The Tablet Staff

On September 26, the Trump administration announced that it would be cutting back on the number of refugees the nation will be accepting, limiting victims of war and persecution from seeking protection in the U.S..

Currently, the U.S. is allowing 30,000 refugees from around the world into the nation – a number which will now be reduced by almost half. Under the Obama administration, it was declared that as many as 110,000 refugees could be allowed into the U.S. in 2016.

According to the State Department, only 18,000 refugees will now be accepted within the next 12 months.

Of that number, 5,000 refugees of religious violence will be allowed entry into the U.S., as well as 4,000 Iraqis who worked with the U.S. military and 1,500 Central American refugees.

Refugees looking to resettle and reunite with their families round out the remaining 7,500 slots. 

“The shockingly low refugee admissions goal and the executive order will all but ensure that people in need of safety will be left in dangerous conditions and separated from their families,” said Betsy Fisher, the Director of Strategy for the International Refugee Assistance Project.

The Trump administration has said the cap was put in place to accommodate what is expected to be a massive influx of people seeking asylum, as many as 350,000. 

In the past, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has criticized the decision of the Trump administration to cut back on the number of refugees allowed into the country.