Climate Refugees’ founder and executive director was amongst 14 leaders of refugee and policy organizations that sent a letter to the Biden Administration on September 8, calling on President Biden to create refugee resettlement pathways for climate displaced populations. The letter comes ahead of the administration’s annual report to Congress on proposed refugee admissions for the next fiscal year.

The letter asks that the administration create a group resettlement category - Priority 2 - for three distinct refugee populations currently affected by climate impacts: persecuted Hondurans and Guatemalans affected by hurricanes and droughts; South Sudanese and Ethiopians in Sudan; and Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.

“Climate change is exacerbating existing humanitarian crises around the world. In some cases, those already awaiting or who are qualified for resettlement are at increased risk from climate impacts,” the leaders pointed out in the letter.

Priority 2 status is an option within the US Refugee Admissions Program that allows the designation of a ‘group’ for resettlement for persons who share similar characteristics or situations of concern. As set out in the President’s February 2021 executive order on strengthening global protection for people displaced by climate change, P-2 group resettlement would be one of several policy options the administration could pursue to better protect climate displaced persons, and would distinguish the United States as the first country in the world to lead and implement such humane and necessary measures.

Read the letter and see the full list of signatories below.