Trump admin may further reduce number of refugees welcome in US next year

Trump administration officials are reportedly mulling whether they might delay or further reduce the number of refugees who are allowed to enter the United States over the next year.

The possible delay is one of several options officials are discussing internally. It would, if implemented, mean some refugee admissions would be frozen until a federal judge resolves a challenge to a 2019 Donald Trump-signed order. The potential move aligns with the president’s hardline immigration policies and was leaked to Reuters less than two months before an election in which Mr Trump needs a big conservative turnout in a handful of battleground states.

A decision on the possible move will come, an official told the wire service, when the legal challenge is settled “with some greater degree of finality.”

Mr Trump has long argued that too much immigration means workers from other countries will take jobs that otherwise would go to US citizens.

Pro-immigration advocates argue that is false, saying most Americans do not want the jobs taken by most immigrants.

After contending they were looking to mostly crack down on illegal immigration, Trump administration officials have increasingly moved to alter the country’s legal immigration system, angering Democratic lawmakers and advocates.