Women’s Refugee Commission Statement On FY 2026 White House Budget Request

The White House budget request for fiscal year 2026 proposes massive decreases to funding that supports displaced women and girls in the U.S. and around the world. The budget proposes a 83.7% reduction in State Department and USAID funding, along with huge cuts to funding for programs that protect the rights and safety of immigrant children. The cuts include: 

• $3.2 billion cut to international disaster assistance, humanitarian assistance, and refugee and migration assistance 

• $6.2 billion cut to global health programs and family planning 

• $1.9 billion cut to refugee and unaccompanied children’s programs 

• $650 million cut to shelter and services programs for migrants 

 

The budget requests an increase of $43.8 billion dollars for the Department of Homeland Security to support, in part, the administration’s proposed mass deportation of migrants from the U.S. 

If enacted, these funding cuts will cement the widespread and long-lasting damage caused by cuts to U.S. foreign assistance, and will lead to growing displacement, migration, conflict, and humanitarian need around the world. Women and girls in places like Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Ukraine will be at greater risk of violence, malnutrition, and human trafficking. Cuts to family planning and reproductive health funding will have fatal and lifelong consequences; in just one year, the proposed cuts could lead to 17.1 million unintended pregnancies and 34,000 preventable pregnancy-related deaths. Women in the U.S., including immigrants and U.S. citizens, will face increased risk of arbitrary detention and deportation, separation from their children, limited access to sexual and reproductive health services, and an erosion of their civil rights, particularly in immigration detention. 

“Slashing funding for food for conflict-affected communities, shelters for survivors of gender-based violence, and healthcare for pregnant women in refugee camps does not make America stronger, safer, or more prosperous,” said Melanie Nezer, Vice President, Advocacy and External Affairs, Women’s Refugee Commission. “The Women’s Refugee Commission urges Members of Congress to reject cuts that undermine U.S. humanitarian leadership around the world and cause great harm to displaced women and girls. We call on lawmakers to protect funding for foreign assistance, including global health, family planning, and migration and refugee assistance, and to reject budgetary increases to fund detention and enforcement measures that separate families and put women and girls at risk of abuse.”  

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