Congress should give serious consideration to mandating a different registration system that reduces, if not eliminates, UNHCR’s role in the intake process
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is where would-be asylum seekers are first registered and vetted for possible referral to a destination host country for resettlement. UNHCR is the prime international advocate for self-identified “refugees” seeking asylum. While the agency gives lip service to security concerns and the need to weed out terrorists, it operates on the premise that such asylum seekers, wherever they come from including the Middle East, should be given the benefit of the doubt.
In 2015, the United States contributed $1.35 billion to UNHCR, and is on its way to exceeding that contribution this year. What we get in return is an organization that cannot be trusted to carry out its duties in a balanced and effective manner. Instead we get moralistic lectures, which President Obama, Prime Minister Trudeau, Chancellor Merkel and other politically correct government leaders are only too happy to echo.