US again slashing number of refugees it will accept

Associated Press

WASHINGTON

For a second-straight year, the U.S. will slash the number of refugees it will accept, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said, insisting amid criticism from human-rights groups that the country is still committed to providing sanctuary to people fleeing the world’s danger zones.

Up to 30,000 refugees will be allowed into the country next year, down from a cap of 45,000 this year.

It will be the lowest ceiling on admissions since the program began in 1980. The announcement Monday came despite calls from global humanitarian groups that this year’s cap of 45,000 was too low.

The announcement drew harsh criticism from Democratic lawmakers. “The Trump administration is not only abandoning America’s long bipartisan history of humanitarian leadership, but also threatening national and regional security,” Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California and Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois said in a joint statement Tuesday.

Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey called the decision “truly repugnant” while Rep. Eliot Engel of New York said it will “surely go down as one of the ugliest chapters” in Donald Trump’s presidency.

The final number for the cap on refugees next year could change after consultations with Congress, Secretary of State spokeswoman Heather Nauert said Tuesday.