Trump Administration Proposes Historically Low Refugee Limit
A group of Central American refugees and asylum seekers hold an American flag bandanna while taking shelter in the town of Matias Romero, Oaxaca state, Mexico on April 4, 2018.
Photographer: Jordi Ruiz Cirera/BloombergNew York (AP) -- The Trump administration wants to cap the number of refugees admitted into the United States to the lowest number since the resettlement program was created in 1980.
A State Department proposal released Thursday would put a cap on the number of refugees at 18,000 for the fiscal year that starts Oct. 1. Of those refugee admissions spots, 5,000 would be set aside for persecuted religious minorities — an attempt to bolster President Donald Trump's heightened focus on global religious freedom — and 1,500 would be set aside for nationals of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, who are seeking asylum in the United States in far greater numbers.