US refugee ceilings ranged from 18k to 125k a year. Admissions reached the ceiling in 5 years of 16
- 2010: plan 80kfact 73k
- 2011: plan 80kfact 56k
- 2012: plan 76kfact 58k
- 2013: plan 70kfact 70k
- 2014: plan 70kfact 70k
- 2015: plan 70kfact 70k
- 2016: plan 85kfact 85k
- 2017: plan 110kfact 54k
- 2018: plan 45kfact 23k
- 2019: plan 30kfact 30k
- 2020: plan 18kfact 12k
- 2021: plan 63kfact 11k
- 2022: plan 125kfact 25k
- 2023: plan 125kfact 60k
- 2024: plan 125kfact 100k
- 2025: plan 125kfact 38k
Came true: the fact within 5% of the plan
Admissions came closest to the ceiling in 2013–2016. After 2021 the ceiling was raised to 125k, while 25k to 100k were admitted.
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Each year the US president signs a determination of how many refugees the country may admit. Here that number is beside how many were actually admitted.
A row is one promise: who, what and by when. The question is whether at least half came true. Answer Yes or No, or just open the answer: each row gets its outcome and what actually came of it, the card a stamp counting those that came true. Quotes and links to the facts are below.
- 2010 — Barack Obama refugees per fiscal year
plan 80,000; fact 73,311
- 2011 — Barack Obama refugees per fiscal year
plan 80,000; fact 56,424
- 2012 — Barack Obama refugees per fiscal year
plan 76,000; fact 58,238
- 2013 — Barack Obama refugees per fiscal year
plan 70,000; fact 69,926
- 2014 — Barack Obama refugees per fiscal year
plan 70,000; fact 69,987
- 2015 — Barack Obama refugees per fiscal year
plan 70,000; fact 69,933
- 2016 — Barack Obama refugees per fiscal year
plan 85,000; fact 84,994
- 2017 — Barack Obama refugees per fiscal year
plan 110,000; fact 53,716
- 2018 — Donald Trump refugees per fiscal year
plan 45,000; fact 22,676
- 2019 — Donald Trump refugees per fiscal year
plan 30,000; fact 30,000
- 2020 — Donald Trump refugees per fiscal year
plan 18,000; fact 11,814
- 2021 — Joseph Biden refugees per fiscal year
plan 62,500; fact 11,411
- 2022 — Joseph Biden refugees per fiscal year
plan 125,000; fact 25,465
- 2023 — Joseph Biden refugees per fiscal year
plan 125,000; fact 60,014
- 2024 — Joseph Biden refugees per fiscal year
plan 125,000; fact 100,034
- 2025 — Joseph Biden refugees per fiscal year
plan 125,000; fact 38,102
Ceilings: presidential determinations in the Federal Register (govinfo.gov). Fact: US Department of State, Refugee Processing Center, admissions report (Cumulative Summary). Outcome: «came true» — the promised number reached by the deadline («about» within 5%), an event happened before the end of the year promised; «exceeded» — with room to spare; «nearly» — short by no more than 10%; «late» — reached, but after the deadline; «did not come true» — not reached; «came true, then undone» — reached, then reversed. The deadline is the end of the year named.
A ceiling is an upper bound, not an obligation to admit. In FY2021 the 15k ceiling was raised to 62.5k in May; the chart shows 62.5k. In January 2025 the new president suspended the admissions programme. A year counts as reaching the ceiling when admissions were at least 95% of it.
A question for this picture
What shapes refugee admissions more: the announced number or the work of the services that select them?