By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here
The Trump administration plans to review the cases of all refugees resettled under President Joe Biden and freeze their green card applications, the latest clampdown on legal migration to the U.S.
The effort is aimed at determining whether the refugees were lawfully admitted, according to an internal U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services memo seen by Bloomberg News.
The document, dated Nov. 21, instructs officers to halt all pending applications for permanent residency and re-interview “all refugees admitted from January 20, 2021, to February 20, 2025.” The review is intended to confirm that each person “met the definition of a refugee” at the time of admission and to ensure any factors that may have made them ineligible under federal law were appropriately addressed.
The administration’s plans were first reported by the Associated Press. Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin accused the Biden administration of having “accelerated refugee admissions from terror and gang-prone countries” and using a lax vetting process.
“This reckless approach undermined the integrity of our immigration system and jeopardized the safety and security of the American people. Corrective action is now being taken to ensure those who are present in the United States deserve to be here,” McLaughlin said in a statement.
President Donald Trump’s administration has taken steps to restrict both legal and illegal migration, including by curtailing the refugee program that for decades has welcomes people fleeing war and persecution. In October, the administration set the refugee cap for fiscal year 2026 at 7,500 — a historically low number — and prioritized the admission of White South Africans.
The USCIS memo cites a January directive from Trump suspending the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program “until the admission of refugees aligns with the interests of the United States.” It cautions that the number of refugees admitted under the Biden administration may have created “vulnerabilities” requiring the review. Roughly 200,000 refugees came to the U.S. under the former Democratic president.
“USCIS has determined the operational necessity to ensure that all principal refugees who are admitted meet the definition of a refugee and that all refugees do not pose a threat to national security or public safety,” the memo says.
If officers conclude a refugee was not eligible at the time of entry, the agency may revoke that person’s status, along with protections extended to family members.
The directive also freezes all pending green card petitions for those refugees, leaving thousands of families in limbo while the review unfolds. The agency has no internal process for appealing such decisions, though refugees who lose their status may seek review in an immigration court.
USCIS has 90 days to produce an operational plan for re-interviews and to issue guidance to field offices, according to the document. The memorandum describes the initiative as necessary to “maintain the integrity of the refugee program” and to ensure that prior admissions were “legally sufficient.”
The latest moves come as Trump faces pressure from some supporters to do even more to crack down and restrict migration to the U.S. The president, however, has defended some legal pathways to migration — including H-1B visas for high-skilled workers — as necessary for economic growth.
