Rolling Stone Menu White House Reverses Course, Will Lift Trump Refugee Cap Next Month After first saying they would not raise the number of refugees allowed into the country this year, the White House reversed course By AP UPDATE: This story has been updated to include new comments from the White House. After backlash following an announcement about refugee policy, the White House released a statement saying that by May 15, President Biden will raise the number of refugees allowed in the country this year. That number, which was set by President Trump, is currently capped at 15,000. When announcing that Biden had eliminated Trump-era policies that limited the types of refugees allowed to enter the U.S., the administration said that Biden would keep the refugee limit the same as under Trump for the current fiscal year. But the administration received backlash from Democratic lawmakers, activists and experts. Hours later, the White House walked the statement back, saying that Biden would raise the cap next month.