U.S. refugee ceiling and admissions have declined in recent years In thousands, byfiscal year Obama sets FY17 ceiling at 110K;
The United States plans to admit a maximum of 18,000 refugees in fiscal year 2020, down from a cap of 30,000 in the one that ended Sept. 30, 2019, under a new refugee admissions ceiling set by the Trump administration. This would be the lowest number of refugees resettled by the U.S. in a single year since 1980, when Congress created the nation’s refugee resettlement program.
Refugee admissions into the U.S. have declined substantially during Donald Trump’s presidency. Every fall, the U.S. president sets a refugee ceiling – the maximum number of refugees who may enter the country in a fiscal year. In fiscal 2017 (Oct. 1, 2016, to Sept. 30, 2017), about 53,700 refugees resettled in the U.S. – a figure that reflects a temporary freeze on refugee admissions that Trump ordered shortly after taking office. The following year, Trump’s first full fiscal year in office, he set the nation’s refugee ceiling at 45,000, a new low at the time, and the U.S. ultimately admitted about 22,500. Trump then set the refugee ceiling at 30,000 for the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, 2019, and refugee admissions reached this cap. For fiscal 2020, which started Oct. 1, 2019, Trump has set a ceiling of 18,000 refugees.
Overall, the U.S. has admitted about 76,200 refugees so far under the Trump administration (Jan. 20, 2017, to Sept. 30, 2019). By comparison, the U.S. admitted nearly 85,000 refugees in fiscal 2016 alone, the last full fiscal year of the Obama administration.
Historically, the total number of refugees coming to the U.S. has fluctuated with global events and U.S. priorities. From fiscal years 1990 to 1995, an average of about 116,000 refugees arrived in the U.S. each year, with many coming from the former Soviet Union. However, refugee admissions dropped off to roughly 27,100 in fiscal 2002, a new low at the time, after the U.S. largely suspended admissions following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Refugee admissions rebounded from this low point. From fiscal 2008 to 2017, an average of about 67,100 refugees arrived each year. Half or more of refugees during this time came from Asia, with many from Iraq and Burma (Myanmar). (Iraq is counted as a part of Asia in this data source.) Since fiscal 1980, 55% of refugees have come from Asia, a far higher share than from Europe (28%), Africa (13%) or Latin America (4%).
U.S. refugee ceiling and admissions have declined in  | recent years  | In thousands, byfiscal year  | Obama sets FY17  | 2320  | ceiling at 110K;  | Trump limits FY17  | 2070  | admissions in  | executive order.  | Sept. 11, 2001  | Refugee ceiling  | terrorist attacks  | 110  | 54  | Refugee admissions  | 45  | 30  | 30  | 27  | 22  | 1980  | 1985  | 1990  | 1995  | 2000  | 2005  | 2010  | 2015 2019  | Note: Fiscal years end on Sept. 30 of the years shown. Figures rounded to the nearest  | thousand Refugee ceiling Is the maximum number of refugees allowed to Senter the U.S.; the  | the is set by the U.S. president after consultation with Congress.  | Source: U.S. State Department's Refugee Processing Center, accessed Oct. 1, 2019. U.S  | Yearbook of Immigration Statistics, 1980- 2017 Refugee Admissions and Resettlement  | Policy, Congressional Research Service, December 2018.  | PEW RESEARCH CENTER 