The U.S. accepted zero refugees in October. That鈥檚 after the Trump administration has set a year-long cap on refugees at 18,000, the lowest number since the modern refugee program began with the Refugee Act of 1980.
Meanwhile, Utah Gov. Gary Herbert is appealing to the Trump administration to allow more refugees into his state. He wrote his appeal in a in response to President Donald Trump鈥檚 executive order giving cities and states more authority over incoming refugees.鈥淥ur state was founded by religious refugees fleeing persecution in the Eastern United States,鈥� Herbert wrote. 鈥淎s a result we empathize deeply with individuals and groups who have been forced from their homes and we love giving them a new home and a new life.鈥�
In late September, Trump signed that gives states and cities more authority to accept or reject refugees for resettlement. Herbert said he wrote his letter in direct response to that order, saying he would like to see his own state鈥檚 refugee numbers go up. accepting 1,555 refugees in fiscal year 2016. By 2018, it was down to 539.
鈥淲e know the need has not decreased and are eager to see the number of admittances rise again,鈥� Herbert wrote.
Tara Wolfson would also like to see more refugees accepted into the Mountain West. She directs of the Idaho Office for Refugees, and said refugees have been resettled in Idaho since 1975.
鈥淎nd they鈥檙e really part of our communities and they power our economy, so when people don鈥檛 come, I think not only do businesses feel that, but also, you have to remember that we鈥檙e talking about people鈥檚 family members,鈥� she said.
The global refugee crisis continues to mount with numbers of refugees reaching levels not seen since World War II.
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