As Trump mulls refugee cap, DHS officials raise red flags
Agency officials tell the White House it may have trouble processing 50,000 refugees next year.
By ANDREW RESTUCCIA and TED HESSON 09/20/2017 05:23 AM EDT
Department of Homeland Security officials have warned the White House that they may have trouble processing 50,000 refugees next year, putting additional pressure on President Donald Trump to lower the cap on refugees entering the United States to the lowest point in decades.
In private meetings with White House officials in recent weeks, DHS officials have raised logistical concerns about handling 50,000 refugees in fiscal year 2018 if the president decides to maintain the cap that he imposed as part of the travel ban, according to two administration officials.
One of the administration officials said the department was swamped with a backlog of asylum applications, which have skyrocketed in recent years. In June, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services had roughly 275,000 pending “affirmative” asylum cases — when someone arrives in the U.S. and requests safe haven. The figure amounts to a more than 600 percent increase in the backlog compared with December 2013.
The pressure from DHS comes as Trump faces a vanishing window to make the decision on refugee admissions. According to the statute that governs the program, the president should determine refugee levels before the start of the fiscal year on Oct. 1.
Though administration officials say Trump has not yet made up his mind, they expect him to lower the refugee cap below 50,000.
more:
http://www.politico.com/story/2017/09/20/trump-refugees-homeland-security-242911
