USA Cuts Refugee Cap To 18,000

• Refugee program slots slashed from 30,000 to 18,000
• State government must give written consent to the federal government before accepting refugees
• No country-wise slots for the refugee program

President Trump has announced a refugee cap cut the United States of America will accept in the coming year. The cut has reduced the country’s refugee program by almost half. Let us find out more about USA refugee cap

The New Refugee Cap And Changes To The Refugee Program

With this announcement, the USA has brought down the number of refugees it will accept to 18,000. The current limit is 30,000. Interestingly, in 2016 under the Obama administration, the USA welcomed 110,000 refugees annually.

Not all of these 18,000 slots are open for refugees from countries in crisis. 5,000 are reserved for people persecuted for their religious beliefs, 4,000 will be allocated to Iraqis who have worked with the United States military and 1,500 are reserved for people from Central America.

An additional 7,500 slots are reserved for refugees seeking family unification and who have been cleared for resettlement.

However, the administration will no longer carve-out country-wise slots with the exception of the 1,500 reserved for countries in Central America.

Last year, the USA accepted 11,000 refugees from Africa, 9,000 from Southeast Asia, 4,000 people from East Asia and 3,000 each from Latin America and countries in Europe and Central Asia.

US Refugee Cap – Then And Now

Until this administration, America was the leading destination for refugees in the world. 1 million cases are currently backlogged in the country’s immigration courts.

Reducing the refugee cap make it increasingly difficult for people fleeing from persecution and warring conditions to resettle in America.

According to administration officials, the new policy has been brought about to accommodate the rising number of people applying for refugee status in the USA.

The country is expecting 3,50,000 people to seek asylum but the total influx can go up to 3,68,000. It has also been attributed to efforts being made to reduce the flow of illegal immigrants into the country.

Jurisdiction And Refugees

The reduced refugee cap is not the only change affecting refugees headed to the USA. An executive order that affects refugee status in the USA was also recently signed.

In order for the country to accept refugees, the local and state government where the individual will be resettled must give written consent to the federal government.

The new policy has faced harsh reactions from humanitarian and religious groups.

Also See

• Children Of Diplomats and Military Personals Born Abroad May Not Get Automatic USA Citizenship
• USA Immigration Policy To Favor The Wealthy
• 5 Interesting Facts About Illegal Immigration In The USA
• Changing Demographics Of Immigrants In The USA