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The Biden administration wants to nearly double the number of refugees admitted to the United States to 125,000 in the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, in accordance with a campaign pledge, according to a State Department statement.
The State Department will consult with the Department of Homeland Security and Congress to lift the cap, which has been set at 62,500 for fiscal 2020, ending this month, the statement said.
The plan to dramatically increase refugee admissions comes at a time when tens of thousands of Afghan refugees are on U.S. military bases awaiting resettlement in the United States. Many still at risk have been left behind in the chaotic final days of the withdrawal of US forces.
Biden, a Democrat who took office in January, has vowed to back down after his predecessor, Republican President Donald Trump, reduced the refugee ceiling to just 15,000, the lowest level in the history of the modern program for refugees.
Biden initially left that level in place, but backed down in the face of criticism from immigration advocates.
Biden struggled with mixed messages on immigration. Arrests at the US-Mexico border have peaked in 20 years, and more recently thousands of migrants, mostly Haitians, have set up a makeshift encampment under an international bridge in South Texas.
The refugee program is separate from the asylum system, as refugees typically seek relief overseas, are subject to careful review, and then receive legal status and resources to settle in the United States.
Asylum seekers can go to border officials and claim fear of return, triggering a lengthy US legal process. But since March 2020, at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, most border residents have been quickly deported under a public health order without the possibility of applying for asylum.
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