[ad_1]
WASHINGTON – President Trump has decided to halve the US refugee program, drastically reducing the role of the United States in accepting persecuted refugees from most parts of the world, the government's department said Thursday. # 39; State.
The administration has announced that it will accept 18,000 refugees over the next 12 months, up from 30,000 currently, and a fraction of the 110,000 that President Barack Obama said will be allowed to enter the United States in 2016, his latest year in power.
The Trump administration plans to reserve many of the 18,000 available refugee places for Iraqis who have collaborated with the US military, persecuted Central Americans, and small groups of religious minorities and persecuted people. the State Department.
This will eliminate many opportunities for people fleeing war and persecution in other countries to relocate to the United States, which, until the inauguration of Mr. Trump, was the world's leading destination for refugees.
Trump's decision is part of a broader effort by Stephen Miller, a White House advisor and architect of the president's immigration program, to reduce the number of illegal and illegal immigrants entering the country .
Miller and his allies in the administration argue that the drastic reduction of the refugee program is necessary because of the increasing number of asylum seekers trying to enter the country. United States at the Mexican border.
In the United States, immigration courts have a backlog of nearly one million cases, many of which are asylum seekers. Mr. Miller and the officials argue that the resources of the administration are better spent than handling these cases than bringing more refugees to the United States.
"The current burden of the US immigration system needs to be lightened before it is possible to resettle large numbers of refugees," the state department said in a press release. "Prioritizing cases of humanitarian protection for those already in our country is simply a question of fairness and common sense."
Detractors of the administration believe that the situation of asylum seekers on the southwestern border should not be used as an excuse to abandon potential refugees from the world's hotspots.
They point out that the backlog of immigration courts is largely the result of cases in which the claims of asylum seekers have to be assessed. Most of the refugees arriving in the United States have already been examined and checked before they arrive.
Critics point out that the United States has been able to treat nearly 30,000 refugees this year as the number of asylum applications has increased in the spring. In recent months, the number of migrants seeking asylum at the border has decreased, which should ease the pressure on the treatment of cases, they said.
They also say that the administration is giving up the moral duty of the United States to be the world leader in efforts to help people in critical situations. They argue that other countries are inspired by the actions of US presidents.
[ad_2]
Source link