As Trump moves to slash refugee admissions, U.N. refugee agency honors his wife? Um, not exactly
At first blush, the gala suggested a particularly awkward celebration.
According to the official White House schedule for Thursday, President Trump would be attending a gala dinner honoring his wife, First Lady Melania Trump, and the foremost international refugee office, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, at the Kuwaiti Embassy that evening.
Trump has outraged the refugee community, initially proposing to ban all refugees from entering the United States and ultimately announcing plans last month to slash the number of refugees allowed in the country by more than half while at times describing those fleeing their countries as posing a danger to national security.
Responding to questions about the event, a U.N. official, who requested anonymity given the sensitive diplomatic issues involved, quickly made clear that the dinner is not in fact being sponsored by the U.N.’s refugee agency. It is instead being put on by the Kuwait America Foundation, with proceeds going to the U.N. agency. The White House schedule called it a “gala dinner for UNHCR honoring First Lady Melania Trump,” without mentioning the Kuwait America Foundation.
“We’re trying to fix that,” the U.N. official said.
The official could not say which U.N. officials may be in attendance. The Kuwait America Foundation did not immediately return phone and email messages.
The Trump administration told Congress that it will limit refugee admissions to about 45,000 for the current fiscal year, which began this month. The Obama administration had set the cap at 110,000 last year, though Trump was able to limit the actual number of refugees admitted to 52,000. The cap has not been so low since the 1980s, according to senior officials.
Despite the crackdown, the United States remains an important player on refugee issues, as the biggest donor to the U.N. and the UNHCR. Even with reduced admittances, the United States admits more refugees and migrants than any country except Germany.
Melania Trump, a Slovenian immigrant who became an American citizen in 2006, has not been known as an advocate for refugees. But some advocates hope she will nonetheless influence her husband.
Mark Hetfield, president of a refugee advocacy group called HIAS, said any honor bestowed on Melania Trump for work on refugee issues would be more about potential than actual contributions to the cause. Noting that she has said she wants to be an advocate against bullying, Hetfield said he hopes the first lady will influence her husband to “stop scapegoating, bullying, and maybe even to protect and welcome particularly vulnerable people.”
“No one is more vulnerable or more bullied than refugees,” he added.
Melania Trump’s spokeswoman, Stephanie A. Grisham, said in a statement that the first lady is being honored “for her dedication to causes affecting women and children in the U.S. and abroad. As an American woman with an international background, she is an inspiration to women and girls worldwide.”
Asked if Melania Trump would try to persuade the president to accept more refugees, Grisham did not answer directly, saying instead, “Her focus is to have a positive impact on the lives of children and effect change within our next generation.”
Twitter: @noahbierman
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