Michael Doyle | Newsweek | February 11, 2021
President-elect Joe Biden will soon be inheriting a broken refugee resettlement system. As difficult as it is, addressing this global crisis will only be possible if he adds smart options that use labor visas to rescue refugees.
There are 26 million refugees and 4 million asylum seekers in the world today. Nearly half are below the age of 18. Housed in straitened circumstances in Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Kenya and Colombia; they have not been able to return home because the wars and persecution in their home countries – Syria, Myanmar, Afghanistan, Somalia, Honduras, Guatemala, Venezuela and more – have not ended. Shockingly, the average length of displacement as refugees exceeds 17 years. As the list of countries indicates, 85 percent of refugees are being cared for in poorer countries, not in wealthy Europe or the U.S. Only one third of 1 percent (63,726) were resettled globally to wealthier countries in 2019. This is simply not sustainable.
Originally published by Newsweek. Read more here.