National Security Establishment Begs Trump to Resettle More Refugees in U.S.

The national security establishment, comprised of nearly 30 United States generals and admirals, are begging President Trump to resettle more foreign refugees in the country.

While the Trump administration considers temporarily reducing refugee resettlement to zero admissions a year, about 27 retired U.S. generals and admirals — including retired General David Petraeus — have sent a letter to the president’s national security team asking that they increase the total number of refugees resettled in the country every year:

Refugee admissions have been reduced to historic lows … leaving thousands in harm’s way. Further cuts would undermine commitments to allies and partners on the ground, our national security missions overseas, and the domestic infrastructure here in the United States that supports the successful integration of refugees, including those who served alongside U.S. troops. [Emphasis added]

We urge you to protect this vital program and ensure that the next refugee admissions goal is commensurate with global resettlement needs. [Emphasis added]

For Fiscal Year 2019, the Trump administration set the refugee admissions cap at 30,000 a year — the lowest cap since 1980. This cap is merely a numerical limit and not a goal, as suggested by the generals and admirals.

The U.S., thanks exclusively to Trump’s reforms, helped lower the total number of foreign refugees to less than 23,000 admissions last year. This is a 76 percent decrease in foreign refugee resettlement from President Obama’s 2016 totals that reached almost 100,000 admissions. Specifically, Trump has cut the Syria-to-U.S. pipeline of refugees — started by former President Obama — by more than 60 percent thus far.

Refugee resettlement to the U.S. costs American taxpayers about $1.8 billion a year and about $8.8 billion over the course of five years, research by the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) has revealed. Since 1980, the U.S. has admitted more than 3.5 million foreign refugees, with nearly 100,000 refugees arriving in 2016, alone, under Obama.

John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter at @JxhnBinder.