Biden administration plans to keep refugee cap at 125,000

The Biden administration plans to maintain refugee admissions to the United States at 125,000, according to a draft report obtained by CNN, and admit a larger share of refugees from the Western Hemisphere amid unprecedented movement in the region.

The upcoming year’s proposed refugee ceiling underscores the unique challenges the administration faces in Latin America, where people – fleeing deteriorating conditions exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic – have migrated in record numbers to the US-Mexico border.

The proposed changes would provide a legal avenue for migrants to come to the US, without journeying to the southern border.

The State Department has proposed admitting between 35,000 to 50,000 refugees from Latin America/the Caribbean in fiscal year 2024, according to the draft report. That’s up from 15,000 in fiscal year 2023, though only around 5,500 refugees from that region have been resettled in the US as of August 31, according to federal data.

The refugee ceiling dictates how many refugees can be admitted to the US, but the administration doesn’t have to hit that number. Last year, Biden set the number at 125,000. Officials will fall short of that goal, but a recent uptick in admissions has fueled renewed optimism in the program among refugee advocates.

The US had for years outpaced other countries in refugee admissions, allowing millions into the country since the Refugee Act of 1980. But the program took a hit under former President Donald Trump, who slashed the number of refugees allowed to come to the US, and during the coronavirus pandemic, which resulted in a temporary suspension of resettlements.

In a statement marking World Refugee Day this year, Biden underscored his administration’s efforts to rebuild the admissions program and said the US planned to welcome 125,000 refugees next year.

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