U.S. to cut down refugee flows to 30,000 in 2019

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Monday (September, 17) the United States would limit the number of refugees allowed into the country at 30,000 for the fiscal year 2019, a sharp drop from a limit of 45,000 it set for 2018.  

“We proposed resettling up to 30,000 refugees under the new refugee ceiling as well as processing more than 280,000 asylum seekers,” Pompeo said in an announcement at the State Department, calling the United States “the most generous nation in the world when it comes to protection-based immigration.”  

Pompeo said the new limit reflected the administration’s preference for settling refugees closer to their home countries, something President Donald Trump has said would be cheaper than admitting them to the United States.

 Officials at the State Department and the Pentagon initially supported maintaining the cap at 45,000, according to one former and one current official. It was unclear whether they changed their position as the debate proceeded or failed to persuade the White House.  The refugee ceiling of 45,000 set last year was the lowest since 1980 when the modern refugee program was established.

The United States is on track to admit only 22,000 refugees this year, about half the maximum allowed.

- REUTERS 

Trump campaigned in 2016 promising tight restrictions on immigration, and his administration has sharply reduced refugee admissions through executive orders and closed-door decisions in the past year and a half.