Iran Press/America- In announcing the cut, Pompeo said the US would also process the applications of over 280,000 new asylum seekers, adding that over 800,000 asylum seekers were already in the US awaiting judgement on their claims, according to The Guardian.
When Donald Trump took office the US was prepared to welcome 110,000 refugees and asylum seekers each year. Trump slashed that to 45,000. The number of refugees admitted each year has dropped dramatically from the more than 200,000 in 1980 and the new ceiling marks a historic low since the US Refugee Act was introduced nearly 40 years ago.
“Some will characterise the refugee ceiling as the sole barometer of America’s commitment to vulnerable people around the world. This would be wrong,” Pompeo said.
The International Rescue Committee aid organisation lambasted the lowering of the refugee ceiling. It issued a statement claiming: “The United States is not only abdicating humanitarian leadership and responsibility-sharing in response to the worst global displacement and refugee crisis since World War II, but compromising critical strategic interests and reneging on commitments to allies and vulnerable populations, including religious minorities and those whose lives are in danger because they assisted US troops and US missions overseas.”
According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the US resettled 33,000 refugees in 2017, while Canada admitted 27,000, ahead of Australia (15,000) and the UK (6,000). On a per capita basis, Canada was the most generous country when it came refugee resettlement.
Pompeo’s announcement of new refugee figures was unscheduled and came on a day when the administration was drawing critical scrutiny of Trump’s pick for supreme court justice, Brett Kavanaugh.
The secretary of state said that the Trump administration had decided to cut back on refugee resettlement because of the backlog in the number of asylum requests pending from foreigners already in the US. Critics say that backlog is due in large part to the administration’s policy of slowing down the pace at which asylum requests are processed.
“The daunting operational reality of addressing the over 800,000 asylum cases demands renewed focus and prioritisation. The magnitude of this challenge is unequalled in any other country,” Pompeo said.
“In consideration of both US national security interests and the urgent need to restore integrity to our overwhelmed asylum system the United States will focus on addressing the humanitarian protection cases of those already in the country.”
“The best way to help most people is to promote burden sharing with partners and allies, to work to end conflicts that drive displacement in the first place and to target the application of foreign aid in a smarter way,” Pompeo said.
However, at the same time the Trump administration is reportedly seeking to cut $3bn from the foreign assistance budget, despite opposition to such drastic cuts from Congress.
On the other hand, US President Donald Trump has long called for the construction of a massive wall along the US Southern border, claiming that such a project is necessary to curb illegal border crossings.
Also, the family separation policy, which was cancelled by Donald Trump’s administration last June has led to the separation of over 2,300 children from their parents. This was done at the US border with Mexico and more than 100 of those children were reportedly under the age of 4 at the time of the separation.
460 of these children are yet to given back to their families.
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