Trump administration drastically cuts number of refugees it will let into the U.S.
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."
The refugee resettlement program began in 1980, and 30,000 is a far cry from the Obama administration's cap of 110,000 refugees during the 2017 fiscal year. There is no limit on the number of asylum seekers that can enter the country; those applications are handled by the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice, while the State Department is in charge of refugee admissions.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
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.
-
Ted Cruz teases big 2028 movesIN THE SPOTLIGHT The Texas Republican is playing his cards close to his chest, even as others in Washington start looking for hints about the arch-conservative’s future
-
The 9 best dark comedy TV shows of all timeThe Week Recommends From workplace satire to family dysfunction, nothing is sacred for these renowned, boundary-pushing comedies
-
Music reviews: Rosalía and Mavis Staplesfeature “Lux” and “Sad and Beautiful World”
-
Court strikes down Texas GOP gerrymanderSpeed Read The Texas congressional map ordered by Trump is likely an illegal racial gerrymander, the court ruled
-
Trump defends Saudi prince, shrugs off Khashoggi murderSpeed Read The president rebuked an ABC News reporter for asking Mohammed bin Salman about the death of a Washington Post journalist at the Saudi Consulate in 2018
-
Congress passes bill to force release of Epstein filesSpeed Read The Justice Department will release all files from its Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking investigation
-
Trump says he will sell F-35 jets to Saudi ArabiaSpeed Read The president plans to make several deals with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman this week
-
Judge blasts ‘profound’ errors in Comey caseSpeed Read ‘Government misconduct’ may necessitate dismissing the charges against the former FBI director altogether
-
Ecuador rejects push to allow US military basesSpeed Read Voters rejected a repeal of a constitutional ban on US and other foreign military bases in the country
-
Trump pivots on Epstein vote amid GOP defectionsSpeed Read The president said House Republicans should vote on a forced release of the Justice Department’s Jeffrey Epstein files
-
Trump DOJ sues to block California redistrictingSpeed Read California’s new congressional map was drawn by Democrats to flip Republican-held House seats
