President Trump’s new refugee policy has virtually closed America’s doors to those fleeing war, persecution, and violence — leaving thousands stranded and hopeless.
Mohammed Faisal once believed that the United States would offer him and his family a new beginning. In a refugee camp in Bangladesh, he sold everything — his modest computer shop, his graphic design business, even the tarpaulin roof that sheltered them — to fund their long journey toward the dream of America.
He told his three sons, all born in exile like himself, that soon they would become citizens of a nation built by immigrants.
He was wrong.
Faisal, a member of Myanmar’s persecuted Rohingya Muslim minority — whose mass expulsion has been recognized by the U.S. as genocide — has found his future frozen under a new wave of policies from President Trump that have virtually ended refugee resettlement to the United States.
On his first day back in office, Trump reinstated a suspension on refugee admissions. Last week, a federal notice went further: for the fiscal year beginning in October, the United States will admit no more than 7,500 refugees worldwide — the lowest ceiling since the refugee program began decades ago. By comparison, the Biden administration had set the previous cap at 125,000. The drastic cut was made official without consulting Congress.
The notice stated that priority would be given to “victims of illegal or unjust discrimination,” explicitly mentioning white South Africans known as Afrikaners. The South African government has rejected claims that Afrikaners face systemic persecution.
In recent years, most refugees admitted to the U.S. came from nations enduring deep crises — the Democratic Republic of Congo, Afghanistan, Venezuela, Syria, and Myanmar.
Faisal’s dream of joining their ranks collapsed in January, when Trump returned to office and his immigration paperwork was indefinitely paused.
“The U.S.A. is my dream country,” said Faisal, 31, speaking through tears. “It’s a country built by immigrants who work hard — and I want to work hard too.”
But the slashed refugee quota has left him devastated.
“I sold everything,” he said. “Now I have nothing.”
He and his family now crowd into a single tent with his sister’s family — far too many people for one small shelter.
Global Consequences of a Policy Shift
In Thailand, where camps house other ethnic minorities who fled Myanmar’s military rule, the effects are already visible. In fiscal 2025, only 465 refugees from Myanmar were admitted to the U.S., despite a program meant to increase those numbers. Just a year earlier, more than 7,300 had been granted entry — nearly the same as the new worldwide total.
Since Myanmar’s 2021 military coup, the country has been consumed by civil war.
One woman, Daw May Hnin, said her son escaped to the United States three years ago on a student visa to study international relations. When the junta began drafting young men into combat, he applied for asylum. She had hoped to join him in Minnesota — until June, when Myanmar was added to a U.S. travel-ban list because many of its citizens had overstayed visas.
When she heard about the 7,500-person limit, she cried.
“I know every country has its limits,” she said. “But for a mother like me, this isn’t about politics — it’s about love, family, and being whole again.”
Afghans Left Behind
For others, America is not only a dream — it’s the reason they must run. After the Taliban seized power, thousands of Afghans who worked alongside the U.S. were promised safety through special immigrant visas. Many are still waiting.
“This decision by Trump has broken my hope,” said Saboor, a former supervisor for a U.S. program in Afghanistan, who asked to be identified only by his first name for security reasons.
Human rights groups warn that people like Saboor are being hunted by the Taliban — facing arrest, torture, or death.
In 2024, the U.S. resettled about 3,100 Afghan refugees each month. Between January and May 2025, that number fell by nearly two-thirds.
Then, in July, the Trump administration withdrew temporary protected status for Afghans already in the U.S., claiming Afghanistan’s “security and economy” had improved. The move could trigger deportations to a country still rife with danger.
A Flicker of Hope
Despite everything, Faisal still clings to a glimmer of optimism. News that Zohran Mamdani, a Muslim American immigrant, had been elected mayor of New York City gave him a small reason to believe in America again.
“Inshallah,” he said quietly — God willing.
Rewritten by ChatGPT — preserving factual content and emotional tone while enhancing clarity, structure, and readability.