Media Statement
Re: New Refugee Cap
From Michael Hopkins, CEO, Jewish Family Service of San Diego

For the last 100 years, Jewish Family Service of San Diego (JFS) has supported refugee resettlement, helping individuals and families from around the world rebuild their lives in San Diego in safety and with dignity. We are heartbroken over the 30,000 cap the current administration has placed on the number of refugees that will be admitted into the country for the 2018-19 fiscal year. This will be the lowest commitment to refugees in the 38-year history of the U.S. refugee resettlement program. There are roughly 65 million displaced men, women and children around the world who remain in immediate danger – fleeing war, persecution and more – and this figure barely scratches the surface of those who need our help.

By setting the refugee number this low, the administration is betraying the commitments the U.S. made after World War II – followed by decades of bipartisan support – to ensure that the world never again turns its back on innocent people seeking safety.

In carrying out the tradition of “Welcoming the Stranger,” we affirm our Jewish values and honor America’s history as a nation established by refugees and built by generations of immigrants. We continue to believe that stopping or hindering refugee resettlement, for any period of time, undermines our nation’s founding principles and turns away those seeking safety, freedom, hope and opportunity.

As the Jewish High Holiday season continues, we ask the community to reflect on these values and help us educate others about the ways newcomers strengthen our social fabric and make San Diego – and our country – more prosperous and resilient in a changing world.

Media Contacts:
Sandy Young, work: 619-295-7140, cell: 858-699-6521, [email protected]
Ashley Weaver, work: 619-295-7140, cell: 619-987-6676, [email protected]