UNHCR: 2.5M refugees need resettlement as US freezes program

Shafaq News/ Approximately 2.5 million refugees will require resettlement in 2025, a slight decrease from last year, largely due to voluntary returns of Syrians, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) announced on Tuesday.

The figure, while still high, reflects a drop from 2.9 million in 2024, UNHCR spokesperson Shabia Mantoo told reporters. "We are seeing people withdraw asylum applications and planning to return home and rebuild their lives," she said, citing improvements in Syria as a key factor.

The update comes as the United States has suspended its refugee resettlement program, which enables selected refugees to move from a host country to another state, granting them permanent residency, a program that is rare and highly selective.

The largest groups projected to need resettlement next year include Afghans (573,400), Syrians (442,400), South Sudanese (258,200), Sudanese (246,800), Rohingya (233,300), and Congolese (179,500).

UNHCR warned that resettlement quotas set by host countries in 2025 are expected to reach their lowest in two decades, falling below even the levels seen during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This sharp drop in available places risks erasing the significant progress made in recent years,” Mantoo cautioned.

Given the growing needs and limited resettlement opportunities, UNHCR urged host countries to maintain and expand their refugee programs.

For 2026, the international community has set a resettlement target of 120,000 refugees, a slight increase from last year's 116,000.

Since returning to the White House, US President Donald Trump has suspended the American resettlement program, despite the country previously accepting over 100,000 refugees annually. Mantoo noted that several other countries are also reducing or adjusting their quotas.