Trump slashes US refugee admissions to record low

President Donald Trump's administration said late Wednesday the United States will admit a record low of no more than 15,000 refugees over the coming year despite surging global displacement, stepping up its hard line one month before elections. The 15,000 figure -- the maximum who can be admitted over the next 12 months barring a change in administration -- is a further cut from 18,000 last year and down dramatically from more than 100,000 under previous president Barack Obama. Trump, who has campaigned on fierce denunciations of immigration, already suspended refugee admissions entirely for several months this year citing the Covid-19 pandemic. Nearly 80 million people around the world are displaced, double the number a decade ago, according to the UN refugee agency.