The Trump administration, led by Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Sec. Kirstjen Nielsen, are making asylum claims for domestic violence victims at the U.S./Mexico border a near-impossibility, in a move that will quite literally send thousands of people back to their deaths. But even then, this White House is still not yet finished attacking the world’s most vulnerable in the name of white supremacy.
The New York Times reports that the administration may be considering yet again slashing the number of refugees that can be admitted to the U.S., from the already-low 45,000 set by the administration last year, down to 25,000 next year. If this plan is indeed rolled out, “it would be the lowest number of refugees admitted to the country since the creation of the program in 1980.”
“The program’s fate could hinge on Mike Pompeo, the secretary of state,” the New York Times reports. “His department has traditionally been a strong advocate for the refugee program.” Unfortunately, it’s not Pompeo that’s been driving immigration policy under this administration, it’s been White House aide Stephen Miller, and Miller’s lifelong views have always been clear—brown people must stay out.
Miller has been the architect or key player behind the Muslim bans, the termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for hundreds of thousands of immigrants, and the barbaric “zero tolerance” policy. Now, the effort to slash refugee numbers “is meeting with less resistance from inside the Trump administration because of the success that Stephen Miller … has had in installing allies in key positions who are ready to sign off on deep cuts.”
“Mr. Trump has until September to officially settle on a number, which must be set by the Oct. 1 start of the fiscal year, although the White House is supposed to inform Congress of its intentions in advance.” Remember that isn’t about national security, because the vetting process for refugees is so intense, it can take up to two years. This isn’t about fiscal worries, because refugees “appear to play an outsized role in creating new jobs, and even raising the wages of natives.” This is about white supremacy, and that white supremacy kills.