Ammon News - U.S. President Joe Biden announced late Monday that he is raising the maximum number of refugees allowed into the United States this year to 62,500, up from the 15,000 cap imposed by his predecessor Donald Trump.

The Washington Post said that this decision came after fierce criticism of the Biden administration by allies over his earlier decision to keep the Trump-era limits during 2021, in anticipation of the impacts of Covid-19 pandemic.

"This erases the historically low number set by the previous administration of 15,000, which did not reflect America’s values as a nation that welcomes and supports refugees," Biden said.

"The new admissions cap will also reinforce efforts that are already underway to expand the United States’ capacity to admit refugees, so that we can reach the goal of 125,000 refugee admissions that I intend to set for the coming fiscal year," he added.