Refugee Admissions Goal, FY 2026

Loading....

Side With Refugees
Tell Congress the U.S. needs an admissions goal that reflects humanitarian values

As of October 3, Reuters is reporting, Trump administration planning 7,500-person refugee ceiling, sources say, which would primarily be accessible to Afrikaners.

Yet we still have critical and urgent opportunity to remind Congress to side with refugees, for a U.S. Refugee Admissions Program oriented to all the people it serves. Too many have been left stranded by the current refugee ban. For more on refugees and forced displacement see Figures at a glance, UNHCR, USA.

The Urgency:

Under regular order, by October 1, the administration is required to consult with Congress and establish a new refugee admissions target for the opening fiscal year of 2026. So far we have not seen such a Presidential Determination, but we have seen some reporting on what it intends to do. Yet the refugee and travel ban remains in place despite action in Pacito v. Trump, a case that challenges the ongoing refugee ban. In addition, a further ruling compelling action to restore the resettlement program is pending. The administration should lift the ban and set an appropriate goal.

Unfortunately, recent reports suggest the administration may be preparing to update and set a new Presidential Determination (PD) (2024) on refugee admissions that will continue to prioritize groups like white South Africans and keep out most other refugees. (More below.)

This policy approach seems willfully blind to racial injustice experienced by residents of the global south, and unfair to refugees already in the pipeline, mid-process, seeking entry or relocating to the U.S.

Now is an urgent time to call on our legislators and urge them to side with refugees and the resettlement program that supports them. Our U.S. program should focus on the most at-risk refugees and those already in the established process.

EMAIL YOUR TWO SENATORS AND ONE REPRESENTATIVE

We just need few pieces of information to connect you with your representatives.

I'd like to receive updates from this organization

Take Action

Background:

Shutdown effects: To be sure, the shutdown slows further a nearly inert U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) and the administration's policies impact refugees in various ways. See here for information on What a Government Shutdown Means for the Immigration System. But in January they signaled an intent to suspend the USRAP, and in most ways, that effects refugees more significantly than the government shutdown itself.

Stranded overseas: Over a hundred thousand refugees who the U.S. government had conditionally approved for refugee status before Trump took office are now left waiting in limbo. More than 22,000 of these people were considered “ready for departure” and had completed all required medical checks and security screenings. More than 12,000 of that group had flights booked to the U.S., many of whom had begun to move and sell belongings in preparation for their resettlement. All remain stranded overseas in increasingly dangerous conditions due to the administration’s ongoing refugee ban.

Hostility in their new homes: The passage of the administration’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” is set to cut off refugees and other humanitarian entrants from food assistance (SNAP), Medicaid, Medicare, CHIP, and premium tax credits under the Affordable Care Act. This treatment lacks compassion.

At the same time, many humanitarian arrivals have been swept up in an indiscriminate and draconian enforcement system. On July 17 ICE detained an Afghan interpreter in Connecticut at a routine immigration appointment. His detention is one of many examples of humanitarian arrivals who have been detained or deported. This treatment is cruel.

Who is currently being resettled? The administration has continued to prioritize white South Africans for resettlement ahead of and instead of other refugees (including tens of thousands of others who have already been vetted and approved and remain stranded). The Afrikaners are entering through waivers to the refugee ban, as are a small number of Afghans and potentially others, as required by the ongoing lawsuit.

Reported features of the intended plan for FY 2026:

As of October 3, Reuters is reporting, Trump administration planning 7,500-person refugee ceiling, sources say, with the NYT reporting, Trump Administration Is Said to Plan to Cut Refugee Admissions to a Record Low. That figure is lower than the previous cited figure of 40,000 refugees, with 75% of the pool for Afrikaners and 25% for all others.
In August 2025, Reuters reported that the administration intended to set the refugee cap at around 40,000 for FY 2026, in stark contrast to September 2024 when President Biden set the refugee admissions level at 125,000 for FY 2025.
African News highlighted that an estimated 30,000, of that total pool, would be reserved for Afrikaners, a minority group in South Africa, and a departure from standard practice. Historically, U.S. Refugee Caps are not based on race.
The contours of the plan were issued via a presidential action titled "Realigning the United States Refugee Admissions Program" on January 20, 2025, which also announced suspension of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP).

