Senate Judiciary Committee requests consultation with admin on refugee admissions

The Senate Judiciary Committee on Friday sent a letter to the Trump administration requesting an in-person consultation regarding the country’s refugee admissions ahead of the new fiscal year.

Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), the chairman and ranking member of the judiciary panel, respectively, wrote to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan that the end of the fiscal year is near and they’ve had little communication from the administration.

{mosads}“As you are aware, federal law requires a Cabinet level designee of the President to consult with the Chairs and Ranking Members of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees before the President can set the annual refugee admission ceiling for the coming fiscal year. The end of this fiscal year is fast approaching, and there has been very limited communication to coordinate consultation,” they wrote.

The letter came a week after a similar request from Reps. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) and Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), the respective chairs of the House Judiciary Committee and Immigration and Citizenship Subcommittee. 

Immigration hardliners in the administration have eyed cutting down refugee admissions as the White House seeks to curb the total number of migrants entering the U.S. 

The administration cut the refugee admissions ceiling to 45,000 and 30,000 for fiscal years 2018 and 2019 respectively, and reports emerged in July that it is mulling capping the number of refugees admitted into the U.S. in FY 2020 at zero.