After facing sharp criticism from Democrats for opting in favour of former President Trump’s migration plans, Joe Biden announced on Friday that he will be lifting Trump’s historically low migration caps by next month.  

However, when asked to give a specific number, the White House did not comment, reported the New York Times. 

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The emergency determination signed by Biden earlier stated that about 15,000 refugees would be admitted into the United States this year, sticking to his predecessor’s capped limit. He wrote that this cap “remains justified by humanitarian concerns and is otherwise in the national interest.” But a provision given in the provision stated that if the cap limit is reached before this year is over, a presidential determination may be issued to raise the number, reported AP. 

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki later said Joe Biden had been consulting his advisers to estimate a realistic number of refugees who could be admitted into the US up till October 1. 

Psaki said, “given the decimated refugee admissions program we inherited, it could now be “unlikely” for President Biden to be able to boost the 15,000 cap to 62,500 migrants. 

His advisers in turn told him 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.”

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As per the new allocation, 1000 slots have been reserved for refugees from East Asia, 1,500 from Europe, 7,000 from Africa, 1,500 from the Near East and South Asia, 1,500 from Europe and Central Asia, 3,000 from Latin America and the Caribbean. 1,000 slot reserve could be utilised if and when the need arises, reported AP. 

Richard Blumenthal, Democratic Senator earlier said, “This cruel policy is no more acceptable now than it was during the Trump Administration. To be clear: the asylum process at the southern border and the refugee process are completely separate immigration systems. Conflating the two constitutes caving to the politics of fear.”

Only about 2,000 refugees have resettled in the United States since the current fiscal year began last October, reported AP. 

Biden was being subjected to accusations of succumbing to political pressure by both the political parties due to the unprecedented increase in migrants crossing borders to enter the US.