Like Donald Trump, US President Joe Biden’s predecessor, very few refugees will be accepted on US soil this year. This contradicts his previous promise to shelter more than 60,000 people who have fled war and persecution.
Under Trump’s presidency, he sought to close the country’s borders as much as possible to asylum seekers and immigrants, and only 15,000 people were allowed in annually. On the one hand, Biden promised in February that 62,500 people would be prepared to absorb, among other things, due to humanitarian crises around the world. In the end, however, Biden never signed the presidential decree that would have allowed it.
Thousands of refugees are waiting in refugee camps around the world who have already been screened and can travel to the United States. However, due to the cap of 15,000, it is not possible to travel for around 35,000.
Refugees who have applied for refugee status in the United States from the other side of the world go through a multi-step process that can take years.
Although he kept the 15,000 Trump program limit, Biden also changed immigration rules. Under Trump, Iraqis who served in the US military and refugees of predominantly Christian origin who were persecuted for religious reasons were given priority. On the other hand, Muslim and African asylum seekers are almost completely excluded, despite the fact that most asylum seekers are located in Africa.
Biden returns to the rules that were in place before Trump and welcomes refugees based on their region of the world. There will be 7,000 seats for Africans, 1,000 for East Asians, 1,500 for Europeans and Central Asia, and 3,000 for Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East and South Asia. Next year, the Biden administration plans to receive 125,000 asylum seekers. (right Now)
