Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey said the United States must do more for refugees fleeing Ukraine as it fights Russia in the ongoing invasion.
“The United States must step up and do more to offer refuge to Ukrainians,” Markey said, fresh off his trip to Poland and the Ukrainian border.
At least 15,000 Ukrainian refugees have arrived in the U.S. — mostly through Mexico — since the war began in February. It’s unclear how many will ultimately settle in Massachusetts. Gov. Charlie Baker has said the commonwealth would “welcome” them and in March said officials were in “preliminary” conversations with the feds. Refugee aid organizations are already readying for their arrival, one agency told MassLive.
“I think that’s just a part of who we are as Massachusetts and the United States of America,” Markey continued, speaking Saturday morning to reporters at the JFK Federal Building in Boston.
President Joe Biden committed to taking in 100,000 Ukrainian refugees during a trip to Poland last month. Biden had strong words for Russian President Vladimir Putin in a speech delivered in Warsaw, saying Putin “cannot remain in power,” — a statement later walked back by the White House.
Markey, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said, “We must go further and raise the refugee cap even higher.”
Markey and other members of a congressional delegation visited Poland and Belgium, where met with U.S. military leaders and troops, diplomats, and EU and NATO leadership “to discuss the allied response to Putin’s unjust war of aggression in Ukraine.”
Markey on Saturday quoted the famous poem by Emma Lazarus on the Statue of Liberty saying, “‘Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free’ has always guided how we treat all of those fleeing war and persecution.’”
Markey urged U.S. officials “to ensure that the help is there so that the Ukrainians can fight, and simultaneously, that the help is there for refugees leaving Ukraine.”
“We cannot afford to have a war in Europe result in Putin having the victory because ultimately there’s other countries that border that could be next,” he added.
Markey however hinted the U.S. should avoid direct war with Russia, saying “diplomacy, ultimately, is the only answer.”
Watch the junior senator from Massachusetts’ full remarks below:
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US Sen. Ed Markey calls on US to accept more Ukrainians, increase refugee cap for all amid ongoing Russian in - MassLive.com
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