Love knows no borders. The UCC understanding of this clarion call of Christ goes beyond words. Since the Refugee Act was signed into law by Ronald Reagan in 1980, UCC congregations, in partnership with the refugee resettlement agency Church World Service, have supported tens of thousands of resettled individuals.  

But UCC churches are losing the freedom to engage in this covenanted work. On January 20, 2025, President Trump’s administration froze the United States Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP), stranding over 12,000 already approved for travel to the U.S. and leaving no pathway and little hope for those seeking safety for their children or reunification with family.  

On October 31, 2025 the Trump administration disfigured USRAP even further. The Presidential Determination on Refugee Admissions (PD), required annually by September 30 to announce the ceiling for refugee admissions for the new fiscal year, was published a month late and under tenuous legal authority, as the mandated Congressional consultations about the PD did not appear to have taken place. What is certain is that, as expected, that PD lowered the ceiling on refugee admission to 7,500 and, further, prioritizes white South Africans (Afrikaners) and unspecified others who the administration has determined face discrimination in their countries. This is a drastic lowering of the 2024 admissions cap of 125,000, and it denies haven to the over 120,000 displaced Black and Brown refugees who have already been granted conditional refugee status and been waiting in the resettlement pipeline for years.  

The Trump administration has defiled the welcome of the refugee resettlement program, turning it into a tool of racism, exclusionary in design and cruel in practice.  

The UCC stands in opposition to these discriminatory, immoral practices. As Christians, we know that refugees and immigrants are welcome not because they are “the least” but rather because they are beloved, created by God for community and flourishing.  

This is why we are urging you to contact your members of Congress to ask them to support the NO BAN Act, to guarantee that the President cannot arbitrarily suspend refugee admissions and to prevent resettlement bans rooted in religious discrimination. We must demand the resettlement program prioritize refugees who have been already processed, who have fled violence and harm in areas acknowledged on the world stage as marked by persecution and war. Together, let us affirm: Love Knows No Borders