For decades, the United States has offered safety to people fleeing violence, conflict, or persecution in their home countries. The U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) is the long-standing system that vets, processes, and resettles refugees in partnership with states, local communities like yours, and nonprofit and faith-based organizations across the country.

Refugees pass rigorous security checks and in-person interviews overseas before ever setting foot in the United States. Once here, they receive support like English language classes, job training, and community integration services that help them rebuild their lives and contribute to American communities.

But today, this historically bipartisan program that reflects the heart of American values is under attack.

What’s Happening Now:

• Last fall, the Presidential Determination (PD) on Refugee Admissions for this fiscal year was set at 7,500 arrivals—the lowest admissions ceiling in the program’s history, despite record levels of forced displacement worldwide.
• Under the PD, resettlement slots have been used primarily for Afrikaners from South Africa, with more than 6,000 arrivals from South Africa and only three refugees from any other population.
• In May, the administration raised the admissions ceiling for the rest of the 2026 fiscal year, which ends in September. The new ceiling is 17,500, an increase of 10,000. Additional admissions slots under the revised PD will be allocated among Afrikaners from South Africa. No other population is referenced.

The higher admissions ceiling is a positive and welcome step for this program. However, the updated PD still does not reflect the ongoing need for resettlement among other displaced populations.

Who else needs access to resettlement:

Congress should urge the administration to prioritize additional refugee populations, including:

• Afghan refugees at Camp As Sayliyah who are vetted and cleared for travel.
• Religious minorities from Iran and the former Soviet Union under the Lautenberg Amendment program.
• Follow-to-join family cases for refugees to reunite with loved ones already resettled in the U.S.
• Burmese refugees fleeing genocide, persecution, and violence.
• Uyghur refugees escaping mass atrocities.

Take Action:

We encourage our grassroots supporters to speak to Members of Congress about the continued need for a more robust and accessible refugee program. We urge them to call for a higher admissions ceiling in FY 2027 and to ensure that vulnerable populations are included.

Our advocates' voice can help shape the decisions being made in the months ahead.

View our Action Alert here