Washington Examiner -- Chris Chmielenski
Trump's order rolls back the Obama administration goal of resettling 110,000 refugees this year to the more traditional level of 50,000. The new cap has strong precedent. For decades, refugee admissions averaged around 50,000, and in 2011 and 2012, the Obama administration admitted 56,384 and 58,179 refugees, respectively. The 1980 Refugee Act, as well as the last bipartisan commission for immigration reform, chaired by the late Rep. Barbara Jordan, D-Texas, also recommended capping refugee admissions at 50,000.
Our role in resettlement has and will remain robust under the 50,000-refugee cap. In 2015, around 135,000 U.N.-recognized refugees were permanently resettled around the world. Of those, the U.S. accepted more than every other country combined and almost four times the number accepted by Canada, the next highest country.
Permanent resettlement is a solution for only about 1 percent of all refugees. Most refugee aid is directed at the 99 percent who remain in their home regions. Lost in the weekend's theatrics, Trump spoke with Saudi Arabia's King Salman on Sunday afternoon to discuss the establishment of more safe zones in the Middle East to provide food, housing, and medical care for refugees.
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