Trump’s administration has announced plans to let only 15,000 refugees resettle in the United States in the 2021 fiscal year that began on Thursday, setting another record low in the history of the modern refugee program.
The refugee cap was cut to 18,000 in the 2020 fiscal year that ended on Wednesday, and only 11,814 refugees were resettled, according to the latest government figures.
Specific allocations, including 5,000 slots for refugees who suffered or fear persecution on the basis of religion, 4,000 slots for refugees from Iraq who helped the US, and 1,000 slots for refugees from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. That leaves 5,000 for all others. Even though 4,000 slots were allocated for Iraqis affiliated with the United States during the 2020 fiscal year, only 123 had been resettled as of 25 September.
Krish Vignarajah, president of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, which helps resettle recently arrived refugees, wrote that the Trump administration’s cuts represent “a complete abdication of our moral duty and all that we stand for as a nation.”
The Rev John L McCullough, head of the Church World Service, which helps resettle refugees in the United States, described the shrinking of refugee admissions as immoral
Scott Arbeiter, president of World Relief, a global Christian aid agency, said Trump has reneged on his promise to protect persecuted Christians in the world.
"Our values as a nation and as people of faith demand that we take action when people’s lives are in danger,” he explained.
“Instead, we’ve seen the resettlement of refugees from countries known for persecution drop about 90% in some cases over the last four years,” Arbeiter said in a statement. “This is unconscionable.”
Trump vilified refugees as an unwanted burden for the country at a campaign rally in Duluth, Minnesota. He assailed Joe Biden, who has vowed to raise the ceiling on refugee admissions to 125,000 if elected in November.
“Biden will turn Minnesota into a refugee camp, and he said that overwhelming public resources, overcrowding schools and inundating hospitals. You know that. It’s already there. It’s a disgrace what they’ve done to your state,” Trump told supporters.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/oct/01/trump-refugee-admissions-immigration
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