Ranking Members Padilla, Durbin, Raskin, Jayapal Statement on Trump Administration’s Failure to Comply with Law Requiring Congressional Consultation on Refugee Admissions

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Immigration Subcommittee, Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Representative Jamie Raskin (D-Md.-08), Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, and Representative Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.-07), Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement, issued the following statement in response to the Trump Administration's blatant violation of federal law in refusing to consult Congress on refugee admissions:

"The Administration is required by law to formally consult with the House and Senate Judiciary Committees regarding the number and types of refugees they intend to admit in the coming year. The deadline for this consultation was today. In open defiance of the law, the Trump Administration has failed to schedule the legally required consultation.

"Despite repeated outreach from Democratic and Republican Committee staff, the Trump Administration has completely discarded its legal obligation, leaving Congress in the dark and refugees in limbo.

"The consequences are dire. The Administration has already frozen the U.S.'s Refugee Admissions Program, a program that for decades has been a beacon of hope to people fleeing persecution and violence. What began as a so-called 'suspension' has now stretched into an eight-month shutdown, betraying the nation's promise as a refuge for the oppressed.

"Nearly 130,000 people facing persecution abroad who have already passed the rigorous vetting requirements of our refugee program have been abandoned by this Administration, left to languish in refugee camps around the world after being given the promise of safety and a new life in America. Meanwhile, President Trump is carving out exceptions for white South African farmers, allowing Afrikaners to skip the line and rigorous vetting as countless others are shut out of the U.S.

"We call on the Administration to immediately schedule the legally mandated consultation and restore the nation's refugee admissions program without further unlawful delay and obstruction."

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