The United States has decided to curtail the number of refugees it would accept next year to 45,000, half of the cap in 2016, as the humanitarian groups decried the move terming it cruel.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will brief Congress on this, a government official told reporters during a conference call on Wednesday.
A presidential determination is expected to be issued in the coming days.
Regional breakdown
The regional breakdown will be: Africa, 19,000; East Asia, 5,000; Europe and Central Asia, 2,000; Latin America and the Caribbean, 1,500; Near East South Asia, 17,000.
“The security and safety of the American people is our chief concern,” the official said.
Since 1975, the U.S. has welcomed more than 3 million refugees from all over the world.
“While maintaining the U.S. leadership role in humanitarian protection, an integral part of this mission is to ensure that refugee resettlement opportunities only go to those who are eligible for such protection and who are not known to present a risk to the safety and security of our country,” the official said.
The refugee resettlement was only one part of the U.S.'s response to the crisis of forced displacement around the world. “The U.S. also remains the world’s leading donor of humanitarian assistance, providing over $7 billion in humanitarian assistance around the world last year,” the official said.
In 2017, the U.S. provided more than $1.4 billion in humanitarian assistance for the Syria crisis, and more than $581 million for the Iraq crisis. “We have provided nearly $2.5 billion for people from countries facing famine. And we have provided nearly $95 million for displaced persons in Burma and the region,” the official said.
Sharp reaction from lawmakers, activists
A decision in this regard drew sharp reaction from lawmakers and human rights activists.
Senator Dianne Feinstein said, “A refugee admissions ceiling of 45,000 is completely unacceptable and does not reflect the needs of the worldwide humanitarian crisis. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, there are 22.5 million refugees and 65.6 million forcibly displaced people worldwide.”
Senator Tom carper said such a move was inhumane. “The founding fathers of the U.S. — a country of immigrants — fought to create a democracy that would be an example of hope and freedom for the world. President Trump’s move to drastically cut back the number of refugees we’ll admit into our country flies in the face of those principles,” he said.
“This administration’s efforts to isolate us from our allies around the globe only serve to further this misconception. Refugees make great contributions to our economy and our society, and communities across the country, if given the chance, would welcome them with open arms,” he said.
Senator Dick Durbin said that at a time when the world was facing the worst refugee crisis in history, it is unconscionable that the Trump administration was setting the lowest refugee ceiling in history.
Congressmen John Conyers and Zoe Lofgren in a joint statement said the Trump administration’s decision to cut refugee admissions to an historic low of 45,000 was an affront to the U.S.’s legacy as a protector of oppressed people.
Gadier Abbas from Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said, “These drastic measures are completely unnecessary, because according to national security experts, our refugee program’s current vetting process is already extremely effective in identifying and mitigating threats to our national security. Reducing the numbers of refugees is nothing short of a backdoor Muslim ban.”
Elica Vafaie from the Asian Americans Advancing Justice said, ''By slashing our refugee resettlement program to historic lows, President Trump is abusing executive power to change the very fabric and face of our American story.''
According to Avideh Moussavian from the National Immigration Law Center, the drastic reduction in the number of refugees by the Trump administration “shamefully puts lives at risk” and was using public policy to discriminate against Muslims in the U.S.
