Refugee Congress Strongly Denounces Recent Federal Actions That Target and Endanger Communities

December 5, 2025 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Refugee Congress is sounding the alarm about another unconscionable wave of federal actions over the past week that single out and destabilize refugee, asylee, and immigrant communities across the United States. These abrupt policy changes and reviews, rolled out with little explanation and no regard for their human impact, have thrown tens of thousands of families into fear and confusion.

Over the past week, the federal government has effectively frozen major parts of the U.S. refugee and asylum systems, halting all asylum decisions and pausing immigration benefits for people from 19 predominantly Black, Brown, and Muslim countries. In an act of collective punishment, the administration has singled out all Afghans by halting all immigration pathways and seeking to re-examine immigration protections, including those who aided U.S. missions, and added 19 countries to a restricted-country list, effectively shutting down the ability to secure green cards, citizenship, or refugee status. At the same time, the government moved to reopen and reinvestigate cases of refugees who had already been extensively vetted and admitted. The result is chaos, mistrust, and irreparable harm to the people who were promised protection by our country.

It has been especially unnerving to observe our country’s leaders espousing hateful rhetoric against targeted refugee communities, such as this week’s remarks against the Somali people in the U.S. 

Refugees who have rebuilt their lives here and contributed richly to our communities are now questioning whether their safety is being taken from them once again. Local organizations and partners are struggling to respond to rapidly shifting directives that are driven by a political agenda of cruelty rather than by evidence or by need. 

These are not the actions of a country that values human rights and the rule of law. We are asking the administration to stop treating our forcibly displaced neighbors like political targets. And we need leaders at every level to speak up and ensure the United States does not turn its back on people who came here seeking safety.

Refugee Congress stands with every person navigating this moment of fear and uncertainty, and we will continue to make sure our voices, experiences, and rights are front and center in every conversation about our nation’s future.

Media Contact:
Jen Lee Reeves media@refugeecongress.org

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