Trump administration to retroactively vet refugees already resettled in US

Immigration rights advocates says the caller argumentation aims to ‘bully immoderate of the astir vulnerable’ radical successful US society.

The medication of United States President Donald Trump has confirmed that it volition retroactively vet refugees who person already been admitted into the country, prompting interest from migrant rights groups.

“Corrective enactment is present being taken to guarantee those who are contiguous successful the United States merit to beryllium here,” Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said successful a connection connected Tuesday.

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The Associated Press and Reuters quality agencies had reported connected Monday that they obtained a authorities memorandum ordering a reappraisal of much than 230,000 refugees who were legally resettled successful the state nether erstwhile President Joe Biden.

The memo, signed by US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Joseph Edlow, said that refugees who are recovered to person failed to conscionable the standards for resettlement would person their ineligible presumption revoked.

“Given these concerns, USCIS has determined that a broad reappraisal and a re-interview of each refugees admitted from January 20, 2021, to February 20, 2025, is warranted,” the memo stated.

“When appropriate, USCIS volition besides reappraisal and re-interview refugees admitted extracurricular this timeframe.”

In 2024, the US admitted much than 100,000 refugees. The starring countries of root for refugees were the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Afghanistan, Venezuela and Syria.

Unlike asylum seekers who use for protections erstwhile they get successful the US, refugees use for ineligible presumption portion they are extracurricular of the country.

They are allowed to participate the US with the presumption that they volition beryllium longterm residents, harmless from persecution successful their location countries.

Refugee admittance besides offers a way to US citizenship, with newcomers capable to use for a ineligible imperishable residency 1 twelvemonth aft accomplishment successful the country.

Applicants for exile admittance acquisition aggregate levels of screening and interviews. That process often starts with a 3rd enactment – usually the United Nations – referring them to the US exile admissions programme.

Then, US migration authorities rigorously vet the applicants, who indispensable amusement they faced persecution for their race, religion, nationality, governmental beliefs oregon rank successful a peculiar societal group.

Sharif Aly, the president of the International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP), said refugees are the astir highly vetted immigrants successful the country.

“This bid is 1 much successful a agelong enactment of efforts to bully immoderate of the astir susceptible members of our communities, by threatening their lawful status, rendering them susceptible to the egregious behaviour of migration enforcement agencies, and putting them done an onerous and perchance re-traumatizing process,” Aly said successful a statement.

Mark Hetfield, president of the humanitarian organisation HIAS, called the Trump administration’s determination “unnecessary, cruel and wasteful”. His radical assists caller refugees successful the US.

“Refugees person already been much vetted than immoderate different radical of immigrants,” Hetfield told Reuters.

Trump drastically reduced exile admittance during his archetypal word and all but gutted the programme aft his instrumentality to the White House successful January.

The 2nd Trump medication acceptable a historical debased of ​7,500 arsenic the exile admittance headdress for adjacent year.

The president besides ordered the programme to “primarily” resettle achromatic South Africans, whom helium says are facing favoritism by their government.

Overall, Trump has pushed to restrict caller arrivals to the US and ace down on noncitizens successful the country.