Why the White House wanted to avoid the refugee issue

Though the issues are separate, administration officials predicted raising the number of refugees, as Biden had promised to in February, would turbocharge the false claim on the right that the administration was “opening” its U.S. borders. They feared the ramifications, as they would come at a time when the White House is also asking Republicans to negotiate on a massive infrastructure package. “You’re not going to throw gasoline on top of that fire,” said a person briefed on internal discussions, who described it as one of the factors considered. “Fox News would have had a field day with it. It’s the easiest talking point for every Sunday show.” But if the White House was hoping to avoid a political fire with conservatives when it announced that Biden would keep former President Donald Trump’s 15,000-person cap — an historic low — it ended up sparking one with Democrats in Congress, immigrant advocates and refugee resettlement agencies. Later Friday, the administration reversed itself after the flood of condemnations, saying it would indeed raise the number for refugee admissions by or before May 15.