President Joe Biden has raised the cap on refugee admissions from 15,000 to 62,500 after his April promise to stick to the Trump-era figure elicited backlash from his party. The new number undoes the “historically low” cap set by the Trump administration, which “did not reflect America’s values as a nation that welcomes and supports refugees,” Biden said in a statement early this month. Sources anticipate an influx in refugees following the cap, but it is unclear when that will begin. Biden said that the country is unlikely to hit the new 62,500 cap this year, calling it “the sad truth” and promising to “undo the damage of the last four years.” “It will take some time, but that work is already underway,” Biden said in the White House statement. The president said he plans to admit 125,000 refugees to the country within the first fiscal year of his presidency, which he said will “reassert American leadership and American values when it comes to refugee admissions.” The administration has also reopened the country’s refugee program to “new refugees,” and has updated regional refugee allocations to increase the number of refugees “ready for departure to the United States.” Raising the cap was one of Biden’s leading campaign promises. But in April, the President cited “humanitarian concerns” and “national interest" in an emergency declaration to keep the cap at 15,000. A quick blowback from supporters and refugee organizations prompted the President to change course and effectively increase the cap.
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Michael G. Ibrahim, Esq.
Founder & Principal Attorney — Ibrahim Law Office
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DePaul University College of Law
J.D., 2013
Certificate in Public Interest Law
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
B.A. Political Science & International Studies, 2010
Benjamin Hooks Public Interest Law Scholar
Editor, Journal for Social Justice — DePaul University
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