WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration plans a review of all refugees admitted to the U.S. during the Biden administration, according to a memo obtained Monday by The Associated Press.
The review is likely to sow confusion and fear among the nearly 200,000 people who fled war and persecution to come to the United States during that period.
The memo, dated Nov. 21, said that during the Biden years “expediency” and “quantity” were prioritized over “detailed screening and vetting” and that warranted the comprehensive review and “re-interview of all refugees admitted from January 20, 2021, to February 20, 2025.”
Advocates of the refugee program say that refugees are generally some of the most vetted of all people coming to the United States and that they often wait years to be able to come to America.
The memo, signed by the director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Joseph Edlow, also immediately suspended green card approvals for refugees who came to the U.S. during the stated time period.
People admitted to the U.S. as refugees are required to apply for a green card one year after they arrive in the country and usually five years after that can apply for citizenship.
The Biden administration admitted 185,640 refugees from October 2021 through September 2024. Refugee admissions topped 100,000 last year, with the largest numbers coming from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Afghanistan, Venezuela and Syria.
Refugee advocates immediately slammed news of the review, saying that it will traumatize people who have already gone through extensive vetting in order to make it to the U.S. in the first place.
“This plan is shockingly ill-conceived,” said Naomi Steinberg, HIAS vice president of U.S. policy and advocacy. “This is a new low in the administration’s consistently cold-hearted treatment of people who are already building new lives and enriching the communities where they have made their homes.”
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the Department of Homeland Security and the White House did not respond to requests for comment.
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Spagat reported from San Diego.
