"Today, I am revising the United States’ annual refugee admissions cap to 62,500 for this fiscal year. This erases the historically low number set by the previous administration of 15,000, which did not reflect America’s values as a nation that welcomes and supports refugees," Biden said in a statement.
Biden previously announced that the cap would not be raised above the 15,000 refugee limit set during the Trump administration. However, criticism and pressure from Democratic lawmakers have reportedly caused the White House to reverse its policy and follow through on its initial commitment to raise the refugee cap to 62,500.
Biden noted that the new admission cap will help the effort to increase the number to 125,000 in the next fiscal year.
However, the president also said the administration does not expect to actually admit 62,500 refugees this fiscal year, as the US admissions process ramps up after four years of historically low caps set during the Trump administration.