Cornyn, Padilla Disagree on Need to Change US Refugee Policy in Senate Hearing

Sens. Alex Padilla( D-California ) and John Cornyn( R-Texas ) concur on a significant portion of the official U.S. policy on refugees and resettlement, including the fact that the process is strict and closely monitors the applications of those requesting permission to remain in the country as refugees.

However, in their opening remarks at a Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, and Border Safety reading on March 22, the senators expressed disagreement on changes to U.S. refugee plan.

As the head of the committees, Padilla sees a need to change the country’s refugee laws and thinks that the United States needs to be more involved in the resettlement of refugees.

Even in the midst of the immigration issue on the southern border and the difficulty in tracking and apprehending those who have entered the country illegally, Cornyn, the rating member, believes that American refugee law is effective and does not require significant changes. He also argues that some nations should take on more of the burden of providing refugees with safe shelter.

Opening Arguments

In his opening remarks, Padilla, the son of Hispanic immigrants, stated that” it is our goal to have a creative discussion on the historical performance of America’s immigrant program, and what we can and should be doing to boost the system going into the future.”

Padilla outlined the importance and basic nature of migrants in America. Additionally, he mentioned how Democrats and Republicans have successfully collaborated on migrant law and policy.

He claimed that the U.S. migrant system was severely curtailed under the previous administration of Donald Trump, and that while the Biden administration has made efforts to restore it to its former strength, more work still needs to be done.

According to Padilla, the Immigration and Nationality Acts of 1952 and 1980, which collectively established a continuous basis for immigrants to be resettled each year, gave rise to the modern U.S. immigrant system. ” In the 1980s and 1990s, the number of refugees admitted into the United States on an annual basis very certainly fell below 61, 000, and in truth reached its highest level in 1980.”

That proportion has changed recently, he said, between 56 000 and 85 000.

Padilla cited how those numbers dramatically decreased during the Trump administration, with fewer than 12,000 migrants being relocated during his last years in office.

In order to have a reading in the Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, and Border Safety on how the United States could use its immigrant plan to support and help Hong Kong in its transition toward democracy, Cornyn highlighted work he had done with Sen. Dick Durbin( D-Ill) chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee in two years prior.

The Uyghurs, a Chinese ethnic minority— the majority of whom are Muslims — are being persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party. Cornyn added that he joined with several senators from both parties to advise the secretary of state to grant priority refugee status to them.

According to Cornyn, China’s concentration camps are home to nearly 1 million Uyghurs.

” America should carry on its tradition of welcoming refugees and resettling those who are escaping persecution.” In his first year in office, President Ronald Reagan declared,” More than any other nation, our strength comes from our own immigrant heritage, in our capacity to welcome those from other lands ,” according to Cornyn. Nevertheless, he continued,” No independent and prosperous society by itself can handle all those who seek a better career or flee persecution. This obligation may be shared by many nations.