Trump administration again slashes refugee admissions to new low
The announcement followed Trump's attack on refugees during a campaign rally in Minnesota.
Hours after telling supporters in Minnesota that his Democratic rival, Joe Biden, would turn the state into a giant “refugee camp,” President Donald Trump’s administration announced historic cuts to the country's refugee admission program.
The administration told Congress late Wednesday night that it planned to bring no more than 15,000 refugees fleeing war and persecution to the United States in fiscal year 2021, compared to the maximum 18,000 permitted in 2020.
Trump has cut the country’s refugee intake three times before, first slashing former President Barack Obama’s quota by more than half, to 50,000, during his first year in office. The State Department cited a backlog of 1.1 million asylum cases and defended the new 15,000-person ceiling as one that reflects “administration’s continuing commitment to prioritize the safety and well-being of Americans, especially in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic."
According to a statement from the State Department, there will be specific allocations for religiously persecuted refugees, Iraqis whose work with the United States has put them in danger, and refugees from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Hong Kong, Cuba and Venezuela.
