Global resettlement figures have dropped by some 50 percent to 81,800 in a downward trend that points to the general political backlash against migration and asylum in the US and in Europe.
Nikolaj Nielsen
The United States under Donald Trump took in more vetted refugees last year than all 27 EU member states and the UK combined.
This comes even as president Trump scaled back by almost 90 percent the number of refugees the US is willing to host, in a process known as resettlement.
The Americans took in 11,500, compared to 7,800 throughout the EU and the UK. Most of the Europe-bound refugees went to France, followed by Germany, Netherlands and the UK.
“We need Europe to do more,” said Kelly Clements, the deputy head of the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), noting that almost three million need to be resettled.
Speaking to EUobserver on Wednesday (10 June) in Brussels, Clements said resettled refugees often contribute to their host communities and become productive members of society.
Even so, global resettlement figures have dropped by some 50 percent to 81,800 in a downward trend that points to the general political backlash against migration and asylum in the US and in Europe.
In 2024, EU states collectively resettled just under 12,000 refugees. The numbers for this year and next year are likely to be far lower. Nine EU states have pledged to resettle just over 10,000 spread out over the next two years.
