USA TODAY International Edition
US refugee admissions cap cut by 15,000 for ’19
– The Trump administration will dramatically restrict the number of refugees allowed to resettle in the U.S. next year – permitting no more than 30,000 people fleeing war, violence and persecution across the globe to make a new home in America.
That’s down from the 45,000 refugee cap set last year, which was already the lowest since Congress passed the Refugee Act in 1980. And data from the State Department indicates the administration won’t even reach that 45,000. With only two weeks remaining in the 2018 fiscal year, the administration has admitted 20,918 refugees.
In making the announcement, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the U.S. would also “process” 280,000 asylum seekers attempting to enter the U.S. He did not say the U.S. would accept that many asylum seekers but said the idea they would at least get a shot to claim asylum showed the administration’s “commitment to vulnerable people around the world.”
“These expansive figures continue the United States’ longstanding record as the most generous nation in the world when it comes to protection-based immigration and assistance,” Pompeo said.
The drop immediately drew a rebuke from human rights organizations. They have pleaded with the administration to maintain America’s standing as a beacon of hope for oppressed people around the world, especially as European countries are swamped by one of the biggest migrations of displaced people in recorded history. Amnesty International called it “an all-out attack” against refugees around the world. The International Rescue Committee said the administration was “reneging on commitments to allies and vulnerable populations.” Human Rights First called it a “shameful abdication of our humanity.”
“Our nation was founded on the backs of refugees, and our country has been enriched by these brave individuals who come here to rebuild their lives in safety,” said Jennifer Quigley of Human Rights First. “We have turned our backs not only on those in dire circumstances abroad, but on our own American ideals.”
Democrats in Congress also assailed the announcement.
“Quite simply, this decision will lead to innocent people dying,” said Rep. Eliot Engel, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Before Trump took office, the U.S. led the world in accepting refugees for decades, resettling more than 3 million people since 1980, the Pew Research Center said. Pompeo argued the new ceiling was not an abandonment of that role. Pompeo also cast the lower cap as a national security issue. He said the U.S. asylum system is overwhelmed, with more than 800,000 pending cases.