Refugee and community activists gather in front of the White House in Washington, D.C., in June 2017.
The Biden administration is about to notify Congress and government agencies of a high increase in the number of refugees admitted to the United States, with the new cap on the number of refugees expected to be raised to more than eight times the number allowed by the Trump administration, U.S. media reported on Wednesday, Feb. 3.
White House officials and sources told several U.S. media outlets that the Biden Administration plans to announce this week that it will raise the maximum number of refugees allowed in the United States to 125,000, up from 110,000 under the Obama administration and 15,000 under the Trump Administration.
The official plan is expected to be announced during Biden’s visit to the State Department on Feb. 4.
The announcement comes after the then-Trump administration significantly narrowed refugee eligibility and raised the vetting threshold, forcing the closure of more than a third of U.S. resettlement offices over the past four years as refugee numbers have declined. While Biden is poised to pursue a policy of significant refugee acceptance, the prospect of implementation will still face resistance.
In addition to enacting a bill directly, Biden may also choose to provide a proposed figure of 125,000 refugees in his annual budget proposal beginning Oct. 1, sources said, adding that the law requires the president to first consult Congress on his plan before making a decision.
The Biden administration has previously pledged to pursue a more lenient undocumented immigration program, which has attracted a large influx of illegal Central American immigrants to the U.S.-Mexico border. This week, the Biden administration predicted it would continue to move forward with a formal refugee claim program, preparing to help more refugee claimants obtain refugee status in the United States.
An unnamed official said Biden may also open asylum applications to Hong Kong residents.
The call comes just days after Secretary of State John Blinken called for political asylum help for Hong Kong residents to combat Chinese Communist efforts to infringe on Hong Kong’s right to autonomy.
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