UU Grounding

As of General Assembly 2024, as Unitarian Universalists, we have agreed to “adopt new language on core religious values.” We agree love is the power that holds us together and is at the center of our shared values. The values we share include all the following, which we hold as inseparable and deeply interconnected: Interdependence, Pluralism, Justice, Transformation, Generosity, and Equity. (Read more on the Article II revision process.)

With these agreed core religious values in mind, we also ground our call for action in support of immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers in the following Unitarian Universalist Statements of Conscience and Actions of Immediate Witness:

Protect the Dreamers, the Recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) with a Pathway to Permanent Residence, 2023 Action of Immediate Witness
Undoing Systemic White Supremacy: A Call to Prophetic Action, 2021 Statement of Conscience
Protect the Rights of Immigrants and Asylum Seekers, 2019 Action of Immediate Witness
End Family Separation and Detention of Asylum Seekers and Abolish ICE, 2018 Action of Immediate Witness
Build Solidarity with our Muslim Neighbors, 2016 Action of Immediate Witness
End Immigrant Child and Family Detention Now, 2015 Action of Immediate Witness
Immigration as a Moral Issue, 2013 Statement of Conscience

Side With Refugees
Tell Congress the U.S. needs an admissions goal that reflects humanitarian values

Too many refugees have been left stranded by the current refugee ban. The federal fiscal year 2025 has ended and so far we have no reports of an official and new Presidential Determination (PD) (2024) on refugee admissions for Fiscal Year (FY) 2026. And, the refugee and travel ban remains in place.

Therefore we still have critical and urgent opportunity to remind Congress to side with refugees, for a U.S. Refugee Admissions Program oriented to all the people it serves.

Recent reports suggest the administration may be preparing to update and set a new Presidential Determination (PD) on refugee admissions at a very low figure of 7,500 people, and that will prioritize groups like white South Africans and keep out most others.

Our U.S. program should focus on the most at-risk refugees and those already in the established process.

EMAIL YOUR TWO SENATORS AND ONE REPRESENTATIVE

Congress, take action for Refugees

Subject: Side with refugees in the 2026 admissions target

Message:

As a constituent and a Unitarian Universalist, I urge you to side with refugees and encourage the administration to restore our refugee resettlement program fully. I am deeply disturbed by recent news reports of the administration's plan to set a record low refugee admissions target for the coming year, with slots reserved almost exclusively for white South Africans. The U.S. must resume admissions for refugees. The current refugee ban has stranded over 100,000 refugees who were conditionally approved for refugee status when the President took office. They are now waiting in limbo. Recent reports suggest that the administration is preparing to issue a Presidential Determination (PD) on refugee admissions that does not prioritize refugees who have been in the pipeline for years, with a ceiling of 7,500. That would be the lowest figure in the program's history. No past president has ever set a goal below 60,000. This strikes me as unfair and unwise. Many of these are family reunification cases, or persons with significant medical conditions, and even unaccompanied refugee minors. Reports suggest that many of these individuals have been stranded in increasingly perilous situations. This aspect of the ban is reckless and immoral. It goes against the teaching of my faith tradition and moral conscience. Under the Refugee Act of 1980 – still the law of the land – the administration is required to meaningfully consult with Congress to set refugee admissions for the opening fiscal year. Therefore, I urge you to: 1. Call on the administration to abide by recent court orders and immediately resume refugee resettlement. The resumption of services should start with refugees who have already been approved for resettlement. 2. Side with refugees and newcomers in upcoming congressional funding and legislative deliberations. Support funding for key refugee accounts (such as the Refugee and Entrant Assistance account and the Migration and Refugee Assistance account). 3. Support welcoming legislation like the Afghan Adjustment Act (H.R. 4895), the Fulfilling Promises to Afghan Allies Act (S. 2679), and the Enduring Welcome Act (H.R. 4995). The U.S. has always been welcoming to refugees and newcomers, with deep appreciation for their perseverance and can-do attitudes. The local economies where they resettle benefit from their entrepreneurship; they become small business owners, tax contributors, and job creators. Their cultural offerings have enriched the communities where they have put down roots. My community welcomes refugees, and I encourage your office to do the same. Please take the three steps I have outlined.

Characters remaining:

UU Grounding

Thank you for taking Action!

Thank You!

Please share with anyone else who might be interested

Become a Member!

Unitarian Universalists for Social Justice (UUSJ) has been the leader for a national UU advocacy movement in Washington, DC., and will continue our efforts, acting from:

We appreciate your effort!

Join Today