Thirty-two former U.S. diplomats and 11 aid groups penned a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, on July 23, urging him not to eliminate an important State Department refugee bureau, warning that the move would be “an error of grave proportion.”
The letter emphasizes the importance of the Department of State Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM) and its role in promoting U.S. humanitarian and foreign policy interests.
“We are convinced that the elimination of PRM’s assistance functions would have profound and negative implications for the Secretary of State’s capacity to influence policy issues of key concern to the United States,” the letter reads. “It would also be ironic, as this is one of the bureaus at State that has enjoyed strong bipartisan support over many years.”
The group says that PRM has the staffing infrastructure and expertise to identify refugee groups in need of protection or resettlement.
Just last year, 58 U.S. policy experts warned Rex Tillerson, then secretary of state, against eliminating the bureau.