Migrant Aid on the Chopping Block: Trump’s $800M Refugee Cut, Explained
Trump's $9.4 billion rescissions package would ax aide to refugees, disaster zones, and HIV clinics.
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has proposed eliminating $800 million from the Department of State’s Migration and Refugee Assistance (MRA) account, one of the largest immigration-related cuts in a sweeping $9.4 billion rescissions package submitted to Congress on May 28.
The proposed cut is detailed on page 7 of the package, sent under section 1012 of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974. The MRA account, which funds the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program and provides overseas humanitarian relief, received $3.2 billion for fiscal year 2025. The White House now seeks to reduce that by one quarter.
“These funds support activities that could be more fairly shared with non-U.S. Government donors,” the rescission proposal states. The administration argues the cut would preserve only “programs that are life-saving or have a clear, direct nexus to U.S. national interests, like repatriations,” while encouraging other nations to “step up and do more” during global crises.
The rescissions package, transmitted by Office of Management and Budget Director Russell T. Vought, includes 22 individual proposals targeting international organizations, global health programs, and foreign aid initiatives. While framed broadly as a fiscal reform effort, the immigration-related cuts form a substantial part of the plan’s policy rationale.
Other immigration-linked proposals include:
$83 million from the Democracy Fund (page 9), which supports governance programs in regions that send large numbers of migrants. The administration says such activities “interfere with the sovereignty of other countries” and do not reflect an “America First” foreign policy.
$496 million from International Disaster Assistance (page 15), an account that delivers humanitarian relief in conflict zones and climate-affected areas—often areas that are sources of forced migration. The administration says remaining funds will be reserved for emergencies “with a clear, direct nexus to U.S. national interests.”
$460 million from the Assistance for Europe, Eurasia, and Central Asia (AEECA) account (page 14), which supports stability in post-Soviet states. The White House claims this funding is used for “gender and climate programming” that does not align with its foreign aid priorities.
A combined $900 million in rescissions from Global Health Programs (pages 5–6), including support for reproductive health, HIV/AIDS initiatives, and equity programs abroad—some of which operate in regions with high migration flows to the United States.
The administration ties the rescissions to broader immigration policy, citing the need to eliminate foreign programs it claims may incentivize migration or conflict with domestic values. Several proposed cuts also align with recent executive orders, including Executive Order 14217, “Commencing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy,” and Executive Order 14199, which directs the U.S. to withdraw from certain United Nations agencies.
While the President may submit rescissions, Congress must approve them within 45 legislative days for the proposed cancellations to take effect. With the cuts targeting politically sensitive areas—including refugee resettlement and public health—it remains uncertain whether lawmakers will adopt them wholesale.
If enacted, the rescissions would have a dollar-for-dollar impact on the federal deficit, according to OMB, but critics warn they may destabilize fragile regions and undercut U.S. leadership in global humanitarian response.