Even though he’s out of office, Donald Trump is still stacking wins. This week, it was on immigration albeit for a hot second. It may be more of a moral victory, but before a leftist temper tantrum—Joe Biden was set to keep the Trump administration’s cap on refugees in place. It only shows that there were many policies deemed to be Lucifer in the flesh by the liberal media that were actually good and sensible. This is yet another one. What caused the initial hesitancy to raise the limit? Well, it was the ongoing border crisis, which the administration is starting to see as a disaster situation of their own doing (via NYT):
Biden keeps the Trump / Stephen Miller refugee cap. Genuinely curious to hear Biden allies explain how what was “racist” and “cruel” under Trump is now enlightened and humane. https://t.co/1kRFNqbiqg
— Jonathan Swan (@jonathanvswan) April 16, 2021
President Biden will limit the number of refugees allowed into the United States this year to the historically low level set by the Trump administration, walking back an earlier promise to welcome more than 60,000 people fleeing war and persecution into the country.
President Biden in February committed to raising the cap of 15,000 refugees set by the prior administration. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken notified Congress on Feb. 12 that the administration planned to allow up to 62,500 refugees to enter the country in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30.
The reversal on Mr. Biden’s promise to welcome in thousands of families fleeing war and religious persecution signals the president’s hesitant approach to rebuilding an immigration system gutted by his predecessor. But the delay in officially designating the refugee admissions has already left hundreds of refugees cleared to travel to the United State stranded in camps around the world and infuriated resettlement agencies that accused Mr. Biden of breaking an earlier promise to restore the American reputation as a sanctuary for the oppressed.
A senior administration official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the decision-making, said the administration grew concerned that the surge of border crossings by unaccompanied minors was too much and had already overwhelmed the refugee branch of the Department of Health and Human Services. But migrants at the border seeking asylum are processed in an entirely separate system than refugees fleeing persecution overseas.
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Completely and utterly unacceptable. Biden promised to welcome immigrants, and people voted for him based on that promise.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) April 16, 2021
Upholding the xenophobic and racist policies of the Trump admin, incl the historically low + plummeted refugee cap, is flat out wrong.
Keep your promise. https://t.co/A82xYf1XpR
— Biden Voters Posting Their L's Online (@BidenLs) April 16, 2021
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) slammed Biden. Yes, there was a flow of liberal tears throughout the day until the Biden crew decided to yell “uncle” and cave to the demands of the far left. Now, the border crisis, which is already bad, is about to become much worse (via Associated Press):
BREAKING: After blowback from allies, White House says President Biden will move to lift Trump-era refugee caps next month. https://t.co/hVOZUbDWbu
— The Associated Press (@AP) April 16, 2021
NEW: The White House is walking back its announcement that it will keep the Trump-era refugee cap of 15,000.
— NPR Politics (@nprpolitics) April 16, 2021
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said President Biden would “set a final, increased refugee cap for the remainder of this fiscal year by May 15.”
Facing swift blowback from allies and aid groups, the White House on Friday said President Joe Biden plans to lift in the next month his predecessor’s historically low cap on refugees, after initially moving only to expand the eligibility criteria for resettlements.
Biden earlier Friday moved to accelerate refugee admissions but kept his predecessor’s historically low cap of 15,000 refugees for this year, triggering a backlash from Democratic lawmakers and resettlement agencies.
Biden stated in his emergency determination that the admission of up to 15,000 refugees this year “remains justified by humanitarian concerns and is otherwise in the national interest.” But should the cap be reached before the end of the current budget year and the emergency refugee situation persists, then a presidential determination may be issued to raise the ceiling.
So, I guess we’re going to have to build more concentration camps, right?
“This isn’t who we are.”
It’s a circus. Yet, it just shows once again that the Trump agenda was rather mainstream. It always was—but that reality hit the far left like a sledgehammer to the face and they’re not happy. This was more of a moral win for the former president, but Biden is keeping the Trump caps on SALT taxes which if revoked, would be a massive cut to the rich and hurt the administration’s messaging with working- and middle-class voters. Joe is also planning on making the lion's share of the Trump tax cuts permanent. The only area he wants gone is the corporate tax structures which we all knew was on the chopping block. Still, that’s a lot of tax policy that Biden’s folks are seeing as good for the country. It’s the same story with the Bush tax cuts. Democrats rail against them and then end up making 80 percent of it permanent. It’s as if the GOP is just better at this stuff, huh?
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