WASHINGTON, 20 September 2021, (TON): The Biden administration has signalled plans to double the United States’s refugee admissions cap for the next fiscal year, reaffirming a commitment to bolster a resettlement programme that was gutted by former President Donald Trump.

The Department of State announced on that the administration sent a report to Congress recommending that the limit be raised from 62,500 to 125,000 in the next fiscal year, which begins on October 1, 2021.

State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement “with the world facing unprecedented global displacement and humanitarian needs, the United States is committed to leading efforts to provide protection and promote durable solutions to humanitarian crises, to include providing resettlement for the most vulnerable.”

The move comes as Washington is planning to resettle thousands of Afghans who fled their country after the Taliban takeover last month. With as many 40,000 Afghans already brought to the US under different statuses, it is unclear how many will formally be admitted under the refugee system.

President Joe Biden faced criticism earlier this year after he delayed a promise to raise the 2021 admissions cap from a historic low of 15,000 set by his predecessor, Trump. But in May the Biden administration raised the limit to 62,500.

When raising the 2021 cap, Biden acknowledged that it would be difficult to resettle the maximum number of people that it allows. He also dampened expectations for the next fiscal year, saying it “will still be hard to hit” the 125,000 limit.