The United States on Saturday pulled out of a United Nations pact to improve the handling of migrants and refugees. The US mission to the UN announced that it had withdrawn from Global Compact on Migration as the agreement was “inconsistent with policies” of the Donald Trump administration.
The 193 members of the UN General Assembly had signed a non-binding political declaration, called the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants, in September 2016 pledging to uphold the rights of refugees.
“The New York Declaration contains numerous provisions that are inconsistent with US immigration and refugee policies and the Trump administration’s immigration principles,” a statement by the US mission to the UN asserted. “As a result, President Trump determined that the United States would end its participation in the compact process.”
“No country has done more than the United States [for refugees], and our generosity will continue,” US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley (pictured above) said. “But our decisions on immigration policies must always be made by Americans and Americans alone. We will decide how best to control our borders and who will be allowed to enter our country.”
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