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WASHINGTON (AFP) – US President Donald Trump has slashed refugee admissions to the United States to a record low of no more than 15,000, while fiercely denouncing migrants from Somalia and other war-torn nations in the electoral campaign.
The State Department announced the number just half an hour before the start of fiscal year 2021 at midnight Thursday, narrowly meeting the deadline set by U.S. law.
The 15,000 figure, the maximum that can be admitted during the next 12 months barring an administration change, is a further cut from last year’s 18,000 and a drastic drop from previous President Barack Obama’s more than 100,000.
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Trump bragged about his efforts to hinder refugees at a campaign rally Wednesday night in Minnesota.
“Overwhelming public resources, overcrowded schools and flooding their hospitals,” Trump said of the refugees. “It is a shame what they have done to his state.”
Scholars widely argue that migrants are a drain on public resources, pointing to the economic benefits of newcomers.
Trump’s Democratic rival in the Nov. 3 election, Joe Biden, has pledged to raise the refugee limit to 125,000, saying welcoming the persecuted is in line with American values.
“Biden will turn Minnesota into a refugee camp,” Trump said, describing the former vice president’s proposed reversal of his cuts as a “700 percent increase” in refugees from “the world’s most dangerous places, including Yemen, Syria. and your favorite country. ” , Somalia “.
“This guy loves Somalia,” Trump said.
Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar visits the Central Market in Minneapolis on Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2020, the day of the Minnesota primary. She faces the challenger, Democrat Antone Melton-Meaux in the primaries. (AP Photo / Jim Mone)
Trump led the crowd by booing Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Somali refugee and a vociferous critic of the president who represents Minnesota’s largest city, Minneapolis.
Trump launched his 2016 campaign on a promise to keep Mexican and Muslim immigrants away and came under fire after a debate Tuesday with Biden for wrongly condemning white supremacists.
Strategy of generating fear
Trump has already completely suspended refugee admissions for several months this year, citing the Covid-19 pandemic.
Explaining the proposed new numbers, which need formal approval from the White House, the State Department said the United States wanted to help displaced people “as close to their homes as possible” until they can return.
“By focusing on ending conflicts that cause displacement in the first place, and by providing humanitarian assistance abroad to protect and assist displaced people, we can prevent the destabilizing effects of displacement on affected countries and their neighbors.” said a statement.
Refugee advocates had pleaded with the Trump administration to increase admissions in the face of global conflict and new instability due to the pandemic.
“The president’s action is disappointing but not surprising,” said Eric Schwartz, president of Refugees International.
“It’s part of an overall strategy to alarm and smear refugees,” said Schwartz, who was in charge of refugee policy under Obama.
Refugees and migrants wearing protective masks to help curb the spread of the coronavirus wait to board buses after they arrive at the port of Lavrio, about 75 kilometers (48 miles) south of Athens, on Tuesday, September 29, 2020. (AP Photo / Petros Giannakouris). )
Manar Waheed of the American Civil Liberties Union said Trump was trying to curb immigration systems “to stop them and ensure that black and brown immigrants have no refuge in our nation.”
Almost 80 million people around the world are displaced, double the number a decade ago, according to the UN refugee agency.
On September 8, a fire devastated a bursting camp attempting to house 20,000 people on the Greek island of Lesbos, a key entry point to the European Union.
And on Thursday, more than 3,000 migrants, mostly Hondurans, entered Guatemala in hopes of reaching the United States, the latest in a series of caravans denounced by Trump.
When asked about cuts in refugee admissions, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said “there is no country more generous” than the United States in providing humanitarian assistance.
“We have received more refugees into the United States than any other nation in the past 20 years,” Pompeo told reporters in Rome on Wednesday.
The United States accepted more refugees for years than the rest of the world combined. But last year, Canada surpassed the United States as the leader in resettling more than 30,000 refugees, according to UN data.
Democratic lawmakers previously feared that the Trump administration would not comply with the requirement to provide a refugee number by October 1, making it impossible for people to be admitted.
Syria remains the world’s largest source of refugees after nearly a decade of brutal civil war. More than five million people have also fled Venezuela’s crumbling economy and political turmoil.
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