In the last 20 or so years, presidents have generally kept the cap in the 70,000-range. The Trump administration reduced it to 45,000 for the 2018 fiscal year but is set to take in far fewer.
As of August 31, leaving just one month left in the fiscal year, the government has resettled just 19,899 refugees.
On Monday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that the administration is slashing that cap even further for the 2019 fiscal year, and will accept a maximum of 30,000 refugees.
In a speech announcing the new cap, Pompeo said the reduction was because the administration is dealing with a backlog of hundreds of thousands of asylum-seekers whose immigration cases are still pending. But asylum-seekers are an entirely different category of immigrants and have no bearing on the refugee program.
“The improved refugee policy of this administration serves the national interest of the United States and expands our ability to help those in need all around the world,” Pompeo said. “We will continue to assist the world’s most vulnerable while never losing sight of our first duty, serving the American people.”
Source: Business Insider, State Department
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