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President Donald Trump's administration plans to dramatically reduce the number of refugees allowed into the United States during the coming year. The White House announced in a report to Congress Wednesday that the U.S. plans to admit no more than 45,000 refugees during the year ahead - the smallest number in more than 35 years. Former President Barack Obama had proposed a refugee allotment more than twice as great - 110,000 - during the next 12 months. Trump is expected to formally announce the new refugee allowment plan during the coming days. The new limit of 45,000 refugee admissions would be in effect during the U.S. fiscal year that begins Sunday. It is lower than limits set in any year since the U.S. refugee program was established in 1980. A full-year total of refugee admissions for fiscal 2017, which ends Saturday night, is expected to be about 54,000. During fiscal 2016, the last full year of Obama's two terms as president, the U.S. welcomed 84,995 refugees. Immigration experts noted the 45,000 figure is a "cap," or maximum number of refugees that can be admitted during the next 12 months, and they said the number of refugees actually admitted by September 30, 2018, could be substantially lower. Trump's decision was sharply criticized by aid groups, whose representatives pointed to refugee crises that have worsened, not improved, in many parts of the world, including Syria, Myanmar and South Sudan. | 
