US resettled 33,000 refugees in 2017, down from 97,000 in 2016, reveals UNHCR data; Donald Trump presidency key factor for fall

Washington: The US resettled 33,000 refugees in 2017, a roughly two-thirds drop from the previous year’s figure which stood at 97,000, according to data from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees published in a report by US-based Pew Research Centre. [caption id=“attachment_4545021” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. Reuters[/caption] The decline in refugee resettlement in the US coincided with the arrival of Donald Trump in the White House in January 2017, Efe news reported on Friday, citing the think tank. This marks the first time that the US has received fewer refugees than the rest of the world combined since it adopted the Refugee Act in 1980. The country has taken 3 million of the 4 million refugees worldwide since 1980. In 2016, during the tenure of former President Barack Obama, refugee resettlement in the US stood at 97,000 while that of other countries stood at 92,000. The US continues to lead in refugee resettlement (33,000), followed by Canada (27,000), Australia (15,000), the UK (6,000) and Germany, Sweden, France and Norway (3,000 each). Refugees represent nearly 30 percent of the world’s displaced population. In 2017, about 56 percent came from the Middle East and North Africa, especially Syria, while 23 percent arrived from sub-Saharan countries and another 15 percent from Asia. Trump has lowered the refugee quota for the 2018 fiscal year to 45,000 from the 110,000 set by Obama for 2017. With three months left in the current 2018 fiscal year, the US has welcomed 16,000 refugees. Trump criticised the refugee policy during his presidential campaign, saying that terrorists could come to the US in the guise of refugees.