The Trump administration reportedly dismissed intelligence findings last year saying that refugees don't pose a significant threat to the United States.

Former government officials told NBC News that a top Justice Department deputy said in a September 2017 meeting that Attorney General Jeff Sessions didn't agree with the intelligence findings.

Instead, the Trump administration released a different report that highlighted the national-security risks posed by foreigners.

The Trump administration dismissed an intelligence assessment last year that showed that refugees didn't pose a significant national-security threat to the United States, then crafted its own report emphasizing the risks of foreigners, NBC News reported Wednesday.

In one September 2017 meeting, a top Justice Department official stunned others in the room by immediately dismissing the report from the National Counterterrorism Center, two officials familiar with the meeting told NBC News.

"We read that. The Attorney General doesn't agree with the conclusions of that report," Associate Attorney General Rachel Brand said during in the meeting.

A former official who witnessed the exchange said that Brand had "inappropriately discredited" the intelligence assessment. Her move demonstrated that "you weren't able to have an honest conversation about the risk," the person added.

Later, Trump administration appointees released their own report emphasizing the risks of foreigners by declaring that three-quarters of those convicted of international terror charges in US federal courts were born abroad.

Experts have previously criticized the report for misleadingly including people who committed crimes overseas and were extradited to the US for trials.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security told NBC News that the Trump administration doesn't use "historical data about terrorism trends" to create its immigration policies, but a more expansive, "all of the above approach."

"We cannot let dangerous individuals slip through the cracks and exploit our refugee program, which is why we have implemented security enhancements that would prevent such violent individuals from reaching our shores, while still upholding our humanitarian ideals."

The news comes as the Trump administration prepares to announce its refugee cap for the 2019 fiscal year.

Early reports have indicated that President Donald Trump may further decrease the amount of refugees admitted to the US annually, one year after Trump dramatically slashed the cap to 45,000 admissions for the 2018 fiscal year — the lowest in decades.