Krish O’Mara Vignarajah on Refugee Limits and Immigration Reform

(BALTIMORE, MARYLAND) Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, President & CEO of Baltimore-based Global Refuge, is urging the federal government to reverse new limits on refugee admissions after President Trump signed executive orders suspending the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program and slashing the annual refugee cap. The cap, set at 125,000 for FY 2025, would drop to a record low of 7,500 for FY 2026 under the administration’s plan. Calling the measures a “huge setback,” Vignarajah says the cuts will block thousands of people who have waited years for a safe, legal path to the United States and leave families with few options other than dangerous journeys.

Vignarajah argues the policy shift breaks with America’s long-standing role as a place of refuge. She points to the robust vetting that already defines the process. U.S. refugee resettlement—formally known as the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program—requires multiple layers of checks and clearances involving the United Nations and U.S. embassies. Applicants face interviews, background screening, and health exams that can stretch over several years before travel is approved.

“This system is already tough and thorough,” she says, warning that shutting it down won’t make the border safer.

Core concern: closing legal doors drives unsafe migration

Her central concern is cause-and-effect. When legal doors close, desperate families still seek safety. Vignarajah says cutting off refugee admissions and suspending the program “doesn’t stop migration—it pushes it underground.” She argues this empowers criminal cartels and human smuggling networks that profit when people feel they have no safe, lawful way to seek protection.

The result, she says, is more risk at the border and more suffering for families who should have had a vetted, orderly path through an established program.

The policy at the center of the fight

At the core are two linked moves:

1. Executive orders that suspend USRAP (U.S. Refugee Admissions Program).
2. A sharp drop in the refugee cap, from 125,000 for FY 2025 to 7,500 for FY 2026.

Vignarajah and Global Refuge say the proposed cap of 7,500 for FY 2026 would be the lowest in modern U.S. history. She calls for restoring robust refugee admissions to at least FY 2025 levels and for keeping the program open so refugees already in the pipeline are not stranded.

Global Refuge reports many individuals in the pipeline have been through years of vetting and have U.S.-based families, churches, and employers ready to receive them.

Broader immigration changes Vignarajah warns about

Vignarajah has raised alarms about a broader plan to reshape immigration in 2025 and beyond. She cites a set of new actions that, taken together, expand enforcement while limiting humanitarian relief:

• Sweeping executive actions and new laws expanding expedited removals, enabling ICE raids in sensitive locations, and increasing detention capacity, including indefinite family detention.
• Rollback of humanitarian protections like Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and DACA, which she warns could put hundreds of thousands at risk of deportation.
• Severe restrictions on legal immigration and humanitarian relief, including a near-total halt to refugee resettlement and new travel bans affecting nationals from roughly a dozen countries.
• Large enforcement and detention funding increases, including the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (OBBBA), which she says directs $45 billion toward detention, including detention of families and children, and limits immigrants’ access to health and nutrition benefits.

Vignarajah frames these actions as a fundamental shift away from America’s humanitarian commitments. She worries the overall plan will shut out skilled and determined newcomers who could help the economy and renew communities.

“The United States has always stood for hope and fairness,” she argues. “Turning away refugees and rolling back humanitarian protections harms our values and our long-term interests.”

Baltimore’s role and local impacts

Vignarajah’s warning carries moral weight and professional credibility. She is a former refugee from Sri Lanka who came to this country as a child and later served in the Obama White House and at the State Department. That personal arc—refugee to public servant—shapes her message: the people the United States considers for resettlement today may be the leaders, teachers, and caregivers communities depend on tomorrow.

Baltimore has a long record of welcoming refugees through groups like Global Refuge. Local resettlement teams stand ready to:

• Help families find housing
• Enroll children in school
• Secure jobs in a tight labor market

Vignarajah argues that reducing the flow to 7,500 nationally would ripple through cities like Baltimore, leaving empty apartments set aside for arrivals, employers without workers they expected, and churches and volunteer teams sidelined. These networks, built over decades, can be hard to restart if starved of cases and funding.

