(MENAFN) The United States says it will maintain its 125,000-refugee admissions ceiling for the 2019 fiscal year.
The ruling on Tuesday came amid calls from campaigners for more refugees to be allowed in, as a record number of people fled their homes due to conflict, violence, persecution, and human rights violations. According to the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, and other catastrophes have increased the number of people displaced this year to "the dramatic milestone of 100 million."
Refugee activists have urged US President Joe Biden's administration to do more to restore the 40-year-old Refugee Admissions Program, which was destroyed by the Trump administration when admissions were reduced to a historic low of 15,000.
Following his election, Biden tripled the amount of refugee admissions allowed for the remaining months of the fiscal year 2021.
He then set a target of 125,000 for the fiscal year 2022, which ends on September 30.
Despite increasing the number and removing bureaucratic impediments erected by his predecessor, the Biden administration has failed to move the initiative forward.
Less than 20,000 refugees have been allowed so far. This figure does not include the approximately 180,000 Ukrainians and Afghans who arrived in the United States under a legal process known as humanitarian parole, which allowed them to enter the nation faster than the conventional refugee program but only permits for stays of up to two years.
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