New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez Joins Nationwide, Bipartisan Effort to Reinstate the U.S. Refugee Resettlement Program

New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez joined national leaders for a virtual press conference urging the Trump administration to immediately restart the U.S. Refugee Resettlement Program. AG Torrez is part of a bipartisan coalition of more than 300 state and local elected officials calling for renewed resettlement efforts after the administration’s executive order indefinitely suspended the program in its first days.

The press conference came just one day after the Trump administration’s deadline to provide an administration report on future resettlement as the court requires action to process tens of thousands of conditionally approved refugees. The report, which was due Sunday, April 20, does not appear to have been published.

“As a nation, we’ve been fortunate to have immense power and resources. But true greatness isn’t measured by how we serve ourselves—it’s measured by how we use that power to uplift others,” said Attorney General Raúl Torrez. “One of the most enduring ideals of the American spirit is generosity, and that ideal is reflected in the broad support for reinstating the refugee program. It calls on us to treat others with the compassion we would hope for if we were fleeing war, famine, or disease in a foreign land.”

In March, AG Torrez signed a letter to Secretary Marco Rubio demanding that the U.S. Refugee Resettlement Program be reinstated after the Trump administration indefinitely suspended it. Joining AG Torrez on the call was a collection of leaders throughout the country including President and CEO of Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS) Mark Hetfield, Mayor of Pittsburgh Ed Gainey, Refugee Congress Delegate for Washington, D.C. Aisha Koroma, Founder and President of #AfghanEvac Shawn Van Diver, President and CEO of the Erie Chamber of Commerce Brandon Mendoza and Reverend Noel Anderson of the CWS/United Church of Christ.

AG Torrez continued, “We are strongest when we live by our core values. Standing up for the rights of refugees isn’t just the right thing to do—it’s part of what defines us as a nation and should guide both our foreign and domestic policy.”

The Refugee Resettlement Program (RRP) is a federally funded program, through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). The purpose of RRP is to ensure the effective resettlement of refugees in the State of New Mexico through programs designed to meet one or more of the State’s three major goals:

1. To provide for the effective resettlement of refugees within the shortest possible time, after entrance into the State, using coordinated supportive services. Effective resettlement means the refugee’s ability to access community resources to meet his or her basic needs related to employment, English Language Training (ELT), skills training, medical care, and social and cultural adjustments.
2. To promote economic self-sufficiency for refugees within the shortest possible time after entrance into the State through employment and acculturation by the coordinated use of financial, medical, and supportive services. Economic self-sufficiency is gainful employment in:
   • A non-subsidized job for at least 90-days
   • Receipt of a minimum wage
   • A job that provides for basic economic needs of the person and family without reliance on public assistance.
3. To protect the refugees and the community from infectious disease and health related issues during resettlement

https://youtu.be/7ow4ZOJ_1dA?si=IyQTnNRk_xreu7kN

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