Trump slashes refugee admissions to US to record low
US President Donald Trump’s administration is further slashing the number of refugees the county will accept in the coming year, in a move that will set yet another record low just one month before election.
The State Department said on Wednesday it intends to allow only 15,000 refugees to resettle in the country in the 2021 fiscal year.
It claimed the decision was taken in line with the administration’s policies to prioritize the “safety and well-being of Americans, especially in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.”
The president typically sets yearly refugee levels around the beginning of each fiscal year.
The proposal will now be reviewed by Congress.
Last year, the refugee cap was cut to 18,000, but only roughly half that many refugees were let in.
Trump froze refugee admissions in March, saying he needs to protect Americans jobs as fallout from the coronavirus pandemic crashed the economy.
Trump’s Democratic rival in the presidential election, Joe Biden, has however pledged to raise refugee admissions to 125,000 a year, if he wins the race in November.
The president told his supporters during a campaign rally that Biden he wants to flood the state with foreigners.
“Biden will turn Minnesota into a refugee camp, and he said that — overwhelming public resources, overcrowding schools and inundating hospitals,” Trump claimed.
Refuge advocates say any new plan could take years to recover the refugee program as Trump has significantly changed the US immigration policy over the last four years.
Since taking office, Trump has reduced the number of refugees allowed into the US by more than 80 percent.
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