Biden reverses on pledge to increase refugee cap from Trump's historic low

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published 16 April 2021

The Biden administration will not raise the U.S. refugee cap from its historically low level set by the Trump administration, a senior administration official told The New York Times.

While President Biden previously pledged to welcome more than 60,000 refugees, rather than the 15,000 maximum set by his predecessor, the White House will instead keep the target of refugee admissions at the lower level. The reversal "signals the president's hesitant approach to rebuilding an immigration system gutted by his successor," writes the Times, noting hundreds of refugees fleeing war and religious persecution have already been left in limbo by the delayed decision on the cap.

The decision reportedly comes as a result of a surge of migrants at the southern border, which has "already overwhelmed the refugee branch of the Department of Health and Human Services," though asylum seekers go through a different process than refugees seeking protections.