And, no one is happy except maybe the Republican leadership in Congress—they will get some cheap labor for big business donors and the President has asked nothing of them in the way of trashing or reforming the system.
They can go home to angry voters who wanted a lower number (or none at all!) and pass the buck to the Prez.
Looking at the wailing headlines this morning (quoting the refugee industry) about how Donald Trump, the meany, has slashed refugee admissions to an all-time low, it seems to me that only Breitbart got it right!
Trump Administration Misses Opportunity to Suspend Refugee Program, Sets FY 2018 Ceiling at 45,000
If Trump had suspended the program (Bush suspended it for two months at the beginning of FY02), it might have lit a fire under the House and Senate Judiciary Committees to begin seriously investigating the program and either trashing it or reforming it. There is now zero incentive to do that.
And, does anyone think any serious effort will be made in Election year 2018?
The program can move along at this slightly lower level until Trump is no longer President and then they can kick it in to high gear again, and away they go. They will push up the numbers dramatically to make up for lost time in demographically changing America.
BTW, Breitbart reporter Michael Patrick Leahy did a little calculation and points out that the average annual admissions under George Bush were guess what? Under 45,000.
So, Donald Trump has done what politicians always do—tried to split the baby—and turned off his base of voters who wanted to see this program and other legal immigration programs reined in.
I’ll have more to say later (have a family gathering to host) when I may be able to calmly give some guidance on what we might do next.