The budget deal to keep the government funded through September agreed upon by congressional leaders would continue funding the refugee resettlement program.
An agreement on the omnibus budget was reached by leaders from both parties Sunday, as a government shutdown looms on Friday. The proposed spending agreement includes no money to construct the president’s border wall, and continues funding Planned Parenthood.
Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, a member of the House Freedom Caucus, said on CNN Monday that he thinks “you’re going to see a lot of conservatives be against this plan this week.”
The bill would include a total of $3 billion towards migration and refugee assistance, which is roughly the same that was spent in Fiscal Year 2016. It would also include $50 million towards the emergency refugee and migration assistance fund, which is also the same amount spent in the previous fiscal year.
With President Trump’s executive orders temporarily blocking refugee resettlement held up in court, 12,397 refugees have been resettled during his presidency. This is roughly 7,000 fewer refugees than President Obama admitted in the same time period last year. However, more Syrian refugees — which were a particular focus of Trump’s on the campaign trail — have been resettled in this time than under Obama.
The Obama administration set a goal in September of 110,000 refugees admitted in Fiscal Year 2017. A State Department official told The Daily Caller in early April that “this language represents a ceiling on refugee admissions – it is not a mandatory target.”
“Due to a variety of factors, including the ongoing litigation and uncertainty regarding future funding levels, we are not in a position to speculate as to the final number of refugees that will be admitted by the end of this fiscal year,” the official added.
An appeals hearing for a Maryland decision that blocked Trump’s executive order on refugees is set for May 8.