Home > World > World

Trump administration orders review of Biden-era refugees, memo shows

Published: 25 Nov. 2025, 09:35

People hold placards during a procession with Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and faith and community organizations members, as they march for a field hearing titled ‘Due Process for All: Exposing Trump’s Mass Deportation Machine,’ to protest what they describe as the unlawful detention of U.S. citizens and immigrants by federal agents, in Los Angeles, California, on Nov. 24. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

U.S. President Donald Trump's administration has ordered a broad review of all refugees who entered the United States under former President Joe Biden, an internal 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 Jan. 20, 2021 and Feb. 20, 2025, according to the memo signed by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) 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 United States from around the world when he took office in January as part of his wide-ranging crackdown on legal and illegal immigration. Trump's hard-line 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 Nov. 21, said the agency will terminate the refugee status of people already in the United States 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 Jan. 20, 2021, to Feb. 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 would contribute to the United States 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 Jan. 20 executive order halting U.S. refugee resettlement, which said admissions must prioritize national security and that the United States 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 the South African government has rejected.

Reuters