TEHRAN, Sept 07 -The Trump administration is considering further cuts to the annual cap on refugees as it diverts caseworkers to handle asylum claims from Central American families at the southern US border, a senior official said on Friday.
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club (YJC) -Since taking office, President Donald Trump, who campaigned on restricting immigration, has slashed the number of refugees allowed into the United States - decisions decried by human rights advocates and national security experts.
Last year, the administration capped the program at 30,000 refugees, down from 45,000 people in 2018, which itself was the lowest ceiling since 1980.
In his last year of office, former President Barack Obama had set the cap at 110,000 refugees. No decisions have yet been made by Trump, the official told reporters, speaking on condition of anonymity. Top administration officials have not yet met to discuss the cap, which is set each year by the end of September.
But the official said the administration was directing more resources to address the hundreds of thousands of mainly Central American families and children who have crossed the US border with Mexico during the past year, many seeking refuge in the United States. “Our focus has been on dealing with the asylum influx (at the US border), and prioritizing those cases,” the official said.
source:presstv
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