WASHINGTON – The United States (US) government said it will cut by almost half the number of refugees allowed into the country.
It said 18,000 people will be accepted under the government’s refugee program over the next 12 months – a record low.
Places will be reserved for Iraqis, persecuted religious minorities and asylum seekers from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.
President Donald Trump also signed an executive order allowing state and local governments to opt out of resettling refugees in their communities.
In 2017, Trump set the limit for refugees under the US Refugee Admissions Program at 50,000, cutting it the next year to 45,000 and to 30,000 for this year.
The previous lowest admissions figure was in 2002, after the 9/11 attacks, when about 27,000 refugees were allowed into the US.
The US Refugee Admissions Program was set up in 1980 when Congress passed the Refugee Act.(BBC)
