Some officials in Trump administration believe that the number of refugees accepted in the US each year should be further restricted. The officials will meet next week to discuss the same, a senior official said.
The number of asylum seekers at the US-Mexico border and other protections afforded to migrants who live in war-torn countries or those devastated by natural disasters was cited as a top reason to cut down the rate of refugee acceptance. Some have argued for the number to be 15,000 or fewer, according to two other administration officials.
Right now, the cap for accepting refugees is set at 30,000 and 28,501 refugees were accepted between October 1, 2018, to September 6 2019. Last year the cap was 45,000 and 22,491 were admitted. It is the lowest number since Congress passed a law in 1980 creating the modern resettlement system and one-quarter of the number allowed to enter two years ago.
Senior leaders are slated to meet in the Situation Room Tuesday to discuss the cap, which is set by the president and must be decided before the new fiscal year begins on October 1, The New York Times reported.
According to a senior official who wished to stay anonymous, the number of people seeking asylum is gravely limiting how many refugees can be vetted and this is putting a strain on the system. USCIS or the US Citizenship and Immigration Services is currently reassigning workers who process refugee cases to handle asylum claims.
Stringent vetting procedures, according to the State Department, have resulted in fewer refugee admissions in 2018, the the reason being cited as more strict protocol for citizens of 11 countries presenting potential threat as assigned by the administration. Fraud detection and national security officers too are now involved in processing refugees. More data is being collected on refugee applicants and officers have been given training on how to determine credibility.
Cutting down the number of refugees has been one of Trump's signature issues. In fact, one of his first actions upon taking office in January 2017 was imposing a travel ban on people from seven majority Muslim countries.
From 2008 to 2017, the US gave lawful permanent resident status to 1.7 million people based on humanitarian grounds.