WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, President Trump addressed the United Nations (UN) during its annual General Assembly, where government leaders will be discussing Palestine, Ukraine, and migration, with the potential to roll back decades-long protections for asylum-seekers. Under the President’s proposed framework, asylum seekers would be required to claim protection in the country they first enter—not a nation of their choosing. The host country would decide if the home country has improved enough for their return. Meant to fuel a mass deportation operation, the U.S. is attempting to shift how asylum is interpreted globally.

With long-held precedents like the 1951 Refugee Convention, its 1967 Protocol, and the U.S. Refugee Act of 1980 now up for debate by the current U.S. presidential administration and security council member, the National Partnership for New Americans calls for all heads of state to restore U.S. refugee resettlement programs, uphold the longstanding treaties of the United Nations, and operate in good faith. The United States and all UN Member States must uphold and strengthen international refugee law, as it is a moral, legal, and strategic necessity. The facts are clear:

• It’s projected that over 2.5 million refugees need resettlement, according to UNHCR’s 2026 report.
• In 2023, less than 5% of the identified global resettlement needs were met. During a time of increased global strife, we must protect refugee resettlement and asylum protections.

• Refugees contributed a net $123.8 billion to U.S. public finances between 2005–2019. As another example of the benefits of refugee resettlement, Ukrainian refugees boosted Poland’s GDP by 2.7% in 2024, with a total estimated economic gain of €11.15 billion.
• The existing legal framework provides orderly tools to process claims; undermining it creates chaos, benefits smugglers and traffickers, and reduces government control.
• For our national security, U.S. adherence to refugee law is essential to effective counterterrorism, law enforcement, and diplomatic cooperation.

Said Nicole Melaku, NPNA executive director, “At the very moment global leadership is needed to address historic displacement of vulnerable people, the U.S. is proposing to shred humanitarian pathways to asylum. With over 2.5 million people in need of resettlement and less than 5% of that need being met, this is a callous attempt to fuel a mass deportation operation. 

Dismantling the asylum system isn’t just cruel, it’s strategically foolish. Policies that create chaos at the borders don’t make us safer; they undermine the international cooperation we need for national security. We are sacrificing both our values and our interests. The United Nations must fully restore and operate the U.S. refugee resettlement and asylum programs, ensuring access to humanitarian protections regardless of nationality, race, or religion.”

Said Fatima Saidi, Director of We Are All America, “As our world faces crisis and tragedy, we cannot turn our backs on the millions who need resettlement from displacement. It is cruel and immoral to do so. As an asylee myself, I know what it means to flee danger and search for safety. The U.S. proposal to gut asylum protections at the global level abandons the very principles that saved my life and the lives of so many others. This isn’t just about policy, it’s about people. Rolling back protections doesn’t stop displacement; it just makes it deadlier. We must not let fear or politics dismantle the global commitment to protect the persecuted. Refugees and asylum seekers deserve safety, dignity, and the chance to rebuild their lives in peace.”

Said Lisa Sherman Luna, Executive Director of the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC), “Once again the Trump administration is making clear they have no interest in creating a functional immigration system that works for all of us and instead is throwing federal and international law out the window to keep out and kick out as many Black and brown immigrants as possible. With multiple instances of war, genocides, famines, and disasters occurring across the globe, safe and accessible opportunities for refuge are needed more than ever. But instead of upholding our commitment to our neighbors and those facing persecution, Trump is continuing to grease the wheels of his deportation machine by creating more chaos and fewer opportunities for families to obtain status. Protecting our fellow man from persecution is not political; it’s human decency. It’s time our so-called leaders acted like it.”

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The National Partnership for New Americans (NPNA) is a multi-ethnic, multiracial coalition of 88 of the nation’s largest immigrant and refugee rights organizations with reach across over 42 states. Together with our members, we advance immigrant and refugee equity and inclusion, build and expand immigration legal services and integration programming capacity, and drive campaigns that strengthen democracy through increased civic participation. See our website for more information at partnershipfornewamericans.org.