TAKE ACTION: Urge Elected Leaders to Defend Refugee Resettlement and Support Afghan Allies

On October 3, multiple reports stated that the Trump administration planned to set the refugee admissions goal for Fiscal Year 2026 at 7,500 – a historic-low – with the vast majority of admissions reserved for Afrikaners, abandoning the 120,000+ refugees who had been through years of vetting and screening and had been approved for resettlement when Trump took office. No other president, regardless of party, has ever set a refugee admissions goal below 60,000.

News reports indicated that the President signed the Presidential Determination on Refugee Admissions (PD) on September 30th, although it would not be implemented until consulting with Congress, a statutory obligation that was legally required to take place before October 1st and before signing a PD. The administration will not schedule congressional consultations until after the government shutdown ends. This move closes the door to the world’s largest displacement crises and the tens of thousands of Afghans who stood with America — translators, human rights defenders, women and girls. These are our allies, our friends, and people who believed in America’s promise.

This is urgent. Congress needs to hear from you: America must keep its word.

Our elected leaders need to hear that their constituents want to fully restore the refugee program and resettle the most at-risk and vulnerable, get our Afghan allies out of danger as the Taliban continues to target Afghans who stood with us and restrict women’s rights, and maintain public investments for refugee processing, admissions, and resettlement services.

👉 Sign up here for AfghanEvac updates, including the Monday Morning Brief
👉 Read AfghanEvac’s primer on where things stand
👉 Sign up here for a daily State of Play newsletter from Church World Service
👉 Check out Refugee Council USA’s Action Center and Policy Center for more resources