice. This is no longer about political parties.

Nobody wants to become a refugee or to have to seek asylum. I understand this harsh reality firsthand: I am one. And I work at the Center for Victims of Torture, an organization that provides rehabilitative care to refugees and asylum seekers. We listen to our clients. We hear their stories of living through armed conflict and persecution, of dangers they faced during their perilous journey to reach safer shores. 

If any of these proposals become law, many people like our clients will never be safe. Americans’ tax dollars will facilitate more violence while perpetuating harm to people seeking safety in the U.S.

Despite two decades of war, countless lives lost and trillions spent, the U.S. seems to have overlooked the crucial lesson that militarism, in both domestic and foreign policy, is not the solution. At least not if the goal is for the U.S. to behave in practice like the rights-respecting democracy that it claims to be. 

Congress and the president have a choice: They can fund policies and practices that create more refugees and destroy more families and communities or work to protect them and maximize support for rebuilding their lives.

Yumna Rizvi is a senior policy analyst at the Center for Victims of Torture.