--- title: Pompeo Says U.S. Will Protect the 'Most Vulnerable Refugees' description: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo issued a statement for World Refugee Day as criticism grows for Trump's family separation policy. canonical: https://time.com/5317055/mike-pompeo-world-refugee-day-statement/ author: Gina Martinez article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-06-20T15:15:43.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T20:37:40.018Z article:section: Politics og:title: Pompeo Says U.S. Will Protect the 'Most Vulnerable Refugees' og:description: As criticism grows of the Trump Administration's family separation policy og:url: https://time.com/5317055/mike-pompeo-world-refugee-day-statement/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt984774385e9c904b/69892fe6929fad465cbf0806/mike-pompeo-north-korea-detainees.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at the State Department og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Pompeo Says U.S. Will Protect the 'Most Vulnerable Refugees' twitter:description: As criticism grows of the Trump Administration's family separation policy twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt984774385e9c904b/69892fe6929fad465cbf0806/mike-pompeo-north-korea-detainees.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Mike Pompeo Vows U.S. Will Protect 'the Most Vulnerable Refugees' Amid Trump Administration's Family Separation Controversy by [Gina Martinez](https://time.com/author/gina-martinez/) ## Gina Martinez Jun 20, 2018 3:15 PM UTC  Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at the State Department in Washington, D.C. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at the State Department in Washington, D.C.SOPA Images—LightRocket via Getty Images by [Gina Martinez](https://time.com/author/gina-martinez/) ## Gina Martinez Jun 20, 2018 3:15 PM UTC Secretary of State Mike Pompeo released a statement on World Refugee Day Wednesday in which he said the U.S. would continue to help the world’s most vulnerable refugees – as the Trump Administration faces growing backlash over its policy of separating immigrant families at the U.S.-Mexico border. Pompeo praised the “strength, courage and resilience of millions of refugees worldwide who have been forced to flee their homes due to persecution and conflict” in his World Refugee Day statement. The statement comes at a time when the Trump Administration is facing growing criticism for its [“zero tolerance” immigration policy](http://time.com/5314769/family-separation-policy-donald-trump/) that has resulted in U.S. Border Patrol agents separating children from their parents when they are caught at the U.S. Mexico border. The children are then placed in shelters overseen by the Office of Refugee Resettlement. The policy has resulted in [nearly 2,000 minors being separated](http://time.com/5314784/dhs-kirstjen-nielsen-immigration-policy/) from their families over six weeks, and is drawing strong criticism from both sides of the aisle. In the statement, Pompeo says that since 1975, the United States has accepted more than 3.3 million refugees for permanent resettlement – more than any other country in the world. “The United States will continue to prioritize the admission of the most vulnerable refugees while upholding the safety and security of the American people,” the statement read. “The United States provides more humanitarian assistance than any other single country worldwide, including to refugees.” Read Pompeo’s Full Statement Below: --- > “” --- ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5317055/mike-pompeo-world-refugee-day-statement/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5317055/mike-pompeo-world-refugee-day-statement/"},"headline":"Mike Pompeo Vows U.S. Will Protect 'the Most Vulnerable Refugees' Amid Trump Administration's Family Separation Controversy","datePublished":"2018-06-20T15:15:43.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T20:37:40.018Z","description":"\"We will continue to help the world’s most vulnerable refugees, reflecting the deeply held values of the American people\"","url":"https://time.com/5317055/mike-pompeo-world-refugee-day-statement/","keywords":["Immigration","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt984774385e9c904b/69892fe6929fad465cbf0806/mike-pompeo-north-korea-detainees.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Gina Martinez","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/gina-martinez/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt984774385e9c904b/69892fe6929fad465cbf0806/mike-pompeo-north-korea-detainees.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at the State Department","caption":"U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at the State Department","creditText":"SOPA Images—LightRocket via Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/immigration/","name":"Immigration"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5317055/mike-pompeo-world-refugee-day-statement/","name":"Mike Pompeo Vows U.S. Will Protect 'the Most Vulnerable Refugees' Amid Trump Administration's Family Separation Controversy"}}]}] ```