SAN DIEGO (AP) — President Joe Biden faced fierce blowback from fellow Democrats and refugee advocates for considering keeping his predecessor’s record-low cap of 15,000 for admitting refugees this budget year. Biden ultimately raised the ceiling to 62,500. But in the end, resettlement agencies expect only about 15,000 refugees to actually be admitted by Sept. 30 when the budget year ends and a new ceiling must be set by the president. The program was gutted by the Trump administration, and resettlement agencies say they lost valuable time to rebuild because of Biden’s foot dragging. Refugee arrivals also have been hampered by coronavirus pandemic restrictions.
