Every year the President of the United States determines how many refugees can enter this country. The law says he must consult Congress on this number.

But last week President Trump announced just 7,500 refugees would be admitted in the coming fiscal year – a 94% cut from the 125,000 cap set by President Joe Biden.

Sharif Aly leads the International Refugee Assistance Project - an organization that helps refugees and other immigrants navigate the legal process of resettlement. The International Refugee Assistance Project is also challenging Trump’s suspension of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program.

Aly joined Consider This host Juana Summers to discuss how this historic drop means for the US refugee resettlement system.

For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

This episode was produced by Jonaki Mehta, Connor Donevan and Karen Zamora, with audio engineering by Becky Brown and Simon-Laslo Janssen. It was edited by Courtney Dorning. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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From recording a snoring elephant to figuring out how to be a mime during an interview, three former print journalists talk about how telling an audio story is special.

For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

This episode was produced by Linah Mohammad. It was edited by Sarah Robbins. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy