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

Migrants, mostly from Venezuela and Haiti, stand in line at Our Lady of Solitude church for a place to sleep as they wait, along with fellow migrants

U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has ordered a broad vetting review of all refugees who entered under former President Joe Biden, an internal U.S. government memo seen by Reuters said.

The order would apply to roughly 200,000 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 was 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.”