Omar leads letter calling on Biden to raise refugee cap

A group of House Democrats, led by Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) wrote to President Biden on Friday calling for him to formally raise the refugee cap to 62,500 after he has delayed the increase for weeks.

“Having fought for four years against the Trump Administration’s full-scale assault on refugee resettlement in the United States, we were relieved to see you commit to increasing our refugee resettlement numbers so early in your Administration. But until the Emergency Presidential Determination is finalized, our refugee policy remains unacceptably draconian and discriminatory,” Omar wrote in the letter, which was obtained by The Hill and also led by Reps. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.).

Omar, who came to the United States as a refugee when she was a child, warned that individuals facing persecution and fleeing violence and poverty must put their lives on hold indefinitely while waiting for Biden to formalize his decision to raise the cap, which was dropped to historic lows during the Trump administration. Some refugees were cleared for resettlement but have been in limbo while awaiting the change from Biden.