Congressman Neguse Introduces Legislation to Create Special Envoy for Refugees at the State Department

Washington, D.C.—Today Congressman Joe Neguse, who sits on the House Judiciary Committee and co-chairs the Bipartisan Congressional Refugee Caucus, introduced legislation to create a Special Envoy for Refugees, a new ambassador-level role in the U.S. Department of State dedicated to raising awareness of and advocating alongside refugees in the United States and throughout the world. The legislation comes less than a week after President Trump announced his latest Muslim and African travel ban which is set to ban refugees from Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Mynamar, Nigeria, Sudan and Tanzania. 

“The United States has long welcomed those who seek safety and refuge through our legacy of leadership in refugee resettlement,” said Congressman Joe Neguse. “As the son of refugees, the shelter and freedom provided to refugees from around the world in the U.S. is not idealistic or abstract to me, but offered my family an opportunity to live out the American Dream. Given the unprecedented refugee crisis facing the world today and an Administration that is increasingly hostile to this population—evidenced just last week in the President’s reckless ban on African countries—a dedicated State Department Official who can bring together the work and many resources of that agency to best serve refugees is desperately needed.”

The world is witnessing the highest levels of displacement on record, with 70.8 million people around the globe having been forced from their homes. Over half of the world’s current forcibly displaced persons are under the age of 18 and one person is forcibly displaced every two seconds as a result of conflict or persecution.

The Special Envoy for Refugees Act was conceptualized by one of Congressman Neguse’s constituents, Sarah B. Larrabee of Boulder.

“While this idea was one I was passionate about for many years, I raised it with Congressman Neguse when I brought an asylum seeker to meet him last August,” said Sarah B. Larrabee, a constituent of Congressman Neguse’s. “My fervent wish for this bill is that it will put diplomacy and a focus on humanity at the center of international crisis over war and violence. I want to thank our compassionate and dedicated Congressman for following through on this concept.”

Congressman Neguse is the son of refugees from Eritrea and a member of the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship.