By Ted Hesson and Kristina Cooke
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has ordered a broad review of all refugees who entered under former President Joe Biden, an internal U.S. government memo seen by Reuters said, an unprecedented move that could reopen cases of thousands who sought U.S. protection.
The order would apply to about 233,000 refugees who entered between January 20, 2021 and February 20, 2025, according to the memo signed by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Joe Edlow. It also orders a halt to all processing of applications for permanent residence for refugees who entered under Biden.
USCIS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump, a Republican, froze refugee admissions into the U.S. from around the world when he took office in January as part of his wide-ranging crackdown on legal and illegal immigration. Trump’s hardline approach is a sharp reversal of the more liberal policies of his Democratic predecessor, Joe Biden, whose administration welcomed more than 100,000 refugees in fiscal 2024.
The USCIS memo, dated November 21, said the agency will terminate the refugee status of people already in the U.S. if they are found to not meet refugee criteria. The memo claims the Biden administration potentially prioritized expediency, quantity, and admissions over quality interviews and detailed screening and vetting.
“Given these concerns, USCIS has determined that a comprehensive review and a re-interview of all refugees admitted from January 20, 2021, to February 20, 2025, is warranted,” the memo stated. “When appropriate, USCIS will also review and re-interview refugees admitted outside this timeframe.”
Trump in late October set the refugee admissions cap for fiscal 2026 at a record-low 7,500, saying his administration would focus on bringing in white South Africans of Afrikaner ethnicity.
Democrats and refugee advocates have criticized the sharp downsizing of the refugee program, saying the administration has blocked refugees who are vetted, face persecution in their home countries, and who would contribute to the U.S. economically.
Mark Hetfield, president of HIAS, formerly known as the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, called the new vetting program outlined in the USCIS memo “unnecessary, cruel and wasteful.”
“Refugees have already been more vetted than any other group of immigrants,” Hetfield said.
The USCIS memo cites Trump’s January 20 executive order halting U.S. refugee resettlement, which said admissions must prioritize national security and that the U.S. should “admit only those refugees who can fully and appropriately assimilate into the United States.”
Weeks after pausing refugee admissions, Trump launched the effort to bring in white South Africans. Trump said they faced persecution in majority-Black South Africa, claims South Africa’s government has rejected.
(Reporting by Ted Hesson and Kristina Cooke; Editing by Scott Malone and Richard Chang)
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