After facing criticism for initially refusing to increase the number of refugees allowed into the United States annually from Donald Trump’s ridiculously low amount, the Biden Administration announced today that it will raise the number to 62,500 from 15,000, USA Today reports.
“Today, I am revising the United States’ annual refugee admissions cap to 62,500 for this fiscal year,” Biden said in a statement. “This erases the historically low number set by the previous administration of 15,000, which did not reflect America’s values as a nation that welcomes and supports refugees.”
Even with the increase, the administration noted that it was unlikely to admit that many refugees this year, primarily due to the previous administration’s dismantling of the refugee screening system.
“The sad truth is that we will not achieve 62,500 admissions this year,” Biden said. “We are working quickly to undo the damage of the last four years. It will take some time, but that work is already underway.”