Trump Determines Record Low Refugee Admission Cap Of 15,000 For Fiscal Year 2021

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 28th October, 2020) US President Donald Trump has determined and authorized a record-low refugee admission cap of 15,000 for the US Federal government fiscal year 2021, a slight drop from the previous year's cap of 18,000, the Office of the White House Press Secretary said.

"By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, ... I hereby determine and authorize as follows: The admission of up to 15,000 refugees to the United States during FY 2021 is justified by humanitarian concerns or is otherwise in the national interest," the decree read.

The authorization comes almost a month after Trump submitted his report to Congress on the new proposed refugee admissions plan.

In the 2020 fiscal year, the refugee cap was cut to 18,000 which ended on September 30, but only 11,814 refugees were resettled.

In the 2021 plan, 5,000 slots are allocated for refugees who suffered or fear persecution on the basis of religion; 4,000 for refugees from Iraq, and 1,000 for refugees from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, leaving 5,000 for all others.