The Trump administration on November 24 (US time) issued a comprehensive review of all refugees received under President Joe Biden, according to an internal memorandum of understanding issued by the US Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS).
The order applies to about 233,000 immigrants in the period from January 20, 2021 to February 20, 2025 and requires stopping the entire process of granting long-term residence rights to this group.
The memorandum of understanding signed by USCIS Director Joe Edlow states that the status of asylum will be terminated if the person is protected and does not meet the criteria for asylum.
The document says that Biden's policies prioritized speed, quantity and reception rather than careful interviews and detailed screening.
For this reason, the USCIS believes that reviewing and interviewing all refugees is necessary, and may even expand to cases outside the above time frame.
The new policy is the next step after Mr Trump froze his asylum program as soon as he took office, marking a strong change from the previous widespread reception orientation.
Mr. Trump also set the ceiling for taking refugees for the 2026 fiscal year at a record low of 7,500 people, and said he would prioritize taking in white South Africans of the African African African African African ethnic group.
The memorandum of understanding cited Mr. Trump's January 20 decree, emphasizing that taking refugees must ensure national security and that refugees need to be able to fully integrate.
Shortly after suspending the admission program, Trump launched an effort to receive white South Africans, saying they face the risk of oppression, something the South African government denied.
Activists and rights groups supporting refugees strongly opposed the new review move. Mr. Mark Hetfield - Chairman of HIAS - said that the re-examination was "unnecessary and cruel", reiterating that the refugees had gone through the most rigorous inspection process in the immigration system.
Many opinions are concerned that reviewing all documents could put thousands of people at risk of being deported after settling down and building a new life. USCIS has not yet commented on the content disclosed in the memorandum of understanding.
