The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has mandated a sweeping review of all refugees who entered the United States during the tenure of his predecessor, Joe Biden. This unprecedented move, detailed in an internal government memo obtained by Reuters, could force thousands of individuals who were granted protection to have their cases reopened.
Scope of the Review and Immediate Actions
According to the directive signed by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Joe Edlow, the order applies to approximately 233,000 refugees who arrived in the country between January 20, 2021, and February 20, 2025. The memo also commands an immediate halt to the processing of all applications for permanent residence from refugees admitted during the Biden administration.
The internal document, dated November 21, justifies the review by claiming the previous administration may have prioritized "expediency, quantity, and admissions over quality interviews and detailed screening and vetting." As a result, USCIS has determined that a comprehensive re-interview process is warranted.
Broader Immigration Context and Criticism
This policy is a sharp pivot from the more liberal US refugee policy under President Biden, whose administration welcomed over 100,000 refugees in fiscal 2024. Upon taking office in January, President Trump froze global refugee admissions as part of a wider crackdown on both legal and illegal immigration.
The move has drawn fierce criticism from Democrats and refugee advocacy groups. Mark Hetfield, president of HIAS, a prominent refugee aid organization, labeled the new vetting program as "unnecessary, cruel and wasteful," emphasizing that refugees already undergo more rigorous vetting than any other immigrant group.
In a related and controversial decision, the Trump administration set the refugee admissions cap for fiscal 2026 at a historic low of 7,500. It announced a focus on resettling white South Africans of Afrikaner ethnicity, a claim of persecution that has been rejected by the South African government.
Potential Consequences for Refugees
The USCIS memo carries significant weight for those already settled in the U.S. It states that the agency will terminate the refugee status of any individual already in the country if they are found to no longer meet the official refugee criteria during the re-evaluation. This places the legal status and future of thousands of people in a state of uncertainty.
This development is closely watched in Canada, where shifts in American Trump immigration policy often influence cross-border discourse and national refugee strategies. The story underscores the deep philosophical divides in approaches to humanitarian protection and national security.
