Congress·In Committee·S. 3535

GRACE Act

GRACE Act Would Set 125,000 Annual Refugee Minimum, Add Private Sponsorship Track

4 months ago·View on Congress.gov·Read full text

Part of: Congress Proposes 125,000 Minimum Annual Refugee Admission Floor

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Stalled

No legislative action in over 90 days.

Legislative Progress

Senate

House

President

Law

Key Points

Would require the President to set a yearly refugee admissions goal, with a floor of at least 125,000 refugees.
If the President does not set a goal before the fiscal year starts, the default ceiling would automatically be 125,000.
Adds a separate track for refugees admitted through community or private sponsorship, where sponsors help with early housing and support.
Requires public quarterly updates on how many refugees were admitted and how that compares to the yearly goal, including regional totals.
If admissions fall behind pace (under 25% of the yearly goal after a quarter), the President must explain why and submit a plan to catch up.

ImmigrationNational Security

Impact Analysis

Personal Impact

How this policy affects specific groups of people

Mixed Impacts(4)

Federal Employee

Neutral

Housing Assistance

Neutral

Renter

Neutral

Student

Neutral

Positive Impacts(1)

Immigrant

Helps

Milestones

2 milestones2 actions

Dec 17, 2025Senate

Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.

Dec 17, 2025

Introduced in Senate

The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.

Votes

No votes have been recorded for this legislation yet.

Related News

2 articles

WHYY·over 6 years ago

Philadelphia officials urge support for refugees amid reports of impending 'ban'

Philadelphia officials and refugee organizations urged support for the GRACE Act, which would set a permanent goal of 95,000 refugees welcomed to the U.S. each year. The bill aims to limit executive power to slash refugee arrivals, which had dropped to historic lows under the Trump administration.

Center Left

Richmond Free Press·almost 5 years ago

Rep. Ilhan Omar, others encourage U.S. to rebuild refugee resettlement

Rep. Ilhan Omar voiced support for the GRACE Act, or Guaranteed Refugee Admission Ceiling Enhancement Act, which would set a minimum number of refugees the United States must resettle every year to restore the nation's legacy of welcome and rebuild infrastructure decimated by previous cuts.

Left