Number of U.S. refugee admissions has changed dramatically under Trump

An analysis of refugee admissions conducted by USA Today found the number of refugees admitted under the Trump administration in its first 100 days dropped dramatically compared to the number of refugees admitted in the final months of the Obama administration.

According to USA Today, 2,070 refugees were admitted to the United States in March, the lowest total for one month since 2013. In April, 3,316 refugees were admitted, the second-lowest total during the same period.

During fiscal year 2015, the Obama administration admitted 70,000 refugees, a significant increase from earlier in his administration. In fiscal year 2016, the Obama administration admitted 85,000 refugees.

The Trump administration has said it wants to cap the total number of refugees for fiscal year 2017, which ends in September, at 50,000. In the final months of the Obama administration, tens of thousands of refugees were admitted. In total, more than 42,000 refugees have been admitted in fiscal year 2017, leaving less than 8,000 spots available for the remainder of this fiscal year, assuming Trump’s 50,000 mark continues to stay in effect.

In January and March, Trump issued executive orders temporarily suspending the United States’ refugee program in several Muslim-majority nations, but both orders were struck down by federal judges who ruled Trump’s ban was unconstitutional because they unjustly targeted Muslims. Trump’s administration is challenging the latest ruling in court.

The refugee program’s scale-down is not linked to other forms of legal immigration, although several top White House officials have said they support reducing the number of immigrants allowed to enter the United States legally, including Attorney General Jeff Sessions and White House chief strategist Stephen Bannon.

The Blaze reported on May 3 the Pew Research Center found the United States is home to more immigrants than any other nation in the world. Pew estimates there are 40 million people living in America that were born in another country. Roughly 20 percent of the world’s total migrant population resides in the United States.

Immigrants today account for 13.4% of the U.S. population, nearly triple the share (4.7%) in 1970 https://t.co/hLI06NsuwD pic.twitter.com/WonSwTiv9x

— Pew Research Center (@pewresearch) May 3, 2017

However, the United States has in recent years taken a back seat to accepting refugees compared to many nations, especially in Europe. For instance, Germany accepted 1 million refugees during the past year, according to USA Today.