In 1960 I became a refugee. My parents brought my sister and me to this country fleeing the
communist takeover of Cuba. It was the second time in my mother’s life that she was a refugee;
she fled the Nazis with her parents, and they lost most of their family members in the Holocaust.
World Refugee Day has special significance for me. I know well what it means for individuals to flee
their country of origin, to lose their home, be displaced, and to start anew in a different land.
At the same time, I know full well that I did not suffer the persecution,
deprivation, and hardship that so very many have suffered and continue to suffer today.
I have seen that suffering firsthand; uppermost in my mind is my visit to the Dadaab refugee camp
on the border of Kenya and Somalia. There I saw 300,000 people sleeping on the sand without a
roof over their heads. I attended an interview that one of our refugee officers conducted
with a family of six, a family that hoped to find a new home of safety, stability, and promise.
The officer asked the eldest of four children – a young woman 17 years of age, where she was born.
The young woman looked puzzled at the officer and said, “why, here; I was born here,
in the camp.” She knew nothing else of the world but life in the refugee camp.
On this World Refugee Day, there are nearly
80 million refugees and internally displaced persons around the world.
Our country once led the world in its standing as a place of refuge.
I am deeply honored to serve in the Biden-Harris Administration
and to once again work alongside the personnel in the Department of Homeland Security, the talented
public servants who dedicate themselves to providing relief for those displaced and in need.
I am proud to work with our international and community partners who share this noble mission.
Together we will restore our standing and our light will again shine bright, as we
execute the President’s and the Vice President’s vision: one of humanity, and of refuge.
Thank you.