Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., questions Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine at a Senate Appropriations subcommittee on defense hearing on the budget request for the Department of Defense, Tuesday, May 12, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., questions Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine at a Senate Appropriations subcommittee on defense hearing on the budget request for the Department of Defense, Tuesday, May 12, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., questions Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine at a Senate Appropriations subcommittee on defense hearing on the budget request for the Department of Defense, Tuesday, May 12, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

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Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., speaks at an event marking the installation of a plaque commemorating Jan. 6 at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, March 25, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert)

Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., speaks at an event marking the installation of a plaque commemorating Jan. 6 at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, March 25, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert)

Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., speaks at an event marking the installation of a plaque commemorating Jan. 6 at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, March 25, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert)

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Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin and California Sen. Alex Padilla said in a letter Monday to the president that there are “multiple legal defects” with the administration’s decision to lift the refugee cap, but only for white South Africans.

The Democrats, who criticized the “shameful efforts to gut the refugee admissions program,” argued there is no “unforeseen refugee emergency” that requires a mid-year adjustment to the refugee levels, which is typically done in September.

“By contrast, there are numerous forced displacement crises and conflicts worldwide that would justify an emergency increase in the ceiling, including, for example, in Sudan, Burma, and Haiti,” the senators wrote.

They also said the administration’s legally-required consultation process with Congress was insufficient, in that it sent deputy officials to meet with lawmakers, not Cabinet rank. The Democrats said the decision to admit solely Afrikaners was a “betrayal of our nation’s longstanding bipartisan commitment to serve as a safe haven for those fleeing persecution.”