The Forum Daily | Friday, October 31, 2025https://immigrationforum.org/

**THE FORUM DAILY**

It’s official: The Trump administration is reducing the United States' refugee ceiling to 7,500, with a focus on white South Africans, reports Hadriana Lowenkron of Bloomberg [link removed]. 

The decision, published today in the Federal Register [link removed], is a significant departure from the traditional policy of the U.S. to accept many more refugees fleeing persecution in their home countries. 

"We are seeing our shared creation of hope and welcome devolve into one defined by exclusion," writes Richard Santos, Beth Oppenheim and Myal Greene in their op-ed for Religion News Service [link removed]. 

The three leaders represent Church World Service, HIAS and World Relief, which have partnered with the U.S. government to make the U.S. refugee program what it is today. 

The approach "all but abandon[s] the vulnerable populations our country has long pledged to protect — including persecuted religious minorities, those displaced by the destruction of war and Afghans targeted by the Taliban for aiding Americans," they write. " ... Our work as faith-based organizations is grounded in the belief that every person bears the image of God and deserves dignity, safety and compassion." 

The announcement makes no mention of the more than 100,000 refugees already strictly vetted and approved for resettlement but in limbo since resettlement was halted in January, our policy team notes. 

As Jennie said yesterday [link removed], "The U.S. Refugee Admissions Program has been a vital tool strengthens our national security and bolsters our economy, in addition to honoring human dignity." 

Welcome to Friday’s edition of The Forum Daily. I’m Dan Gordon, the Forum’s VP of Strategic Communications, and the great Forum Daily team also includes Masooma Amin, Jillian Clark, Nicci Mattey and Clara Villatoro. If you have a story to share from your own community, please send it to me at [email protected] mailto:[email protected]. 

**DEPORTATIONS** — Changes at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) field offices are unlikely to speed deportations as the administration hopes, reports Myah Ward of Politico [link removed]. The administration expects fewer total deportations in 2025 than within the last full fiscal year of the Biden administration, reports Tim Henderson of Stateline [link removed]. According to a Migration Policy Institute report [link removed] released yesterday, the Trump administration now projects 600,000 deportations this calendar year. 

**HUMANITARIAN PAROLE FEE **— The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is adding a $1,000 fee upon the granting of humanitarian parole in the United States, reports Stephania Corpi of Texas Public Radio [link removed] measure is among many new immigration-related fees and other provisions [link removed] in the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act." DHS officials say the fee is meant to discourage the misuse of the humanitarian program, Corpi reports.  

**STATE DEPARTMENT CONCERNS **— Diplomats are raising concerns over White House advisor Stephen Miller’s influence on the State Department and his push for more aggressive immigration enforcement, reports Andrew Roth of The Guardian [link removed]. One former senior official said Miller’s expanded influence was a part of a strategy of "installing trusted people in the key positions and turning [the State Department] into an anti-immigration machine." 

**FAMILY REUNITED **— A man whose teenage daughter is fighting stage 4 brain cancer has been released from ICE custody after an outcry of support for the family, reports a team at ABC News [link removed]. A Chicago judge said the man was eligible to apply for cancellation of his removal orders because of the family’s challenges with their daughter’s health. "I need the world to know my dad's story, and if that means letting the world know I have cancer, so be it. I don't care, I need my dad," said 16-year-old Ofelia Torres.  

Thanks for reading,  

Dan 

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