NPR's Ari Shapiro speaks with HIAS President and CEO Mark J. Hetfield about the Trump administration's newly proposed 30,000 cap on U.S. refugee admissions for the 2019 fiscal year.

The Trump Administration yesterday announced a proposed refugee resettlement ceiling of 30,000 for Fiscal Year 2019.

Watch Senior Vice President for Public Affairs Melanie Nezer's ELI Talk called “The Ground Beneath My Children’s Feet: Refugees and the Jewish Story."

Today HIAS sent a letter signed by 36 national Jewish organizations to President Trump urging him to allow at least 75,000 refugees to be admitted to the United States in 2019.

With the end of the federal fiscal year just around the corner, President Trump is expected to soon announce the number of refugees to be admitted to the United States in 2019. This number, known as the Presidential Determination, is decided annually by the President in consultation with Congress, and historically signals to the world the nation’s commitment to help refugees fleeing violence and persecution.

“Our shared immigrant and refugee experiences, and teachings to ‘welcoming the stranger,’ has helped to build this large and engaged constituency."

“We see all the barriers that people come with, and we try to bring solutions to those barriers and guide people along the way.”

“The strength of the American community comes from diversity,” he says.

As refugee admissions to the United States continue to dwindle, those advocating for preserving the life-saving program are not standing idly by.