President Donald Trump “has signed off on a plan that continues a dramatic drop in the number of refugees taken in by the U.S. to no more than 18,000 in fiscal year 2020,” the Associated Press reported.
The 18,000 figure “is the lowest level on record since the program began more than three decades ago,” the Hill newspaper noted.
Utah Gov. Gary Herbert recently wrote a letter to Trump asking that more refugees be sent to Utah to resettle, “saying there is plenty of room and resources for those in need,” the Salt Lake Tribune reported on Nov. 1.
Meanwhile, the Trump Administration in October admitted zero refugees for resettlement.
“Reducing the inflow of refugees to a trickle offends on a different level,” writes Scott Martelle, Editorial Writer for the Los Angeles Times.
“It contradicts the fundamental American story, that we are a nation of immigrants and their descendants, many of whom arrived here in flight from violence and deprivation (and yes, many in chains and against their will) in hopes of building a new life,” wrote Martelle in a recent opinion piece.
“An unintended consequence — or maybe it was intended — of the precipitous drop in refugee arrivals is that the nine nonprofit agencies most responsible for resettling new arrivals have seen their budgets collapse, leading to layoffs, closed offices and canceled services,” Martelle notes.
The Immigration and Refugee News Digest 