The Trump administration Has announced that the US will admit no more than 18,000 refugees during the next fiscal year
This represents the lowest threshold since the US began its refugee program in 1980 and is significantly less than the cap of 30,000 that was set for the previous year. The White House has announced that it will save many of these available slots for Iraqis who worked with the US military and persecuted religious minorities. This will leave few opportunities for refugees from other countries who are fleeing war and oppression to seek asylum in the US.
During President Barack Obama’s final year in office 110,000 asylum seekers were allowed into the country.
The move is assumed to be part of a scheme by President Trump and his senior advisor Stephen Miller to reduce the number of legal and undocumented migrants entering the country. It is claimed that the lower cap will allow homeland security to better address the arrival of refugees at the southern border of the US. More than 350,000 people are expected to seek asylum next year.
