Biden backtracks on keeping Trump cap on refugees

[Celerity]

This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by DonViejo (a host of the Latest Breaking News forum).

Source: BBC

President Joe Biden has reversed course hours after signing an order to keep the number of refugees admitted annually to the US at Trump-era levels. Mr Biden drew ire on Friday as he held the cap at the historically low figure of 15,000, two months after he pledged to increase it to 65,500.

The White House later said Mr Biden would raise the refugee cap next month. Reports say Mr Biden is concerned about letting in more people amid a record influx at the US-Mexico border. UN figures indicate there are more than 80 million refugees worldwide, with 85% of them hosted by developing countries.

What did Biden's order do?

The White House said Friday's order would speed up refugee admissions to the US - since October around 2,000 people have been admitted under the programme. The order also changes the allocation of who is allowed in, with more slots being provided to arrivals from Africa, the Middle East and Central America, and an end to restrictions on resettlements from Somalia, Syria and Yemen.

But Mr Biden kept the maximum number of refugees allowed in annually at 15,000, a ceiling set by his predecessor as president, Donald Trump. Mr Biden stated the Trump-era cap "remains justified by humanitarian concerns and is otherwise in the national interest".

snip

Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-56778721

[speak easy]

1. This is Biden at his best.

Consultative leadership on the merits (including the political merits) of an issue. FDR was praised for 'make me do it' . I'm more than happy to give Joe Biden the benefit of the doubt. He listens.

[George II]

2. Biden didn't backtrack. Here's the official Press Release from the White House:

Statement by Press Secretary Jen Psaki on the Emergency Presidential Determination on Refugee Admissions for Fiscal Year 2021

APRIL 16, 2021 • STATEMENTS AND RELEASES

The President’s directive today has been the subject of some confusion. Last week, he sent to Congress his budget for the fiscal year starting in October 2021, which honors his commitment. For the past few weeks, he has been consulting with his advisors to determine what number of refugees could realistically be admitted to the United States between now and October 1. Given the decimated refugee admissions program we inherited, and burdens on the Office of Refugee Resettlement, his initial goal of 62,500 seems unlikely.

While finalizing that determination, the President was urged to take immediate action to reverse the Trump policy that banned refugees from many key regions, to enable flights from those regions to begin within days; today’s order did that. With that done, we expect the President to set a final, increased refugee cap for the remainder of this fiscal year by May 15.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/04/16/statement-by-press-secretary-jen-psaki-on-the-emergency-presidential-determination-on-refugee-admissions-for-fiscal-year-2021/

[DonViejo]

3. Locking...

Duplicate of https://www.democraticunderground.com/10142730444