New US Refugee Limit 18,000; States, Cities Have to Opt-In to Resettlement

Rohingya refugees shelter under umbrellas as they walk through the Kutupalong refugee camp in Ukhia on Sept. 12, 2019. MUNIR UZ ZAMAN/AFP/Getty Images

WASHINGTON—The White House has set the new refugee ceiling at 18,000 for fiscal year 2020, well below the fiscal 2019 limit of 30,000.

“This proposed ceiling takes into account the ongoing security and humanitarian crisis on our border and the massive asylum backlog, which now includes nearly 1 million individuals,” the administration said in a Sept. 26 statement.