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The Trump administration is preparing to revisit every refugee case approved during President Biden’s time in office, according to an internal memo circulated to several news outlets on Monday. The decision is the latest setback for a decades-old programme designed to give safety to people escaping violence and persecution.
Nearly 200,000 refugees who arrived in those years now face uncertainty as the government begins its review. Advocacy organisations say the plan is likely to face court challenges, arguing it continues what they see as a long pattern of harsh treatment toward people who came to the United States to rebuild their lives.
The memo, signed by US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Joseph Edlow and dated Friday, claims that the previous administration prioritised “speed” and “volume” over careful vetting. The document calls for a complete review and new interviews for all refugees admitted between January 20, 2021, and February 20, 2025.
Within three months, the agency is required to draw up a list of priority cases for re-interview. The memo also halts green card approvals for everyone admitted during that period. “USCIS is ready to uphold the law and ensure the refugee program is not abused,” Edlow wrote.
Under current rules, refugees must apply for permanent residency after one year in the country and can apply for citizenship five years after becoming permanent residents. USCIS, the Department of Homeland Security, and the White House did not respond to requests for comment.
Shawn VanDiver, who leads the advocacy group AfghanEvac, sharply criticised the move. “We condemn, in the strongest possible terms, this directive from USCIS,” he said. “Families who endured war, persecution, and the turmoil of America’s withdrawal now find themselves pushed back into turmoil by their own government. They already went through some of the strictest security checks in the world—multiple agencies, biometric screening, layer after layer of review. They rebuilt their lives here. They trusted this process.”
He called the announcement “unprecedented and cruel,” adding that releasing it during Thanksgiving week only adds to families’ distress. “While Washington plays politics, real people are paying the price,” he said.
The memo requires the following immediate steps:
The memo points to:
According to the document:
The memo also states:
The decision comes during a period of tightened immigration restrictions. Earlier this year, the administration halted the refugee programme and later set an annual admissions limit of 7,500, mostly for white South Africans—the lowest cap since the programme began in 1980. The administration has repeatedly promised to expand deportations of undocumented immigrants and has increased enforcement efforts across several fronts.
Between October 2021 and September 2024, the Biden administration admitted 185,640 refugees. More than 100,000 of them arrived last year, largely from Congo, Afghanistan, Venezuela, and Syria. Advocates warn that the new review will force refugees to relive trauma after already going through extensive vetting before being allowed into the US.
“This plan is shockingly ill-conceived,” said Naomi Steinberg of HIAS, who leads US advocacy efforts for the organisation. “It is yet another example of cold-hearted policy choices affecting people who are building new lives and contributing to the communities where they now live.”
Edlow wrote that USCIS expects to prepare the priority list for re-interviews within the next 90 days. According to the memo, the agency will re-examine the fundamental reasons refugee status was originally granted. “Testimony will include, but is not limited to, the circumstances showing past persecution or a well-founded fear for principal refugees, the persecutor bar, and any other possible inadmissibilities,” he wrote.
Sharif Aly, who heads the International Refugee Assistance Project, also condemned the plan. He said refugees are “already the most highly vetted immigrants in the United States.”
“Beyond the cruelty of this effort, it would waste enormous government resources to review and re-interview 200,000 people who have lived peacefully in our communities for years,” Aly said. His organisation is already involved in a lawsuit challenging the administration’s earlier halt to refugee admissions.
