The Trump administration announced this fall that it would accept a lower number of refugee admissions in the coming year. In a proposal sent to Congress, the administration said it would accept 15,000 refugees in fiscal year 2021, a more than 15% reduction from fiscal year 2020.
The U.S. State Department justified the plan, saying it reflects the administration’s mission to protect Americans, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. “The president’s proposal for refugee resettlement in FY 2021 reaffirms America’s enduring commitment to assist the world’s most vulnerable people while fulfilling our first duty to protect and serve the American people,” the agency said in a statement. It added that it would focus on diplomatic solutions to end conflicts that create displacement, and it would provide overseas humanitarian aid to refugees to “prevent the destabilizing effects of such displacement on affected countries and their neighbors.”
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reiterated this point to reporters, stating that the U.S. is “the single greatest contributor to the relief of humanitarian crises all around the world.” He added that, “so long as President Trump is in office, I can promise you this administration is deeply committed to that.” In his first term, Trump has steadily decreased the number of refugee admissions.
In his first year in office, his administration capped admissions at 45,000, followed by 30,000 in his second year and 18,000 last year. Due to the coronavirus and its effect on American jobs, the Trump administration froze refugee admissions in March, meaning the number of refugee admissions for 2020 came in at just over 10,000. In comparison, refugee admissions were capped at 110,000 during the Obama administration.
Several human rights groups and lawmakers spoke out against the newly announced cap, with many pointing to the U.S.’s long-standing support of refugee admissions during both Democratic and Republican administrations. “We have a long history of welcoming refugees and asylum seekers from around the world. It’s who we are when we are at our best,” Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) tweeted. “Trump’s cruel and continued draconian cuts to refugee programs not only turn our back on refugees but on this country.”
The International Rescue Committee (IRC), a nongovernmental organization focused on global humanitarian aid and relief, called out the Trump administration for failing to meet its humanitarian commitments.
“The number of refugees worldwide has grown by over 14 million over the last four years while the Trump administration has lowered refugee admissions levels by over 80 percent,” IRC Vice President of Public Policy Nazanin Ash said in a statement. “The administration has reneged on U.S. humanitarian obligations, trampled on long-held values, undermined U.S. interests and its own stated policy goals — including by failing to provide safety to thousands in need of refuge because of their assistance to U.S. troops or because of religious or political persecution.”
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, meanwhile, announced that, if elected, he would set the annual admissions cap at 125,000 refugees and would seek to raise it over time as needed. “We cannot mobilize other countries to meet their humanitarian obligations if we are not ourselves upholding our cherished democratic values and firmly rejecting Trump’s nativist rhetoric and actions,” the Biden campaign stated on its website. “Biden embraces the core values that have made us who we are and will prioritize restoring refugee admissions in line with our historic practice under both Democratic and Republican administrations.”
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), who came to the U.S. as a Somali refugee, also spoke out against the Trump administration’s proposal. “This is a life or death matter to millions of children around the world,” Omar tweeted. “I know because I was one of them.”
President Trump spoke out against allowing more refugees into the country throughout his campaign, including at a rally in Omar’s home state of Minnesota, which is home to a large resettlement community of Somali refugees. During the event, Trump said that, if elected, Biden would burden states with refugees. “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.”
The Trump administration’s proposal is set to be reviewed by Congress, where lawmakers will most likely not be able to make any changes.
For more background, see the September 2018 issue of Congressional Digest on “Immigration Under Trump.”
