Trump’s refugee policy leaves thousands stranded outside U.S.

Stricter screening imposed by White House drags out process

WASHINGTON — Death threats drove Hadi Mohammed out of Iraq and to a small apartment in Nebraska, where he and his two young sons managed to settle as refugees. But the danger hasn’t been enough to allow his wife to join them.

Mohammed, who worked as a security guard for the U.S. military in Baghdad, says he was initially told his wife would be reunited with him and the boys within a month. The wait has now dragged on for more than a year as she goes through stricter screening imposed by the Trump administration.

Tens of thousands of people are experiencing similar anguished waits as the number of refugees entering the U.S. falls to historic lows because of tighter scrutiny that administration officials say is necessary for security. Critics say it amounts to an abandonment of the country’s historic humanitarian role and discriminates against certain groups, particularly Muslims.

The U.S. admitted 22,491 refugees in the budget year that ended Sept. 30. That’s one-quarter of the number allowed to enter two years ago and the lowest since Congress passed a law in 1980 creating the modern resettlement system.

It was less than half the maximum that the administration had said it would allow, even with millions of people seeking to escape war and famine around the world.

“It’s unfortunate for the refugees who could have come this year and didn’t,” said Jen Smyers with Church World Service, an organization that supports refugees and immigrants. “But these low numbers also show the U.S. turning away from a global leadership role on this issue.”

Last month, the cap was set even lower, at 30,000, for the new budget year. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said at the time the U.S. remained “the most generous nation in the world when it comes to protection-based immigration.” but that the government needed to work through a backlog of pending asylum cases and support efforts to resettle people closer to home, so they can eventually return.

Behind the reduction are more stringent security protocols for citizens of 11 countries designated by the administration as presenting the greatest potential threat. People from four of them — Iraq, Iran, Syria and Somalia — made up 41 percent of refugees allowed into the U.S. in 2016 and 2017. Now, they make up just 2 percent.