President Joe Biden introduced Friday that the variety of refugees accepted into the US will stay at 15,000 for the remainder of the fiscal yr, sustaining the record-low quantity set by former President Donald Trump.
The choice was delayed by practically two months, inflicting tons of of refugees who had been accredited to resettle within the U.S. to cancel flights.
By the start of April, the Biden administration had solely resettled 2,050 refugees for the yr. The administration mentioned it might regulate the allocations set by Trump ― which prioritized Iraqis who labored for the U.S. navy and Christians going through non secular persecution ― and would offer extra slots for refugees from Africa, the Center East and Central America. However Trump’s ban on refugees from a number of Muslim-majority international locations will stay.
Biden pledged in February that he would increase the refugee cap to 62,500 refugees for this fiscal yr and 125,000 for the following, however he by no means formally signed the directive.
Democratic lawmakers, resettlement companies and activists have for months referred to as on Biden to satisfy his promise. Earlier on Friday, a number of Home Democrats wrote a letter to the president, urging him to formally increase the refugee cap that has trapped households in limbo.
The White Home has mentioned that Biden stays dedicated to the difficulty however hasn’t given any additional clarification for the delay on signing a directive growing the cap on refugees. Folks near the White Home speculated that the president was involved about political optics as he handled the surge of migrants on the U.S.-Mexico border. Migrants on the border searching for asylum are processed in a completely separate system than refugees fleeing persecution abroad.
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