Defending Refugees in Trump’s First Year
A message from Refugees International’s President, Jeremy Konyndyk.
Today marks one year of the second Trump administration – a profoundly challenging yet deeply purposeful period for us at Refugees International. From aid cuts overseas to the gutting of refugee resettlement to armed federal abductions of refugees from their homes in Minneapolis, this administration has pursued the most anti-refugee agenda that we have ever seen.
At Refugees International, we refuse to back down in the face of this unprecedented assault on core American values and rule of law. We are fighting back hard to counter falsehoods, expose abuses, and mobilize the clear majority of Americans who still continue to support welcoming, pro-refugee policies.
Over the past year, together, here are seven ways we’ve fought back:
- Shed Light on the United States’ Pro-Refugee Majority
Through polling with our partners at the Refugee Advocacy Lab, we highlighted a critical but often overlooked truth: the majority of Americans support welcoming refugees and protecting people fleeing violence – undercutting narratives that seek to normalize cruelty. In fact our polling this year has shown rising support for pro-refugee policies, and strong opposition to proposals to deport Afghans, Haitians, Ukrainians, and Venezuelans who have settled in the United States seeking safety.
- Exposed and Organized Against Third Country Deportations
We launched an innovative tool with our partners at Human Rights First to shine a light on the administration’s murky web of third-country deportation deals – agreements to send asylum seekers and other immigrants to countries where they have no ties and may face grave harm. The tracker catalogs all publicly available information on these deals, exposes their political and financial motivations, and centers the stories of people impacted. We are supporting efforts with partners to push for justice and accountability for the harm these policies have caused, and we will continue to document how the agreements undermine human and refugee rights globally. Our team helped contribute to reporting for 60 Minutes’ initially banned – and now seminal – episode on transfers to El Salvador’s CECOT torture prison.
- Corrected the Record on Famine in Gaza
At a moment of widespread misinformation and political distortion, we provided clear, evidence-based analysis on hunger and famine risk in Gaza – ensuring the media, policymakers, and the public understood the scale of human suffering and the urgent need for humanitarian access. Our analysis helped shape reporting on the subject on HBO’s Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.
- Expanded Our Footprint in U.S. States and Mobilized Local Leaders in Support of Refuge
Recognizing that many of the most consequential policy battles are playing out beyond Washington, our partnered Refugee Advocacy Lab initiative deepened engagement with state and local leaders, advocates, and cross-sector coalitions to defend refugee rights and build durable protections, including by expanding our tested model to three new states for 2026, adding local partnerships in Iowa, Kentucky, and Wisconsin in addition to partnerships in Georgia, Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Virginia. In response to the administration’s efforts to end refugee resettlement, Lab partners mobilized more than 300 bipartisan state and local elected officials to #DefendRefuge.
- Rallied to #LetThemStay
As the Trump administration moved to strip humanitarian parole status from people living and working in the United States legally and target them for arrest and deportation, Refugees International worked with +50 partners across the country to organize and share critical information. Refugees International has also helped shape litigation to prevent expedited removal of humanitarian parolees and pushed for legislative change to #LetThemStay.
- Raised the Alarm on the Harms of Aid Cuts
From post-Assad Syria, to Tigray, to Kenya, and beyond, we documented the harms of U.S. and international cuts to humanitarian assistance and pushed for funding and power to shift to community responders who are adapting under extraordinary pressure to keep meeting urgent needs.
- Ensured Refugees Took a Seat at the Table
Even as the United States stepped back from international institutions, we ensured that refugees stepped in. We helped to chart a path forward for the refugee leadership movement and elevated the leadership of people with lived experience of displacement at the UN, at COP, and beyond – ensuring that refugees are not just the subject of policy debates, but central to shaping solutions.
Thank you for walking with us in this work. Your partnership, commitment, and solidarity make this fight possible. We will continue to speak truth, defend rights, and press for a more humane and just future – no matter how challenging the road ahead may be.