President Trump says global religious freedom is a top priority, but some advocates worry his refugee policy is limiting entry into the United States for persecuted religious minorities.
United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres, left, and Vice President Mike Pence, right, listen as President Donald Trump speaks at an event on religious freedom during the United Nations General Assembly, Monday, Sept. 23, 2019, in New York.
The list of persecuted religious groups whose access to refugee admission has withered under Trump includes Christians in Iran, Syria, Pakistan, Myanmar and Sudan, as well as Iraqi Christians and Yazidis — whose mass slaughter and enslavement by the Islamic State wasTrump did not mention his looming decision on next year’s refugee ceiling$25 million in new funding for safeguarding religious freedom, including religious sites and artifacts, at a Monday event at the U.N.
“The genocide is still ongoing, and you wonder to yourself, is it all just talk,” Ibrahim said, adding that Yazidis “need to get a second chance in their freedom in their right to believe whatever they want to believe.” The State Department official declined to discuss the decision-making process regarding next year’s refugee ceiling, which involves input from the Pentagon and other agencies, but added that the administration would “continue to resettle the most vulnerable refugees, including those who have fled religious persecution,” and seek to provide that assistance “as close to their home countries as possible.
Nadine Maenza, vice chair of that commission and a Trump appointee, drew a direct link between promoting religious freedom worldwide and accepting persecuted worshippers seeking refugee status. Refugees seeking admission must undergo screenings by eight federal agencies as part of a process initiated outside the country that can take as long as two years. Applicants must have experienced persecution on one of five grounds, religion, race, nationality, political opinions, or membership in a social group.
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