The U.S. is on track to admit the fewest number of refugees in fiscal year 2018 since 1980, The Hill reported Saturday.
Citing figures published by The Economist, the total number of refugees for the first full year of President Donald Trump's presidency is expected to be 20,800. That number represents a 61 percent drop over fiscal year 2017.
The number of Muslim refugees is expected to drop by 85 percent, making up 17 percent of the total admitted refugees in 2018. Previously, Muslims comprised 41 percent of refugees admitted between 2013 and 2017.
Christians make up about 58 percent of refugees so far in 2018. The number of Syrian refugees in the U.S. has shrunk from 6,557 in 2017 to 44 to date this year.
The White House announced last September it would limit the number of refugees into the U.S. in 2018 to 45,000, representing the lowest number seen, although the actual count is expected to be less than half that, according to the Economist. Officials pointed to the need to limit the numbers due to national security interests, which Trump refers to as "extreme vetting."
Trump issued a travel ban in January 2017 shortly after taking office, blocking refugees to the U.S. from several Muslim-majority countries. The ban has faced several challenges in court and next Wednesday the Supreme Court is set to hear arguments weighing the constitutionality of the ban.
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