Press Release

Washington, D.C. –  The #WelcomeWithDignity Campaign is extremely concerned by reports that the President is planning to set the FY 2026 Presidential Determination on Refugee Admissions (PD) at the historic low of 7,500. This move will strand people seeking safety in precarious and dangerous circumstances around the globe. If these reports are true, the Trump administration has also violated federal law by failing to consult Congress on the Presidential Determination prior to October 1. 

This action further eviscerates our country’s longstanding obligations and commitments to people seeking safety. Compounding this cruelty, the administration will reportedly prioritize Afrikaners (white South Africans) and those who have faced “unjust discrimination,” at the expense of the over 120,000 refugees who were already conditionally approved for resettlement as of January 20. These include families, children, and adults who have been waiting for years to reunite with loved ones across borders, rebuild their lives, and finally access the stability and safety our government has promised them. 

Communities across the United States want to welcome people seeking safety. They believe in honoring our country’s promise to people who have been forced to flee from their homes due to violence, war, and persecution. New polling data from Refugee Advocacy Lab, Refugees International, and Data for Progress shows that a large majority of voters (69%) support the U.S. having a refugee program. #The WelcomeWithDignity Campaign joins our 129 member organizations in decrying the Trump administration’s reported decision. We call for the administration to fulfill its obligations by consulting with Congress and following through on its commitments to people seeking safety by setting a refugee admissions goal that prioritizes those most at risk and those who have been stranded by the refugee ban.

“Forty-five years ago, Republicans and Democrats came together to show the world that American ideals take precedence over party politics. In a fraction of that time, this administration has abandoned the program they created—and left thousands of already-approved refugees stranded overseas in increasingly dangerous conditions,” said Rick Santos, President and CEO at Church World Service. “We call upon the administration to reverse course and uphold the proud tradition of the refugee program by prioritizing those most at-risk, including Afghans, Sudanese, Congolese, Somalis, religious minorities, unaccompanied refugee children, families awaiting reunification, and others.” 

“Comunidad Sol affirms that respect for international law, the principle of non-refoulement, and the humanitarian commitments assumed by the United States are not optional—they are legal and moral obligations. We are the grandchildren, daughters, and sons of survivors of genocide (Guatemala 1981-83), land dispossession by transnational corporations, monoculture, illegal hydroelectric projects, and political persecution. We flee not by choice, but by force. We call on the U.S. government to uphold its duty to protect those seeking refuge, honoring not only the international treaties it has ratified, but also its historic role as a country of welcome—a commitment now more urgent than ever in the face of the displacement of peoples who continue to resist with dignity.”

“Any refugee admissions policy that leaves out people who are already in the pipeline — including over 12,000 refugees who had their travel arrangements cancelled as a result of the refugee ban on January 20th — is unfair, unjust, and leaves families and individuals in dangerous situations,” said Mevlüde Akay Alp, Senior Staff Attorney at the International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP). “We expect to see a proper presidential determination process as determined by the law. That includes public hearings and proper Congressional consultation so the American people can hear the stories of the people our nation has abandoned this year.”

“To drastically lower the admissions cap and concentrate the majority of available slots on one group would mark a profound departure from decades of bipartisan refugee policy rooted in law, fairness, and global responsibility,” said Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, President and CEO of Global Refuge. “We’re hearing from Afghan women, Venezuelan dissidents, Congolese families, persecuted Christians, and other religious minorities, all of whom now fear there is no room left for them in a system they trusted.”

“To slam the door shut, stranding tens of thousands of pre-approved refugees—including children and families seeking reunion—is an act of breathtaking cruelty while prioritizing white Afrikaners exposes a deeply disturbing racial bias that corrupts the very purpose of refugee protection ” said Guerline Jozef, Executive Director of Haitian Bridge Alliance. “This is not just a policy failure; it is a deliberate assault on human dignity and a clear violation of federal law. By reportedly setting the refugee admissions at a historic low of 7,500 and failing to consult Congress, the administration is turning its back on the world’s most vulnerable while illegally sidestepping oversight.”

“A meagre resettlement goal would abandon refugees to persecution and deny critical help to the front-line states that host most of the world’s refugees,” said Eleanor Acer, Senior Director for Global Humanitarian Protection at Human Rights First. “People’s lives are on the line. Thousands of refugees who had already been vetted and approved for U.S. resettlement are stranded in dangerous situations.  Many Afghan refugees who have been waiting in Pakistan for U.S. resettlement now face escalating risks of forced return to Taliban retaliation.   The Trump administration must end its callous refusal to resettle refugees who face grave risks of persecution around the world.” 

“Setting this cap at such an absurdly low number, and prioritizing white Afrikaners is a racist move that would turn the U.S.’s back on tens of thousands of people around the world who are fleeing persecution, violence, and human rights abuses,” said Amy Fischer, Director for Refugee and Migrant Rights with Amnesty International USA. “Refugees have a human right to protection, and the international community — including the United States — has a responsibility to uphold that right. This announcement is yet another attack by the Trump administration on refugees and immigrants, showing disregard for international systems meant to protect human rights.  The Trump administration must reverse course and ensure a fair, humane, and rights-based refugee admissions determination.”

“Reducing the 2026 refugee admissions cap will create incalculable human harm – it abandons tens of thousands of refugees already approved for resettlement, stranding them in dangerous situations. It betrays our country’s moral and legal obligations to protect those fleeing violence and persecution,” said Sergio Perez, Executive Director with the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law. “Closing our doors to those in need while prioritizing white South African applicants is blatant racism. The administration must immediately comply with the law, consult with Congress, and restore a refugee admissions goal that upholds both legal obligations and basic human rights.”

“In yet another lawless move, the administration is now poised to betray refugees who have spent years struggling to find safety for their families and who have met every legal requirement our government asked of them,” said Kate Jastram, Director of Policy and Advocacy at the Center for Gender & Refugee Studies (CGRS). “These families are being abandoned as the administration moves to swiftly resettle white South Africans championed by Elon Musk and others peddling white nationalist conspiracy theories. By abandoning any pretense of a refugee admissions program, the United States also abandons the low- and middle-income countries of first asylum that host nearly three-quarters of all the world’s refugees. We can do better, and we call on the administration to reverse course.”

“People forced to flee oppression, torture, and death deserve safety and security – a key human rights principle embodied in the U.S. Refugee Act and resettlement program. Lowering the cap on refugee resettlement to 7,500 people would be a betrayal of that principle, inflicting lasting harm on people who have already suffered persecution, and driving desperate people into dangerous irregular migration. The Advocates for Human Rights calls on the administration to restore the refugee admissions target to 125,000, as it was for the previous four years. Even this is less than 1% of the refugees awaiting resettlement worldwide. Congress must pass legislation that confirms that level as the minimum annual number of refugee admissions so that the U.S. can never again fail to meet its basic obligations to those fleeing harm,” said Madeline Lohman, Director of Advocacy and Outreach at The Advocates for Human Rights.

“Setting refugee admissions to 7,500 is a moral failure as people of faith and a betrayal of who we are as a nation,” said Kristyn Peck, CEO of Lutheran Social Services of the National Capital Area (LSSNCA). “For decades, under both Republican and Democratic administrations, our nation has been a beacon of hope for people seeking safety – regardless of faith, race, or country of origin.”