English

The Trump administration has set the refugee admissions target for Fiscal Year 2026 at 7,500 – with the vast majority of slots reserved for white South Africans. No president other than Trump, regardless of party, has ever set a refugee admissions goal below 60,000.

Now is an urgent time to call on our elected leaders and urge them to call on the administration to reverse course and restore the refugee admissions program for the most at-risk refugees around the world.

Our friends at Church World Service have put together these sample scripts calling on Congress to use their authority to respond to this dire situation. You can use commoncause.org/find-your-representative to find the contact information for your two US Senators and one member of the US House of Representatives. Then you can customize either of these scripts to make your voice heard.

SAMPLE PHONE SCRIPT

My name is [NAME] and as your constituent from [CITY and STATE], and a [person of faith/refugee/member of the community], I am outraged by the administration setting a record low refugee admissions target for the coming year, with slots reserved almost exclusively for white South Africans.

This is a moral failure. It undermines the integrity of our refugee program and breaks our promise to many refugees already approved for U.S. resettlement. This decision effectively closes the door to tens of thousands of refugees who have been waiting for years in the pipeline and have already been approved for refugee status.

The Presidential Declaration sets a refugee ceiling of 7,500 for FY 2026, which would be by far the lowest number in the history of the program. No president other than Trump, regardless of party, has ever set a refugee admissions goal below 60,000.

I strongly urge you and your office to stand with refugees and encourage the Trump administration to fully restore the refugee resettlement program and resume resettlement for the most at-risk refugees around the world.

I further urge your office to support key refugee funding accounts like the Refugee and Entrant Assistance account and the Migration and Refugee Assistance account, as well as vital legislation like the Afghan Adjustment Act and the Enduring Welcome Act.

My community welcomes refugees, and I encourage you to do the same.

Thank you,
[NAME]

SAMPLE EMAIL SCRIPT

Greetings,

My name is [insert name], and as your constituent from [City/Town] and a [person of faith/refugee/member of the community], I urge you and your office to stand with refugees as the Presidential Determination has set a  historically low refugee admissions target for FY 2026 – with slots reserved almost exclusively for white South Africans. This is a moral failure. It undermines the integrity of our refugee program and breaks our promise to many refugees already approved for U.S. resettlement.

I urge you to use your voice and oversight capacity to call on the administration to properly consult with Congress on the admissions target as required by law and urge them to fully restore the refugee resettlement program for the most at-risk refugees around the world.

The Presidential Determination sets a refugee ceiling of 7,500 for FY 2026, which would be by far the lowest number in the history of the program. No president other than Trump, regardless of party, has ever set a refugee admissions goal below 60,000.

The move effectively closes the door to tens of thousands of already-approved refugees who have been waiting for years in the pipeline, including: Refugees from the world’s largest displacement crises in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ukraine, Venezuela, and elsewhere; Afghan allies fleeing retribution for their support of the U.S. government; persecuted religious minorities; unaccompanied refugee children; families awaiting reunification; refugees with severe medical conditions; and many others.

All would remain stranded.

The Refugee Act of 1980 – which remains the law of the land – requires the administration to hold an “appropriate consultation” with Congress outlining the global refugee situation and why the proposed admission is justified by “grave humanitarian concerns or is otherwise in the national interest.”

As a person of faith I stand with the refugee, the sojourner, and the stranger. I strongly urge you and your office to stand with refugees and encourage the Trump administration to fully restore the refugee resettlement program and resume resettlement for the most at-risk refugees around the world.

A growing majority of Americans support welcoming refugees and newcomers. Refugees bring enormous economic and sociocultural benefits to the communities where they resettle; they are small business owners, tax contributors, and job creators. Our community welcomes refugees, and I encourage you to do so as well.

Thank you,
[NAME]