Reopen America’s golden door to refugees fleeing religious persecution

At the end of each fiscal year, the president, in consultation with Congress and various agencies, determines the annual federal ceiling for refugee resettlement. Each year, the ceiling is set by weighing the current global refugee needs, U.S. foreign policy interests, domestic labor needs and the U.S.’s commitment to international religious liberty. 

Historically, refugee resettlement has been an opportunity to exercise soft power, build international goodwill and bolster essential gaps in our workforce. The U.S. has resettled an average of 73,500 refugees a year since the creation of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program in 1980, with some years seeing a ceiling as high as 200,000. It has also been a key mechanism to underscore the U.S.’s commitment to protecting those persecuted for their faith abroad. 

Fiscal 2026 changed all of that. In a drastic change of U.S. government’s policy towards refugees — individuals who have fled a well-founded fear of persecution in the country of origin for specific reasons, including their religion — the fiscal 2026 Presidential Determination on Refugee Admissions was set at an unprecedented low, just 7,500 spots. Even with a mid-year increase to 17,500, this is still the lowest final refugee ceiling since the resettlement program was established. 

More startling than the number itself was its demographic designation. Rather than continuing to allow refugees already in the pipeline — who demonstrated a credible fear on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular group — continue through the process, the administration almost........

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