America’s refugee policy pivots again as Joe Biden vows to extend cap

US President Joe Biden on Saturday took what seems like a final pivot in the country’s cap on refugee intake and said that the administration will extend the previously announced limit after Friday’s announcement garnered a substantial backlash from various stakeholders.

A day before the announcement, which seemed like a fluid and flexible one, Biden signed on an order which would retain the previously instated cap put further by former US President Donald Trump. However, in February, Biden announced that his administration would extend the limit multifold and set it at 62,500.

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Biden said, “We are going to increase the number. The problem was the refugee part was working on the crisis that ended up at the border with young people. We couldn’t do two things at once, so now we are going to raise the number”, after a recreational session of golf in his home state of Delaware, according to Reuters.

The previous decision of retaining the refugee policy of Trump was considered as a knockout blow by migration advocacy organisations, who expected Biden to work in favour of those who sought asylum in the US.

On Friday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said that the President is likely to announce the extended cap by May 15. 

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However, Psaki added that Biden’s “initial goal of 62,500 seems unlikely … given the decimated refugee admissions program we inherited.”

On multiple occasions, including the Presidential election rallies and after taking over the office, Biden had vowed to reform America’s immigration policy using an approach that varied from Trump’s policy.