Biden commits to 125,000 refugee immigrants

Legal immigration to return to earlier levels, but will require rebuilding of some institutions which help

Excerpt

Matthew Soerens, the director of church mobilization at World Relief, one of those resettlement agencies, said his group closed eight offices during the Trump administration. He said resettling 125,000 refugees during the remainder of fiscal year 2021 would likely be impossible, given the current infrastructure.

"We're really eager to rebuild and excited for the opportunity," Soerens told CBS News. "But we're also doing this as quickly as we can with limited resources. It's not going to be something that's going to be rebuilt overnight."

Resettlement agencies receive refugees when they arrive to the U.S. and help them with housing, finding employment, enrolling their children in schools and other matters to facilitate their integration into American communities.

Meredith Owen, the director of policy and advocacy at Church World Service, another resettlement agency, echoed Soerens' comments.

"We're going to need the Biden administration to really take concrete steps to rebuild the overseas and the domestic infrastructure to actually be able to resettle the number of refugees that we're hoping to over the next four years," Owen told CBS News, saying the processing of refugees should also be expedited.

The Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service closed or suspended services at 17 of its 48 resettlement offices during the past four years. While acknowledging the logistical challenges of ramping up refugee admissions, Krish Vignarajah, the group's president, highlighted the symbolism of Mr. Biden's commitment.

"Raising the ceiling will literally be life-saving for hundreds of thousands fleeing violence and persecution because of the color of their skin, how they worship or who they love," Vignarajah told CBS News.

See the whole story