VOA慢速英语2021--拜登将难民接收上限重新设为62500人

President Joe Biden officially raised the nation's cap on refugee admissions to 62,500 this year. The action came weeks after Biden faced criticism for his delay in removing the record-low limit set by former President Donald Trump¹.

Refugee resettlement agencies have waited for Biden to increase the number of refugees permitted into the United States since February 12. That was the day he sent a presidential proposal to Congress saying he planned to do so.

But the presidential proposal went unsigned until Monday. Biden said that before he could sign the plan, he needed to change narrow rules put in place by Trump that had kept out most refugees.

After making the changes, Biden kept in Trump's cap of 15,000 refugees per year. He explained that the limit remained "justified² by humanitarian³ concerns" and was "in the national interest."

That brought strong criticism. The number two Senate Democrat⁴, Dick Durbin of Illinois, called the cap "unacceptable." Within hours, the White House changed the decision. It promised to increase the cap by May 15. It added, however, that it would not meet the 62,500 number the president had promised earlier. In the end, however, Biden said he received additional information that led him to return to that number.

"It is important to take this action today to remove any lingering doubt in the minds of refugees around the world who have suffered so much," Biden stated before signing it.

He said Trump's cap did not represent "America's values as a nation that welcomes and supports refugees."

He also said it was a "sad truth" that the U.S. would not meet the number by the end of the fiscal⁵ year in September. That is because of the COVID-19 pandemic and limitations on the country's ability to resettle refugees. He blamed the limitations on the Trump administration's policies.

The White House said it was unable to act until now because of the difficulties at the border as young migrants from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras continue arriving in large numbers. Supporters of an increase in the number of refugees, including Durbin, accused Biden of playing politics.

The number of refugees is expected to be expanded to 125,000 for 2022. Only about 2,000 refugees have been resettled in the U.S. since October 1, 2020.

Refugee resettlement agencies praised Biden's actions.

Krish O'Mara Vignarajah is the head of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, one of nine resettlement agencies in the U.S. She said her organization is pleased, as are "families all across the world who look to the U.S. for protection."

The United States, she added, is returning to worldwide "humanitarian leadership."

Biden also ended Trump's restrictions⁶ on resettlements from Somalia, Syria and Yemen.

About 35,000 refugees have been approved to enter the United States, with 100,000 others still waiting to be cleared.

Words in This Story

cap – n. a limit placed on the amount of something

linger – v. to stay for a long time

doubt – n. a feeling of uncertainty⁷ about something

fiscal year – adj. a period of twelve months chosen by a government or business for the purpose of managing its money

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 justified   

a.正当的，有理的

参考例句：

• She felt fully justified in asking for her money back. 她认为有充分的理由要求退款。
• The prisoner has certainly justified his claims by his actions. 那个囚犯确实已用自己的行动表明他的要求是正当的。

3 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

4 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

5 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

6 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

7 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。