Diplomatic, strategic, and economic stakes

Vignarajah stresses the diplomatic and strategic consequences of the sharp cut to the refugee cap. She says it risks undermining U.S. credibility as countries manage wars, persecution, and climate-related displacement. When the United States lowers its share, other nations shoulder a larger burden and refugees spend longer in harm’s way.

She warns that expanded enforcement without balanced legal pathways will not achieve lasting stability:

“We need due process and dignity for all immigrants,” she says, urging policymakers to keep lawful options open while targeting criminal activity.

Vignarajah argues detention and rapid removals alone cannot solve drivers of displacement or the needs of families in danger.

Economically, Global Refuge notes employers across sectors—from elder care to food processing—count on refugee workers who arrive ready to learn and contribute. Reducing admissions to 7,500 will widen gaps in hard-to-fill jobs and slow growth in towns that have benefited from resettlement.

Advocacy, outreach, and immediate concerns

Her advocacy continues on multiple fronts: public briefings, meetings with lawmakers, and media interviews highlighting how policy choices filter down to real people.

Global Refuge calls attention to refugee families already approved for travel who might now see:

• Flights canceled
• Medical clearances expire
• Sponsorships lapse

Each delay can undo months or years of preparation. The organization urges federal leaders to keep USRAP operating while addressing security goals through the existing, extensive vetting process. Vignarajah points to layered checks—international referrals, U.S. embassy interviews, biometric screening, and health exams—as proof the system protects national security.

According to analysis by VisaVerge.com, Vignarajah’s message—restore refugee admissions, protect humanitarian programs, and ensure due process—has become a rallying point for faith groups, veterans who served alongside U.S.-affiliated allies, and resettlement workers across the country.

For readers seeking official program details, the U.S. government maintains an overview of the refugee process and policy framework through the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program page. Vignarajah says this is the lawful alternative: a controlled, carefully screened avenue that moves people from danger into stability while supporting U.S. interests.

Counterarguments and Vignarajah’s response

Supporters of the cuts argue enforcement must come first. Vignarajah responds that resettlement and security reinforce one another. When the United States offers a vetted route, she says, it weakens smuggling networks and reduces chaotic crossings.

She believes the government can both enforce the law and honor humanitarian commitments without choosing one over the other.

Human cost and long-term consequences

The stakes, she says, are measured not just in numbers but in lives. The drop from 125,000 to 7,500 means tens of thousands of people—survivors of war, political violence, or persecution—may be stuck in camps or unsafe countries for years longer.

Specific harms she highlights:

• Families already split across continents may miss narrow windows when medical exams are valid
• Children may age out of eligibility
• Communities in the United States prepared to welcome them will feel the absence

Vignarajah’s background informs her resolve. Having once relied on a country willing to open its doors, she says today’s choices will define whether the next generation gets that same chance.

Her plea is simple:

• Keep the legal pathways strong
• Protect programs like TPS and DACA
• Reject policies that normalize indefinite family detention

She also warns that sweeping enforcement measures could reach into “sensitive locations,” a shift she fears will erode trust in schools, hospitals, and places of worship. If families fear arrest at a clinic or a church, they may skip medical care or avoid community support, with long-term costs for public health and safety.

Coalition and immediate asks

Global Refuge’s coalition emphasizes practical, achievable steps:

• Keep USRAP open
• Restore the refugee cap to reflect demand and capacity
• Maintain humanitarian protections that reflect U.S. values

Vignarajah believes there is room for broad agreement on these steps, rooted in security, order, and compassion.

The coming months will show whether that case gains ground. For now, Vignarajah says the message from Baltimore is steady: America can be safe and still be a refuge. Closing legal doors does not stop people from fleeing danger; it only changes how they try. In her view, the better path is the one the United States built over decades—a path that screens, prepares, and welcomes those who have already cleared the highest bar.