President Joe Biden announced on Thursday, he plans to raise the cap on refugees allowed to enter the U.S. He inherits a resettlement program whittled down by former President Donald Trump.

Trump left office after setting a cap of just 15,000 for the current fiscal year. The lowest level since the passage of the refugee act in 1980.

Biden pledged to increase the annual refugee admissions cap to 125,000in the 12-month period starting Oct.1.

“Today, I am approving an executive order to begin the hard work of restoring our refugees admissions program to help meet the unprecedented global need,” Biden said. ” It’s going to take time to rebuild what has been so badly damaged.”

When Trump took office in 2017, the refugee ceiling for the fiscal year set by President Barack Obama stood at 110,000. Trump left office after setting a cap of just 15,000 for the current fiscal year- the lowest level since the passage of the refugee act in 1980.

Biden pledged to increase the annual refugee admissions cap to 125,000 in the 12- month period starting Oct.1. The President must consult Congress before setting the annual limit.

“We hope this signals that U.S. is going to take leadership role on resettling people who need it,” said Yael Schacher , senior U.S. advocate for independent advocacy group refugees international. ” This is a really important reset for the United States.

Biden’s announcement comes after he signed executive orders Tuesday to create a task force to reunite migrant children with their families , address root causes of migration from Central America, and review the legal immigration system.