Trump administration drastically cuts number of refugees it will let into the U.S.

Mike Pompeo.
(Image credit: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images)

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced Monday that the Trump administration is capping refugee admissions at 30,000 in 2019.

This is a 33 percent drop from 2018's cap of 45,000, itself a record-low number. Pompeo said the U.S. will "focus on the humanitarian protection cases of those already in the country," adding that the "ultimate goal is the best possible care and safety of these people in need, and our approach is designed to achieve this noble objective."

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.