Biden team wavers on refugee cap after backlash
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A migrant and her daughter at a new shelter for undocumented migrants who are trying to enter the US, in the Mexican city of Ciudad Juarez. The White House had capped the number of refugees allowed into the US this year at the Trump era's 15,000, but has now promised to raise the figure following a backlash.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
WASHINGTON • The White House announced that President Joe Biden would limit the number of refugees allowed into the United States this year to the historically low level set by the Trump administration, reversing an earlier promise to welcome more than 60,000 people fleeing war and persecution.
But Friday's move to cap the number at 15,000 prompted such an immediate backlash from Democrats and human rights activists that the White House later retreated and promised to announce a final, increased number by May 15.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki did not specify how many refugees would be allowed into the country, but she did say Mr Biden's initial goal of welcoming 62,500 seemed "unlikely".
The wavering showed the Biden administration's struggle to find its footing as it tries to reverse former president Donald Trump's harsh immigration policies amid a record surge of children and teenagers crossing the south-western border.
"This Biden administration refugee admissions target is unacceptable," said Senator Dick Durbin, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
"Facing the greatest refugee crisis in our time, there is no reason to limit the number to 15,000. Say it ain't so, President Joe."
Unauthorised migrants crossing the border are processed differently from refugees, who are fully vetted and approved for resettlement before arriving.
But Mr Biden was concerned that lifting the Trump-era cap on refugees would overwhelm the already-strapped system, according to two senior administration officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Ms Psaki said the administration could not raise the cap as quickly as it wanted because of the "decimated refugee admissions programme we inherited".
Refugee officers were reassigned from posts abroad that were shuttered, and their travel has been limited during the pandemic. Resettlement offices in the US were forced to close because of financial constraints from the cuts to refugee admissions.
"America needs to rebuild our refugee resettlement programme," said National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, adding that the administration would fill all 15,000 slots "and work with Congress on increasing admissions and building back numbers to which we've committed".
NYTIMES
