The administration of US President Donald Trump has ordered a review of all refugees admitted to the US under the administration of former President Joe Biden, citing a relevant memorandum, NBC News reports, writes UNN.
Details
"This decision will potentially affect more than 200,000 refugees who began the process of legal immigration to the US over the past four years," the publication writes.
To obtain refugee status, applicants must go through a complex vetting process, which often takes years and begins one to two years before arriving in the US.
The memorandum calls for a "comprehensive review and re-interview of all refugees admitted from January 20, 2021, to February 20, 2025," including green card holders. It mentions the conclusion of the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) that the Biden administration "potentially prioritized expediency, quantity, and admission over the quality of interviews, thorough screening, and vetting."
According to the November 21 memorandum, applicants who do not meet the definition of a refugee during re-review will not have the right to appeal the decision. Spouses, children, and other family members will also lose their immigration status if the applicant is retroactively denied.
Sean VanDiver, founder of #AfghanEvac, a coalition of American veterans and human rights organizations, called the decision "unprecedented and cruel."
World Relief said they were "deeply saddened" by the decision, which they said would inevitably cause anxiety for many people fearing return to their home countries.
Addition
On his first day in office, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order suspending the entire U.S. Refugee Admissions Program until refugee admissions "are in the interests of the United States." The order also emphasizes the need to "ensure public and national security" and "admit only those refugees who can fully and properly assimilate into the United States."
The number of refugees in the US in fiscal year 2026 has since fallen to a historic low of 7,500 under the second Trump administration. At the same time, most of the places were allocated to Afrikaners from South Africa, a white ethnic minority that controlled South Africa during apartheid, as well as other victims of illegal or unfair discrimination in their homeland, the publication writes. The admission of Afrikaners was based on claims (which were later refuted) of the mass murder of white South African farmers, the publication notes.
Under US law, refugee status is granted to the most vulnerable populations fleeing persecution for reasons such as race, religion, political beliefs, national origin, and/or membership in a particular social group.