Trump slashes refugee cap to 18,000

The administration said it would accept 18,000 refugees during the next 12 months, down from the current limit of 30,000 and a fraction of the 110,000 President Barack Obama said should be allowed into the United States in 2016, his final year in office.

The Trump administration plans to reserve many of the available 18,000 refugee slots for Iraqis who worked with the United States military, some persecuted people from Central America and small groups of religious minorities and persecuted people, the State Department said.

That will eliminate many opportunities for people fleeing war and persecution in other countries to resettle in the United States, which until Mr. Trump took office was the world’s leading destination for refugees…

There is a backlog of almost one million cases in the immigration courts in the United States, many of which are asylum seekers. Mr. Miller and the officials argue that the administration’s resources are better spent processing those cases than bringing more refugees into the United States.