The U.S. has reached the Trump administration’s limit of 50,000 refugees for this budget year. That won’t stop some additional refugees from entering the United States in the next few months, but they will now face tighter standards.
A Supreme Court order last month said the administration must admit refugees beyond the 50,000 cap if they can prove a “bona fide relationship” with a person or entity in the United States. That was part of a broader ruling that allowed President Donald Trump to partially administer his contested travel ban affecting six Muslim majority countries.
As of Wednesday, 50,086 refugees have been admitted since the budget year began last October. All those refugees have to undergo a strict screening process. Additional refugees will face the same screening, but will also need to prove they have a close relative living in the United States, a job awaiting them, or admission to a college or university.
In the 2016 budget year, the U.S. admitted about 85,000 refugees, up from 70,000 the previous year.
The State Department, which oversees the refugee program, said Wednesday that it had advised resettlement agencies that the current cap was reached, though anyone traveling to the U.S. would still be admitted.
The additional requirements are supposed to be in place for 120 days, while the government examines security and screening procedures that Trump suggested aren’t stringent enough. But a new cap will take effect before then, when the new budget year begins in October, and everything is subject to change after the Supreme Court hears arguments on the travel and refugee bans that month. It’s unclear what the new cap will be.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.