NEW YORK, CMC – New York-based immigration advocates have strongly condemned the Trump administration’s cap on Caribbean and other refugees admitted to the United States.
Last Friday, President Donald Trump published in the Federal Register his refugee admissions goal for the fiscal year 2026 (FY26), confirming early reports that he will admit the fewest number of refugees in the 45-year history of the refugee program.
Murad Awawdeh
“The FY26 Presidential Determination of 7,500 refugees will make the refugee programme accessible primarily to Afrikaners from South Africa, excluding tens of thousands of individuals with approved refugee status and who are vulnerable and at high risk but in limbo since January 2025,” Murad Awawdeh, president of the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC), told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC).
NYIC is an umbrella policy and advocacy organization that represents over 200 immigrant and refugee rights groups throughout New York, and Awawdeh said that the US Refugee Admissions Program has long been a critical lifesaving program offering a safe and legal pathway for people who have fled violence and persecution.
“For over four decades, it has saved hundreds of thousands of lives while simultaneously enriching local communities and economies across the country,” he said, adding that while Trump’s war on asylum seekers and refugees is “no secret”, his administration “reached a new low” in Friday’s decision.
“After defying US law by failing to consult with Congress, the Trump administration unequivocally shut the door on our proud, centuries-long tradition of welcoming those fleeing violence and persecution, leaving thousands in limbo and many more in peril,” Awawdeh said.
He said the administration’s justifications for practically eliminating refugee admissions “remain vague, posing a significant threat to the cultural and economic vitality of New York.
“Refugee communities have stabilized neighborhoods and contributed significantly to our economy from Brentwood to Buffalo. We call on the Trump administration to reverse course and uphold our country’s long-standing refugee program by prioritizing those most at-risk, including religious minorities, unaccompanied refugee children, families awaiting reunification, and others.”
In his Presidential Determination on Refugee Admissions for Fiscal Year 2026, Trump wrote that “the admissions of up to 7,500 refugees to the United States during Fiscal Year 2026 are justified by humanitarian concerns or are otherwise in the national interest.
“The admissions numbers shall primarily be allocated among Afrikaners from South Africa pursuant to Executive Order 14204, and other victims of illegal or unjust discrimination in their respective homelands,” Trump wrote.
“Refugee admissions under this determination, which may reach but not exceed the numerical limit described herein, are in all respects subject to the requirements of other Presidential policies and actions, whether issued before or after this determination.”
and then 