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WASHINGTON (AP) - The Bush administration increased more than fivefold Tuesday the number of Near East and South Asian refugees the U.S. can admit as it seeks to accept 12,000 Iraqi refugees during the next 12 months.
Overall, Bush said that up to 80,000 refugees from around the world can be admitted to the United States in the next year. That's up 10,000 from last year's ceiling of 70,000.
Bush announced the figure in a memo to the secretary of state, as he does each year after consulting Congress as required by law. The president laid out maximum numbers to be accepted from each region of the globe:
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