Trump administration plans to review Biden-era refugee program

 Trump administration plans to review Biden-era refugee program

The Trump administration has announced it will review all refugees who entered the United States during the Biden administration. The move is the latest blow to a program that has welcomed people fleeing war and persecution for decades.

The review will create fear and uncertainty among the nearly 200,000 refugees who came to the United States during that period, according to a memo obtained by the Associated Press on Monday.

t of the administration’s “heartless behavior.”

The memo, signed by Joseph Adlow, director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and released Friday, said the Biden administration prioritized “expeditious” admission and “quantification” of refugees entering the country over “thorough vetting and screening.”

The memo said that this required a comprehensive review and “re-interview of all refugees” who entered the country between January 20, 2021, and February 20, 2025.

The memo indicated that a list of individuals for re-interview would be prepared within three months.

Supporters of the refugee program say refugees are typically the most vetted of people coming to the United States and have to wait years to come.

The memo also said that the approval of green cards for refugees who arrived during the aforementioned period has been suspended immediately.

People who enter the United States as refugees must apply for a green card within a year of entering the country and can generally apply for citizenship after five years.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the Department of Homeland Security and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The measures outlined in the memo are the latest in a series of moves to target the refugee program, which the administration suspended earlier this year and later capped admissions at 7,500, mostly white South Africans.

The Biden administration admitted about 185,000 refugees between October 2021 and September 2024. The number of refugees exceeded 100,000 last year, with the largest numbers coming from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Afghanistan, Venezuela and Syria.

Refugee advocates sharply criticized the news of the review, saying it would shock people who have already undergone rigorous vetting to come to the United States.