On the morning of Friday, April 16, President Joe Biden signed an executive order to keep the refugee cap at the Trump-era level of 15,000 for fiscal year 2021. That afternoon, however, the White House said again that Biden plans to break that cap on May 15, but not necessarily to reach Biden’s previous goal of 62,500. Outside analysis suggests that Biden was pressured by the radical wing of the Democratic Party to change his tune.
In the executive order, Biden reportedly called for speeding up refugee admissions, eliminating Trump’s policy of restricting refugee admissions from certain regions, and would readmit refugees from parts of the Middle East as well as Africa.
However, the executive order was immediately criticized by the left wing of the Democratic Party for keeping the refugee cap at the historic low of 15,000 set by the Trump administration. They accused Biden of reneging on his promise.
Democratic U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said, “This target is unacceptable. These refugees have been waiting for years to be vetted, and 35,000 are ready. There is no reason to limit the number to 15,000 in the face of the worst refugee crisis of our time.”
Rep. Alexander Ocasio-Cortez (D-CA), a radical leftist Democrat, said, “It’s completely unacceptable. Biden promised to welcome immigrants, and people voted for him because of that.”
Earlier this year, Secretary of State Antony Blinken (D-Mass.) proposed to Congress that the cap on refugee admissions be raised to 62,500 for fiscal year 2021.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki changed her tune Friday afternoon and said Biden plans to break Trump’s refugee cap by May 15. She said Biden has been consulting with advisers to determine how many refugees he will take in as of Oct. 1.
But Psaki also said, “Given the existing refugee admissions program and the burden on the Office of Refugee Resettlement, Biden’s initial goal of 62,500 (refugee cap) seems unlikely to be met.”
The border crisis has been the biggest political challenge facing the Biden administration for nearly three months. Since taking the White House, Biden has reversed many Trump-era border policies and also called off the construction of a border wall, thus causing a surge in illegal immigration, including children.
Last month, Biden assigned Vice President Kamala Harris to deal with the border crisis. However, after receiving the order, Harris has not held a press conference on the border crisis, nor has he visited the border. This has increased the concern about the border crisis.
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