The White House Just Quietly Extended the Refugee Ban — Not One Afghan Refugee (P1/P2) Can Come This Year

Without a new Executive Order, the door is shut.

This morning, the White House quietly posted two Presidential Determinations to the Federal Register that, taken together, extend the refugee ban and formally limit FY 26 refugee resettlement to Afrikaners from South Africa.

No other populations are mentioned. Not Afghans, not Syrians, not Congolese, not anyone.

That omission is striking, especially at a moment when urgency for Afghan allies is growing. A recent Wall Street Journal investigation reported that around 1,300 Afghans are stuck at Camp As Sayliyah in Qatar, evacuated by the U.S., yet unable to continue to America and still in danger if returned home. What are they going to do with them?

Let that sink in: unless a new Executive Order reverses this policy, not one single Afghan refugee will be admitted to the United States this fiscal year.

---

What These Determinations Do

• PD 2025-13 sets the FY 26 refugee ceiling at just 7,500, a record low, and reserves nearly all of those slots for Afrikaners from South Africa.

• It explicitly cites Executive Order 14163, which suspended refugee entry for nearly all nationalities unless both the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security grant a national-interest exception, something that, in practice, almost never happens.

• PD 2025-14 transfers resettlement responsibilities from State to the Office of Refugee Resettlement (HHS), but with zero new admissions, it’s a bureaucratic shell game.

• Congress was not consulted at all. Not a hearing, not a briefing, not the discussions the law demands.

---

What It Means for Afghans

This policy essentially erases Afghans from the list of populations of concern, despite years of bipartisan commitments, statute, and the clear presence of endangered Afghan partners awaiting resettlement.

Tens of thousands of our Afghan allies, among them lawyers and prosecutors, human rights workers, women leaders, U.S.-affiliated contractors, and more remain in danger abroad. Under this new policy, they have no safe pathway to the United States this year.

This isn’t simply a policy setback. It’s a betrayal of our word, a collapse of trust, and a blow to the credibility of U.S. commitments.

---

What Happens Next

We are calling on Congress, the media, and our community to demand immediate corrective action:

• Reverse this determination and reopen refugee admissions for Afghan-eligible cases.

• Reinstate and honor the consultation mechanism with Congress required by law.

• Reaffirm America’s commitment to its Afghan allies — not just in words, but in deeds.

The United States has always been strongest when we keep our promises and show up for the vulnerable. Abandoning our allies isn’t strength, it’s shame

.

We will not be quiet. We will not give up. And we will not stop until every Afghan ally has a pathway to safety.