Reported FY 2027 refugee ceiling abandons world’s most at-risk refugees
WASHINGTON, D.C.,—Today, Church World Service (CWS) expresses its profound alarm in response to reports that the Trump administration has proposed a Presidential Determination capping FY 2027 Refugee Admissions at 17,500. CWS calls for a more equitable, inclusive Refugee Admissions Program that will keep its promises to those left stranded in extremely dangerous circumstances. The new determination will reportedly maintain last year’s cap of 17,500 refugees and will restate that the program “shall be primarily” for white South Africans.
The administration’s proposed decision abandons America’s longstanding commitment to people fleeing persecution and undermines the refugee protection system Congress established more than four decades ago.
The new determination would explicitly keep the ongoing refugee ban in place, stranding more than 120,000 conditionally approved refugees for resettlement from over 90 different countries. Prior to President Trump’s terms in office, no President has set an admissions ceiling below 67,000 in the entire history of the refugee program.
The planned FY 2027 Presidential Determination comes as the administration continues to target already resettled refugees across the country, including through ongoing “re-vetting” efforts and a proposed new regulation on refugee status terminations that could go into effect at any time. In just days, over 149,000 refugees with pending green card applications may be stripped of vital healthcare as Medicaid eligibility changes coincide with a green card adjudication freeze.
In response to reports of the new Presidential Determination, Rick Santos, President and CEO of Church World Service issued the following statement:
As the world faces the largest displacement crisis in history, the Trump administration choosing to admit the lowest number of refugees in U.S. history is a decision to abandon longstanding federal law governing refugee admissions—and the core persecution standard and humanitarian mandate enshrined in U.S. law. Saving lives, alleviating suffering, and welcoming refugees fleeing persecution are fundamental humanitarian imperatives central to moral decency as well as U.S. and international law.
For decades, U.S. refugee resettlement has been a powerful expression of American values and global humanitarian leadership, generating goodwill, strengthening our standing in the world and encouraging other nations to share responsibility for protecting refugees. The United States can and should be doing more: ignoring such massive humanitarian need is not an option.
We call on the president and Congress to uphold the Refugee Act of 1980’s central legal and operational principle of humanitarian concern by prioritizing refugees at greatest risk rather than limiting this program to a single population.
CWS has been welcoming refugees in the United States since its founding in 1946 directly after World War II. The organization currently supports newcomers in 24 states across the United States to integrate and contribute to their new communities as they rebuild their lives.
For more information, or to speak with CWS, contact media@cwsglobal.org. To stay updated on the latest challenges facing refugees and asylum seekers, subscribe to CWS’s State of Play.