Washington: President Joe Biden will uphold the administration’s goal of admitting 125,000 refugees in the coming year, according to a memo delivered to the U.S. State Department on Monday. The memo outlines plans for Fiscal Year (FY) 2025, continuing the target set in previous years.
The Biden administration is on track to admit around 100,000 individuals through the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program by the end of Fiscal Year 2024, which concludes on September 30, according to an internal report shared with U.S. lawmakers, as reported by Reuters. If this goal is met, it would mark the highest number of refugee admissions in over 30 years.
“The admission of up to 125,000 refugees to the United States during Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 is justified by humanitarian concerns or is otherwise in the national interest,” Biden stated in the memo.
Immigration remains a significant issue for voters ahead of the upcoming November 5 elections, where Vice President Kamala Harris, a Democrat, will face off against former Republican President Donald Trump. During his term from 2017 to 2021, Trump drastically reduced refugee admissions and has pledged to impose stricter immigration policies if re-elected.
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The U.S. Refugee Admissions Program is available to individuals outside their home countries who are fleeing persecution due to race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion. Applicants must be outside the United States to be eligible for this status.
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Biden initially set the target of 125,000 refugee admissions for fiscal year 2022, a goal that has yet to be fully realized, despite efforts to expedite refugee processing in subsequent years.
