Exactly one year ago, President Trump came into office. Within hours, he launched a full-scale attack on the rights and safety of refugees and immigrants in the U.S. and around the world. The effects have been severe: countless lives have been lost, those of millions more have been endangered, and the systems that exist to protect people experiencing violence and persecution have been deliberately dismantled.
Since day one – and every day since – HIAS has fought back, pivoting our programs and our advocacy to provide protection and assistance where it’s most needed here in the U.S. and across the globe. This is a moment for leadership, and as HIAS enters the second year of the Trump administration, we are at the forefront of developing new ways of providing support, building coalitions, and standing for the rights of the refugees and immigrants that we serve.
What Happened?
The Decimation of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program
The Trump Administration’s decimation of the longstanding, bipartisan U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) has left hundreds of thousands of people depending on this vital lifeline stranded and communities across the United States without the new arrivals they were prepared to welcome.
Without extensive consultations with Congress or a discussion of the growing humanitarian needs around the world, the administration set the refugee admissions ceiling at its lowest number in history, prioritizing its focus for a single population. Compounding this harm, the administration announced plans to reassess and review cases of refugees who were admitted through USRAP during the Biden administration, injecting fear and uncertainty into the lives of people who entered the country through the country’s historically bipartisan and most secure pathway.
How HIAS is fighting back
Throughout the past year, HIAS has pursued every avenue to support our clients. Alongside our affiliate network and community volunteers, we are providing ongoing support to thousands of refugees from around the world, ensuring that they have assistance in finding jobs, securing housing, and accessing community resources in an increasingly challenging landscape. Our lawsuit, Pacito v. Trump, was the leading legal challenge to the suspension of refugee resettlement, and it resulted in several families finding safety in the United States.
Give today
As the world's oldest refugee agency, HIAS will always stand for refugees — no matter who is president. And we will do all we can to support our clients, every day, as we have for more than 120 years. Give with confidence to HIAS.
The Decimation of Humanitarian Aid
The Trump Administration shuttered USAID and halted billions of dollars of humanitarian assistance throughout the globe, which has had dramatic consequences to millions of people who no longer have access to basic needs such as food, water, healthcare, vaccines, shelter, and other forms of protection. It is estimated that hundreds of thousands of people have already died because of malnutrition and disease as a result, and these numbers will likely rise.
How HIAS is fighting back
HIAS and our partners sued the Trump administration for its failure to allocate funding appropriated by Congress for humanitarian aid. As a result of our legal challenge, Global Health Council v. Trump, the administration was ordered to disburse some of these critical funds, and we are continuing the fight all the way to the Supreme Court. We’re also sharing the human impact of these cruel and unprecedented cuts with state and federal officials in Congress so that they are equipped to fight back. Most importantly, even in a transformed landscape, HIAS continues to provide assistance to displaced people around the world.
It is estimated that hundreds of thousands of people have already died because of malnutrition and disease as a result of the Trump Administration's cuts to humanitarian aid, and these numbers will likely rise.
Shuttering the Border and Eroding the Right to Seek Asylum
In addition to curtailing the resettlement of refugees from abroad, the administration has effectively slammed the door on people seeking safety at the border. It is now nearly impossible for asylum seekers fleeing violence and persecution to even approach the border and ask for protection, let alone receive a fair hearing of their case. The administration has also frozen the cases of people who have made it to the U.S. and applied for asylum here in accordance with the law, denying people access to desperately needed protection.
How HIAS is fighting back
HIAS redoubled our efforts to provide legal assistance and social services to asylum seekers. Throughout the year, HIAS provided legal support to more than 1,000 people via our team of immigration attorneys, our network of pro-bono attorneys and partners, and through client guides and resources to help people navigate complex processes that were constantly changing throughout the year.
2025: Year in Review
Read MoreEnding Legal Immigration Pathways
Over the course of the last year, the administration shut down multiple legal immigration pathways for people in need of protection. Humanitarian Parole programs have been ended or severely curtailed, Temporary Protected Status (TPS) has been terminated or left to expire for multiple countries experiencing crises, and new travel bans have once again restricted entry based on nationality.
These actions have left families separated, workers in limbo, and long-standing community members suddenly at risk of losing legal status through no fault of their own.
How HIAS is fighting back
HIAS has experienced the effects of these changes across our organization and has worked to support people who suddenly face high levels of vulnerability. HIAS condemned the removal of status and protection for people who had entered through safe and established legal pathways, advocated forcefully throughout the year, and provided on the ground assistance to people affected by these changes, including from the Afghan community.
Mass Deportation Agenda
Perhaps most visible has been the aggressive implementation of a mass deportation program throughout the United States, which has been defined by high-profile raids and the seizure of people from streets, workplaces, and homes. One of the most egregious actions was the expansion of third-country deportations—removing people to countries with which they have no ties and where they face grave danger.
The highly funded operations have resulted in the violent – and often unlawful – removal of thousands of our neighbors, terrorizing communities and spreading fear far beyond those directly targeted.
How HIAS is fighting back
HIAS has regularly spoken out against the extreme harm to immigrant communities, helping the communities that we serve to be prepared with information and resources in a very hard time. More than anything, we were guided by the understanding that nobody should have to face this moment alone. We worked with Jewish communities across the country to plan vigils and actions, to join legal accompaniment efforts, and to train people on ways to respond as their neighbors come under attack.
As we move into the second year of the Trump administration, HIAS will show up for refugees and immigrants, staying at the forefront of the same fight we have championed for more than a century.
Dehumanizing Rhetoric
Threaded through all of these actions is a steady drumbeat of vitriolic rhetoric about immigrants that has become normalized over the past year. This rhetoric is not incidental; it lays the groundwork for policies that exclude, punish, and expel.
How HIAS is fighting back
HIAS has stood strongly in solidarity with the immigrant and refugee communities that we serve, combatting the vitriol with factual information and with stories about who immigrants are, and what they bring to our communities. Even in the hardest moments of the past year, we have continued to take risks to stand alongside our clients.
Moving Forward, into the Second Year
The U.S. government has abandoned refugees and immigrants, but HIAS will never do so. For more than half of U.S. history, HIAS has been at the docks, at the bus stations, and at the airports to welcome immigrants with compassion and warmth. We know that America is at its best when we show up for our neighbors, when we embrace the opportunity that welcome provides.
As we move into the second year of the Trump administration, HIAS will show up for refugees and immigrants, staying at the forefront of the same fight we have championed for more than a century. We will engage communities to fight harmful policies and to show up for refugees and displaced people around the world. We will develop new ways to support refugees and immigrants, we will innovate and we will lead. Most of all, we will continue to provide assistance to as many people as we can, so that they are not facing this moment alone. We know that together with our supporters we can build a better world, and there has never been a more important moment to do so.
Give today
As the world's oldest refugee agency, HIAS will always stand for refugees — no matter who is president. And we will do all we can to support our clients, every day, as we have for more than 120 years. Give with confidence to HIAS.
